5 Exercises To Raise Your Heart Rate Fast

Despite how busy life can get, we should always take the time to exercise, if only to increase the heart rate every day.

The benefit of regularly raising your heart rate cannot be emphasized enough. It is literally a matter of life and death. The heart is a muscle that gets more efficient with use, and an efficient heart is unlikely to develop heart disease, which is a major cause of mortality across the globe. Thus, it’s important for a strength and conditioning program to focus on heart rate.

Researchers found that elevating the heart rate at least five times per week improves the quality of life and extends it. It also decreases the chances of developing not only heart disease, but also other lifestyle-related medical conditions.

Regularly exercising to raise your heart rate optimizes your blood circulation and prevents inflammation, reduces the risk of diabetes, lowers blood pressure, and strengthens the muscles.

Ideally, a moderate increase in heart rate for about thirty minutes each day is necessary to achieve these benefits. Nearly every exercise can make your heart pump faster, but not all of them can do it in such a short period of time. We’ve come up with a few great workouts that can help you get your heart rate up.

Today, Evolve Daily shares five exercises to raise your heart rate fast.

1) Focus Mitts (Boxing and Muay Thai Pad Work)

A student training Muay Thai at Evolve MMA (Far East Square).

Of course, we wouldn’t leave this list void of at least one martial arts-related workout. Pad work in both boxing and Muay Thai is the best when it comes to getting your heart rate up.

These pad work sessions are absolutely enjoyable, and are known to be incredible calorie torchers. They also engage the entire body with different explosive movements.

A single round of three minutes of boxing focus mitts is a good starter that will warm you up and get your heart rate up. Follow that up with a round of Muay Thai pad work and it will have you gasping for air. Do three rounds of each with 60 seconds of rest after every round, and you’ll find yourself working up a good amount of sweat in no time at all.

2) Jump Rope

Jumping rope is an important part of martial arts.

Jumping rope is a very simple exercise that virtually everyone can do. You don’t have to be a supremely conditioned athlete to jump rope. It only requires timing as you swing your rope and jump over it.

The first time that you pick up the jump rope as an adult, however, is always a humbling experience. You’ll likely find yourself tripping and failing often. But the more you do it, the better you get at it, and you’ll soon be able to complete full sets without interruption.

Jumping rope is one of the greatest cardio exercises you can do. It will improve your cardiovascular endurance as well as your coordination. As you jump rope, your breath starts to quicken. Your heart rate picks up, and your calves begin to burn. Fifteen minutes into it, and you will have worked out a significant amount of sweat, raising your heart rate significantly, and thirty minutes is really all you need for a meaningful workout.

3) Jumping Jacks

Jumping jacks are very simple, and we’ve all done it at least once in our lives. In addition, it’s one of the most effective cardio exercises out there.

The jumping jack is basically a plyometric workout that combines resistance training and aerobics. It is a fantastic alternative to jogging or cycling, as it involves movements outside the usual range of motion. A 120-second session of approximately 100 jumping jacks can burn around 19 calories, so performing a total of ten minutes of this exercise will net you close to 100 calories.

You can also modify your jumping jacks to some extent, such as doing half-full jumping jacks or speeding up your reps. You may also level up your routine and amp up the intensity by doing squat jacks and rotational jacks. The possibilities are endless.

4) Burpees

We have to admit it. We all have a love/hate relationship with burpees. Burpees take the cake when it comes to rapidly accelerating your heart rate. They are intensely challenging, and they are arguably the ultimate bodyweight exercise in terms of intensity and effectiveness. The actual movements are anaerobic, but do about five reps in quick succession and you’ll find yourself chasing your breath.

Burpees are so effective that you can spend as little as five minutes doing burpees and feel like you’re about to drop from exhaustion, but pace yourself to just be comfortably winded so you can complete a longer routine.

This exercise can be added to any workout or can be an entire workout on its own. It requires a tiny amount of space that only uses up a floor length that can accommodate your height, so you can do it anywhere. Burpees are great for conditioning, and since it’s an exercise that engages almost every muscle group, you can gain a toned physique from burpees alone.

5) Uphill Sprints

Sprinting is a great way to build your cardio.

If there is a hill accessible from your location, uphill sprints are an excellent explosive exercise to amp up your heart rate and get your lungs and legs burning. Building strength, conditioning, and endurance at once, uphill running is an exercise where momentum is a precious resource. Thus you won’t dare stop until you finish the climb. It no doubt pushes your body to the limit.

In the gym, you can set the treadmill to incline and it will achieve the same effect.

An alternative to uphill sprints is the stairs. Climbing stairs is equally as challenging, if not more challenging. You can also use the stair machine, if it’s available in your gym.

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