Heart Works

Heart Works HeartWorks provides personalized cardiac rehabilitation & fitness in Wellington, NZ. We’re here to support your health journey.

Our expert team offers supervised exercise tailored to your cardiac needs, helping you recover with confidence.

Building habits that actually last.In cardiac rehabilitation, starting to exercise again can be a big step. But the long...
06/09/2026

Building habits that actually last.

In cardiac rehabilitation, starting to exercise again can be a big step. But the longer-term challenge is making those changes part of everyday life.

Lasting habits aren't necessarily built through motivation or ambitious goals. They're more likely to stick when they are realistic, purposeful and fit around the person doing them.

That might mean finding an exercise routine that works with your energy, schedule and confidence. It might mean starting with smaller, achievable goals and gradually building from there. And it means recognising progress along the way.

The goal of cardiac rehabilitation isn't simply to complete a programme. It's to develop the knowledge, confidence and physical capacity to keep being active afterwards.

At Heartworks, we see rehabilitation as the beginning of a longer-term relationship with exercise — helping people find ways to stay active that are realistic for their life.

Because the best exercise habit isn't necessarily the most ambitious one.

It's the one you can keep doing.

Why does hydration matter during cardiac rehabilitation?Adequate hydration supports blood volume and circulation, which ...
03/09/2026

Why does hydration matter during cardiac rehabilitation?

Adequate hydration supports blood volume and circulation, which can influence blood pressure, cardiovascular response to exercise and how someone feels during a session.
This can be particularly relevant in cardiac rehabilitation, where some people may already experience lower blood pressure, fatigue or light-headedness.

We often see clients arrive for exercise having had very little to drink throughout the day. Being adequately hydrated can be a simple but important part of preparing for exercise and supporting how the body responds to it.

Fluid needs vary between individuals and depend on factors such as exercise, temperature, sweat losses and individual circumstances. There isn't one hydration target that applies to everyone.

Hydration is a small part of cardiac rehabilitation, but an important one.

Confidence after a cardiac event is built through experience.One of the less visible parts of cardiac rehabilitation is ...
02/09/2026

Confidence after a cardiac event is built through experience.

One of the less visible parts of cardiac rehabilitation is helping someone become comfortable with exercise again.

After a cardiac event, people can understandably become more aware of their heart and more cautious about what they ask their body to do. A change in heart rate, a new sensation during exercise, or simply feeling more breathless than expected can create uncertainty.

Education helps put those experiences into context. Monitoring provides information about how the body is responding. And supervised exercise gives someone the opportunity to experience those responses repeatedly, with appropriate guidance and progression.

Over time, the questions can start to change.

From “Is this safe?” to “I understand what I’m feeling.”

From “Should I stop?” to “I know what is appropriate for me.”

And eventually, from “Can I do this?” to “I can do this.”

That shift is an important part of cardiac rehabilitation.

The physical improvements matter, but so does developing the confidence to use that capacity again in everyday life.

Recovery isn't just about rebuilding physical capacity. It's about learning to trust your capacity again.

Heart attack or cardiac arrest? The terms are often confused, but they describe two different medical emergencies.A hear...
31/08/2026

Heart attack or cardiac arrest? The terms are often confused, but they describe two different medical emergencies.

A heart attack is primarily a circulation problem — blood flow to part of the heart muscle becomes blocked or reduced.

Cardiac arrest is primarily an electrical problem — the heart suddenly stops pumping blood effectively, causing loss of consciousness and abnormal or absent breathing.

The two can be connected: a heart attack can sometimes trigger a dangerous heart rhythm that leads to cardiac arrest. But they are not the same condition.

Understanding the difference matters because the immediate response to cardiac arrest is time-critical.

For our Heartworks community, understanding cardiovascular terminology isn't just about knowing the right words. It's about building the knowledge and confidence to recognise what is happening and respond appropriately.

Two different heart events. Two different mechanisms. Both require urgent action.

“Post heart attack — I was in denial.”Sometimes recovery after a cardiac event doesn't begin with confidence. It begins ...
27/08/2026

“Post heart attack — I was in denial.”

Sometimes recovery after a cardiac event doesn't begin with confidence. It begins with acknowledging that things have changed.

This client described being in denial about both their physical and mental state after their heart attack. Their experience at Heartworks was not about a dramatic overnight transformation. It was about gradually rebuilding, with support, encouragement and — as they put it — some persuasion along the way.

We love the description of their experience because that's what rehabilitation can look like. Progress isn't always dramatic or obvious. Sometimes it's simply taking the next step, building confidence and becoming more comfortable in your body again.

And we'll happily accept the final line: “I owe you one :-)”

Thank you for trusting us to be part of your recovery. ❤️

25/08/2026

Cardiac rehabilitation should be more than simply getting back to exercise. ❤️

At Heartworks, we provide clinically-led cardiac rehabilitation designed around the individual — combining clinical exercise physiology, evidence-based exercise, monitoring and progression in a supportive environment.

Whether you're returning to exercise after a cardiac event, rebuilding your fitness, or looking for ongoing support, our goal is to help you recover with confidence.

Based in Wellington, Heartworks works with people at different stages of their cardiac recovery, providing individualised exercise programmes within small, supervised groups.

