Cardio: Treadmill Torch

It’s no secret I’m not a big fan of running.  But I know the benefits of it so I work hard to find running workouts that work for me.  I prefer interval training for many reasons, and after following many plans created by other bloggers I have finally formulated a plan that works for me. 

This treadmill session only takes 20 minutes, burns about 150+ calories, and leaves me sweaty and breathing hard.  Twenty Minute Treadmill Torch!

Minutes	Exercise	Incline	My Speed
0-3 mins	warm-up	5%	2.7-3.5 mph
3-4 mins	jog	2%	4.7 mph
4-5 mins	walk	6%	3.5 mph
5-6 mins	run	2%	5.2 mph
6-7 mins	walk	6%	3.5 mph
7-8 mins	run	2%	5.2 mph
8-9 mins	walk	6%	3.5 mph
9-10 mins	run	2%	5.2 mph
10-12 mins	walk	8%	3.5 mph
12-12:45 mins	sprint	2%	6.0 mph
12:45-14 mins	walk	2%	3.7 mph
14-14:45 mins	sprint	2%	6.0 mph
14:45-16 mins	walk	2%	3.7 mph
16-17 mins	balls out!	2%	7.0 mph
17-20 mins	cool down	4% – 0%	3.7-2.5 mph

I add this to the end of strength training sessions or combine it with 30 minutes of other cardio such as the recumbent bike or my new favourite, the ARC trainer.  Hello cardio endorphins!  My goal is to get my speed up over time but I’ve always been a slowpoke runner!

Do you wish you liked running more?  Are you an interval fan?

Let me know if you give this a go!

{Y’all know this already, but I’m just a blogger not a fitness professional so please make sure to consult your trainer or your doctor before following any new fitness regime.  Safety first!}

Fit February

Well folks, I’m stoked to report that my January Joiner motivation has stayed with me and Fit February is off to an excellent start.  I think I can finally safely say I’ve found my workout mojo!!  It only took the better part of two years.  :)

As planned I finished up January with lots of cardio and a weeee introduction to strength training in the form of the rowing machine.  My greatest fear about this whole returning to working out situation is that one of my many evil aches and pains will return…and the rowing machine is a good test of my neck and shoulder.  So far, so good!

Monday – row, row, row my…rowing machine!

Tuesday – extra focus on the cardio…

Wednesday – Michael returned from his vacation so we took the dogs for a wander at the dog park and beach…

Thursday – hanging out on the elliptical extra long…

Friday – took my first steps into the weight area…mini plank workout!

Sunday – gorgeous day in Victoria, took the dogs for a nice long walk around one of our nicest lake trails.  Thetis Lake…

I actually felt guilty not doing anything on Saturday!  Who am I?!!  :)

This week I’ve ventured into actual strength training.  I’m starting out a few weeks behind on Fitnessista’s Winter Shape Up…yesterday was my first day and oh boy I’m pretty sure my body might hate me in a couple of days. 

How is everyone else’s workout motivation holding up?  Anyone need a kick in the pants?

Consider January Joined!

Two days left in the month and I can safely say I hit my workout goals for January! 

What were those goals?  Well, I didn’t want to scare myself away from the gym again so I kept it simple…

• Some kind of activity at least 4 days per week.
• Preferably at least 3 of those days at the gym.
• Basic cardio with lots of stretching.

Aside from the fact that I got the plague immediately following Day 1 and ended up a little delayed at the get-go…I did it!

If you count the next two days (which obviously I do!) I completed 19 activity days in January.  13 gym days, 5 extra walks, 1 at home yoga session.  Not too shabby, eh?!

I do have to admit that this last week started out a little shakey…I lost my motivation for a few days at the beginning of the week, but on Wednesday I did drag my buns out to walk the dog and from there on it was all good!

Wednesday – doggie walk to the park…

Thursday – quiet early day workout…

Friday – happy to burn off some calories in anticipation of dinner…

Saturday – rare weekend trip to the gym (20 extra minutes!)…

Sunday – rainy day walk through the dog park and along the beach.  Chibi was pretty stoked to be soaked!  :)

So, two more days of this January cardio build-up then we get into Fit February.  This means the re-introduction of strength training.  Guess I’d better get to work on that plan!

Any other January Joiners hold it up through the month?  What’s your motivation?  or is anyone in need of a little motivation?

I’m still a January Joiner

Are you?!  How is your healthy lifestyle holding up now that we are a few weeks in?  I’m struggling to see results and let me tell you it’s annoying, but I’m keepin’ on keepin’ on!

Another week of cardio…this time with RUNNING.  Oh lordy.  I decided to up things from my speed walking and get my heart pumping so hard it felt like it would pop out of my mouth.

Monday – new workout – basic HIIT…

• Warm-Up = 3 mins (3.0 – 3.5mph)
• 8x 1 min jogging (4.5mph), 30 sec running (5.5mph), 1:30 min walking (3.5 mph) = 24 mins
• Cool down = 3 mins (3.5 – 2.5 mph)
• TOTAL = 30 minutes

Wednesday – same workout – new playlist…

Saturday – same workout – forgot my socks!

