Is Your Heart in Good Shape? Try This 3-Minute Test!

Did you know your heart beats around 100,000 times a day? 

That’s over 4,000 times every single hour and more than 35 million times a year.

Seriously… it’s working hard nonstop, 24/7, to keep you alive and kicking!

So in honor of Heart Health Month, let’s show it a little extra love with a quick and simple test to check your cardiovascular fitness.

It’s called the YMCA 3-Minute Step Test, and it’s a fun way to see how well your heart recovers after exercise.

How to do the test: 

1. Find a sturdy step about 12 inches high (or use your bottom stair).
2. Set a timer for 3 minutes. Step up and down at a steady pace: up, up, down, down. Aim for 24 steps per minute. (up, up, down, down = 1 step) (You can use a metronome at 96 beats per minute or a YouTube video to help keep pace!)
3. When the timer goes off, sit down and measure your heart rate for one minute. (Just place two fingers on your wrist, count each beat, and record your number.)

What Your Results Mean (on average):

• Below 85 beats per minute (bpm): Excellent cardiovascular health! 
• 86-95 bpm: Good cardiovascular health.

• 96-115 bpm: Average cardiovascular health.

• Above 116 bpm: Room to improve, but don’t stress — you can work on this!

If your results made you think, “Wow, I could do better,” —  the beautiful thing is that small changes really do add up.

You don’t have to change everything overnight.

A few lifestyle tweaks like daily walks and adding more real, whole foods to your diet will help make a big difference. 

So, here’s our challenge to you: Pick one small action to take today for your heart. Just one. 

And if you’re feeling stuck or need some guidance, let’s figure it out together…

You’ve got this, and we're right here to support you.

Make it an amazing day,
The Method3 Fitness Team