Kick it Up a Notch!

Metabolic Finishers

What are they:

Metabolic finishers are a short high intensity exercise or exercises, performed at the end of a workout.  And I mean high intensity, as they are meant to push your body to the limit.  While that may not sound so fun to some, they are actually great for those who don't have time to squeeze in cardio after a weight training session.  They are also more interesting and fun then the usual stare off into space type steady state cardio that you may find yourself doing endless minutes of each week.  

Burn Fat:

High intensity intervals (which if you read my blog you might have come across my love of HIIT) are great for burning fat while preserving muscle.  They also continue to burn calories and fat even after your workout because your body has to repair the oxygen that was lacking during your HIIT session, causing your metabolism and heart rate to stay elevated. (EPOC-Excess-Post Exercise Oxygen Consumption) 

Build Up Endurance:

They also help you build up your endurance and work capacity.  Because you are completing more work in less time, you are going to challenge your muscular, aerobic and anaerobic systems forcing them to adapt.  Over time these short intense bursts will make less intense and steady state exercise feel easier.  

Stronger Mind:

These are not meant to be easy.  They won't just challenge your body, they'll challenge your mind.  They will suck, and you will have to push through the mental and physical uncomfortableness.  They will challenge you to your fullest.  But once completed, you'll feel pretty bad ass.  

Examples:

Burpee-Jump Rope Countdown

10 Burpees

100 Jump Rope

9 Burpees

90 Jump Rope

8 Burpees

80 Jump Rope

...Continue to 1 and 10 

Sprints with Mt. Climbers 

*On Treadmill or Outside 

Sprint 30 secs

30 sec Mt. climbers

Rest 15 Secs

Repeat 5X

Metabolic Finisher 3:

Jump Rope (as fast as you can)-30 seconds

10 Jump Squats

10 Push Ups

20 Mt. Climbers

Rest 1 min, Repeat 3X

Metabolic Finisher 4:

10 MB Burpees w/ OH Slam

100 Jump Rope

40 Battle Rope 

1 Lap Sled Push (weighted)

Repeat 2-4X

Metabolic Finisher 5:

Pyramids

Perform 10 reps of exercise 1 and 1 rep of exercise 2, then 9 of 1 then 2 of 2 

Jump Squats

Push Ups

Music Playlist

Sometimes all you need is some good new beats to help you power through your workout!

Here are some current songs on my playlist.  My group training crew knows I love some good mashups and remixes! : )

  Comment below with your current favorites, i'd love to add some more!

• Katy Perry vs. Justin Timberlake Dark SexyBack Horse Mashup
• Rather Be Pretty- Clean Bandit vs. Beyonce Mashup
• Blackstreet- No Diggity (Bondax Edit)
• Florence + Drake - Overx2 DJ MashUP
• Maroon 5- Sugar (Jasper Dietze Remix)
• Calvin Harris feat Ellie Goulding- Outside
• Ariana Grande- Love Me Harder ft The Weekend (Country Club Martini Crew Remix)
• Natalie La Rose ft Jeremiah- Somebody

Garlic Butter Spaghetti Squash

Garlic Butter Spaghetti Squash

Ingredients:

• 1 medium spaghetti squash
• 1-1.5 tbsp butter
• 2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
• parsley
• salt

*could substitute olive oil for the butter 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds.  Sprinkle flesh with a little olive oil, and place flesh side down on a baking sheet (I put foil down on my baking sheet for easy cleanup).  Bake for 30-40 minutes until fully cooked.  

After the squash is cooked, while it cools, heat your butter in a saute pan and add your garlic.   Once garlic is fragrant, add parsley and salt and then toss with your shredded spaghetti squash.  

The Best Nutrition Advice You Can Get!

Milk is bad for you.  Saturated fat is bad for you.  Don't eat egg yolks.  Don't eat fruit after 2pm.  Goji berries are "super foods".  You need to do a cleanse.  When it comes to the world of nutrition, it can be a tricky overwhelming and contradicting place.  When you hear all of these things, it's no wonder Americans are in the worst shape of their lives.  No one knows what to believe, and when they do follow advice they've heard, a year later they are being told to do the opposite.

My personal take on nutrition and how I eat, is as whole and fresh as possible, while still enjoying treats in moderation.  Lucky for me I'm not huge on sweets or bread and pasta, so this isn't hard for me, but for some it is.  I've always told clients that they should try to eat as fresh, healthy and whole as possible, but that they need to have a balance in their life and find what works for them.  I also know that every body is different, and every body won't respond the same to individual "diets" or ways of eating.  No two people are alike, and that is why there is no diet that should be considered a "one size fits all".  Some people do better eating more carbs, others don't.  It comes down to your genetic makeup and what makes you feel your absolute best.  Unfortunately, in order to figure that out, it will take some trial and error and seeing what foods you consume more or less that make you feel great.  I believe that food is fuel, and I don't see food as a means of weight loss, but rather a source to get you to your optimal health.

