DALLAS -- The Dallas-based American Heart Association hopes a new program will help women learn to exercise.

The "Choose to Move" challenge is a 12-week program designed to teach busy women how to fit 30 minutes of exercise into their busy days.

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Special Coverage: Heart Health

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"If it's not 30 minutes at once, then 10 minutes in the morning, 10 at lunch and 10 in the evening. Take time to take care of yourself is what we want the message to be," AHA representative Katie Bell said.

The AHA picked Melanie McGill, as well as a handful of women from around the country, to take the challenge, which kicks off March 5.

McGill, who drives 170 miles each way to and from her teaching job, said she sits a lot in the car and in the classroom.

"I'm afraid my body is going to get stuck in the shape of a chair," she said.

Slim and trim at 53 years old, McGill may appear to some to be the picture of health, but she said even a little walking makes her short of breath. She said she also has high cholesterol, which is a risk factor for heart disease.

"You can have a heart problem and not be overweight," she said.

McGill also has a family history of heart disease, but she said she hopes the challenge will help reduce her risk.