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. :) 

New Year BootCamp!

NEW YEAR, NEW YOU!!

Life is a shipwreck but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats.  ~Voltaire 

Good Morning....I hope that your January is off to a great start.  There is something so great about a fresh start and a new beginning. I have always loved this time of year because the gym is packed and everyone I know wants to talk to me about what I love...fitness and nutrition.  I begin this year with a renewed decision to be the best me that I can. I still have so far to go, many bumps in my road and so much to learn about recovery after breast cancer and post mastectomy recovery. I thought this would be so much easier than it has been. I promise to be real with you and I promise to try my hardest to stay positive.  

let's go!

Meet on the Treadmills at 9:30 am

we are doing some speedwork and intervals

then...150 Push Ups for time
- Each time you stop and rest w/your chest to the ground, run to Caesar's 
- Resting in plank position is OK, but NOT down dog.


2 Rounds of: 
2 Minutes Max Burpees
30 Second Rest
2 Minutes Max Shoulder press
30 Second Rest
2 Minutes Max Box Jump 
30 Second Rest


Grappling Circuit
8 rounds 
Do not set the bar down until the entire set below is complete...rest and then repeat....


Get a nice heavy bar!Bent Row 15 times
Upright Row 15 times
Military Press 15 times
Split Squat (left and right) 15 times
Thruster (squat low, bar on top of Chest, push up into a shoulder press) 15 times
Stiff Legged Dead lift 15 times
Weighted Abs (with 15 – 20 pound dumbbell) 15 times

Abdominal strength – Complete 100 knees to elbows after the workout. Each time you have to drop the bar, roll over and do 20 pushups

"As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others."
- Bill Gates

 

what did you do today to empower someone else?

I miss these muscles!!!! 

Everyone has his burden.

What counts is how you carry it.

No Cheating Today Workout!

“It’s not where you’re from; it’s where you’re going. It’s not what you drive; it’s what drives you. It’s not what’s on you; it’s what’s in you. It’s not what you think; it’s what you know.”  -Gatorade 

Did you order your ROCKSTAR tank yet? 

today's workout!
Warm up
Sprints...15 sets of sprints down the side parking lot to fence, walk back

50-40-30-20-10 rep rounds for time of:
Double Unders (or double the number of singles)
Burpees

then...

Squat Ladder - 45 pound bar, get a medicine ball, squat till your booty touches the ball!
With a continuously running clock, complete one squat in minute one, two squats in minute two, three in minute three... continue in this fashion until you are no longer able to complete the required number of squats within that minute.

Advanced Version - rounds 1-10 - overhead squats; rounds 11-20 - front squats; rounds 21+ - back squats

Squat – you must reach proper depth. The crease of the hip must clearly dip below the top of the knees on each rep. The hips and knees must be fully extended at the top.

CORE....100 wallball situps

"If you cheat you are only cheating yourself." Chan

“To be successful you must accept all challenges that come your way. You can’t just accept the ones you like.” -Mike Gafka

Recipe..Protein Pancakes
One of the best ways to keep your nutrition is to PLAN AHEAD! The only way I can keep from eating junk, keep my protein high and keep it clean is to plan ahead, I cook all my protein in advance, always have green stuff on hand and keep foods in the fridge that I can grab. Protein Pancakes are one GO TO! Make tons in advance, put them in containers in the fridge and grab when ready.  You can warm up as you go out the door if you are hungry, and eat on the go. (JENNIFER THIS IS FOR YOU!) 
if you have any great recipes, I would love to get them! 

Cottage Cheese Protein Pancakes

Serves 1 person

1 cup whole wheat flour,
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder,
1 cup non/lowfat buttermilk,
1 cup nonfat cottage cheese,
1/2 cup fat-free egg substitute or 4 egg whites,
1 scoop of whey


Run flour through a sieve into a large mixing bowl then mix cinnamon and baking powder together by hand together with the flour. Then add the milk, the cottage cheese, and egg whites and mix well well with a hand whisk.


