Physical activity is one of the most important things you can do to improve heart health and reduce the risk of certain diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and stroke.

Regular exercise can do so much for your mental and physical health. The immediate benefits of exercise can boost your brain activity and reduce short-term symptoms of anxiety.

In the long term, exercise can reverse the damage and help repair your heart. Regular physical activity can also help you get to and maintain a healthy weight, improve your muscle and bone strength, and help you manage chronic diseases, such as arthritis and diabetes.

The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity per week or a combination of the two. Aerobic activity is anything that increases your heart rate, such as walking, swimming, or cycling.

You don't need to get all 150 minutes of exercise in one day. Feel free to break up your physical activity however you like. For example, maybe 30 minutes a day, five times a week might work for you. Regardless of how many days a week or minutes a day you decide to fit in your exercise, make sure you're getting at least the recommended amounts of physical activity.

Exercising every day is good for the heart, and you can gain even more benefits by getting 300 minutes of physical activity per week.

Examples of moderate-intensity exercise include:

• Ballroom or social dancing
• Brisk walking
• Cycling slower than 10 miles per hour
• Doubles tennis
• Gardening
• Water aerobics

Examples of vigorous-intensity activity include:

• Cycling 10 miles per hour or faster
• Hiking
• Jumping rope
• Running
• Swimming

Moderate-intensity exercise will increase your heart rate and make you breathe harder, but you should still be able to hold a conversation. Vigorous intensity exercise will make you sweat and unable to talk without running out of breath.

The best way to determine exercise intensity is by measuring your heart rate and knowing your target heart rate zones. Your target heart rate zone varies based on how old you are.

According to the AHA, these are the target heart rate zones per age:

• 20 years: 100-170 beats per minute (bpm)
• 30: 95-162 bpm
• 35: 93-157 bpm
• 40: 90-153 bpm
• 45: 88-149 bpm
• 50: 85-145 bpm
• 55: 83-140 bpm
• 60: 80-136 bpm
• 65: 78-132 bpm
• 70: 75-128 bpm

You can measure your heart rate by feeling your pulse and counting how many times your heart beats in 60 seconds. Many fitness trackers or smart watches can track your heart rate for you.

Regardless of your age, if your heart rate is too high, back off and take it easy. If you're new to exercise, start slow and build up. Even 15 minutes of walking can improve heart health.