Ask and you shall receive.. or, I guess that doesn’t really apply here because no one asked, but I really wanted to start out by saying that lol. Anyway! As I promised, I would get back on track – and that I did – as well as a few other non-exciting tasks; laundry and pick up room (part of the keep my room neat and tidy resolution.)
When I got home from work I had about an hour before I needed to go to the gym so I gathered my laundry, started a load, and then headed to the kitchen to prepare my post-workout dinner.
Piles of laundry: (notice my new adorable sorel snow boots faded in the background)
Prepared my dinner:
I didn’t have time this weekend to do full-blown grocery shopping, but I knew I had some stuff to work with at home. Trader Joe’s Lime Chicken Burger with green beans, mushrooms and grilled red onion. The green beans were the kind where you can steam in the bag, so I steamed them first then sauteed them on the pan with salt, pepper, garlic powder and a little EVOO. I prepared this before I went to the gym so that when I got back I wouldn’t have to waste time cooking! I just heated it up for a minute and voila- food is served! It’s all about efficiency, people 
Workout at the gym looked like this:
30 minute HIIT on the shredmill:
- 30 second sprint at 8.0
- 1.5 minute brisk walk at 3.7
30 minutes stair climber on interval setting
I figured I should start with a good hour of cardio to burn off the extra sugar that’s been stored. Not so bad for a bounce back workout. Unfortunately, after dinner my sweet tooth struck again (I’m blaming my “p” for this one) and had a good handful of raisins – I guess it could be worse!
This morning I got my ass up at 6:50 and walked downstairs to jump on my treadmill for another 30 min HIIT run. This time I did it a little differently:
- 4 minute warm up
- 30 second sprint at 8.0
- 2 minute recovery jog at 5.0
- 2 minute cool down
I completed a little over 2.5 miles and was a sweaty mess! I will say this though, working out in the morning really helps boost your energy levels throughout the day. Also, there’s been research that shows people who workout in the morning on an empty stomach burn slightly more fat than those who workout in the evenings. Now, if you can’t workout in the morning and only workout in the afternoon, this doesn’t mean your workouts are worthless – they most definitely are not. The bottom line is you need to get your bum moving no matter what time of day it is!
As far as HIIT (high intensity interval training) this is a good method to use when you’re stuck in a plateau or you simply don’t have a lot of time. These workouts typically range anywhere from 10-30 minutes and are very intense. The goal is to alternate between maximum heart rate and then back down into recovery and there are many different ways you can do this. For example, when I sprint at 8.0 my heart rate shoots up close to 180 which is my anaerobic zone or maximum heart rate and my recovery time jogging at 5.0 brings me back down to around 130 which is my aerobic zone or cardio zone in less than 2 minutes. You need to figure out your aerobic and anaerobic zones before you do this type of workout. Everyone’s zones are different and our recovery rates are different too. Some people may need 4 minutes of recovery where others may need only 1. If you want to start HIIT, find out your zones or you can guesstimate based on how you feel – you’ll know when you’re out of breath and when you have recovered. “HIIT increases the amount of calories you burn during your exercise session and afterward because it increases the length of time it takes your body to recover from each exercise session.” You can do HIIT on any cardio machine as well as some at-home workouts that incorporate high intensity and recovery periods.
More info on HIIT:
http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/fitness_articles.asp?id=621
Calculate your heart rate levels here:
http://www.calculatenow.biz/sport/heart.php?rhr=58&mhr=180&submit=Calculate+Zones#zones
Another one of my other favorite Shredmill HIIT workouts:
3-2-1 Intervals x 5 sets
- 3 minute jog
- 2 minute run
- 1 minute sprint
Beginners Interval Running workout:
Post workout meal: nom nom
120 calories and 13 grams of protein. I added super-food walnuts for some healthy fat to create a perfectly balanced breakfast!
I also want to note something I came across on another healthy living blog Carrots’n'cake. In her post “Oatmeal” minus the oats, she talked about “SMART” weight loss goals. Smart stands for Specific, Measurable, Accountable, Realistic, and Timeframe. I thought this was a good thing to bring up for any of you who want to “lose weight” as one of your resolutions. Most people don’t stick to that because “lose weight” is very broad and makes it easy to fail. Follow the “SMART” guide, write it down, tell people your specific goals and hold yourself accountable!
SMART Weight-loss:
Specific: State a specific goal not just “lose weight” Example: I want to workout 5x a week
Measurable: This is a way to track your progress and help motivate. Example: Lose 10 lbs
Accountable: Track your food or your workouts online (livestrong, myfitnesspal) or on paper and tell your friends!
Realistic: make sure your goal is realistic. If you don’t have much to lose don’t say I need to lose 20 lbs or if you dont have much time during the week don’t say I’ll workout every day for 3 hours because you will set yourself up to fail.
Time-frame: Give yourself a timeframe – big or small. Example: I want to lose 10 lbs in 6 months or I want to lose 1 lb a week for this month.
My final words of wisdom for today:
JUST DO IT!
