FITNESS

10-week Fitness Program For Your Heart

This program is sure to reduce your resting heart rate.

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By Tesa Johns

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As many as 250,000 deaths per year in the United States are attributable to a lack of regular physical activity. A sedentary lifestyle is one of the 5 major risk factors (along with high blood pressure, abnormal values for blood lipids, smoking, and obesity) for cardiovascular disease.

With every beat you heart takes, it pumps oxygen-rich blood throughout your body. Count the beats in one minute, and you’ll get a sense of just how many beats or pumps your heart must do to complete the task. Generally, the fewer beats your heart makes during periods when you’re awake and relaxed, the better. In other words, the stronger and more efficient the pump, the lower your resting heart rate (RHR). A low resting heart rate means your body is more efficient and has less chance for negative affects associated with cardiovascular disease.

During a 10-week fitness program, you can expect to see a reduction of about 10 beats per minute in your RHR. Through a consistent fitness program, you can dramatically improve your cardiovascular health. You should exercise at least 150 minutes a week in your aerobic zone to achieve a lower RHR. Slowly build up your exercise time by a little each day when first starting an exercise program.

Take your pulse!

The best time to measure your resting rate is upon waking, preferably before you get out of bed but certainly before you have a cup of coffee, the caffeine in which can elevate your heart rate. Your recovery heart rate is the speed at which your heart returns to resting after exercise.

This calculation can help discover or indicate physical cardiac condition and the risk of certain diseases. Check out this article to learn all the basics for checking your resting heart rate. 10- week fitness program.

Monday:

150 jumping jacks 

50 crunches 

20 tricep dips 

15 squats 

20 lunges (each leg) 

70 Russian twists 

20 standing calf-raises 

5 push-ups 

30 second plank 

10 lunge split jumps 

Tuesday:

60 jumping jacks 

50 vertical leg crunches 

20 sit-ups 

15 tricep dips 

20 squats 

10 side lunges 

15 leg lifts (each leg) 

50 bicycle 

15 wall push-ups 

40 Russian twist

Wednesday:

90 jumping jacks 

20 tricep dips •

10 sit-ups 

30 bird dogs 

30 second plank 

30 squats 

40 crunches 

10 oblique crunches 

20 standing calf raises 

Thursday:

100 jumping jacks 

25 vertical leg crunches 

20 squats 

20 wall pushups 

50 russian twists 

15 second side plank (each side) 

10 lunge split jumps 

5 jump squats 

40 high knees

Friday:

60 jumping jacks 

40 crunches 

10 sit-ups 

10 tricep dips 

20 side lunges (each leg) 

15 incline push-ups 

10 oblique crunches 

30 butt kickers 

5 jump squats 

15 jack knife 

20 sit-ups 

Saturday:

50 jumping jacks 

20 squats 

100 Russian twists 

5 kneeling pushups 

1 min downward dog 

15 jack knife sit-ups 

10 lunges (each leg) 

10 side lunges (each leg) 

20 bird dogs 

20 inner thigh lifts (each leg) 

Sunday:

45 jumping jacks 

15 squats 

5 jump squats 

50 Russian twists 

30 second plank 

10 standing calf raises 

5 kneeling push-ups 

30 second superman 

10 lunges (each leg) 

40 crunches 

Cardio

Week 1: 1 min run, 2 min walk (7x) 

Week 2: 2 min run, 2 min walk (5x) 

Week 3: 3 min run, 2 min walk (4x) 

Week 4: 5 min walk, 2,min walk (3x) 

Week 5: 6 min run, 90 sec walk (3x) 

Week 6: 8 min run, 90 sec walk (2x) 

Week 7: 10 min run, 90 sec walk (2x) 

Week 8: 12 min run, 1 min walk 

Week 9: 15 min run, 1 min walk, 10 min run  

Week 10: 20 min continuous run

Regular exercise often results in a resting heart rate decrease of 5 to 25 beats per minute. While incorporating any type of exercise lowers your resting heart rate, studies demonstrate a greater impact through interval, aerobic and resistance exercises.

Try this 10 week workout and be sure to check your heart rate periodically! I promise you will feel better physically and mentally, as well as achieve systemic health benefits along the way!

Tesa is new to blogging, but hopes to make a big impact with her vast knowledge of athletics and experience. Tesa recently earned her bachelor's degree at the Pennsylvania State University. While majoring in Athletic Training and minoring in psychology, she worked with various division one collegiate sports teams. Tesa is continuing her education by pursuing her Master's of Science in Kinesiology with a concentration in sports pedagogy at The Louisiana State University. Tesa is a board certified Athletic Trainer and a Performance Enhancement Specialist. Outside of the training room, Tesa enjoys going on runs and working out for leisure.

Main Photo Credit: Veles Studio/shutterstock.com; Second Photo Credit: Africa Studio/shutterstock.com; Third Photo Credit: holbox/shutterstock.com