Rainy Day BootCamp

We have banished the phrase “I cannot” from our vocabulary; in its place lies “I will try.” 


Ice-breaker
Race to 100 pushups...each time you break plank, flip and do 5 crunches
GO GET EM!!

Getting Warm
30-25-20-15 and 10 rep rounds of:

Burpees
Box jumps, 24 inch box
Toes to bar


Icing on the cake!
21 down...
Deadlifts and clean and press
HIIT Mashups...a little taste of what Saturday's HIIT class will look like!

People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity, no matter how impressive their other talents.

-Andrew Carnegie

Summer HIIT Training and Quinoa

hey love Peeps, 
Hope that your summer is spectacular. I have been banned from the gym/outdoors/sun/pool/fun again, more complications from  FBC and it has just about caused a breakdown! I learned to deal with it by drawing in to myself and looking hard at my coping mechanisms.  I have always known that exercise has been my primary way to deal with stress, anxiety, whatever life has handed me, I preach it to my classes! Being forced to stay away from my #1 love has not been easy. I rediscovered some old loves! I painted furniture, read some fabulous books, and spent quality time with my children....no rushing off to the gym to teach a class is actually quite refreshing! We have slept until 8 am at least every day...which I needed to heal. 

This week I got the green light to hit the gym again and I taught my first HIIT (High Intense Interval Training) class.  It is a 30 minute workout and I am IN LOVE! You can read more about it in a previous post  where I break down what HIIT is....
http://lovetogetfit.blogspot.com/2010/05/hiit-trainingwhat-is-it.html

HIIT can involve just cardio training, weight training or a comination of the two. I really prefer to use large muscle groups, that way the load is greater. 

 One of the main principles around HIIT Workouts is that it prevents any type of flatness. It’s goal is to push your body to constantly adjust, and reach new levels of fitness.  HIIT is a training idea in which low to moderate intensity intervals are alternated with high intensity intervals. HIIT can be applied to running or to exercises such as squatting. 

HIIT is considered to be much more effective than normal cardio because the intensity is higher and you are able to increase both your aerobic and anaerobic endurance while burning more fat than ever before.

Research has shown that using HIIT the exerciser will burn adipose tissue more effectively than low-intensity exercise - up to 50% more efficiently. It has also been shown to speed up your metabolism which helps you burn more calories throughout the day.

Here is an example of the workout that we did last night. 

set 1

40seconds on/20 seconds off

Squat into a jump and heels back and butt kick

Push up Side plank alternating

burpee no push up

high knees

Set 2

20 seconds on/10 seconds off Tabata Style

SKATERS

long jump fw 2 hops back

jump lunges

shuffle touchdowns

This took 30 minutes to complete and when it was over I was toast! I admit, I am not at my usual fitness level...but, I know that this will certainly help me get back there!

I would love to hear of your favorite HIIT routines! 

Quinoa!

I made the MOST amazing salad today! Can't wait to share. 

Did you know that Quinoa isn't a grain, it's a seed belonging to the Goosefoot family, we cook it and eat it like a grain, so, that's why it's known as a grain! YUM!

 Quinoa Salad

Ingredients

For the salad:
* 1 cup organic quinoa, rinsed and drained
* 2 cups water
* 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
* 1 medium tomato, chopped
*1 cucumber, chopped
* 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, washed, dried and coarsely chopped

*one can of mild rotel tomatoes and chilis


For the dressing:
* 4 Tbsps fresh lime juice, or to taste
* 2 Tbsps red wine vinegar
* 1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
* Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Bring the water to a boil, then stir in the quinoa, lower the heat and reduce to a simmer. 

cook about 15 minutes.

If you're starting to see the little white tails but the quinoa seems too soggy, remove the lid for the last few minutes of cooking. And if the water is all gone but the tails are not visible yet, add a little more water and simmer for a few more minutes, covered. Then remove from heat and set aside to cool.

2. Make the dressing in a separate bowl.  

3. Allow the quinoa to cool down .  Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl, drizzle with the dressing and toss well to make sure everything is equally coated. Top with more cilantro leaves.

beans and veggies marinating in the dressing while quinoa cooks

Final product! DELISH!

Song of the week!

Check out this new tune I used in Spin Class today! LOVING Skrillex right now. :) 

Little Earthquake Workout!

Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't how hard you hit; it's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done. Now, if you know what you're worth, then go out and get what you're worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hit, and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you are because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain't you. You're better than that!.....Rocky Balboa

 What do you say to yourself when you stand in front of the mirror? Do you say positive and encouraging affirmations?  Those little conversations that you have with yourself are so important in establishing a positive self image and outlook. Try to catch yourself when you are alone and think about the way you talk to yourself...the first step is to recognize that there is a problem..try to uncover your triggers for negative self talk. Many repetitions of healthy self talk can begin to influence your core beliefs about your body and dramatically improve body image. Please stop the 'Fat Talk' and replace it with, "I love how my arms got me through those pushups" or "I am so good at running those laps".  If you have people in your life who are critical about your appearance or their own appearance, let them know how you feel about it.

Mastering others is strength;  Mastering yourself is true power - unknown

Here is the Golden Rule...Don’t say anything to yourself that you wouldn’t say to anyone else.

Do you ever start comparing yourself with others?  What do you do to avoid letting that stir up a bunch of negative thoughts? 
Today's Workout!
Sprints...15 sets across the parking lot!
remember the purpose of these is to work AS HARD AS POSSIBLE during the sprint, get your recovery in there as you wait for the next one, this is HIIT Training 101~it is all about speed.
refer to this post on HIIT Training for more information!

http://lovetogetfit.blogspot.com/2010/05/hiit-trainingwhat-is-it.html

then...one dumbell swing (or Kettlebell) and one burpee box jump~
Add one rep every minute. . . continue until you cannot keep up with the reps in the minute time frame. You will go for 15 minutes, starting over at 1 when you miss your minute.
advanced option, alternate one leg up at a time...
Score= highest rep count in the one minute time frame! 

we will finish with core and stretch!  

Reah's turkey meatloaf muffins

I got this awesome recipe from my friend Reah...thank you so much for sharing! These look awesome!

From Reah...."I made these mini meatloafs last night, they are from Jamie Eason's bodybuilding.com page (not my recipe).  They are brother approved, although he said he could have stood some ketchup with them.  Just remember if using ketchup no HFCS (high fructose corn syrup).  They are not really a muffin, just made in a muffin pan.  Instead of a pan I used aluminum muffin tins and spray extra virgin olive oil.  I also used chopped onion, shallots, and garlic that is sold in a container at Trader Joe's.  It was approx the same cost without the prep. Next batch I will be adding green peppers (diced).  This makes a quick and highly portable meal option.  My cook time was actually 30, not 40 mins."

Turkey Meatloaf Muffins
Calories: 80
Fats: 2 grams
Carbs: 4 grams
Protein: 11 grams
Ingredients:

• 2 lbs ground turkey (or chicken)
• 3 egg whites
• 1 cup quick cooking oats
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 2 tsp dry yellow mustard
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp chipotle pepper spice
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp garlic powder (2 cloves minced)
• 1 small onion (finely chopped)
• 2 celery stalks (finely chopped)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Spray muffin pan with canola or olive oil.
3. Mix all your ingredients together in one large bowl.
4. Roll the mixture into balls and place in muffin pan. Muffins should be about the size of a racquetball.
5. Bake for 40 minutes.

Makes 12 muffins.

Serving Size:
Women: 2 muffins
Men: 4 muffins

 

 

HIIT Training Day

“Training is the opposite of hoping.” – Nike

SPRINTS!
To start with today, we are doing 15 sets of sprints...remember the purpose of these is to work AS HARD AS POSSIBLE during the sprint, get your recovery in there as you wait for the next one, this is HIIT Training 101~it is all about speed. - HIIT has been shown to burn adipose tissue more effectively than low-intensity exercise - up to 50% more efficiently. It has also been shown to speed up your metabolism which helps you burn more calories throughout the day. Your goal is to train above your lactate threshold, so you will need to go fast enough to feel that the last few seconds feel almost impossible to keep running. Everything in your body should be burning...When I say “all out” I mean 100% intensity, nothing held back, as fast and as hard as your  legs can move, similar say to a full sprint on a track.

then...one dumbell swing and one burpee box jump~
Add one rep every minute. . . continue until you cannot keep up with the reps in the minute time frame. You will go for 15 minutes, starting over at 1 when you miss your minute.
advanced option, alternate one leg up at a time...
Score= highest rep count in the one minute time frame!

then...30 sec. Intervals....Dumbell Burpees.......mountain climbers...30 sec work, 30 sec off!

