Toned legs. Six-pack abs. Bulky biceps. These are the kind of results we’d like to see after hitting the gym.

And while there’s nothing wrong with wanting to improve one’s outer appearance, what’s going on inside the body is just as important.

A healthy heart, for one, is essential to healthy living, and exercise is a perfect means to this end.

Physical activity reduces your risk for heart disease — the leading cause of death for both men and women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But only 1 in 5 adults meets the physical activity guidelines of getting 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity activity, the CDC states. 

Maybe 150 minutes of exercise a week sounds unachievable. Think of it this way — that’s two hours and 30 minutes, about the length of a movie (or a couple episodes of your favorite TV show).

“Maybe you just start off with short 10-minute bouts, but hopefully over time you’d be able to increase the amount of time you’re spending on that activity to 30, maybe even 60 minutes (three to five days a week),” said Emily Freeman, exercise physiologist at OhioHealth Ontario Health and Fitness Center.

Examples of heart-healthy exercises include walking, jogging, rowing, cycling, swimming — “anything that keeps your heart rate up for a sustained period of time,” Freeman said.

Try to get 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity (brisk walking, easy jogging, water aerobics), or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity (jumping rope, running, swimming laps), ideally spread throughout the week.

Before getting started, Freeman recommends checking with your doctor to ensure that it’s safe for you to begin an exercise program, especially if you and/or a relative has a medical history of heart disease, diabetes or pulmonary issues.

“It’s good to get clearance from your doctor first to make sure that what you’re doing is safe and effective, and then once you get started you might want to enlist some help by hiring a personal trainer or going to a medical-based facility. That way you can be sure that the exercises you’re doing are helpful and not going to cause further issues,” Freeman said.

“It’s typically fairly safe for most people to get involved in an exercise program, but you want to start off at a moderate pace. You wouldn’t want to go real hard off the bat.”

Don’t worry about trying to cram a full workout in at once — that’s where those 10-minute bouts Freeman previously mentioned can come into play.

“If you were trying to accumulate 30 minutes a day, if you did 10 minutes in the morning, 10 minutes in the afternoon and 10 minutes at night, you get the same benefit doing that as you would doing 30 minutes in a row,” said AJ Beddow, exercise physiologist at OhioHealth Ontario Health and Fitness Center.

Cardiovascular exercise aids in weight loss, lowering blood pressure, increasing good cholesterol, boosting stamina and endurance, Freeman said.

So what are you waiting for? Go get your blood pumping.