Exercise Programs From The American Heart Association

January 21, 2009

I don’t have to tell you that exercising is an important part of keeping your heart healthy. So it’s no wonder that the AHA (American Heart Association) has put together not one, but two different exercise programs.

The AHA wants to keep you moving. Heart disease doesn’t happen overnight. Instead we help it along with poor nutrition, high cholesterol, and a sedentary lifestyle. Find out about the AHA exercise programs that promote physical activity at every age for the health of your heart.

Choose to Move®

This is a 12 week fitness program promoted by the American Heart Association. The program is designed to show people how to get started with physical exercise and slowly increase it to a level that will be beneficial to their health. Getting physical everyday reduces the risk of heart disease and other conditions associated with it.

You can sign up for the program at the American Heart Association website where registration is free. As a participant, you’ll receive a handbook, biweekly emails containing fitness and activity tips, information on heart disease, and motivational emails to help you stick with it. The program also promotes a healthy eating regimen to help you lose weight and lower your risk factors for heart disease.

When the program is complete you will be able to sustain the results you have achieved. By the end, you will be performing at least 30 minutes of exercise at least five days a week, making better food choices to promote health, and learning to engage in more intense exercises for variety.

Choose to Move can be started as a family, with a social group, or done alone. It begins at your current level of physical activity and proceeds according to your needs making it great for young people and people of advanced age.

Start!®

This workout program is also recommended by the American Heart Association. It is a walking workout geared towards those who spend a lot of time in the workplace. As our jobs require less and less movement and longer and longer hours, we are less inclined to perform physical activity. The world is becoming more sedentary and overweight each and every day.

According to most health professionals, walking is one of the best forms of exercise. It gets your heart rate up and works the entire body at one time. Walking can be done anywhere and you can easily fit the activity into any schedule. It is easy and has great benefits.

The hardest part for most people is getting started. This walking workout encourages companies to get their employees moving. Healthier employees mean lower insurance costs and medical bills.

All the company has to do is set up the program and offer it to their employees. Employers will receive a guide to help the company program administrator keep everyone on the right track. Walking trails are set up and marked at work so employees can use them on their lunch hour or whenever they have spare time.

The American Heart Association wants to see the incidence of heart disease decrease and physical activity increase. Both of these workouts are geared towards doing just that. Check them out at www.heart.org.

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Work Your Abs in 21 Minutes

January 18, 2009

I know summer still seems a long way off, but it’s time to take a good look at your abs. If you want to show them off this summer in a bikini, or a tight tank top, now is the time to start getting them in shape. Don’t forget to include some cardio as well to burn off that layer of “winter fat” you’ve accumulated over the past few months. With this combined effort, you’ll be ready to show off that tummy in no time.

Our lives are so busy that we barely have time to eat let alone exercise. We do manage to find time to eat but it is often the wrong things or at all the wrong times (midnight snack anyone?). This workout will improve the look of your midsection and the rest of your body as well. The exercises for your abs are combined with cardio intervals to raise your heart rate and burn fat.

The 21 Minute Abs Makeover has six exercises for designed just for the abdominals. The abdominals are divided into three parts: the upper, the lower, and the oblique which are the abdominal muscles on both sides of your body. A good workout for the abs includes exercises that will work every part of your midsection creating a balanced look. If you just work the upper abs, you’ll end up with a four pack of abs, a pooch below the belly button, and love handles – not a good look for anyone.

Each abs exercise is performed for a certain number of repetitions and then you quickly move to the next in the set. After each exercise is performed, it’s time for the cardio portion of the workout. For two minutes you perform a high intensity routine like jumping rope or a kickboxing move such as front or rear kicks. To some that may not seem like much, but two minutes can feel like a lot longer time than it is when you’re moving fast.

After the two minutes is up, the process begins again. You perform the abs exercises again and the two minute cardio burst a second and a third time. The entire workout is supposed to take 21 minutes. At first it will probably take you longer until you get used to the workout and the various moves associated with each part of the routine.

Along with any workout, eating healthy is the other half of the work that will bring the best results. Following a plan that advocates eating fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and whole grains will keep you from being hungry while whittling the fat away from those fabulous looking abs you are working so hard to develop.

The 21 Minute Abs Workout is designed to fit into any schedule no matter how chaotic and full it might be. The abs muscles don’t need to rest like other muscle groups when you do weight bearing exercises. This workout can be done every day when you have about half an hour to spare. It can produce positive results when done consistently and coupled with healthy eating patterns.

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The 15 Minute Workout

January 16, 2009

When I ask people why they don’t work out or why they stop doing a particular workout routine, the main reason they give me is that they just don’t have the time. With hectic work and family lives, it’s a valid concern, especially when you are used to longer workouts. Thankfully you can make a positive impact on your life and your health in as little as 15 minutes.
Read more

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