 ~~

“Too often we are scared. Scared of what we might not be able to do. Scared of what people might think if we tried. We let our fears stand in the way of our hopes.
We say no when we want to say yes. We sit quietly when we want to scream. And we shout with the others, when we should keep our mouths shut. Why? After all, we do only go around once. There’s really no time to be afraid.
So stop. Try something you’ve never tried. Risk it. Enter a triathlon. Write a letter to the editor. Demand a raise. Call winners at the toughest court. Throw away your television. Bicycle across the United States. Try bobsledding. Try anything. Speak out against the designated hitter. Travel to a country where you don’t speak the language. Patent something. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. JUST DO IT.” ~ Barry Sanders (1992)

 You aren't too busy!!! Let's GO!

Are you reaching your goals?

Maria knocking out her overhead squats!

I think this means HILL SPRINTS!

Have you set one?  How will you know what to work for if you don't have goals? Write them down, refer back to your list. Be mindful of what you are doing in the gym, in your workouts and with your nutrition.


"I ran and ran and ran every day, and I acquired this sense of determination, this sense of spirit that I would never, never give up, no matter what else happened.” -Wilma Rudolph....winner of three Olympic gold medals in track who also born prematurely at 4.5 lbs., with 21 brothers and sisters, and caught infantile paralysis (caused by the polio virus) as a very young child.

Post your thoughts to comments below!

Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit.- Vince lombardi


PART 1

I have been warning you about this one...
Burpee Broad Jumps from one end of parking lot to the other and back...
MEN...to make this more interesting, you should hold a dumbell in each hand, how heavy is your call
 
HIIT
Hill Sprints -- 8 sets----with a partner......
 
cash out Turkish Get up...10 each side.....if you have forgotten how to do it correctly, see video below, good explanation.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztTOn0rSMis
 
 
CORE if time.

Someone requested a recipe for butternut squash soup, here is one I found that looks yummy and is CLEAN!
 Butternut Squash Soup With Coconut Milk And Cilantro (Makes approximately 8 cups)

Ingredients
2 regular sized butternut squashes – baked and removed from skin
2 cups chicken broth
1 14oz. can light coconut milk
2 tsp. dried cilantro
1 tsp. dried, ground ginger
Salt to taste
Fresh cilantro for garnish

Directions
Step 1 – Place your pre-cooked squash, chicken broth, coconut milk, dried cilantro, and ginger in a large soup pot and blend with a hand blender.
Step 2 – Turn on your stove and warm the ingredients in the pot.
Step 3 – Serve and garnish with fresh, chopped cilantro
Eat and Enjoy!

Nutritional Content
1 serving = 1 cup
Calories: 99
Total Fat: 4 gm
Saturated Fats: 3 gm
Trans Fats: 0 gm
Cholesterol: 0 gm
Sodium: 171 mg
Carbohydrates: 17 gm
Dietary fiber: 0 gm
Sugars: 3 gm
Protein: 2 gm
Estimated Glycemic Load: 6 – (Daily target is 100 or less)

HIIT Training...what is it?

HIIT Training...what is it?

how to turn YOUR body into a fat burning MACHINE!

did you know that HIIT is 9x more effective at burning fat than endurance cardio?
There are so many fat loss and fitness articles that talks about the value of interval training for fat loss. In fact the term HIIT (for High Intensity Interval Training) is thrown around so much that many people just assume they know what it is.

What is HIIT? How can we use it to help us get fitter and leaner? What are some different workouts that we can try?

Well, if you are a fitness nerd like me, you want to know the science....so here it is:

A recent study, done in Canada at McMaster University and often referenced as the Gibala Study after lead researcher Martin Gibala, compared 20 minutes of high intensity interval training, consisting of a 30 second sprint followed by a four minute rest, with 90 to 120 seconds in the target heart rate zone. The result was amazing. Subjects got the same improvement in oxygen utilization from both programs. What is more amazing is that the 20 minute program only requires about two minutes and 30 seconds of actual work.

