Take Care of Your Heart.

Jumping jacks. Stair climbs. Panting. Light-headed. Puke.

Last week I had the crappiest workout I have ever had. Joanna, my dear friend & neighbor, has been my personal trainer for the past 5 months, and she came over and whooped my booty. What was very unintentional on her part, really proved to be a beating on my end.

You see, I've never been 'in to cardio.' I just don't like it. Whenever I tried Jillian Michaels workout videos, I would get light headed and need to stop half way so I wouldn't pass out. Stay at home mamas can't pass out with kids home!

I just thought that I wasn't good at it. That my body just didn't like it. But little did I know, it was because my HEART was so out of shape... physically.

Joanna left feeling bad... as soon as she walked out the door I ran to the bathroom, hunched over the toilet, trying to catch my breath (I tried to hide it so she wouldn't see but it was obviously screaming all over my face) I hadn't felt that crappy in a long time. I even had Arly call Joel at work to ask him to come home.

I've always like strength training... always. I like to go on walks.... casually. I like to be able to still chat with friends. I work out when I feel like it. It's never been a 'habit' of mine. I just 'try' to squeeze it in when I can. But after reading the following, it's time for me to get in gear!

Joanna wrote on her blog: 8020 Training & Fitness.....

  I am a huge fan of weight training, and I believe everyone should incorporate strength training in their workout routine because we need muscle.  Muscle makes our metabolisms faster, so we burn calories at rest.  That’s what we all want.  There are many  more benefits to weight training but today I want to talk about cardiovascular health.  When you perform cardio at a moderate intensity it’s a way to exercise your heart.  According to the International Science Sports Association, the average conditioned heart beats 60 beats per minute, while the deconditioned heart is about 80 beats per minute. 

Ok…so why is that important? 

Well, check this out:
Say two people stayed “at rest” for 24 hours.  One is conditioned, one is deconditioned.
a) Conditioned heart: “at 60 beats/minute x 60 minutes =3600 beats per hour.  4800 x 24 hours= 86, 400 beats per day “
b) deconditioned heart:  “80 beats per minute x 60 minutes= 4800 beats per hour; 4800x 24 hours = 115,200 per day.

By not conditioning your heart you could be making your heart beat up to 30,000 times more every single day!  So, my advise would be, get some shoes on and call me!  Don’t wait another 30 minutes, 30 days or 30 years to get active.  Your heart needs it!

JAW ON FLOOR... SHOCKED! It's time to get things going people. Heart attacks run in my family and I do not want to be a victim to them because I've been 'too busy' = lazy.

Tomorrow morning, I will be signing up to run the Diva Day Race... Missoula's all women 5K. Please note: I AM NOT A RUNNER. I never have been. But it's time for me to get a little comfortable being uncomfortable for the sake of my health. 

Since we've been eating well and I've sustained the 15 lb weight loss - I'm ready for more. More energy, more routine, more intentional being a great example for our girls. 

If you are in the Missoula area, won't you join me?!?! We can dress up and be crazy for the day! We need a family of 4... or 8... or 12! 

I'm ready for this new challenge... now to go find my running shoes.

XO.

Jari