Hey, it's Caroline here. I've been doing a lot of thinking after all of this cardio talk.
How are you feeling about implementing cardio activities into your life? Does it seem doable,
difficult, or even daunting to you? That's what I'm here to talk to you about today. I'm going to
discuss all of the ways that we can start small by making those healthier lifestyle changes in
our daily routines become habits. We will then get into defining a habit and moving into how
to build healthy habits. From there I'm going to teach you a healthy habit you can do on your own,
checking your heart rate, something you will do with Coach Chloe before and after your workouts.
Remember what I said in our first learn video for this unit? Cardio doesn't mean you go out and run
a marathon. You can start small. Let's start with a simple question. What do you like to do
for fun? For me I love to take my dog on a walk, just like that. By now we know that walking is a
form of cardio. If I commit to taking my dogs on a walk every day for at least 30 minutes,
there's 30 minutes of cardio activity in my day-to-day activities. There are plenty of other
things you can do as well, such as taking the stairs instead of an elevator or escalator anytime
the opportunity arises. What about parking a bit farther away in a parking lot? Let's face it.
We all like those front row parking spaces, but maybe we don't always get one. So next time we are
forced to park a little bit farther away, let's be thankful for the opportunity to walk. What about
this? Striking up a competitive basketball or soccer game at home with your parents or siblings
on the weekends, or even a dance party with friends. See? It is simple to start incorporating
more cardio into your daily activities. There are plenty of opportunities all around you.
Slowly but surely, these small things that you do will become a habit. Now what exactly is a habit?
What is a habit? A habit is defined as something that you do often or regularly. Now I don't know
about you, but for me sometimes the word habit is associated with negative actions,
such as being told don't bite your nails. That's a bad habit.
I think it's important to first point out that the word habit is a neutral word, meaning neither
negative or positive. We often associate good or bad with specific actions or habits, but
truthfully they are, as the definition provided, something that you do often or regularly.
Now I'm here to talk to you about specifically healthy habits. Not those normal habits that you
do on a regular basis, such as brushing your teeth or using the bathroom, because you do those often,
right? I hope so. A healthy habit. Think along the lines of being physically active every single day,
making sure you eat fruits and vegetables every day. What about getting enough sleep? Do you
eat breakfast every day? These are healthy habits that are recommended for everyone.
Many studies have shown that the best way to form a new habit is by tying it to an old habit. You
know those things I mentioned above that I recommended for us to do every single day,
such as brushing our teeth and using the bathroom?
These are consistent patterns in my day that I can use to create and build new habits.
For example, I can perform five jumping jacks every time after I go to the bathroom.
I wouldn't recommend doing those before using the bathroom, in case you have to go really bad.
BJ Fogg, a Stanford University researcher and author of the book Tiny Habits,
suggests to start with smaller habits to make the new habit as easy as possible in the beginning.
Oftentimes when we go searching for those big changes, like exercising for two hours
a day in order to have biceps as big as a barrel, well, we aren't setting ourselves up for success.
We need to start with those smaller steps in order to accomplish our goals. Of course,
I'm here to support you on your goals to have a biceps as big as barrels, if that is your
goal. But instead of starting with two hours of exercise a day, start small. What is realistic
to you and your lifestyle? Everybody will be different and that's okay. Also make it easy.
For me this is something as simple as laying my workout clothes out the night before if I
plan to work out in the morning. Maybe even going ahead and setting up my workout space, jump rope,
dumbbells, whatever equipment I might need is in my garage waiting for me. Most importantly,
make it fun. Honestly, who wants to do something that isn't fun? Something that works for me and
Coach Chloe as well is an accountability buddy. I love having a friend or a sibling join me for
a workout. Everything is more fun with friends, right? Maybe for you that is listening to music.
How about creating a playlist that is specific for workouts and only consists of your favorite tunes?
I don't know about you, but nothing gets me going more than some classic rock and roll
in the mornings. Now maybe you already do things like this on a daily basis,
but you still wonder if you're doing enough to get your heart rate up and blood pumping.
There's a simple way that you can check your own heart rate at home.
Let's talk about how to check your heart rate. You can do this using your index and middle
fingers of one hand and either your neck or your wrist. If you choose your wrist, start by holding
out your non-dominant hand, palm facing up. Using your middle and index fingers together,
press on the inside of your wrist towards the base of your thumb. Right around that bone,
you should feel a pulse. You may have to move your fingers around that area until you feel the pulse.
To check your pulse at your neck, you will use the same two fingers, your middle and index fingers of
your dominant hand. Press those two fingers into the side of your neck, just under your jaw bone.
This is just to the side of your windpipe or to the side of your Adam's apple.
You should feel your pulse here as well.
Once you have found your pulse, you want to count the beats for a set amount of time.
We are looking for the beats per minute, meaning the amount of pulses you feel within 60 seconds.
We are going to do some math to find out our beats per minute.
Set a timer for 15 seconds. Staying still, count the number of beats in those 15 seconds.
Once the 15 seconds is up, multiply that number by four. That's your heart rate.
It is ideal to do this a couple of times at least until you get the hang of it.
Let's try this together. Are you ready? 15 seconds starts now.
This number that you just got is called your resting heart rate, meaning the number of
times your heart beats within a certain time period when you are relaxed or sitting down.
Did you know that measuring your heart rate is an easy way to gauge your health?
According to the National Institute of Health, children 10 years of age and older should have
a resting heart rate of 60 to 100 beats per minute. Next time you work out with Coach Chloe,
you will take your heart rate again with her pre and post-workout. Let's hypothesize here. Knowing
what you know about cardio workouts, what do you think will happen to your heart rate immediately
post-workout? You will find out for sure next time you work out with Coach Chloe. Be sure to
start working on those healthy habits. I'm going to check back in to see how those are going.
That's all for today. At a resting heart rate, I'll see you next time.