And since yesterday I spent my morning fighting a harrowing windstorm on the highway home from a friend’s house I decided I wasn’t going out in #yyjWindpocalypse again and did some yoga at home.

Sunday – yogadownload.com – Shoulder Opening Flow…

This week is more of the same with the addition of the rowing machine.  Preparing my upper body for the return of strength training in February.

What’s your favourite treadmill workout?

January Joiner Update

Week one back to working out = complete!

Keeping things simple with a few work day cardio sessions at the gym and a couple of outdoor walks with the pupper.  This week I crank up the cardio intensity…and by crank I mean like one minute of jogging.  :)

Monday – view from the gym…

Tuesday – my feets on the treadmill…

Wednesday – walk to the park with Chiberoo…

Thursday – cardio machine lovey dovey…

Friday – post workout schweaty face…

Saturday – rest and relaxation.

Sunday – snow walk with Michael and the doggies…

How is your January Joiner recommitment to life, health and happiness going?

Pretty Healthy

Just looking at today's food porn and not only was it a very healthy day but all of my food was pretty!  I love it when that happens. 

Local blueberries were the star of breakfast.  It was the end of the container so I loaded a few extras on top of my Kashi Honey Almond Flax with skim milk.

There was a cup of Joe this morning too...but I guess he was camera shy.

After breakfast I headed off to massage AGAIN.  Today she actually went so far as to tell me I have the tightest piriformis muscle (and surrounding area) that she has ever dealt with.  Oh yippee.  So basically she's saying this could take a while.

I felt pretty beat up after I left but as the day progressed I did feel looser.  Not great or pain free, just looser.

Lunch was light...which I need to stop doing.  For some reason I've been eating tiny lunches which leave me snacky in the afternoon. 

The highlight of this meal was the simple tomato & feta salad.

• 1 perfectly ripe local yellow tomato, chopped
• 1 ounce light feta cheese, cubed
• drizzle of EVOO
• drizzle of white wine vinegar
• fresh cracked pepper

Toss lightly and let mingle for a while before serving.

There are few things better than a perfect tomato.

Served next to crack hummus and multigrain Tostitos.  The best was slooshing the tomatoes and cheese through the hummus.  Nom!

Lunchtime dessert:  Oatmeal Raisin Bar

Tonight I had hoped to try out one of the yoga classes at my gym.  I brought my Nubody's/Goodlife membership with me but so far have only been to the new Goodlife here once.  I've actually been kind of annoyed with them and today was no different.  I called to ask a question...and it was a good thing I did. The class I wanted to take was cancelled because of instructor injury...and they don't have a back up instructor.  Annoying.

I still needed to get a workout in though (homework from Tia!) so decided I'd just tackle some cardio (which is what she assigned us anyway).  Since I'm not allowed to do any impact work because of my piriformis issue I opted to break my 30 minutes up between three machines.

• Rowing: 5 minutes
• Treadmill:  power walk, varied inclines, 20 minutes
• Cybex: new to me!, 5 minutes

Followed by some light core and glute work and tons of stretching.  Pigeon pose is my new best friend/enemy.  My poooor glute!

On the way home I grabbed a couple of groceries but to be honest my glute/hip/leg was bothering me so much that I had to get in the car just to sit down.  Apparently the cause/aggrevation of piriformis syndrome is sitting, but sitting is the ONLY thing that gives me any relief.  Argh.

Anyway... <end whining>

I picked up this lovely little wild salmon filet.  I simply squeezed some lemon over it, sprinkled with s&p, and lightly brushed a squeeze of Dijon mustard across it.  Then seared it over medium high heat in a sprayed pan.

Covered with a lid for about 3 minutes to help complete the cooking process.  And served with leftover Veggie Pasta Salad.

(FYI: these plates I've been eating from are side plates...I have yet to buy new dishes since the move...hence, no dinner plates.)

After sitting on my ice pack, spending too much time reading blogs, and surfing around Twitter I decided to make dessert.  It's about time I get on the Banana Soft Serve wagon!

If you hang out in the healthy eats section of blogland you've seen this recipe (originally created by Gena at Choosing Raw) a zillion times, but here it is again anyway!

Take one frozen banana.

And one food processor.

Peel and chop said frozen nanner and place in processor.

Start processor and let 'er rip for 3-4 minutes.

(I added about 2 tbsp unsweetened almond milk at about the 2 minute mark to get things moving.)

When it looks like ice cream you are done.

Serve it up and enjoy!

 

Deeeeelish.  What a treat!  How can a bazillion bloggers be wrong?  Oh wait, they can't.  Tomorrow this beauty shall incorporate chocolate.  or peanut butter. or chocolate peanut butter.

We’ve got sunshine…

And by sunshine apparently I meant the inside of the gym.  :) 

I knew if I fiddled around getting changed at home and tried to do cardio around my neighborhood all I would accomplish would be a slacker walk, so I just grabbed my gym bag and hopped into the car and went to the gym.

