April is the American Heart Association’s ‘MOVE MORE’ month and I’m so excited to be teaming up with Gordmans to #getpumpedforhearthealth each day. *Disclosure: this post is sponsored by Gordmans but as always, all opinions are my own.* For every photo posted using the hashtag #getpumpedforhearthealth Gordmans is donating $1 to the AHA. You can also donate directly to the cause inside all of their retail stores. Heart disease is the #1 cause of death in America, a statistic I don’t want myself or anyone I love to be a part of. Today I’m sharing how I strive to keep my heart healthy on a daily basis.
Working Out
It’s not secret that fitness and staying in shape are a huge passion of mine. I’ve been a runner for 5+ years now but over the past 18ish months I’ve really fallen in love with lifting. Specifically lifting heavy. The old bs line we’ve been told that ‘heavy lifting makes girls bulky’ is a lie. Plain and simple. Muscles are sexy in my opinion. Plus it’s my body sooo I can decide how I want it to look. But in regards to staying heart healthy, getting proper amounts of exercise is a no brainer. It helps maintain a healthy weight, can improve cholesterol and even lower your blood pressure; all of which are crucial to keeping your heart in check. My routine is simple: 4:38am alarms Monday-Friday, Saturdays I ‘sleep in’ until about 7:20am. Mondays, Thursdays & Fridays are lifting days with Tuesdays focused on speed, Wednesday easy miles and Saturdays long runs. I switch my lifting program up every 5 weeks and am constantly trying to shock my muscles. That’s just me though…find what works for YOU! Exercise is personal.
Water
I drink water like it’s going out of a style. It’s funny because I have friends around me saying they either hate water or struggle to drink enough. Left and right I see people adding flavor packets, getting sparkling versions, etc. and I’m over here like ice cold plain water please. It’s commonly heard that you should drink 1/2 your body weight, in ounces, each day. That may seem like a lot but water helps on so many levels: clearer skin, healthier insides and healthier heart. I try and get around 100oz. in because of the workouts I do and yes, I have to pee a lot but it’s worth it. So drink up, babes!
Sleep
While it might seem overly simple, sleep is SO important to maintain a healthy heart. According to the Sleep Foundation ‘people who don’t sleep enough are at higher risk for cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease — regardless of age, weight, smoking and exercise habits.’ Basically sleep should be ranked #1 on my list then. Regularly not getting enough sleep can serious derail your healthy eating habits and great exercise routine. How insane is that!? I strive for 8 hours but I’m honestly closer to the 6.5 hour mark…so I need to do better. Guess I need to make my 9:45pm bedtime even earlier! 🙂 Not complaining about that one bit, though!
Recent Comments