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Keep Your Metabolism Burn’in HOT Through The Holidays and Beyond…….
So you have been going to your “CHIZZLED” classes twice a week, picking up a spin class or two and on the days you do not attend any of the group fitness/spin classes you hop on one of the great cardio machines that are in the gym. Good for you!! You have done your part in moving your body to become an efficient fat burning machine.
Or have you? Have you gotten the most out of the cardio machines?
Take your Fat Burning cardio workout to a new level with H.I.I.T.
Let’s face it. Can you think of anything more torturous than spending an hour pedaling away on a stationary bike or plodding along on the treadmill? Well, you're not alone. Most exercise enthusiasts dread conventional cardio - Why?
Because it can be just plain…… B-O-R-I-N-G!! Unlike a group fitness class where the instructor is there to set up a killer workout that motivates and inspires you through the hour long session, the cardio machine, as efficient as it is, is not very motivating.
So why do it at all? The goal of a cardio workout is to lose the unwanted inches of body fat and to develop the efficiency of your heart and lungs. But new studies are out that show the “slow-go” cardio sessions may not be as effective for burning off the body fat bulge and keeping it off as we thought.
When you plod along on the treadmill at an even pace for the duration of your workout, your body enters what is called a "steady state" of cardio training. This means that your body has adjusted to the pace and is now trying to conserve energy.
Conserve energy? But I thought the point was to burn energy aka: burn body fat?
Let’s use an automobile for an analogy here…… If I get into my car and drive with the cruise control set at 60 m.p.h. and leave from Santa Rosa and drive to San Francisco, baring NO traffic, (I know, no traffic, that’s a big stretch) the car will cruise along at 60 m.p.h. and will be very efficient at conserving or saving fuel and thereby saving energy. If however I go on the same trip without turning on my cruise control and I mix up the speeds, sometimes going 55 m.p.h. and sometimes driving 70 m.p.h. and along the way hit a little stop and go traffic, the engine will have to work a little harder and will require more fuel to thereby burning more fuel.
The human engine or body works a lot in the same way as the automobile when it comes to burning fuel or in this case body fat.
And so your dilemma goes: You can't stand the boredom of traditional cardio and it leaves you with less than satisfactory results. So what should you do?
The answer is H.I.I.T, a training technique that blasts both boredom and fat.
Check out what experts are saying:
"In research, H.I.I.T has been shown to burn adipose (fat) tissue more effectively than low-intensity (cruise control) exercise - up to 50% more efficiently"
"H.I.I.T speeds up your metabolism and keeps it revved up for some time after your workout. The bottom line is that H.I.I.T training burns a greater number of total calories than low-intensity training, and more calories burned equals less fat on your body."
What is H.I.I.T?
High Intensity Interval Training: Is an exercise strategy that improves performance with short interval training sessions. These sessions involve a warm up period, several short, maximum-intensity efforts that are separated by moderate recovery intervals, and a cool down deep breathing period.
In other words, your 60 minutes of low-intensity cruise control cardio is replaced with more effective, High Intensity Interval Training for as little as 30 minutes. The addition of explosions of speed into your comfortable pace will increase your power, muscle tone, speed, strength, endurance and best of all will melt the inches and body fat off.
Here is an example of a H.I.I.T program - this can be done on any form of cardio equipment or even jogging outside riding a road bike, or swimming laps:
Start with an easy 4 minute warm up, casually increasing your pace to the one that you usually maintain for your workout.
* Once you are sufficiently warmed up, sky rocket your intensity for 30 seconds.
* Return to your normal pace for the next 30 seconds and then sky rocket again.
* Repeat this 30-30 interval for 30 minutes and then gradually decrease your intensity as you enter a cooling off pace. Cool off period should be between 2 and 4 minutes with short periods of deep breathing during the cool down.
* Have a bottle of water within reach to hydrate your body often during this workout
After your H.I.I.T session you can expect to burn more calories due to an increase in your metabolism – Looks like a pretty intense workout, right?
You might be asking yourself…….”What if I’m not ready to jump into a full-fledged H.I.I.T session?”