Cooking instructions
Coat a skillet with nonstick cooking spray (nonfat), and preheat over medium heat.
For each pancake, pour 1/4 cup of batter onto griddle. Cook until the top has bubbles and the edges are dry.

Oatmeal Protein Pancakes

Enough for 1 Person

1 cup raw oats,
1 scoop Protein Powder,
3 egg whites,
1/4 cup water,
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon,
2 packets sweetener,
1 1/2 tsp baking powder

Ingredients for making oatmeal protein pancakes:-

Place everything into a blender and blend for 30 secs.Pour onto a hot griddle once pancake batter has been mixed well.

Pumpkin Protein Pancakes

1/2 scoop Vanilla whey protein
1/2 Cup Oats
3 Egg Whites
1/3 Cup Pumpkin
2 tablespoons Ground Flaxseed
Stevia to taste or Splenda
Pumpkin Pie spice to taste
Place everything into a blender and blend for 30 secs.Pour onto a hot griddle once pancake batter has been mixed well.

Dream Big Workout!

Make yourself stronger than your excuses! 

warm Up.... 3 sets!

one minute of Burpees
one minute of squat Box jumps
one minute of squats

Run the club X 2
50 Push-ups
25 Deadlifts
Run the club X1
40 Push-ups
20 Deadlifts
Run the club X 1/2
30 Push-ups
15 Deadlifts
Ru the club X1/4

At the end of class, we will go outside and have some playtime, either hill sprints, or suicides.

If your Dream isn’t bigger than you, there is something wrong with your dream

These are my new favorite running shorts! I wear them every time I workout!

I found this little poster today and it reminded me of my own struggles to adopt true lifestyle change. Any diet can work, and a 'new' workout can make a difference...for the moment. But, I have learned that lasting weight loss and fitness can really only happen if there is a change in mindset about food and nutrition.  That has to come from within and usually comes with a complete lifestyle change.

Who do you know that has lost weight, sometimes even drastic amounts? Was it through a 'program', a pill, a diet? If so, most likely their weight will come back...because there hasn't been a change in the most important place...between the ears. Many of us, and I include myself in this equation, use food as more than just fuel.  It is often used as comfort or a part of mindless eating behavior when eating, consuming more calories than we even realize.  I am not saying that I have all the answers, because I struggle too, I am saying that if what we really want is to end the up and down weight/fitness struggle, we must first look at what we struggle with internally.Get Fit, Stay Fit, Be Happy, Lisl

Easy Day?

“The only easy day was yesterday"

 warm up 
But First, a Review: What's a Tabata?  
If you don't already know what a Tabata interval is, it's a high intensity interval training protocol originally created by Japanese researcher Dr. Izumi Tabata.
Each Tabata interval consists of 20 seconds of high intensity (as hard as you can go) exercise followed by 10 seconds of rest. This is repeated for eight rounds, totaling four minutes time. Tabatas are great for both fat loss and improving one's work capacity (conditioning).

Tabata
 box jump vs bicep curls
box straddle squat jump vs dips

Barbell Complex 10 sets! You will have 10 seconds to transition from one exercise to the other.
eight-exercise Barbell Complex: 30 seconds at each exercise, transition quickly from one to the other

1. Reverse Lunges (Barbell on shoulders; back squat style)
2. Good Mornings (Bar still on shoulders)
3. Shoulder Press (beginner) or Thruster (adv)
4. Upright row

5. Front Squats
6. Bent Over Row
7. Deadlifts
8. Push Ups

Remember.... We're not trying to build peak power, we're trying to build conditioning and lose fat.

FINISH!  one clean and press and one burpee
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!

