Spring Forward to Action 30-Day Challenge - Day 8: Cardio

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

09 Apr 2006 06:00 AM

Good morning! Welcome to the second week of your 30-Day Challenge. How are you feeling today? I hope you had a great day off yesterday. Today we're going to keep it down to just a cardio workout. Remember, you can exchange time doing one activity for another.

For example, if you're going to be out and about with the kids today and moving briskly. You can exchange that time for your cardio time. The key to the exchange is that you need an elevated heart rate. We're also going to add a new flavor to our workouts this week, new options, new challenges and new ways of doing things.

Do you have a pedometer? If you do have a pedometer, go ahead and put it on first thing this morning and forget about it. Tonight when you're done with your activity, log the number of steps you have taken. The average person takes about 2,000 to 3,000 steps a day. If you increase that number by 500 to 1000 steps, you are improving your fitness.

The 10,000 steps a day program encourages you to increase your daily steps on a weekly to biweekly incremental basis. That's 5 miles a day. So if you are doing just 2,000 a day now and you can up that 2,500 or 3,000 - you're adding activity to your day.

Okay, so select your activity and get hopping. Remember, keep up with your accountability, and keep track of your progress in your journal or comment on it here. I'd love to hear how you are doing.

Be sure you are hydrating before, during and after your workout. Make sure you limber up with a couple of light stretches. Ready? Okay, let's begin. Choose your own activity or perform one of the following:

• 21-Minute Incline Treadmill
• 21-Minute Speed Increase Treadmill
• 20-Minute Brisk Walk in the Outdoors (Take the dog out for a walk)
• 15-Minute Trampoline Bounce (Oh yes, this can definitely get the heart rate up)
• 20-Minute Chance to Dance
• 20 to 30 Minute Mall Haul

How are you feeling? Complete this thought for your observations today: I have succeeded by ....

Have a great rest of your weekend!

Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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