A Heart Healthy Program (Beginner)

This is a great introductory program if you want to slowly increase your time spent walking. Each week builds on the previous one. If you find a particular week’s pattern too tiring, repeat it before going on to the next week. If you are walking hills, you should slow your pace and/or intensity to balance out the increased effort. You don’t have to complete the program in 12 weeks.

Source: Exercise and Your Heart, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute/American Heart Association, NIH Publication No. 93-1677.

Week	Warm Up (min)	Brisk Walking (min)	Cool Down (min)	Total Exercise Time	Number of days/wk
1	5	5	5	15	3
2	5	7	5	17	3
3	5	9	5	19	3
4	5	11	5	21	3
5	5	13	5	23	3
6	5	15	5	25	3
7	5	18	5	28	3
8	5	20	5	30	3
9	5	23	5	33	3
10	5	26	5	36	3
11	5	28	5	38	3
12	5	30	5	40	3