Get your blood flowing & that heart pumping in honor of American Heart Month with these 10 Tips to Stay Heart Healthy and a bonus Heart Pumping Workout!
Welcome to another great Wild Workout Wednesday Link Up where Annmarie from The Fit Foodie Mama, Angelena Marie from Angelena Marie: Happy, Healthy & Balanced, Michelle at Fruition Fitness and I bring you workout ideas, motivation, inspiration and recipes to try. Join us each week by reading along, linking up and grab the button to proudly display on your blog/in your posts!
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As I mentioned on Monday (have you seen those Easy 3-Ingredient Chocolate Truffles?), we’ve officially entered the month of love, but it’s also American Heart Month!
What does that mean? It means it’s time to take care of our hearts people! Did you know that heart disease is the leading cause of death in American women? I’m talking women of all ages and health ranges – not just elder women who smoke or women that are overweight. Younger women, even healthy women, aren’t invincible. I’m not trying to scare you. I’m just trying to help educate, so we can make sure we’re taking care of ourselves.
So, how do you do that? Simply follow these 10 Tips to Stay Heart Healthy!
- Know your risks – High blood pressure, high “bad” cholesterol, diabetes, tobacco use, physical inactivity and being overweight are all the leading causes of heart disease in women. Keep these things in check to keep that heart ticking.
- Get screened – Have your blood pressure, weight, cholesterol and blood sugar checked regularly. You can make an appointment at your doc, or you can head to 1 of 47 Burlington Stores across the country between 11am and 3pm on National Wear Red Day (February 5th) for a FREE hearth health screening. Find a screening near you
- Have a heart-to-heart with your doc – He/she will be able to help you improve your heart health on a more personal level.
- Eat smart – Load up on the good stuff like fruits, veggies and lean meats, and avoid things that are high sodium or have added sugars. Basically, stick to real, whole foods.
- Get moving – Aim for 30 minutes of moderate physical activity a day. Walk, swim, dance, check out one of these awesome workouts or do the fun workout I whipped up for you below!
- Watch your weight – The more you weigh, the harder your heart works to pump. Stay within a healthy weight range for your height (find out what that is here) to ensure your heart feels the love.
- Kick the habit – Smoking damages heart and blood vessels and increases your chance of high blood pressure and blood clots. Quitting dramatically cuts the risk to your heart – even within the first year.
- Don’t stress – This is a toughy, but it’s necessary. Find out what causes stress in your life and cut back on it. If something isn’t adding value to your life, why do it? Instead, swap out the stressors for stress-relievers and things that make you happy. Meditate, do yoga, breathe and, most importantly, get in some me-time!
- Spread the word – 43 million women are living with or at risk of heart disease. The more people who know about the risks and help spread the word, the more we can learn about heart disease and help prevent it.
- Share a #HealthyHeartSelfie – Snap and share a pic of how you are being heart healthy and tag it with #HealthyHeartSelfie. For every photo posted with that hashtag, Burlington will donate $1, up to $25,000, to benefit WomenHeart!
Me and Jordan at a Heart Health Panel Discussion Hosted by Burlington and WomenHeart
So how’s about a Heart Pumping Workout to get you started?! To ensure anyone and everyone can get their healthy heart on, this energizing cardio sweat sesh doesn’t require any equipment – sooooo no excuses! Let’s get to it, my loves.
So get that heart pumping, help spread the word and of course, join the Wild Workout Wednesday Link Up (full linkup rules here).
Let’s Chat:
How are you staying heart healthy?
When’s the last time you had a heart screening?
Love the workout and your “selfie”! Heart disease runs in my family so staying active and eating right are top priority for me!
Annmarie recently posted…5 Ultimate Sandbag Exercises To Make Your Booty Stronger
Yes! Definitely stay on top of it, especially if you have a family history. Keep that heart as in shape as that booty!
Cute selfie! Great workout ideas as usual. Pinned! Thanks for the link up today
Deborah @ Confessions of a mother runner recently posted…Why I Ditched The Scale & What I’ve Learned
Thanks, friend! And thanks for joining!
I love your 10 steps! It’s important that even active people take care of their hearts!
Coco recently posted…Five Ways To Go Red For Women
Agreed! Thanks, friend!
Such a good message. Heart disease runs in a my family and my Mom had it– so I know I need to stay on top of this! Great tips. Love the dress in the picture too.
Julie @ Running in a Skirt recently posted…5 Reasons Why You Should Hike in Winter
It’s even more important if it’s in your family history. Stay healthy, my friend!
I love this post I usually get screened annually thanks for these tips and workouts
Ivanna recently posted…6 MUST HAVE FITNESS APPS FOR YOUR SMARTPHONE
Awesome! Way to be on top of it!
Such a timely reminder, heart disease is real and we’ve gotta do what we can to prevent it! This workout is perfect for getting the heart pumping!