Did my cardio first so I couldn’t put it off yet again.  Cardio and I are NOT friends these days.  Which is not the end of the world because I do enough to support my strength training.  But…I haven’t doing as much as planned and the only person that hurts is me!  So I grabbed an open elliptical, cranked up the resistance and set the ramp to focus on glutes and calves.

Elliptical (cross-country)	2 miles, 22 minutes
Lunge & lifts (5lb weight overhead)	3 x 12
Hamstring curls on the ball	3 x 12
Stab ball leg lifts (core)	3 x 12
Crunches (feet on ball)	3 x 12

I had planned to mix Day Two and Three of Intro to Iron together to make up for the missing day this week, but I was getting really lightheaded and worried I might actually pass out so I had to call it quits.  I managed an extra set of crunches at the end since I happened to be laying down. 

Don’t you hate when your body betrays your plans?!

I suppose my blood sugar was a bit low but sometimes it’s just so random!!

When I got home I snacked on this Weil Chia Razz bar I received from Krista…

Really moist and it tasted like real raspberries!  Very tasty!!  Sorta like a fresh and chewy Larabar.  I liked the added chia crunch. 

Not much in the protein department though, so as soon as I showered it was time for dinner.

My second attempt using tofu!!  This time using the refrigerated variety, as recommended by many lovely readers, instead of the yucky shelf stable stuff I used previously.

The difference is like night and day!! This was sooooo much better.

Yummy yummy stirfry…

• Cut off the chunk of tofu.  Press between paper towels to soak out as much moisture as possible.  Cut into cubes.  (I used 1/4 of the block = 1 serving).

• Toss the cubes with 1 tbsp of the stirfry sauce (I used store bought). Let marinate while prepping veggies.

• Heat large non-stick skillet over med-high heat, using 1 tsp grapeseed (or veggie) oil.  Once hot, add tofu and toss to coat.  Sizzle until all sides browned and a bit crispy.  Remove from pan and reduce heat to medium.
• Add another tsp of oil and bring to temperature.  When hot, add veggies (I used carrots, red onion, leek, yellow pepper, broccoli) (and saved snow peas and mushrooms til the end).  Stirfry for a few minutes, grate in garlic, then add about 1/8 cup of water and cover to steam the veggies…approx 2 minutes. 

• Remove lid, add mushroom and peas, stirfry 1 minute.  Add sauce, stir and keep cooking until desired crunch reached.  Stir tofu back in until warm and coated.

• Serve on top of noodles or rice.

Voila!

Then finish off with a fuzzy blanket, fuzzy kitty, and more than your fair share of Eggies.  :)

Holiday Monday

Back to the crazy early mornings today.  Ewwww, Monday.  ha!  I was technically supposed to be off work today because my company is US based and we tend to take US holidays, but I was still up early to drive FH and ended up putting in about 4 hours of work anyway. I guess they’ll owe me Easter. ;)

Snacked on half of this Honeybar on the way to the gym…

Found these when I was looking for Canadian bars for the next cross-border exchange.  Finished it after the gym.

Monday = cardio day

• Treadmill:  25 minute run, 2 miles
• Rowing machine: 15 minutes
• Elliptical: 20 minutes, ramp height intervals

Have to mix it up to keep me interested.  More than 20-25 minutes on any given machine bores me and I can lose my momentum.

At home I wanted more Crofter’s Spread but didn’t want to just be showing you guys toast again, so I made a fun breakfast sammich.

Whole grain Italian bread with peanut butter, Crofter’s and sliced banana… grilled on the Griddler panini-style…

Deeeeelish.

With mucho coffee in my new lovemug!

When lunch rolled around I broke it into two mini meals.  Amy was tweeting about eating Liberte Coconut yogurt with granola, and since I happen to have picked up both of those items this weekend I decided to follow her lead…

This is super yum granola!

Note: Liberte seems to have two different Coconut yogurts.  This is not the Mediterrane so it’s slightly less thick but it’s also a bit lower in calories and fat (not much, but enough!).

Second lunch was a mini snack plate…

Grapes, white cheddar, cacciatore.

I managed to step away from work for the afternoon…picked FH up from work and then tried to finally set up my Garmin software.  It is registering a low battery already!  I just got it in December so I’m not too impressed…I’ll be following it up this week for sure.

While I was puttering I ended up breaking open my own bag of popchips.  With all the entry comments and tweets for the popchips giveaway, I couldn’t get them off my mind…

Sea Salt & Vinegar.  Pretty yum, but they tasted kind of Dill Pickley to me.  Not that it’s a bad thing, just a bit odd.  (I didn’t end up drinking that Sprite Zero…just stuck with water.)

Dinner was just leftovers of the Mexican Lasagna Casserole.  FH doesn’t seem to be interested in finishing it up so I guess it’s up to me!

Topped with that uber thick and lovely Liberte Greek yogurt and some extra salsa. 

Um, and after watching Canada reel in another medal…woooooo SILVER!!  Mike Robertson for x-snowboard!… yes, another cupcake!

Caramello.  We shared this one.  I swear that’s it.  Honest.  :)

I need to eat a salad tomorrow.