Big News…

No, I didn’t find a place to live. No, I’m not pregnant. No, I didn’t clean the bathrooms. Ok, enough speculation. Here’s the news.

As you all know, I have had a little buddy attached at my hip the past 13 months. Albeit a cute little buddy, it was getting old not being able to leave him with anyone besides Joel for fear of a complete melt down.

Fast forward to yesterday: I have always taken Carson with me to my noon personal training appointment, but as he gets older and busier, it’s getting harder and harder. So, I decided to try and leave him with my friend Lindsey and her daughter Carly. I was nervous. Not for him because I knew he would survive, but for Lindsey. Well, low and behold, when I went to pick him up she said he DID NOT CRY AT ALL!! Miracle of miracles!!! That made me one proud mommy.

Then, I got home and there was a message from our pediatrician. We had to get his blood drawn for dairy allergy last week- that’s a whole ‘nother story- and were awaiting the results. She told us that he is NOT allergic to dairy! Bring on the cheese! No, not really because she thinks he still may have a lactose intolerance, but at least we know he can eat it without having a crazy reaction.

You know what is funny? After typing this, I just realized how small these ‘successes’ really are in the big scheme of things. Nonetheless, I am still very proud of my little nut and love making a big deal out of small things.

Fitness Friday

Another week another workout…

Last week we focused on the TABATA- strength workout.

This week is all about the HIIT or High Intensity Interval Training. In HIIT’s, the duration of all-out activity is very short in ratio to the recovery. While it sounds nice, you must bust your butt during that work period or the workout will be a waste and you will not see results. You will also need a heart rate monitor or a machine that reads your heart rate in order to increase accuracy.

The Rules…

• These workouts are designed for beginners who are interested in losing tons of weight and getting super-fit and ripped.
• For beginners, I am going to assume that you are performing 2 strength training workouts per week(  ie: the workouts in last week’s post)
• I will outline 3 HIIT Sprint Workouts. The number of workouts you perform will depend upon your schedule, goals & recovery abilities.
• My recommendation: Do all 3 workouts if you can in the fitness level that fits you best.
• Regarding fitness equipment, I prefer trainees do these workouts while sprinting outdoors or on an exercise bike in the gym or on a Versaclimber or on a rowing machine. A treadmill can be used with lower intensity workouts, but when the sprinting gets intense, the treadmill can get a wee bit dangerous.

Beginner Workouts

Workout #1

• Warm-up – 10 mins at a perceived intensity 50% of your maximum intensity.
• 3 minutes of sprints – 10 sec. sprint with a 50 second rest
• 10 minutes cardio at 60% of max intensity OR (175 – your age) Heartbeats per Minute
• 3 minutes of sprints – 10 sec. sprint with a 50 second rest
• 10 minutes cardio at 60% of max intensity OR (175 – your age) Heartbeats per Minute

Workout #2

• Warm-up – 10 mins at a perceived intensity 50% of your maximum intensity.
• 3 minutes of sprints – 10 sec. sprint with a 50 second rest / 15 sec sprint with 45 sec rest / 20 sec. sprint with 40 sec. rest
• 10 minutes cardio at 60% of max intensity OR (175 – your age) Heartbeats per Minute
• 3 minutes of sprints – 10 sec. sprint with a 50 second rest / 15 sec sprint with 45 sec rest / 20 sec. sprint with 40 sec. rest
• 10 minutes cardio at 60% of max intensity OR (175 – your age) Heartbeats per Minute

Workout #3

• Warm-up – 10 mins at a perceived intensity 50% of your maximum intensity.
• 10 minutes of sprints – 10 x 10 sec. sprint with 50 sec rest
• Cool-down – 10 mins at a perceived intensity 50% of your maximum intensity.

Intermediate Workouts

• These workouts are designed for intermediates who have outgrown the beginner workouts and are still interested in losing tons of weight and getting super-fit and ripped.

Workout #1

• Warm-up – 10 mins at a perceived intensity 50% of your maximum intensity.
• 5 minutes of sprints – 10 sec. sprint with a 50 second rest
• 5 minutes cardio at 60% of max intensity OR (180 – your age) Heartbeats per Minute
• 5 minutes of sprints – 10 sec. sprint with a 50 second rest
• 5 minutes cardio at 60% of max intensity OR (180 – your age) Heartbeats per Minute
• 5 minutes of sprints – 10 sec. sprint with a 50 second rest
• 5 to 30 minutes cardio at 60% of max intensity OR (180 – your age) Heartbeats per Minute

