This simple practice may immediately protect your heart

The short days and cold temperatures of winter can make it quite difficult to follow through on diets and exercise.

After all, a frigid trip to the gym for a cardio workout doesn’t always seem as necessary when buried under four layers of clothing.

But, there is good news for those who struggle to stay motivated during the winter months: A new study from the Liverpool John Moores University in the UK shows how just one exercise session can protect the body from cardiovascular disease.

The study states that between one and three workout sessions per week can provide strong protection for the heart. What’s more, much of the protection comes after just the first session of exercise. And exercise can lead to weight loss, reduced blood pressure and lower cholesterol.

This means that exercising during the winter months, even if less often, is still greatly beneficial to your overall health.

Dr. Pierrot Abi-Mansour, a cardiologist at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Ill., says, “Just one session of exercise can protect the development of heart damage, and this protection is upheld with months of exercise, making exercise one of the few sustainable protective cardiac interventions.”

If you’re seeking to really improve your overall health, Dr. Abi-Mansour advises individuals strive to achieve 30 minutes of exercise per day, ideally five days a week.

He offers a few recommendations to keep in mind when exercising.

“Medical attention should be sought immediately if warning symptoms such as discomfort or pressure in the chest, jaw, or neck, unusual shortness of breath, dizziness or light-headedness, sensations of heart beat skipping, palpitations or thumping occur at rest or during exercise.”

Find out your risk for heart disease by taking our simple and easy Heart Risk Assessment.