I was recently told to read a book called "Death By Food Pyramid" by Denise Minger.  The book puts a focus on the research behind the whole "saturated fat causes heart disease" theory, and teaches you that you need to critically think for yourself.  Denise also goes into detail on how to read a piece of research material so that you can draw your own conclusions on research studies.  The book can really open your eyes to make you start thinking for yourself, and not believing everything you read, just because there was a "study" done.  It always bothers me when I see an article shared on social media, and how many people jump on board with agreeing with it or simply posting a "told ya so".   Then when I look at the article, I'll notice it was a small study and other information that wasn't very conclusive.

At the end of the book, she talks about a study done about how the healthiest people throughout the world eat.  What I took out of the conclusion, were that the healthiest people were eating the freshest resources they had, and weren't having processed breads and sugars in their diets, which make up most of the American diet today.

I think if you are someone who is truly interested being the healthiest they can be, this book is worth a read.  You'll learn things about the evolution of the food pyramid, a look into different studies and their conclusions, a look at different popular diets and how they measure up, and most of all you'll read about the study done on the healthiest people in the world.  Those populations don't suffer from many modern day diseases that Americans do.

If it's sparked your interest, read it and let me know what you thought!

Summer Corn Pasta

There are only a few more weeks left of summer, so I made one of my fiances favorites before the corn on the cob disappears!  Give it a try!

I apologize ahead of time, as I don't really measure when I cook I mostly eye ball everything : )

Ingredients:
- 2 or 3 Corn on the Cobs (cut off the cob)
-handful of Brown Rice Pasta (I use this as a healthier alternative to white pasta.  Also, base your amount of pasta on how many servings you are cooking for)
-1/2 or 1 Bell Pepper (red orange or yellow)
-1/3 or 1/2 an Onion
-EVOO
- 1/2 C to 1 Cup of Light cream or half and half
-Chicken Broth (I only added about 1/4 C)
-salt, pepper, onion powder, parsley and basil
-*Chicken (I added chicken for some protein, this dish can be made without)

Cook chicken.  Cook pasta according to directions.  In a large pot, heat some extra virgin olive oil on medium/medium-high heat.  Saute (about 5 minutes) the peppers and onions and about 3/4 of the corn on the cob.  In a food processor, process the cream with the rest of the corn.  Bring the pot down to a simmer and add the mixture to the pot.  Add a little chicken broth and let simmer and thicken.  Once pasta and chicken are cooked, toss into the pot and season with spices to taste and enjoy!

Treadmill Sprints & Hills Circuit

After strength training legs today, I finished it off with a sprint and hill circuit.  Give it a try!


(If you need to warm up first, start with a brisk walk into a jog)


10 Minute Hills
Incline 15%
2 minutes at 3.3
2 minutes at 3.8-4.0

Repeated this until I got to 10 minutes

15 Minute Sprints
Incline 1-2%
1 minute at 5.5mph
1 minute at 8.8-9mph

Repeated until I got to 15 minutes

***Note:  everyone is at a different fitness level, so your mph will depend upon that.  For some, a slower pace would be considered a sprint to them and that's okay.  Just make sure your "sprint" speed is  challenging for you.

Plyos

One way to finish off your strength training session to ensure a butt kicking, is plyos.  I don't encourage beginners to try plyos right away, as you should focus on building your endurance, strength and flexibility first.  Plyos are advanced movements, so you should make sure to have proper form in your movements (like squats, lunges etc) before attempting them.  Also, make sure you are properly warmed up!  Plyos are a great fat burner and really get your heart rate up!  You can time yourself, or count reps.  If you are going to count reps, they can range from 8-25 depending on your effort and intensity of the exercise.  If you are focusing on endurance, aim for the higher rep range and lessen your intensity of the movement.

Example Leg Plyo Workout:

Warm Up

-Walking Lunges

-Jumping Jacks

-Deep Squats

3-5 rounds or sets- 30 secs work with rest (rest will depend on how fatigued you are... could be anywhere from 30-60 secs) (or do reps)

-Straddle Jump Squats onto Stepper (Place both feet on the outside of the stepper.  Squat down low and jump up onto the stepper and back down into a squat, but keep it a fluid movement)

-Up/Overs on the Stepper (Start with one foot on the stepper and one off to the side.  Push off with the leg that is on the stepper and bring your other leg onto the stepper while brining your other leg to the floor.  Keep going back and forth)

-Jump Lunges

-Explosive Step Ups 


Give it a try and see how you do!