Curious about what cardiac rehabilitation could look like for you?
Arrange a meet and greet at the clinic.

📍 Wellington
🌐 heartworks.nz
📞 027 272 7835

How hard should someone exercise after a cardiac event?One of the most common questions we hear at HeartWorks is: “Am I ...
24/08/2026

How hard should someone exercise after a cardiac event?

One of the most common questions we hear at HeartWorks is: “Am I pushing hard enough?” Or, conversely, “Am I doing too much?”

The answer isn't simply a target heart rate or a percentage of maximal capacity. Exercise intensity needs to be considered in the context of the individual — their cardiac condition, medications, current fitness, response to previous sessions, recovery, and the physiological capacity they have available on that particular day.

The aim isn't to make every session as hard as possible. It is to provide an appropriate training stimulus that encourages adaptation without compromising recovery.

This is why we look beyond whether someone can complete an exercise. Perceived effort, heart rate response, breathing, symptoms and recovery all provide information that can help guide exercise intensity and progression.

Importantly, clinically-led exercise does not mean avoiding challenge. It means applying the right level of challenge for the individual, then adjusting that challenge as their capacity changes.

A session that leaves someone completely exhausted isn't necessarily a better session. Equally, consistently underloading someone may not provide enough stimulus to promote further adaptation.

The skill is finding the balance between stimulus, response and recovery.

For cardiac rehabilitation, that balance is individual — and it can change over time.

Recovery after a cardiac event isn't just physical. ❤️When we think about cardiovascular recovery, we often focus on the...
20/08/2026

Recovery after a cardiac event isn't just physical. ❤️

When we think about cardiovascular recovery, we often focus on the things we can measure: blood pressure, cholesterol, fitness, physical activity and other risk factors.

But there is another part of recovery that can be much harder to measure — connection.

Research has explored the relationship between loneliness, social isolation and cardiovascular disease, with evidence suggesting that both are associated with increased cardiovascular risk and poorer outcomes for people living with cardiovascular conditions. Importantly, loneliness and social isolation are not the same thing. Someone can have plenty of social contact and still feel lonely, while someone who lives alone may not necessarily feel lonely.

What seems to matter is the quality and meaning of our social connections.

Loneliness can also interact with other aspects of health, including stress, sleep, physical activity and health behaviours. For someone recovering from a cardiac event, these factors can all become part of the bigger picture.

This is why cardiac rehabilitation is about more than improving fitness.

Having somewhere to exercise, connect with others, build confidence and feel supported can be an important part of the recovery journey. Sometimes, simply being around people who understand what you're going through can make returning to activity feel a little less daunting.

Recovery isn't just about getting fitter. It's also about rebuilding confidence, connection and a sense of belonging.

Reference: Valtorta NK, Kanaan M, Gilbody S, Ronzi S, Hanratty B. Loneliness and social isolation as risk factors for coronary heart disease and stroke: systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal observational studies. Heart. 2016;102:1009–1016.

Our next Heartworks Education Evening is coming up soon. These evenings are welcoming, practical, and packed with eviden...
20/08/2026

Our next Heartworks Education Evening is coming up soon. These evenings are welcoming, practical, and packed with evidence-based information that can help you better understand your health, recovery, and wellbeing.

The theme for the third education evening of 2026 is The Nervous System, Fatigue & Emotional Recovery.

For now, save the date— Thursday 10th September at 5:30pm— we’ll be sharing our speakers and full topics very soon.

Save the Date: Heartworks Education Evening - https://mailchi.mp/heartworks/save-the-date-heartworks-education-evening

Why isn’t cardiac rehabilitation just exercise at a gym? ❤️Exercise is an important part of recovery after a cardiac eve...
18/08/2026

Why isn’t cardiac rehabilitation just exercise at a gym? ❤️

Exercise is an important part of recovery after a cardiac event or diagnosis, but the right exercise programme needs to account for more than general fitness goals.

A gym-based programme might focus on improving strength, endurance, mobility or body composition. For many people, this is an appropriate and effective approach. Cardiac rehabilitation has a different starting point.

Exercise prescription needs to consider the individual’s cardiac history, medications, symptoms, cardiovascular response to exercise, current physical capacity and other relevant clinical considerations. From there, the programme can be individualised and progressed as their capacity changes.

Clinical supervision also means we can assess not simply whether someone can complete an exercise, but how they respond to it. Heart rate, blood pressure, symptoms, perceived exertion, recovery and movement quality can all provide information that helps guide exercise prescription and progression.

Importantly, clinically-led rehabilitation does not mean avoiding challenging exercise or being overly cautious. It means finding the right level of challenge within an individual’s clinical and physical capacity, and progressing that challenge as they become fitter, stronger and more confident.

The difference isn't simply where someone exercises. It is the assessment, individualisation, monitoring, clinical decision-making and progression that sit behind the exercise programme.

That is what makes cardiac rehabilitation different from generic exercise.

Address

202 Thorndon Quay
Wellington
6011

Opening Hours

Monday 9:30am - 5pm
Tuesday 9:30am - 7pm
Wednesday 9:30am - 7pm
Thursday 9:30am - 7pm

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