New HIIT Workout!

As I always preach, the faster the workout, the better...as long as the intensity is kicked into high gear! I stumbled across a new treadmill interval workout that I am loving. It is super difficult and challenging however only takes 30 minutes, including warm-up! It alternates between sprinting and walking both with and without an incline and consists of two rounds. Be sure to begin with a 1-2 minute warm up and end with at least a 2 minute cool down. It is kind of confusing so I made charts to try and make it more clear.

ROUND 1
Activity	Speed	Incline	Duration
Sprint	Ex. 7.0 or 8.0	0%	90 seconds
Walk	3.5 - 4.0	0%	60 seconds
Sprint	Same sprint speed	5%	90 seconds
Walk	3.5 - 4.0	5%	60 seconds
Sprint	+.5 (7.5 or 8.5)	0%	60 seconds
Walk	3.5 - 4.0	0%	60 seconds
Sprint	Same sprint speed	5%	60 seconds
Walk	3.5 - 4.0	5%	60 seconds
Sprint	+.5 (8.0 or 9.0)	0%	30 seconds
Walk	3.5 – 4.0	0%	60 seconds
Sprint	Same sprint speed	5%	30 seconds
Walk	3.5-4.0	5%	60 seconds
Full recovery	3.5	0%	2 minutes

 

 

ROUND 2
Activity	Speed	Incline	Duration
Sprint	End speed of round 1 (ex. 8.0 or 9.0)	0%	90 seconds
Walk	3.5 - 4.0	0%	60 seconds
Sprint	Same sprint speed	3%	90 seconds
Walk	3.5 - 4.0	3%	60 seconds
Sprint	+.5 (8.5 or 9.5)	0%	60 seconds
Walk	3.5 - 4.0	0%	60 seconds
Sprint	Same sprint speed	3%	60 seconds
Walk	3.5 – 4.0	3%	60 seconds
Sprint	+.5 (9.0 or 10.0)	0%	30 seconds
Walk	3.5 – 4.0	0%	60 seconds
Sprint	Same sprint speed	3%	30 seconds
Walk	3.5 – 4.0	3%	60 seconds

 

Basically, you figure out the fastest you can sprint on a treadmill and subtract 2 from that number, and that is your starting speed. If you do not know how fast you can sprint for 30 seconds, start low, you can always increase, I would start anywhere from 6-7. After that, you will begin to add .5 to your speed and eventually end at your goal speed.So for example, I have sprinted at 11.0 so I began at 9.0. I sprinted at 9.0 for 90 seconds, walked a minute then increased the incline to 5% and sprinted at 9.0 for 90 seconds and then walked. For the next set, I sprinted at 9.5 for 60 seconds, walked a minute, turned the incline up to 5% then sprinted at 9.5 for another 60 seconds and walked/recovered. For the last set of round 1, I sprinted at 10.0 for 30 seconds, walked a minute then raised to 5% incline and sprinted another 30 seconds at 20.0 then walked for 3 minutes total (1 as the recovery from the set and 2 for the complete recovery before moving on to round 2). For round 2, I began at a pace of 10.0 and ended at 11.0.

As I mentioned before, this is a pretty difficult routine but it is a great workout! The first time I did it, I was not able to do the full 90 second sprint at the 5% incline and only did 60 seconds at the incline and 30 without it so modify how you need to to get through it, but make sure to really push yourself. The point is to really elevate your heart rate!

Fall already?!

It is hard to believe (and accept) that summer is officially over and we are entering fall already. Did not feel like we had much of a summer, flew by and the weather was not all that great, at least in my opinion! On another note note, I love fall and am not necessarily unhappy to begin this beautiful season, especially when I think about hockey starting, leaves changing and most importantly, delicious comfort foods! I guess I could throw football in there as well, but I'm more of a hockey girl, but there's nothing like a homemade bowl of hot chili and some cornbread during a Sunday Bears game! Chili is a great, hearty and healthy meal if you use lean ground beef, veggies and black beans. And with that, I'm going to share my favorite chili recipe to warm you up as the temperatures cool off!

Chili:

2 lbs lean ground beef

1 medium onion, diced

1 green pepper, diced

2 jalapenos, diced

1 habanero, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 can tomato sauce

6 T ground chili pepper

1 T cumin

2 t oregano

1 t salt (optional)

2 t smoked paprika

1 t cayenne pepper

1 can black beans (or whatever type you prefer)

Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a Dutch oven or large pot and add onions and peppers. Saute for a few minutes until softened. Add ground beef, cook until no longer pink. Add in garlic, cook for another minute or two. Add in tomato sauce. Fill empty can with water about 3/4 of the way and add to pot. Add in seasonings and beans. Bring to light boil then lower temperature and simmer for 1-2 hours. (The longer you can let chili cook, the better it will be...it will get more flavorful and spicier)!

Obviously this chili is pretty spicy, you can omit any of the peppers or cayenne and adjust to your preferences.