Workout #2

• Warm-up – 10 mins at a perceived intensity 50% of your maximum intensity.
• 5 minutes of sprints – 10 sec/50 sec – 15/45 – 20/40 – 10/50 – 15/45 sec. sprint/rest ratio
• 5 minutes cardio at 60% of max intensity OR (180 – your age) Heartbeats per Minute
• 5 minutes of sprints – 10 sec/50 sec – 15/45 – 20/40 – 10/50 – 15/45 sec. sprint/rest ratio
• 5 minutes cardio at 60% of max intensity OR (180 – your age) Heartbeats per Minute
• 5 minutes of sprints – 10 sec/50 sec – 15/45 – 20/40 – 10/50 – 15/45 sec. sprint/rest ratio
• 5 minutes cardio at 60% of max intensity OR (180 – your age) Heartbeats per Minute
• 5 minutes of sprints – 10 sec/50 sec – 15/45 – 20/40 – 10/50 – 15/45 sec. sprint/rest ratio
• 5 minutes cardio at 60% of max intensity OR (180 – your age) Heartbeats per Minute

Workout #3

• Warm-up – 10 mins at a perceived intensity 50% of your maximum intensity.
• 10 minutes of sprints – 10 x 10 sec. sprint with 50 sec rest
• 5 minutes cardio at 60% of max intensity OR (175 – your age) Heartbeats per Minute
• 10 minutes of sprints – 10 x 10 sec. sprint with 50 sec rest
• 5 to 30 minutes cardio at 60% of max intensity OR (175 – your age) Heartbeats per Minute

Advanced Workouts

• These workouts are designed for advanced trainees who have outgrown the intermediate workouts and who are almost super-fit and ripped.

Workout #1

• Warm-up – 10 mins at a perceived intensity 50% of your maximum intensity.
• 2 minutes of sprints – 10 sec. sprint with 20 second rests (4 sprints total)
• 5 minutes cardio at 60% of max intensity OR (180 – your age) Heartbeats per Minute
• 4 minutes of sprints – 10 sec. sprint with 20 second rests (4 sprints total)
• 5 minutes cardio at 60% of max intensity OR (180 – your age) Heartbeats per Minute
• 2 minutes of sprints – 10 sec. sprint with 20 second rests (4 sprints total)
• 5 to 30 minutes cardio at 60% of max intensity OR (185 – your age) Heartbeats per Minute

Workout #2

• Warm-up – 10 mins at a perceived intensity 50% of your maximum intensity.
• 4 minute Tabata workout – 4 x 20 sec sprint / 40 sec rest
• 10 minutes cardio at 50% of max intensity
• 4 minute Tabata workout – 4 x 20 sec sprint / 40 sec rest
• 5 to 30 minutes cardio at 60% of max intensity OR (175 – your age) Heartbeats per Minute

Workout #3

• Warm-up – 10 mins at a perceived intensity 50% of your maximum intensity.
• 10 minutes of sprints – alternate 10/15/20 sec sprints
• 5 minutes cardio at 60% of max intensity OR (175 – your age) Heartbeats per Minute
• 10 minutes of sprints- alternate 10/15/20 sec sprints
• 5 to 30 minutes cardio at 60% of max intensity OR (175 – your age) Heartbeats per Minute

I want to hear your feedback on this stuff. Do you like it? Do you hate it? Is it helpful. What else do you want to learn about? These posts are all about helping you, so I want to know what you think!

Eat your clay…

Yep, you read that right. Eat your clay. Read here to find out more about the benefits:

http://www.munchiemusings.com/2010/02/dad-knows-best-bentonite.html

If you want to try it, come on over to my place. We would be happy to share!

TABATA workout

{Scroll down to read Fitness Friday before you read this}

At the end of my last post, I promised you a pair of  Tabata style workouts. I lied though. I said you would get it tomorrow, but I did not want any more excuses as to why you did not exercise today. So, here it is. But, before I dive right into the workouts, I should probably review some of the theory/rules behind these workouts.

Pre-Workout Checklist

1. Pick an exercise that uses a lot of muscle – squats, power cleans, pull-ups, etc… To make that selection, you can choose from the list of exercises that I have provided or pick your own if you think my choices stink.
2. Pick a weight that you can handle for at least 7 reps.

Execution- Warm UP FIRST!!

1. Perform as many reps as possible within 20 seconds - maintain good form
2. Rest for 10 seconds
3. Perform 7 more sets
4. Move on to the next exercise

Note:  Use a clock, stopwatch, workout buddy or a dedicated HIIT timer to keep track of your work sets and rest periods. I know of two HIIT timers on the market and one vocal system.

• The Interval Workout Timer Model TMR04-B from Inventico (I will be testing out this timer in the near future)
• The GymBoss Interval Timer
• Workout Muse

The Workouts

Instead of giving you a workout with pre-selected exercises, I have decided to organize the workout by movement patterns (e.g. Vertical Push) or dominant muscle groups (Quadriceps) so you pick what you are most comfortable with.

Within those groups, I have given you a list of related exercises.

