American Heart Month: Keep Your Heart Rate Up

February is American Heart Month! What’s great for heart health? You got it -- Exercise!

Most people know that physicians recommend everyone get 150 minutes of exercise a week and furthermore that that breaks down to about 30 minutes a day. But did you know that you can break that 30 minutes down even further within your day? After all, it may be hard for you to envision sacrificing a 30 minute slot among everything else, but it can’t be too overwhelming to take a short 10 minute break 3 times a day. Especially if it leads to a longer, happier life! So how are you going to make up those 10 minutes? Let’s give you some tips:

1. Set a timer on your phone for 10 minutes (or even 5 minutes if you want to break it down further) and walk up and down the stairs in your home or workplace. You don’t have to sprint, just stick to a pace that keeps your heart rate up.

2. Make a circuit routine for yourself by picking 3 exercises and repeating each 3 times for 45 seconds each with 15 seconds in between (with a few seconds between sets, that will make roughly 10 minutes). You can even change the moves each time you do a routine. Want an example?

   First Set:

Move #1 Butt Kicks

Move #2 Push Ups

Move #3 Squats

Second Set:

Move #1 Skaters

Move #2 Lunges

Move #3 Tricep Dips

Third Set:

Move #1 Mountain Climbers

Move #2 Bridges

Move #3 Dead Bugs

3. Google a 10 minute workout routine on YouTube -- there’s so many options from HIIT to strength training to Yoga -- so search for anything!

4. Leave the house or work building for a quick 10 minute jog or walk -- fresh air and exercise are bound to make you feel great.

5. Challenge a partner in person or a virtual friend to a workout where you each pick a move to do for 1 minute, go on and on until you each pick 5 moves. Working out with others always makes it more fun (plus it keeps you accountable)!

No amount of physical activity is too little to try. Heart disease is extremely prevalent in America, and we each have to do everything we can to keep ourselves as healthy as possible to avoid it’s ramifications. Adding exercise into your routine may seem cumbersome and at times impossible, but try to keep in mind all the positives that it will bring to your life; not just physical benefits such as improvements in appearance, strength and endurance, but also ease of movement and activity that will stay with you as you age and help you to continue doing the things you love. Happy Heart Month and stay well!

Picture from: https://www.flickr.com/photos/lhopfan/7031814557/in/photolist-bHnTu2-4J7z3b-qDW7X1-4MSFLK-2jgQFLN-8Eu9qi-619rRt-5zWnpJ-7JpgL2-8Bhm5m-DZFuQ-cLr1zN-qPzG3-63fMiP-691k4c-4EVwNy-4jG8R7-kpawBM-9AdVpu-5srRpn-5Vixye-aiifny-8uoSCo-zsS1L-4r7uNS-7o4HFW-ww8dVF-7x7diG-bcyvuV-4r3p62-9NJ9G-7Dexkr-7CSfo5-o6xbVQ-2dC4x7-8iY6Xd-44dHS-7AZpB6-p3A9z6-2jymyP3-2Tqqn-Qj7jQT-PeQwTj-2h88d68-aNJn58-qRXZDy-5YmbaF-oHK3A6-9yNxPM-ADYP5u