Tabata Method

Raise your hand if you’re ready for the weekend!

You can’t see me, but both of mine are raised.

Tabata Method

Lately, I’ve been trying to take the 7:15AM spin class at my gym once a week, after finding an instructor that I absolutely love.  Yesterday, I decided to sleep in and shoot for the 8:45AM class.  Unfortunately, I forgot that this class is taught by an instructor that I do not absolutely love.  She’s very boring, has a monotone voice, and walks around for practically the whole class.  On top of that, the spin room is under construction at my gym, and they took out the black lights and removed the blinds from all the windows!  Um, hello awkwardly bright room…(spin connoisseurs know that classes are always dark!)

Anyways, I was determined to make the best of a less than ideal situation.  The class was off to a very boring start, but then, the instructor surprised us by introducing the Tabata Method.  She explained that this is a method of working out that activates both your aerobic and anaerobic pathways simultaneously, which optimizes results and gets you in much better shape in a significantly shorter amount of time.  The key to this method is doing a total of 4 minutes of extreme exertion- you do 20 seconds of an exercise at maximum capacity, recover for 10 seconds, and repeat 7 times.  That’s it!  The studies showed that people who did the Tabata Method 3 times a week lost more fat and were in better cardiovascular health than people who did 60 minutes of cardio per day, 5 times a week.  Pretty crazy, huh?

By the time our 4 minutes of misery were over, everyone was drenched and pretty fatigued.  We recovered for a song or two before powering back up for the rest of the class.

I don’t know if I believe the statistics, but I think it’s a very interesting theory, and I don’t see the harm in incorporating this method into my workouts.

Have you tried the Tabata Method?  What do you think of it? 

Breakfast

After class, I was more than ready for breakfast.  I was planning to have a yogurt bowl with strawberries, but this idea went out the window when I discovered that my fresh strawberries had frozen solid overnight!

Whoops.

Frozen fruit can only mean one thing- smoothie!

I made a chocolate strawberry smoothie by blending up:

– 1/2 cup skim milk

-7 frozen strawberries

– 1 scoop Chocolate Muscle Milk Protein Powder

– 1/2 tablespoon natural peanut butter

– Handful of ice cubes

Clearly, not my mug 🙂 .

Lunch

Lunch was a fabulous repeat, with a twist.

I topped a bed of Organicgirl 50/50! with tuna salad (1 tablespoon  Light Mayo, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard), garbanzo beans and…pickle chips!  I secretly love pickles on salads, even though basically everyone thinks it’s weird.

Dinner

I used the help of a box of Annie Chun’s 100% Natural Pad Thai for dinner.

I cooked the noodles according to the directions, while microwaving a bag of frozen vegetables.  After draining both, I mixed everything together in a big pot with 1/2 pound of shrimp and the sauce that came in the kit.  It was ready in 10 minutes flat!

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I also just wanted to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my fabulous mom!

I love you so much!

 

 

 

 

Workout Motivation

Sometimes, the thought of working out sounds about as appealing as doing yard work on a Saturday at noon in Florida in the middle of August (if you live here, you know what I mean.)

This week I’ve been extremely busy- the same day that I finished my last nursing pre-requisite course, I went straight to my first day of training to become a Certified Nursing Assistant.  I have to wake up really early to leave for class, so my morning workout routine has been a no-go.  Luckily, it’s just for this week (which is almost over- hallelujah!).

Anyways, I ended up skipping Monday and Tuesday’s workouts, and yesterday, I still didn’t feel like working out.  I was on the computer doing some browsing on SHAPE Magazine’s website, when I came across a series of “Behind-the-Scenes” videos of celebrities shooting their SHAPE covers.  Let’s just say that after hearing Kourtney Kardashian, Marisa Miller and Brooke Burke talk about their workouts, I basically bolted off the couch and went straight to the gym.

"I would still look like this even if I didn't work out."

Now, don’t get me wrong- my days of pouring over gossip magazines and taping pictures to my fridge are long gone.  I do not condone staring at celebrities and envying their bodies, because, let’s face it, that won’t do anything positive for anyone.  However, I think that reading or listening to someone talk about fitness and health is a great way to get motivated for your own workouts- and if it happens to be coming out of the mouth of a gorgeous celebrity who is living proof that it works, then, hey, we better listen!

What motivates you to work out? 

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Breakfast

I started the day with a toasted whole wheat sandwich thin, spread with a little peanut butter and a drizzle of honey.

I could’ve really used a banana on top, but clearly, we didn’t quite make it to the grocery store this week.  I also enjoyed a glass of almond milk on the side.

Lunch

Lunch was a random mix of small snacks that went undocumented, but it included baby carrot sticks, an apple and a turkey sandwich.

Dinner

When Corey got home from work, he fired up the grill at threw on two Top Sirloin Filets that I had marinating in the fridge with olive oil, soy sauce and garlic.

On the side, we had some steamed broccoli and Steamfresh Lightly Sauced Roasted Potatoes in Chive Butter.