Happy American Heart Month! Did you wear your red on February 5 to Go Red for Women? Celebrating heart health isn't something that should be done once a year or even once a month. We need to take care of our hearts all year long.
How do we do that? By living a heart-healthy lifestyle!
While heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States for both men and women, it is preventable. Some ways to do this are:
- Eat heart-healthy foods
- Manage Stress
- Quit Smoking
- Get Enough Sleep
- Get Regular Physical Activity/Maintain a Healthy Weight
The physical activity part is what I want to talk about today. The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services recommends that adults get at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity 5 days a week and 25 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity 3 days a week. Aerobic exercise includes running, swimming, brisk walking, or biking. And this type of activity helps you lose weight, improves your mental health, lowers bad cholesterol (LDL), manages high blood pressure, and so much more.
I know that there are tons of exercise programs out there that cost an arm and a leg, and the cost is usually what prevents people from joining and working out at all. But there are actually so many free workouts on YouTube, so all you need is an internet connection and a phone, laptop, tablet, or smart TV. You can work out at home or at work or on vacation. It makes it so easy to get your exercise in no matter where you are.
Here are a few FREE YouTube workouts that I enjoy doing from the comfort of my living room:
Leslie Sansone Walk at Home
This one is my favorite. I've been doing Leslie walks since 2009, and while you can purchase DVDs or an online workout program from her, I find that the YouTube walks are sufficient for my needs. There are 15-, 20-, 30-, and 45-minute workouts, and all combine strength training with the aerobic walking (and kicking, knee lifting, and side stepping). These workouts are great for people of all ages and skill levels.
The Fitness Marshall
If you love to dance and you love contemporary music, then you'll love the easy-to-follow-along-with dance routines on this channel. They're all lead by Caleb Marshall, and he gets his friends involved, too. The channel has additional workout videos, but I'm all about the dance ones.
Yoga with Kassandra
I've really enjoyed doing Canadian Kassandra's series of 10-minute morning yoga flows. She has a ton of them! They are the perfect relaxing start to my Saturday and Sunday mornings. But if you love yoga and need more, she's got a lot of other yoga flows ranging from 20- and 30-minute to more advanced 45-minute videos.
PopSugar Fitness
If you want more of a variety in your workouts, then check out PopSugar Fitness. (Anybody else remember putting off doing work and taking quizzes on the PopSugar website back in 2006? No? Just me?) The 15-minute Dance Party Workout was a fun one, but they've also got Latin Dance workouts, Victoria's Secret Model workouts, Barre, yoga, and more.
If you need someone else to hold you accountable, then set up an online challenge with your friends. Then you can share your favorite workouts with each other, share your progress, and encourage one another to keep going.
Be sure to check out my Pinterest Fitness board for more easy at-home exercise ideas that are, you betcha, FREE.
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