plan on being sore....

i have been working on a hiit (high intensity interval training)workout for my clients to do on days they aren't training with me. yesterday i tried out the one i've been working on....today i am very sore, as the night goes on it is becoming increasingly worse:)

a little background on hiit:
hiit is an acronym meaning high intensity interval training. simply put, hiit is based around this concept: go fast then go slow. repeat.

hiit is the best when it comes to burning off fat. studies have shown that it can be up to 10 times more effective at burning fat than normal steady state cardio. this is because the intense intervals result in the release of fatty acids that steady state cardio just cannot release. also, hiit results in increased hgh (human growth hormone) levels and epoc (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption). hgh is a fat burning hormone, higher levels means higher fat burning. The good thing about hgh is that it maintains muscle mass at the same time it is burning off fat!

epoc is pretty much the afterburn effect of your workout which causes you to burn off calories.

warning:
the drawback to hiit is that in its very nature it is intense. this means it is impossible to perform hiit every day. if you are performing hiit every day you might not be doing it correctly. performing hiit every day will result in over training and injuries. Plus if you are really going all out for your intervals your muscles will be too tired to perform the next day.
check with your doctor if you have any questions about performing this type of a workout!!


a few charts i found on line can help you create hiit workouts according to your fitness level, not mine, not your friend, not the person next to you on the treadmill!

and now....i am sure you have been anxiously waiting for this....

here is what i did.

5 minute warm up with incline at 1 and speed at 7 on the treadmill

now set the incline to 15 and speed at 6.1

(stand on the side platforms until treadmill is adjusted to the incline/speed)

you are going to run for 30 seconds at 6.1

then hold on and step on to the side platforms

for a 30 second rest interval.

during this 30 sec. you will turn up the speed to 6.2

leaving the incline at 15 for the entire workout.

continue the workout this way:

30 sec run @6.2

30 sec rest

30 sec run @ 6.3

30 sec rest

30 sec run @ 6.4

30 sec rest

30 sec run @ 6.5

30 sec rest

30 sec run @ 6.4

30 sec rest

30 run @ 6.3

30 sec rest

30 sec run @ 6.2

30 sec rest

30 sec run @6.1

put incline back to 1 and set speed to a comfortable cool down speed

cool down for .25 mile

yeah...have fun with that:)

and

remember to scale speed and incline according to your fitness level!

sal·ad noun \ˈsa-ləd\....

yesterday i was craving a salad for lunch.

here is what i whipped up.

i grilled a couple chicken tenders on my cuisinart panini grill

 made a vinegar/strawberry dressing

 i feel like this is an infomercial with my cuisinart & magic bullet:)

 i was pretty happy with the end result!

grilled chicken/berry/nut salad

dressing:

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

2 tablespoons sugar free strawberry preserves

3 tablespoons canola oil

combine dressing ingredients in a blender until well mixed.

salad:

6 chicken tenders, grilled and chopped

6 cups field greens/spinach mixture

1 cup sliced strawberries

1 kiwi peeled and sliced

1/3 cup macadamia nuts, chopped

top salad with dressing and mix well.



*the salad made enough for 3 people.

just thought i'd tell you that so you don't think i ate the whole thing myself!!

although....i was really tempted to eat the entire bag of macadamia nuts:)

fitness tip....

school is back in full swing....
i drive in jr high and high school carpools.
the high school carpool is a whole different post that could turn into a long story about a 16 year old that is afraid to get her drivers license...
boo!
she is perfectly happy riding her bike....until a bike accident last week left her with a broken nose and body....
boo!
ok...back to the original post
so thursday was my first day picking up the jr high boys.
i was parked in a little bit of a different place than i told them i'd be
so i got out of the car, walked towards the school until i could see that the boys saw me.
i turned around and got back in my car to wait.
my son climbed in the front seat and said,
'do not ever get out of the car again!!!'
apparently it is a huge embarrassment to have your mom walking around the jr high in her gym clothes.....
i got quite the lecture about how embarrassing it is.
and was told over and over
never, ever get out of the car....

this is what i was wearing.....

my fitness tip of the day

do not ever get out of the car:)

today i ran 5.5 miles

disastrous.....

i should have gone earlier when it wasn't so hot.

lesson learned.

and now....

to reward myself

i will go buy new running shoes.

 

an epic life....

last weekend i ran with 11 friends from logan to jackson hole.

i know...crazy...right?

I got that a lot from people in the weeks leading up to the race.

"is it lotoja?"

nope....that requires a bike, we are running.

"why are you doing that?"

why not....

"isn't that kind of far?"

yeah, just under 206 miles to be exact.

"you know you guys are crazy?'

yeah...we know:)

not going to lie, it was really stressful leading up to the race. i was team captain and trying to organize 12 people, 2 vehicles, coordinate food, starting times, logistics for van 2 to meet up, hotel for the night before (if the hotel only knew how many people we put in  a room)....well, you get it:)

lucky for me i had the most amazing 11 friends to run with and they made my job a whole lot easier.....

we packed up two vehicles with bananas, trail mix, water, headlamps, running shoes and hit the road.

according to epic...."it's a running party with friends. you might sleep, you might not. all you need is: you, 11 of your friends and the desire to run through the most beautiful countryside in america."

yep...that pretty much sums it up! 

want to know more about epic?