Great question. Well, I would suggest that you try one of the following modified H.I.I.T workouts:
Modified H.I.I.T 1:
* Start with at least a 5 minute warm up, casually increasing your pace to the one that you usually maintain for your workout.
* Once you are sufficiently warmed up, increase your intensity for a full minute.
* Return to your normal pace and remain here until you have recovered enough to go at a higher intensity again.
* Repeat this 1 minute interval with full recovery time between each higher intensity segment for the full extent of your workout and then gradually decrease your intensity as you enter a cooling off pace. Cool off period should be between 2 and 4 minutes with short periods of deep breathing during the cool down.
* Have a bottle of water within reach to hydrate your body often during this workout.
Modified H.I.I.T 2:
* Start with at least a 5 minute warm up, casually increasing your pace to the one that you usually maintain for your workout.
* Once you are sufficiently warmed up, change your speed and intensity for 2 minutes.
* Return to your normal pace for 2 minutes and then change your intensity and speed again. The key is to keep your body guessing - you aren't doing full intensity work, but you also aren't staying at the same pace for the entire length of the workout.
* Repeat this 2 minute interval for the full extent of your workout and then gradually decrease your intensity as you enter a cooling off pace. Cool off period should be between 2 and 4 minutes with short periods of deep breathing during the cool down.
* Have a bottle of water within reach to hydrate your body often during this workout.
There you have it…… All you need to take your cardio machine workout to the next level to aquire maximum results with just a little more effort. One more thing......Remember, you can do all the cardio machine workouts, “CHIZZLED” group fitness, Spin classes, or have the best personal trainer in the world BUT if you do not feed your body right, you will be missing the one final piece of the puzzle that ultimately will make or break your health and fitness goal.
If you are committed to achieving the RESULTS you desire and deserve and need some guidance or advice from Fitness Professionals who can help you get over the hump, we can help. Our mission is to provide for you the information needed to help you in your quest to reach your best physical and mental shape in a healthy and FUN way. So why not start off 2007 right and get yourself into shape not only for the year to come but learn how to make great health and fitness a lifelong permante lifestyle. See what other committed clients are saying about their results since joining LP and Marla at the Studio Playground. Check out the "What people are saying about Team LP Fitness" tab on the Home page. After all, RESULTS is what Team LP Fitness is all about!
QUESTION? HOW BAD DO YOU REALLY, REALLY WANT IT??
Fiber Fills………
Foods that are rich in fiber fill you up without fattening you up! Take time this holiday season to enjoy whole grains, vegetables and fruits. Enjoy fibrous food as a nutritious and beneficial snack!
Pumpkin Caramel Flan: A great tasting
The holidays are here and that means rich deserts galore. Try this Pumpkin
Ingredients:
* 3/4 cup sugar
* 3 tablespoons water
Flan:
*1 cup sugar
* 1 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
* 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
* 1/8 teaspoon cardamom
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree (canned or fresh)
* 1 (12 oz) can evaporated skim milk
* 3/4 cup egg substitute
* 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Melt the sugar and water in a heavy-gauged saucepan over medium heat. Stir while sugar melts. Let mixture boil without stirring for at least 5 minutes or until the liquid turn’s golden brown. Immediately pour into a 9” baking dish.
2. Mix all dry ingredients together in a medium bowl - set aside. Mix the pumpkin, evaporated milk, egg substitute and vanilla in a bowl. Add the dry ingredients and blend well. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.
3. Place the dish in a larger pan and pour hot water into the larger pan until the water comes halfway up the edge of the baking dish. Bake for 1 hour or until flan is set.
4. Cool at room temperature and then refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 1 day before serving. Before serving run a sharp knife around the edge of the flan and invert onto a platter, making sure that the caramel runs down the top and sides. Garnish with sprinkled cinnamon and chopped nuts. Enjoy.
Nutrition facts: Here by popular demand, I will now be displaying the nutritional facts for the healthy recipes included in each newsletter. Check out how our Pumpkin
Pumpkin
Calories: 200
Total fat: 1g
Protein: 6g
Carbohydrate: 43g
Traditional Pumpkin Pie
Calories: 320
Total fat: 17g
Protein: 6g
Carbohydrate: 47g
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