A second study that has become known as the Tabata study again shows the extreme benefits of interval training. Tabata compared moderate intensity endurance training at about 70 percent of VO2 max to high intensity intervals done at 170 percent of VO2 max. Tabata used a unique protocol of 20 seconds work to 10 seconds rest done in seven to eight bouts. This was basically a series of 20 second intervals performed during a four-minute span. Again, the results were nothing short of amazing. The 20/10 protocol improved the VO2 max and the anaerobic capabilities more than the steady state program.

From ...http://ericcressey.com/interval-training-hiit-or-miss

What does this mean for us??

Here's the deal, low intensity training only burns fat calories for the amount of time you are working out. This means that as soon as you stop exercising, fat burning basically stops. BUT! High intensity training will spike your metabolism and keep it spiked for the rest of the day, sometimes up to 24 hours! This means that you will continue to burn calories and fat all day long. This is called the afterburn effect. With HIIT training, fat is not burned much during the workout, rather it is burned for the rest of the day. That is a powerful fat burning system and one that really works. This sustained oxygen consumption is known as excess postexercise oxygen consumption (EPOC), or oxygen debt.

Here are some examples of HIIT

Beginners....

sprint 30 seconds

rest 90 seconds

6 – 8 sets
remember, beginners, your sprint can be a SUPER FAST walk, you don't have to run, as long as you increase your effort....

Intermediate...

sprint 30 seconds

rest 60 seconds

8 – 10 sets

Advanced...

sprint 30 seconds

rest 30 seconds

10 – 12 sets seconds

Most beginner workouts start with 30 seconds workouts, If you are beginner please make sure that you stretch, warm up and warm down properly for every workout.

HIIT is not only great for fat burning but also has other great

 “side effects”

Increased Lactic Acid Threshold - Lactic Acid is that burning feeling you get when you work out very intensely. Increasing this threshold means you will be able to do more work, at higher intensities, which means more fat burning and better results.  

Shorter Workouts - Which would you rather do, spend 30-60 min. working out while listening to your high energy dance mix MP3, or just 4-12 minutes of increased intensity while listening to AC/DC and then you are done? (AC/DC is not a requirement, by the way, but is a great addition to this kind of workout!)

Improved Cardiovascular System - While trying to recover between interval bouts, your aerobic system has to work hard to overcome the oxygen debt caused by the lactic acid. This in turn helps to increase your aerobic capacity as well. Your over all cardiovascular system will be better off. So not only is your anaerobic system worked, but your aerobic system is as well. By the way, this is how most athletes train.


HIIT is basically the alteration from high intensity to low intensity training. It can be done with any facet of exercise, have it be running around the track, on a bike, in a pool, on a treadmill, using an elliptical, etc. There are no set time limits you must stick to, just as long as you alter the intensities.

To create your own HIIT workout, keep the following parameters in mind:

1. The workout should include short, intense bursts of activity
2. These should be followed by periods of active recovery - you will still be exercising, but at a lower intensity to allow your heart rate to return to normal
3. HIIT sessions typically should not last more than 20 - 30 minutes

Tips & Warnings

Don't rush into this workout. Start your training with just 5 maximum speed intervals and work your way up. You'll find that the more you do it, the shorter your rest breaks will be.

Don't go overboard. Doing just 10 maximum speed intervals is enough to keep your metabolism high for at least a day. Any more, and your body isn't going to respond well.

Don't do HIIT on consecutive days...keep it to 2 - 3 times a week

For more advanced exercisers, sprinting can be on of the best HIIT exercises and is best when done around a track. One way to train on the track is to sprint the straightaways and walk the corners. Do this for a mile, running as fast and as hard as you can on the straightaways.

Like any exercise program, it's no good unless you have the proper diet. Stick with your HIIT training and eat well, and you'll see the pounds start to come off in no time.

Always make sure you are healthy enough to start any new exercise plan. HIIT will elevate your heart rate. Check with your doctor to make sure you're healthy enough to start this program.

The HIIT approach to cardio exercise is very physically demanding and isn’t for everyone. If you have any cardiovascular problems or other health concerns that limit your ability to exercise at very intense levels, or if you are relatively new to aerobic exercise or not already in good shape, HIIT is not for you—at least for now. If you have any doubts or concerns about whether it might be safe for you, check in with your medical professional before trying HIIT.

REMEMBER!! Stay hydrated and drink lots of water following your workouts~

Do you ever include intervals in your training? Have you ever tried HIIT, if so, what did you think?