Janelle @ Run With No Regrets recently posted…My Results After the 21 Day Runner’s Reset
Thanks, girl!
EAT SALMON and lots of it! ha ha ha! That’s my “trick”.. 😉
GiGi Eats recently posted…A Totally Puréed Smoothie Battle
YES to delicious protein and omegas! NOM NOM SALMON NOM NOM
So funny, women don’t often think about heart disease except when it comes to their spouses…but I have a couple friends who’ve had heart attacks in their 30s and 40s. Pretty scary!
Wendy@Taking the Long Way Home recently posted…Open your Heart: Benefits of Backbends
That is terrifying! I went to a panel discussion on heart health and all the women there were diagnoses in there teens and 20s. It really can hit at any time.
This is such an important topic that I wish more women would talk openly about and support each other with! Since my mom passed away last year due to complications from heart disease, I am now scheduled to take EKGs every year just to make sure nothing changes. Thank you for addressing heart health!
Maureen recently posted…Slow Cooker Beef & Vegetable Soup
I’m so sorry that your mom had to deal with this, but I’m happy to hear that you are on top of your own heart health. I agree that we all need to help each other stay healthy!
All great tips, especially the one about stress. If only it were always so simple and easy to swap the stressor out for something else that we enjoy more!
Kathryn @ Dancing to Running recently posted…Rock ‘n’ Blog 2016!
De-stressing is definitely not an easy thing to do.
So many women my age don’t think about their heart health, but it’s as important in your 20s as it is in your 70s. Tips like these are so easy to implement at any age, I don’t know why more women aren’t doing so!
Laura @ This Runner’s Recipes recently posted…How to Safely Increase Your Weekly Running Mileage
I couldn’t agree more!
I do my best to take care of all of these things. I agree.. women don’t think about heart issues usually till something goes awry.
Elle recently posted…SLS3 Dual-Pocket Running Belt Review
And even when things do go awry, we take too long to take care of it. If something isn’t right, get checked right away!
Great info and what a fitting time with the upcoming holiday! I always love you fun and colorful graphics too. I think we overlook out heart health. It is still important to not only move but to get screened. Sometimes we don’t know our heart isn’t healthy as we think!
Tricia@MissSippipiddlin recently posted…Is Your Heart Into It Or Are You Just Settling For What You Are Doing
Exactly! It’s good to get checked out, whether you feel healthy or not. You never know!
Love this workout! Skaters are on of my fav exercises in body weight workouts.
I got my cholesterol and blood pressure and everything checked last year but should probably make an appointment for this year’s physical soon too.
Chrissy @ Snacking in Sneakers recently posted…Apple and Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash
I admit, this past week was the first time I had everything checked in a very long time, but now I’m going to schedule annual appointments.
Great tips and super workouts. Its important to be healthy inside and out, I get a physical every year as part of my insurance.
AutumnPTW recently posted…Our Next Move
Awesome! I definitely need to be better about annual checkups.
LOVE these workouts! And heart health is SO important- i get my ticker checked once a year.
Jessica recently posted…Henley Rae’s Birth Story
Amazing! Way to be on top of it. It’s a great example for the little ones 🙂
All great tips Nicole. As a healthy living blogger my perspective is that I think everyone knows this stuff but when I talk to people at work that’s not the case.
jill conyers recently posted…Valentine’s Day Gift Guide for Her
Definitely agree with that. Let’s spread the word, even if we think people have already heard it.
Such a great post Nicole! We need to be aware of heart disease (esp. in women) and these tips are spot on.
Thank you so much for sharing!
Natalie recently posted…Boston Training Recap – 11 weeks Till Race Day!
PS: You look so pretty in your selfie 🙂
Natalie recently posted…Boston Training Recap – 11 weeks Till Race Day!
Haha thank you, Nat!
Going to start using that hashtag asap. Thanks for these tips, I need to schedule a screening for sure!
Becki S recently posted…Hot, Hot, Hot: Thai Hot (Recipe RoundUp)
Woohoo! Get on it 🙂
Ooh, I bet that workout gets your heart pounding! Looks like a great workout.
MCM Mama Runs recently posted…Safety Survey: Do you feel safe on the run?
This looks like a great cardio workout! Doc says my heart is in perfect condition 🙂 but got a scare last year when they told me my blood sugar was high and I needed to watch that…thankfully this year everything is back to normal!
Patty @ Reach Your Peak recently posted…My First Week Of WeightWatchers + My Grocery Store Picks
Woohoo for getting back to normal and having a perfect heart! Just more love for you to spread to the world 🙂
I firmly advise people to screened themselves every six months. Keeping an eye on blood pressure and cholesterol is very important because the heart attack sometimes strikes all of a sudden with out a previous warning or symptom.
John Gatesby recently posted…Coronavirus Induces Oxidative Stress Leading to Autonomic Dysfunction – Part 5