HIIT or High Intensity Interval Training is just about the best way to lose weight, increase metabolism and burn fat. My Group Training Classes for Women get weekly HIIT workouts as assignments to speed up their progress....so they understand my passion for this all too well. There's so many different flavors and varieties of HIIT as I have my favorites but the best way to always get results is to change up your routine frequently. Never do the same thing over and over as your body will build up a tolerance for the workout thus giving you nothing but a "plateau effect."
Here's a small sample of HIIT programs:
Beginner HIIT program A
Warm Up 5 minutes
30 seconds of a sprint
90 seconds of a recovery
Repeat sprint and recovery 6-8 times
Beginner HIIT program B
Warm Up 5 minutes
60 seconds of a sprint
120 seconds of a recovery
Repeat sprint and recovery 6-8 times
These workouts can be done by:
* Walking/Jogging/Running outside or on a treadmill
* Biking Outside
* On an Elliptical
* On a Recumbant or Upright Bike
* On a step machine
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Monday, September 15, 2008
Why Make Excuses?
I really dislike excuses, however, that doesn't mean I don't make them. Just the other day I made up a whole list of excuses as to why I needed to shorten my run mileage. I went home last weekend to visit my parents and got up Saturday morning to participate in a 5K at my Alma mater.
So the original plan was to complete the 3 miles of the race and then run 10 more on my own. I completed the 5K and started on the 10. About mile 3 is when the enormous list of excuses began to flood my mind. "Mandy you did a solid 6 straight weeks of climbing, 7 miles, 10 miles, 12 miles, 14 miles, 16 miles, 18 miles...you need a break. 8 Miles is good enough for today. Next week you'll do more." By mile 4 I already turned back, I had my mind made up and the excuses won me over.
"He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else." (Benjamin Franklin)
Why does this happen? Why can we buy into the white lies our minds feed us? Why can't we always just stick to the original plan? Here's a short list of ways we can win against excuses:
1. Understand rationalization. Rationalization is the process of constructing a logical justification for a belief, decision, action or lack thereof that was originally arrived at through a different mental process. It is a defense mechanism in which unacceptable behaviors or feelings are explained in a rational or logical manner; this avoids the true explanation of the behavior or feeling in question. (Wikipedia) I think rationalization can be very dangerous as we might not realize we are doing it.
2. Examine your progress. Look at where you are at from where you have been and where you want to be.
3. When you make a mistake take time to learn from it. Don't repeat it but accept responsibility from the mistake. (although I don't ever believe mistakes are really mistakes, rather stepping stones to get us where we want to go by process of elimination)
4. Come to the realization that your successes or failures depend on you. The choices and attitude you have play a huge role in winning and losing.
Now I understand that from time to time excuses will happen. It's just the way life works out. This post doesn't apply to the random here and there excuse, rather the chronic excuses that stop us from getting what we want.
"Sometimes what we don't want to see is exactly what we need to see."(Mandy Froehlich)
So the original plan was to complete the 3 miles of the race and then run 10 more on my own. I completed the 5K and started on the 10. About mile 3 is when the enormous list of excuses began to flood my mind. "Mandy you did a solid 6 straight weeks of climbing, 7 miles, 10 miles, 12 miles, 14 miles, 16 miles, 18 miles...you need a break. 8 Miles is good enough for today. Next week you'll do more." By mile 4 I already turned back, I had my mind made up and the excuses won me over.
"He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else." (Benjamin Franklin)
Why does this happen? Why can we buy into the white lies our minds feed us? Why can't we always just stick to the original plan? Here's a short list of ways we can win against excuses:
1. Understand rationalization. Rationalization is the process of constructing a logical justification for a belief, decision, action or lack thereof that was originally arrived at through a different mental process. It is a defense mechanism in which unacceptable behaviors or feelings are explained in a rational or logical manner; this avoids the true explanation of the behavior or feeling in question. (Wikipedia) I think rationalization can be very dangerous as we might not realize we are doing it.
2. Examine your progress. Look at where you are at from where you have been and where you want to be.
3. When you make a mistake take time to learn from it. Don't repeat it but accept responsibility from the mistake. (although I don't ever believe mistakes are really mistakes, rather stepping stones to get us where we want to go by process of elimination)
4. Come to the realization that your successes or failures depend on you. The choices and attitude you have play a huge role in winning and losing.
Now I understand that from time to time excuses will happen. It's just the way life works out. This post doesn't apply to the random here and there excuse, rather the chronic excuses that stop us from getting what we want.
"Sometimes what we don't want to see is exactly what we need to see."(Mandy Froehlich)
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Weight Loss Musts
Try implementing these little things into your daily routine. I know they will make a big difference.
1. Avoid frequent use of soda. Read this interesting article about the facts that drinking even diet soda can increase your chance of getting or staying overweight.
