Today kicks off my first of 12-weeks following the American Heart Associations BetterU program and already I’m feeling pretty SMART.
The weeks program kicked off with a 5 question quiz and guess who got an A+? Yours truly!
There were a lot of great points in week one of the BetterU program, but I thought we could briefly chat about two: Signs of a heart attack and SMART Goals. Ready to go to BetterUniversity? Let’s get started by talking about….
Signs of a heart attack
It’s important to know these signs to help you spot when a heart attack may be happening:
- Discomfort in the chest or other areas of the upper body
- Shortness of breath
- Other signs of discomfort like breaking a cold sweat, nausea and lightheadedness
If someone has signs of a heart attack, 9-1-1 should be called immediately for help. If someone loses responsiveness or stops breathing, an AED should be used (if available) or CPR performed, in addition to calling 9-1-1.
Want to take an online CPR course or find a CPR class near you, click here.
Moving on to…
SMART GOALS
I’m a big fan of goal setting. In fact, ever since I’ve started using my fitbook, a 12-week training and nutrition journal, I’m getting better about setting, reflecting, and achieving my goals. fitbook helps set 12 week goals, break those goals down into one week chunks, and then break them down further to one day at a time.
The BetterU lesson this week suggests making SMART goals:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Appropriate
- Realistic and has a…
- Timeframe
I’m no CPR dummy so I’m going to follow this SMART way of goal setting and take accountability for building a BetterMe.
Now I really must go study for week 2 of BetterU…I want my GPA to be like my blood type and my attitude: B-positive!