      

i will not ever be able to put in to words what this experience is like

so...for lack of words

i will show you in pictures.

 checking in at the start line. our start time was 6am.

 our team was 'witness the fitness'....or wtf for short:)

our bib # was 83

and here is our first runner ready for the cow bell to signal the 6am wave start.

 love love love this sign!

 we knew we'd be crossing the utah/idaho border during candice's 1st leg. we wanted to get a picture by the state sign....until we realized we were on a dirt road in the middle of no where....pretty sure there's not going to be a sign, so we made one!

 and there is always time for a dance in the middle of no where:)

 jodie is a little excited for her first leg.

 while jodie is running....we decided to get dizzy!

thanks for the push greg.

 and do a few chin ups:)

 even with all the playing we always remember to support the runner!

the runner is always our first priority!

well, except when we are hungry and go in the grocery store and don't know our runner has run by the store....oops...sorry candice:)

 well....unless there are cows. then we must stop and play with them...

 until it licked me.....sick!

i had a nice bath with baby wipes after that little incident.

you know...it is all fun and games until someone gets licked:)

 guilty face....

 alrighty....my turn to run. i was the last runner in van 1.

 by then it was hot. the major exchange i am headed to had a dunk tank for the hot runners:)

 katie is finishing her leg in style, she was the last runner in van 2....our turn to take over again. at this major exchange epic made snowcones for everyone and handed out water, shot blocks and cliff bars.

 just like i said earlier, that little blue sign became a very wonderful thing to see.

 headlamp, check

reflective vest, check

red blinking light, check

we finished up our night legs around 11:30pm

then van 2 took over and ran through the night:)

yeah...they rocked it!

 early morning legs....

 absolutely breathtaking!

 early morning stretching:)

 nice try guys....

 my last leg....

 look at the scenery...seriously...this is why i run epic relay!

done.done.done. 3 legs down! 

now it's time for van 2 to bring us to the finish line:)

 burpees in jackson hole on a saturday afternoon.

bet you have never done that!

 van 1

 heading to the finish line waiting area so team wtf can run to the end together!!

 206 miles later....so proud of team wtf!

we came in within 15 minutes of my projected spreadsheet!

15 minutes earlier:)

the end...happily ever after...isn't that the way the story always ends?

well...except for van 2's tire blow out on the way home.

it was an epic journey:)

the best race i've ever run....

i have run many races over the last year

but

this one has got to be my favorite.

i didn't really plan on running....

two of my very favorite people were racing.

i was tagging along as support crew:)

i came up with a plan after one of my last races.

i wanted my grandaughters to run.

they have seen me cross the finish line

and

i wanted them to experience what i feel after running a good race. 

 saturday we showed up at the start line.

it was about eighty bajillion degrees

(is that even a word)

yes! that perfectly describes the temperature at the 6pm start.

 p & m

 how official do they look...

how cute that the race had real timing chips and bibs for the kids.

(so what if the bibs said deseret news 10k)

 everyone is happy and ready to run....

well, until m decided she didn't want to run without grandma.

i am not exactly dressed to run.

then the tears started

so....

i ran.

 like i said.

best race ever!

holding the hand of m as she cried the whole way:)

 p finishes like a rockstar!

 yeah, we crossed the finish line dead last!

even the little girl in front of us that fell flat on her face beat us.

didn't matter...

we had run our best

and if your best includes crying the whole way then so be it.

sometimes i feel like crying in my races

so i get it:)

 hand in hand....

lots of encouraging words.

we already are planning our next race

it's october 1st

and i can't wait!

the end:)

i looked out the window and what did i see....

popcorn popping on the apricot tree....

i have read quite a lot of different studies about the increased risk of cancer associated with the use of microwave popcorn. truth, rumor? i'm not really sure...

today i tried a healthy alternative to using the store bought microwavable bags.

i hit the jackpot!!

disclaimer: my kids wouldn't eat it because i refused to put butter on it.

and

according to kids....

popcorn without butter is disgusting and inedible:)

"there is a chemical used in the nonstick coating on the inside of the popcorn bags that decomposes, producing a compound called perfluorooctanoic acid. this chemical has been associated with increased risk of certain cancers, including liver and prostate cancer. dr. frank gilliland and colleagues reported in a 1993 article in the "journal of occupational and environmental medicine" that factory workers exposed to the chemical had increased cancer mortality."

www.livestrong.com

"chemicals used to coat the inside of microwavable bags can contaminate the foods in the package and enter your bloodstream. these substances were shown to break down into perfluorinated carboxylic acids. these acids have been linked to cancer and there is no way of knowing which bags contain them."

university of toronto study

paper lunch sack

popcorn

olive oil

that's all you need...

put the popcorn in the bag with the olive oil

microwave....

exactly 2 minutes later.

here is what i did:

fill a paper lunch sack with

1/4 cup popcorn kernels

1 teaspoon olive oil

fold the top over tightly and microwave on high for 2-3 minutes.

(i microwaved it for exactly 2 minutes and it was perfect)