2. Get 7-9 hours of sleep each night. Our body's hormones, Ghrelin (tell us we are hungry) and Leptin (tell us when to stop eating) change when we don't get adequate amounts of sleep. Ghrelin levels go up (causing more hunger) and Leptin levels go down (causing less signals of feeling full).
Interesting Fact: 65% of Americans are overweight and 63% of Americans don't get 8 hours of sleep at night.
3. Eat Breakfast. This is a no-brainer...just do it to get your metabolism going for the day-even if you aren't hungry.
4. Skip Late Night Snacking. Oh my goodness, if we can all stay disciplined about this one it would make all the difference!
5. Make a long term plan, divided into small plans. I do this by making a yearly spreadsheet with my weekly micro goals listed and record of my weight. I weigh myself every Thursday morning and record it. Then I also check off each week to make sure I did the things I wanted to do during the week. I do that for a year at a time, barely changing my micro goals throughout the year. It's kind of interesting to see the progress through the year as well as the patterns I can pick out when I get into "crazy cycles." I think it's so important to plan like this because it will help out with sticking to something long-term. Even if there's not much progress for the first 3-6 months, later you might be happily surprised with a positive change because of your focused endurance.
Long term planning is also so important because we have to give our body reaction time. They don't automatically change overnight or even in one week. It's such a delayed reaction because of all the chemical changes that occur within our complex body. Give yourself time to catch up with what you are doing to it. Set realistic goals and stick with them!
When I want to slip up on something I always think to myself, "if I keep doing what I've been doing, I'll get what I've been getting" which is normally no results.
So start or continue to do different things to your body in order for it to react differently!
1. Avoid frequent use of soda. Read this interesting article about the facts that drinking even diet soda can increase your chance of getting or staying overweight.
2. Get 7-9 hours of sleep each night. Our body's hormones, Ghrelin (tell us we are hungry) and Leptin (tell us when to stop eating) change when we don't get adequate amounts of sleep. Ghrelin levels go up (causing more hunger) and Leptin levels go down (causing less signals of feeling full).
Interesting Fact: 65% of Americans are overweight and 63% of Americans don't get 8 hours of sleep at night.
3. Eat Breakfast. This is a no-brainer...just do it to get your metabolism going for the day-even if you aren't hungry.
4. Skip Late Night Snacking. Oh my goodness, if we can all stay disciplined about this one it would make all the difference!
5. Make a long term plan, divided into small plans. I do this by making a yearly spreadsheet with my weekly micro goals listed and record of my weight. I weigh myself every Thursday morning and record it. Then I also check off each week to make sure I did the things I wanted to do during the week. I do that for a year at a time, barely changing my micro goals throughout the year. It's kind of interesting to see the progress through the year as well as the patterns I can pick out when I get into "crazy cycles." I think it's so important to plan like this because it will help out with sticking to something long-term. Even if there's not much progress for the first 3-6 months, later you might be happily surprised with a positive change because of your focused endurance.
Long term planning is also so important because we have to give our body reaction time. They don't automatically change overnight or even in one week. It's such a delayed reaction because of all the chemical changes that occur within our complex body. Give yourself time to catch up with what you are doing to it. Set realistic goals and stick with them!
When I want to slip up on something I always think to myself, "if I keep doing what I've been doing, I'll get what I've been getting" which is normally no results.
So start or continue to do different things to your body in order for it to react differently!
Monday, September 8, 2008
I HATE High Fructose Corn Syrup
Why, you may ask do I hate this chemical? Leptin, plus ghrelin, two of the key hormones responsible for reducing your hunger and increasing the feeling of fullness, also are the main hormones that control your overall fondness for food. People with a dysfunctional Leptin output, are constantly hungry and even go after bland food, anything edible.
This natural regulating substance, Leptin, is your primary appetite and food desire controlling hormone, is abated by several synthetic substances, best known, (but just one of several) HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP.
High Fructose Corn Syrup In Everything
You eat 88 pounds a year as an average American. Happens only in US because of corn subsidy to farmers ($2 a bushel) makes corn so cheap they chemically process (ferment it etc) and make this man made substance that is sweeter then sugar.
This is just a summary of the badness of HFCS. Here's a great link to explain everything you need to know about this horrible ingredient that's taking over grocery store shelves if you want to learn more.
http://cleanerplateclub.wordpress.com/2007/06/20/take-the-high-fructose-corn-syrup-challenge/
I would encourage you to take the challenge-give it up and feel the difference. Start looking at food labels. Put the item back if it lists HFCS as an ingredient. Such a small change will make all the difference.
Personally, it's one of the reasons I blame on my addiction to swiss cake rolls:)
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Inspire
As much as I try to motivate and encourage my clients, most of the time they are the ones that inspire me! Here's an email I got from one of my clients the other day. I couldn't resist sharing, and with her permission I am!
