The 30-Day Challenge Series has been off to a strong start in 2016 and we’ve also fallen into a nice rhythm. We opened the year with everybody’s favorite: Push-ups! Then we moved onto to my all-time favorite Core challenge, then we did a little lower body booty blasting and we’re just about to wrap up a Spring bikini, full body challenge. We’re moving all over the body and now it’s time to focus on the most important part: the heart! The Healthy and Happy Heart 30-Day Cardio Interval Challenge is here to push your ticker and make it stronger and your spirit lighter.

What is the Happy & Healthy Heart 30-Day Cardio Interval Challenge?

It’s a chance to strengthen your heart, physically and emotionally. Don’t worry, we’re not going to deep, we’re just going to focus on challenging your body and being happy. I took 5 full body,  intense cardio exercises and put them into a little routine you can tack on to the end of your regular exercise routine at least 4 days a week. You’ll record how long you do each exercise on your tracker, along with at least one happy thought per day.

Healthy and Happy Heart Cardio Interval Exercises

1. Burpees
2. Bicycle Crunches
3. Jump Squats
4. Ski Jumps
5. Mountain Climbers

No regular exercise routine? No problem!

These little guys alone can be a great way to kick off any exercise program. Be sure to do an easy warm up for 5-10 minutes and cool down for about 5 minutes with some easy stretching for best results. All of these exercises are body weight movements, so you have lots of control over the intensity of each move. But as always, be sure to check with your doctor before starting any new exercise routine.

How long do you do each cardio interval?

Well, that depends on your current level of fitness, but I’d say start week one with at least 30 seconds and add at least 15 seconds to each exercise each week throughout the month.  Recovery is essential as well. Aim for at the very least a 1:1 work to recovery ratio (i.e. if you did the interval for 30 seconds, you rest no more than 30 seconds before starting the next interval) but ideally you’ll have a 2:1 work to recovery interval (in this same scenario, only 15 seconds between intervals).

30-Day Cardio Interval Challenge Fine Print:

1. You can do these moves as often as you like, up to 7 days per week! To be an official member of the challenge, you must commit to at least 4 days per week.
2. At the beginning of the month you will record your basic measurements and again at the end of the month to measure your progress.
3. Using your tracker, record how long you’re doing each move. Remember, all days might not be better, that’s ok and normal. Focus on the overall trend and celebrate every day you get stronger! Just try to increase the duration by at least 15 seconds per exercise per week.
4. Because a healthy heart is also a happy heart, make sure you record at least one happy thought per day 🙂
5. As always, be sure to check with your doctor before starting any new exercise routine.

Getting started on the 30 Day Cardio Interval Challenge:

1. Like the Teresa Marie Wellness on FaceBook now and join the private coaching group for daily reminders and accountability.
2. Get access to all the trackers by joining the community here. If you have already signed up, then at the end of every month, you automatically receive a newsletter with all the links to the trackers. If it’s MIA, check your spam, especially if you have Gmail.
3. Mark your personal calendar, because your challenge starts Sunday, May 1st!
4. Don’t forget to sign up and get your fun tracker!

Are you ready to build a stronger and happier heart this month? 

Teresa Marie Howes, BS, CPT, HHP

www.teresamariewellness.com

Teresa Marie is a nutrition expert, fitness enthusiast and health coach. She is backed with a BS in Nutrition, an MBA, a CPT from ACE and 16+ years of experience in the weight loss and wellness space. She is the founder and lead contributor of this site and coaches clients across the globe on how to achieve better health and more happiness by implementing the 4 Universal Diet Truths of her Clean & Colorful Concept.