ABS..
medicine ball roll out
Side Plank...adv use a medicine ball
Medicine ball plank

Dinner tonight!!
Lentil Stew Recipe with Kale and Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:

• one large sweet onion
• five to six large cloves of garlic
• one large carrot
• two stalks of celery
• three medium-sized sweet potatoes
• one small cayenne pepper
• 6 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cups brown or green lentils *
• 2 Tablespoons fresh thyme (or 1 Tablespoon dried thyme)
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 quart Chicken Broth or Veggie Broth if you are doing vegetarian 
• (to avoid the sodium in canned broth, I make my own by boiling whole chicken and spices.)
• 1 cup white wine
• about 2 cups water
• fresh kale (about 7 oz., including stems)
• Mrs. Dash ( I use this instead of salt in all my recipes)
• freshly ground black pepper to taste (about 1 Tablespoon)
• 3 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
• sliced fresh mushrooms
• Protein....shredded chicken, or Turkey sausage (low fat) or left over pork

* you can use whatever mixture of lentils you wish to add up to two cups. Try using de Puy lentils because they hold their form better but adding a small amount of brown lentils (which tend to disintegrate more) for texture.

How To! 

1. Skin the onion and finely chop it. Skin the garlic cloves and mince them. Wash the carrot and celery and slice them (1/4 inch thick pieces). Scrub the potatoes then chop them into bite-sized pieces. Finely mince the pepper.

2. Heat a large soup pot over medium heat (medium low on a gas range), adding the extra virgin olive oil. When hot, add the onions, garlic, carrot, celery, potatoes, and minced pepper. Stir frequently until the onions start to turn translucent. At this point, add the dry lentils and stir them in until they are coated in oil. Add the thyme, turmeric, and bay leaf, mixing well.
3. Add the Chicken Broth and the white wine, stir well. Bring to a simmer. Turn heat to around medium-low (where it will hold a low simmer) and cover. Simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding a little water when necessary (I ended up adding about 2 cups), since the lentils will absorb a lot of liquid. Add the shredded chicken. 
4. Wash the kale, remove the stems, and tear the leaves into bite-sized pieces.
5. After 45 minutes of simmering, add the salt and pepper to taste. Add the red wine vinegar and kale, then mix well. Simmer for an additional 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

I ain’t messin’ ’round witchoo bootybootcamp!

It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.- Ursula K. LeGuin

Hey Bootcampers! are you all ready for another great workout?
Run the club to warm up then...

10.9.8.7.6.5.4.3.2.12.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10 reps OF:

Thrusters
Kettlebell Swings
Burpees
overhead squats

1 clean and press + 1 burpee

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. Score= highest rep count in the one minute time frame!

parking lot suicides, we will do these going uphill :)

Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dream. - Paulo Coelho




Sophie reminds me to keep following my dreams!



Thursday's BootCamp and a Clean Chicken and Kale Recipe

“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”

 

How are your nutritional habits this week? Don't underestimate the importance of clean eating....consistently! Don’t neglect the importance of what you eat by thinking that you can work it right off with two hours at the gym or a super hard cycle class...hard workouts and clean eating are what will make the difference in your fitness, strength, AND how you look! It's a choice you will have to make many times in a day...eat that junk to give in to a craving...or choose something that is clean...whole and guess what GOOD for you!

Here's some great shots from Tuesday night's Sweat Fest! OH BOY there was some whining after! I think the 250 plio pushups were awesome...thanks to all who gave 100%...you inspire me every day to be better.

5 rev flies
10 Push Ups
15 jumping lunges
EMOTM 15 Minutes (Every minute on the minute)

50 Wallball shots

40 Double unders or 100 singles or 20 tuck jumps

30 Kettlebell swings

20 Walking lunges

20 Knees to elbows

overhead plate carry, 25, 35 or 45 pounds....1 set of lampost suicide runs between each set!

Last

Burpee/Push Up Ladder
1-10
Burpee Push Up Ladder
10-1

The Burpee/Push Up Ladder is 1 burpee then 1 push up, 1 burpee then 2 push ups, 1 burpee then 3 push ups... you only do one burpee, it's the number of push ups that change.