For example, within the Vertical Push Movement Group, you can choose from 1 Arm Overhead Press,  Push Presses, 1 Arm Grappler Presses, Side Presses, etc…

Remember, the goal is to go as hard as you can for 8 sets of 20 seconds.

• Don’t use this workout to try out new exercises – You won’t be able to develop maximum intensity if you need to concentrate on technique. Choose exercises that you know you can perform effectively and safely.
• If you can’t make it through all 8 sets because of the lactic burn to a muscle, eliminate that exercise and replace it with one that uses more muscles. e.g. a push press uses more muscles than an overhead barbell press.
• Single limb exercises allow you overcome this problem as well – e.g. 1 Arm Overhead Press v.s. Barbell Overhead Press

Workout # 1

1. Vertical Push Movement
2. Horizontal Pull Movement
3. Quadriceps Dominant Movement
4. Core Stabilization – focus on Spinal Flexion & Extension
5. Vertical Push Movement – optional
6. Horizontal Pull Movement – optional
7. Quadriceps Dominant Movement – optional

• Feel free to re-arrange the order of Exercises 1, 2 and 3. It doesn’t really make a difference.
• Sets 5 to 7 are for advanced athletes only. Remember, intensity is the key to Tabata success. Don’t try and pace yourself in order to add another set. Go full out on each set. Believe me, 4 sets of full intensity Tabatas should be enough to have you soaking wet with sweat and bordering on nausea.

Workout # 2

1. Vertical Pull Movement
2. Horizontal Push Movement
3. Hamstrings/Glute Dominant Movement
4. Core Stabilization – focus on Rotation and Lateral Flexion
5. Vertical Pull Movement – optional
6. Horizontal Push Movement – optional
7. Hamstring/Glute Dominant Movement – optional

• Same rules apply to workout #2 as workout #1.

Vertical Push Movement

• 1 Arm Overhead Press
• 1 Arm or 2 Arm Push Presses
• 1 Arm Grappler Presses
• Side Presses
• Thrusters – 1 Arm or 2

Horizontal Pull Movement

• 1 Arm Standing Cable Row or Band Row
• Body-weight Row – this can be done under a table or chair too
• 1 Arm or 2 Arm Seated Rows – I prefer the standing rows because of their high demand for stabilization, but the seated version is pretty good as well
• Avoid any bent-over movements – Your lower back will fail long before the rest of you

Quadriceps Dominant Movement

• Front Squats – Dumbbells or Barbell
• Body-weight or Weighted Vest Squats – 1 Leg or 2
• Overhead Squats – 1 Arm or 2, 1 Leg or 2
• Bench Step-Ups
• Bulgarian Lunge/Squat

Core Stabilization – focus on Spinal Flexion & Extension

• Standing Cable or Band Crunch
• The Ab Wheel
• Leg raises/Knee-Ups / Crunches (various) - I would skip these exercises if you are new to exercise – you will fatigue quickly and you will probably have to cheat to complete all 8 sets

Vertical Pull Movement

• Chin-Ups/Pull-Ups – Palms facing you, palms facing away, neutral grip, towel grip, offset grip , assisted
• Pulldowns – 1 Arm or 2, different grips, kneeling, seated, standing
• Hanging Snatch or Hanging Clean – 1 Arm or 2, dumbbell, barbell, kettlebell

Horizontal Push Movement

• Push-Ups- drop to your knee if you have to, but complete the 20 seconds.
• 1 Arm Standing Cable Press or Band Presses
• Stay away from any standard bench press type exercise. The lactic acid will hit way too soon. You will never get a good Tabata workout…trust me. The cable/band exercise is the best choice. Even the push-ups allow you to use your legs and core to help perform the lift. You need these extra muscles to take some of the load

Hamstring/Glute Dominant Movement

• 1 Leg Deadlifts
• Glute – Ham Raise
• Hip Extensions – Band or Body-weight
• Pull-throughs – Band or cable

Core Stabilization – focus on Rotation and Lateral Flexion

• Wood-chops - play around with different angles
• Barbell Russian Twist
• Tornado ball or
• Windshield Wipers – Bent Leg or Straight Leg

Whew!! Let me know what you think and if you have any further questions!

Now get off your booty and work it!

Fitness Friday

It’s no secret that I love to exercise. It’s also no secret that I don’t have time to go to the gym and spend countless hours doing cardio AND strength training.

-----Enter the HIIT, HIR{esistance}T and TABATA----

These are super charged workouts that give you cardio and strength(think tone) benefits and burn major fat. What’s even better is that you really don’t need a lot of equipment- remember my recommendations for 2010- so it can be done at home, outside or at the gym.  Sound too good to be true? Well, it’s not.

If you aspire to look something like this, then read on. BTW, I love Kelly Ripa.

This post does get technical, but bare with me ‘cause there is good stuff in it.