And since I can't eat chili without cornbread and pumpkin correlates with all, here is a delicious pumpkin cornbread recipe to take you into to fall:

Pumpkin Cornbread

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1/3 cup sugar

1 egg

1/4 t baking powder

1/4 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup cornmeal

1/2 cup flour

Preheat oven to 350. Place 10-inch cast iron skillet in oven while pre-heating. In a large bowl, mix together the pumpkin puree, sugar and egg. In a separate bowl, mix together the cornmeal, flour and baking powder. Add dry ingredients to wet, alternating with buttermilk. Remove cast iron skillet from oven and add one tablespoon of butter, let melt. Once melted, add batter to pan and cook for 20 minutes.

The importance of carbs and why you NEED them!

Carbohydrates, a word our world has slowly come to fear. Somehow, in the past few years especially, carbohydrates has become a negative word and gotten a bad reputation. People are avoiding them and cutting them out of their diets completely because they are not associated with 'weight gain' or 'indigestion.' The indigestion part coming in the form of everyone believing a Paleo diet is the way to live and is a must. All of these are fallacies and I am going to explain why.

First of all, carbohydrates are not the devil. They are the body and most importantly, the brain's number one source of energy. Without them, our bodies will not function at full capacity. Our brains run on glucose which is primarily from carbs. In fact, our entire Central Nervous System, heart and kidneys require glucose to function. I also want to point out that when I say carbs, I am referring mostly to whole grains, fruits and vegetables. That does not mean that white potatoes or other so-called white-carbs are out completely, just not processed junk and sugar! Whole grains include whole wheat products (breads, pastas, flour), farro, quinoa, oats, barley, brown rice, rye, buckwheat, etc.

In addition to glucose being extremely important for brain function, it is also the primary fuel source for our bodies to perform everyday activities. Carbs/glucose are the first and primary source for energy, when you are low in carbs, your body will then use protein and fat as sources but when they run out, your body will turn to your own muscles for that energy. Here is how it works, your body breaks carbohydrates down into glucose and uses it for energy. Any extra glucose in the body gets converted to glycogen and stored in muscles as fat. After your body uses up all of its glucose and glycogen stores, it turns to protein which is also stored in muscles and will begin breaking down muscle tissue to release protein. Obviously this is not a good situation and is even more important if you are working out or exercising, and your body requires an increased amount of energy stores. A great analogy is to compare carbs to gas. A car needs gas to run, just as your body needs carbs to run. It'd be pretty hard to drive your car with no gas, right!?

Another reason they are important is for their fiber content. Fiber keeps our digestive tracts running smoothly and help keep us regular. whole grains, fruits and vegetables are a great source of fiber. Fiber also helps move waste through our tracts, removing toxins. Fiber also helps our bodies absorb vitamins, minerals and nutrients ingested. Lastly, fiber also keeps you full for a longer period of time, helping to control cravings.

If you are active, aim to get 50% of your calories from carbohydrate sources. Each gram of carbs contains 4 calories. So a good way to figure out what your body needs is to determine your average daily calorie consumption. Divide that number in half then divide that number in half for the amount of grams you need to consume daily. For example, if you consume 2,000 calories a day, 1,000 should come from carbs. 1,000 divided by 4 is 250. That means you should be eating around 250 grams of carbs a day.

Bottom line; eat carbs, they are good for you, you need them and your body will thank you!

Current Breakfast Obsession

If you are anything like me, you are running out the door in the morning with no time to spare! Which is why my husband and I prefer something we can grab and eat on the go, so muffins, bars, etc are our go to. But as we all know (or at least should by now), most of these items are highly processed and/or contain tons of fat, calories and sugar...pretty much most are desserts being passed off as breakfast! I have already posted a few of my recpies fo rhealthier breakfast pastry items: peanut butter jelly bread, homemade protein bars, and banana bread.

Well now I've found a new favorite! I have a sickening obsession with peanut butter and these bars definitely fulfill that craving:

Peanut butter granola bars:

3/4 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup all natural honey or maple syrup

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 3/4 cups quick oats

1 cup Rice Krispies Cereal

1 scoop protein powder (optional)

1/4 cup coconut, nuts, seeds, etc (optional) p> Spray or line an 8X8 inch pan with foil or wax paper. In a large mixing bowl, combine oats, cereal, protein powder and any add-ins you are using, if any. Combine peanut butter, honey and sugar in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until bubbly. Remove from heat and add in vanilla. (Alternate method, you can microwave for 1 minute, stir. Microwave for 45 seconds, stir then microwave for an additional 30 seconds). Pour peanut butter mixture over cereal mixture and stir well to combine. Press into pan and refrigerate for 30-45 minutes, then cut into bars. Store in a Tupperware container or Ziploc baggie and grab one to go in the morning!

Nutritional Information (without any add-ins)

Calories: 266

Fat: 13 grams

Carbohydrates: 31 grams

Fiber: 3 grams

Sugars: 13.8 grams

Protein: 8.7

I like more protein, especially after a morning workout so I add protein powder to my bars to up the protein to 15 grams and also have a latte most mornings to get an additional 8 grams or so at least, so I get nearly 25 grams of protein with my breakfast. Sometimes I will even add some protein powder to my latte, which is actually quite tasty!