 

 My New Favorite Recipe for Chicken

so, you know I am the Queen of how to create a new chicken recipe...I am married to the Chicken Man...I also have a fresh veggie garden which has giant bunches of Kale waiting to be eaten!

Fresh Kale and Lettuce from our family garden

here's my latest

3 boneless chicken breasts or tenders (2 to 3 pounds)

already baked and seasoned with Mrs Dash, chopped into bite sized pieces

2 cups chopped fresh broccoli

2 cups chopped fresh cauliflower

1 small onion chopped

tbs fresh crush garlic

1 tbs fresh oregano

saute the veggies and herbs in a little lemon juice, white wine or low sodioum chicken broth until crisp tender

add chicken and stir it all up

I added a SMALL amount of lite soy sauce and fresh ginger for flavor

then the last 5 minutes, add the kale and saute until the kale is soft, squeeze lemon juice over the top and sprinkle sesame seeds.  

this was SO delish! my little ones loved it, which surprised me.  I thought they would not appreciate all those veggies, but, I think that they are getting used to real food and starting to appreciate what whole foods taste like..victory!

Yes You Can!

“The only one who can tell you ‘you can’t ‘ is you. And you don’t have to listen.”

 Nike

 

Warm Up: Run the club

First:

• burpees
• Clean and press
• Push ups
• Jumping Lunges (aka, Alternating Split Squats)
• Dumbbell Thruster (35/25 lbs.)

You will cycle through the exercises, spending 60 seconds at each – the clock does not stop as you transition from one exercise to the next.  After you have completed the fifth station, you will rest for 60 seconds.  Repeat for a total of three rounds.

THEN!

50 Push Press (w:45/55 m:65/75)
55 weighted Situps
60 Dumbbell Swings (w:30/35 m:45/55)
65 Mountain Climbers (r+l=1rep)
This workout is to be done Tabata style with the work/rest interval at 20/10. When the clock starts complete as many push presses as possible in 20 seconds, then rest 10 seconds. Continue the work/rest cycle until 50 push presses are completed then move on to situps.

Last

Burpee/Push Up Ladder
1-10

Burpee Push Up Ladder
10-1

The Burpee/Push Up Ladder is 1 burpee then 1 push up, 1 burpee then 2 push ups, 1 burpee then 3 push ups... you only do one burpee, it's the number of push ups that change.

One reason so few of us achieve what we truly want is that we never direct our focus; we never concentrate our power. Most people dabble their way through life, never deciding to master anything in particular.
-Tony Robbins 

Where are you directing your focus and your power? As you consider this, think about what you hold to be important to you and where your values and goals lie. I don't just mean in the gym, but in your daily life. Are you doing something everyday to work towards those greater goals? What are you the master of?

Attitude Adjustment

check out Ken doing dumbell rows!

check out this footage from last Tuesday night's bootcamp!

The last of the human freedoms is to choose one’s attitudes.
-Victor Frank

1. Meet on the Treadmills for our cardio today, we will warm up and then do intervals!

then...

2. On the minute every minute perform 5 Burpees then max rep thrusters (95/65).
The goal is to complete 100 total thrusters.

*Intermediate Scaling= 3 Burpees with 100 rep goal for thrusters.
**Beginner Scaling= 3 Burpees and 50 rep goal for thrusters.

3. 

10 weighted step ups  20 Walking Lunges
2 turkish get up
10 weighted step ups
20 Walking Lunges
3 turkish get up
10 weighted step ups
20 Walking Lunges
4 turkish get up
10 weighted step ups
20 Walking Lunges
5 turkish get up
10 weighted step ups
20 Walking Lunges

since it's almost weekend! here's a delish Skinny Margarita

2 oz silver Tequila
2 oz crystal light lemonade
Splash triple sec
1/2 freshly squeezed lime
Shake together over rocks and chill before serving.

You weren't born to fit in. You were born to be brillant." Simon T. Bailey