Today I am going to highlight the TABATA. Tabada-who? Say it with me T-A-B-A-T-A:

Aside from burning off pounds and pounds of excess body-fat, Tabata Training can help you:

• Improve your cardio-vascular function (aerobic endurance)
• Improve your anaerobic endurance
• Improve your muscular endurance
• Make you strong and fit and look fantastic

How’s that for a fitness training method?

The Science Behind Tabata

The basis for all of the excitement surrounding Tabata Training comes from the good doctor’s 1996 research study published in the journal – Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise

In that study, Dr. Tabata concluded that high-intensity intermittent training (HIIT) was a much more effective and efficient training method than tradional cardio training.

Not only was Tabata Training more effective at improving anaerobic endurance, it was also more effective at improving aerobic or cardio-vascular endurance.

And Why is Tabata Training so Effective?

Dr. Tabata believed that the reason behind the success of his training protocol was:

INTENSITY

The good doctor believed that exercising at a high level of intensity for a short period of time was more effective than  exercising at a low intensity for a long duration.

And he wasn’t alone.

Ever since Dr. Tabata released the scientific genie from the bottle in 1996, other researchers have built upon his work. Here are just a sample of the available research:

• McMaster University study – 2005
• Another McMaster study – 2006
• And another one – 2008
• A 2007 study showing HIIT is effective at fat loss
• An Aussie study from 2004
• HIIT training and Growth Hormone response
• HIIT training increases capacity for glucose and fatty acid oxidation

So, What is Tabata Training Anyway?

Dr. Tabata’s training method is a very specific version of High Intensity Interval (or Intermittent) Training.

In his 1996 study, Dr. Tabata had seven subjects perform:

• An intermittent training exercise 5 days a week for 6 weeks
• Each individual training session consisted of seven to eight sets of a single exercise
• Each set was performed at the high intensity of about 170% of ˙VO_2max.
• Each set was timed to last for 20 seconds
• Each period of rest between sets was timed to last for 10 seconds

• This means that each Tabata Workout lasted for only 4 minutes.

• 4 minutes of Tabata Training x 5 days a week x 6 weeks = 120 minutes or 2 hours of exercise over 6 weeks

• In comparison, Tabata’s cardio-vascular group performed 30 hours of cardio training over the course of the experiment (60 min workouts x 5 days per week x 6 weeks)

And still, the Tabata workouts were more effective than the cardio-vascular workouts.

How Do I Design My Own Tabata Workout?

I am glad you asked.

Tomorrow I will post two Tabata style workouts.

Each workout is to be performed 2x per week for the next 6 weeks.

I guarantee that those of you willing to give this program a serious effort will see some serious improvements in their physique and their overall level of fitness. By serious effort, I mean watch your diet (like a hawk) too! And, by watching your diet, I don’t mean watching the food go in your mouth! I mean make clean eating choices.

Ok. See you tomorrow!

Mister Maid

I don’t know why, but I have not felt like blogging. at. all. lately. Maybe it’s because not much is going on in our house that I feel is worthy of a post. Or maybe we are just living our life and trying to soak in the precious moments.  Or maybe I have been lazy.

At any rate, something exciting did happen last week that I am so happy about. I hired a maid. Seriously, you ask? You live in a freakin’ 1100 sq ft apartment and you need a maid? Yep.

The best part of it all is that my maid is a cute boy. Who knew boys could clean so well?

Just in case you don’t believe me, here’s some evidence of him in action:

.Unloading the dishwasher.

.Doing piles of laundry.

.Sweeping the floor.

.Washing the windows.

The best part about it is that he seems to really enjoy it, doesn’t complain at all, and it's free{well, a trade for some boob time before bedtime}. Let’s hope he still likes doing this stuff at 14- minus the boob part!

Favorite Things

On Friday I had a bunch of girlfriends over for a ‘favorite things’ party. It was so much fun. I forgot to take pictures, but let’s face it, I barely remembered to put my shirt on before the party started {seriously}, so pictures were the last thing on my mind.

I had every girl bring 3 of her favorite thing (the same thing) and her favorite dish to share. After we ate, we did one round of white elephant and then exchanged the other two with assigned numbers. I also had a few more of my favorite products and gave them away as prizes throughout the night.  At the end, I gave the girls recipe cards for the food we ate and am still working on one more of my favorites to give them!

The food was delish and it was even better to get 3 new products/things to try. We already want to plan the next one…

Fitness Friday

Whew, what a week! That is why this post is a day late, but it won’t be a dollar short!

One of my favorite healthy recipe resources is The Healthy Irishman.

In honor of the Super Bowl, here are healthy and delicious appetizers:

 http://thehealthyirishman.com/2010/02/superbowl-healthy-recipe-round-up/.

Are YOU ready for some football????????