I have realized a big difference in my mind frame lately. Over the years, I have lost a significant amount of weight about 3 times, after different babies. When I was going through that, I would always think "just 3 more months of this lifestyle, then I'll be done, and I can eat what I want and maybe only exercise once or twice a week", which is mainly why I haven't ever kept it off for long, even though I got pregnant more times. The difference now is that I am seeing this getting healthy not just for weight loss, and not just short term, but so I can accomplish even more things, like a 5K or 10K or a bike race or bike trip or whatever other things I may want to do. I'm excited for the possibilities, and I am realizing how important this is for me to think this way, instead of how I previously had viewed weight loss.
I can't believe how different this is now, and I really think so much of it is your class. I am not only losing weight, but I am gaining so much strength and toning my body in a way that I never have before (for example, the push ups. Even when I weighed about 30 pounds less than right now, I could not do a "boy push-up"). So I feel like I have new possibilities that I didn't believe I had before (isn't that the "b" of your ABC's?).
I have realized a big difference in my mind frame lately. Over the years, I have lost a significant amount of weight about 3 times, after different babies. When I was going through that, I would always think "just 3 more months of this lifestyle, then I'll be done, and I can eat what I want and maybe only exercise once or twice a week", which is mainly why I haven't ever kept it off for long, even though I got pregnant more times. The difference now is that I am seeing this getting healthy not just for weight loss, and not just short term, but so I can accomplish even more things, like a 5K or 10K or a bike race or bike trip or whatever other things I may want to do. I'm excited for the possibilities, and I am realizing how important this is for me to think this way, instead of how I previously had viewed weight loss.
I can't believe how different this is now, and I really think so much of it is your class. I am not only losing weight, but I am gaining so much strength and toning my body in a way that I never have before (for example, the push ups. Even when I weighed about 30 pounds less than right now, I could not do a "boy push-up"). So I feel like I have new possibilities that I didn't believe I had before (isn't that the "b" of your ABC's?).
Friday, September 5, 2008
ABC's of Winning
A is for Attitude = A positive attitude is key to winning at weight loss. We all know this but sometimes it's just hard to execute. Have "attitude awareness." Try the glass half-full approach and see if it doesn't make a difference.
B is for Believing = I honestly think that if we believe in ourselves, we can do anything we want. If we don't believe that the seemingly impossible is possible then how can we reach our goals?
C is for Consistency = This one's the kicker. Sticking with something! One workout is not going to change our life. Actually one month of exercising isn't going to change our life. Think about it, we don't gain weight with one bad meal or even one month of bad meals. Get what I'm saying? So if we're thinking of throwing in the towel just because things aren't moving as quickly as we'd like, why would quitting get us there any faster?
B is for Believing = I honestly think that if we believe in ourselves, we can do anything we want. If we don't believe that the seemingly impossible is possible then how can we reach our goals?
C is for Consistency = This one's the kicker. Sticking with something! One workout is not going to change our life. Actually one month of exercising isn't going to change our life. Think about it, we don't gain weight with one bad meal or even one month of bad meals. Get what I'm saying? So if we're thinking of throwing in the towel just because things aren't moving as quickly as we'd like, why would quitting get us there any faster?
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Be the Tortoise
You know the story, the tortoise wins the race. Being the Hare doesn't typically pay off. I saw this theory hold true during the last two weeks of the Olympic games. Many would start out strong and take the lead during the majority of the race but in the end the people trailing would often keep their steady pace and have enough gas in the end to pull through for a medal.
I think the same can be said for the race of life, losing weight and working to live healthy. While the Hare is flashy and fast at first, later he normally loses gas. This can be paralleled to the energy and enthusiasm that starting a new exercise routine and/or new diet. After the new has worn off it typically becomes more "work" to live healthy and suddenly gets very easy to be defeated. Keeping things steady and constant will aid in staying the course.
I've been thinking a lot lately about the entire race, not just the finish line. It's way too easy to look ahead and plan for the future but what about right now? Sometimes it seems, good intentions aren't enough. For some silly reason the, "what I'm going to do" and what actually happens tends to be two different stories. I'm not trying to be cynical here it's just what I've found to be true from my experience.
So what's the secret ingredient? How can we all become tortoises? Why do some succeed and others give up? Here's a list of ways to help get us there:
1. Believe.
2. Don't be afraid to go after something you really want to do even if there is a chance you could fail.
3. Perservere through hard times and try to learn from them.
4. Control what you can control.
5. Make no excuses. Figure out a way to finish through with something no matter how hard it is-get and stay determined.
6. Be realistic in what changes you are making. Don't go crazy all in one week trying to lose 5 pounds but rather tackle what you can in a timely manner.
7. Create accountability. Find someone that will hold you accountable for your life (this has worked extremely well for me as I have a group of 3 friends that hold me accountable each week).
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