Interval Tuesday and Day Two of My Meatless Month

Interval Training Has It’s Perks

And in case you’re wondering here they are:

• less time consuming
• more optimal effects on growth hormone to build lean after 50 (we tend to produce less especially if we sleep poorly)
• more optimal effects on cortisol (keep your intervals appropriate duration work-to-recovery and frequency appropriate and you have the Goldilocks of exercise)
• bigger fat burning potential in the hours after exercise
• less boring!

If you’re not doing intervals yet or you’re randomly doing intervals I’d love to have you start and give you a boost with how. Last week I gave two set-ups: one for beginners and one for someone more experienced. So in true personal training professionalism, here’s the progression of each for this week. (This week’s update is Green). BEGINNER:  Warm up 10 minutes>>>Repeat this! You always want to warm up! :30 work to 1:00min recovery x 10>>>:30 work to :30 second recovery x 15 Cool down at least 5 minutes>>> Cool down 5 minutes easy movement MORE INTERVAL EXPERIENCE: Warm up 10 minutes>>>Yep! You guessed it: repeat! :30 work to :30 recovery x 30>>>1:00 work to 1:00 recovery x 15 Cool down at least 5 minutes>>>Cool down 5 minutes easy movement Remember that in between interval days exercising moderate intensity and moderate duration is complimentary to your intervals. Choose activities that are different and complimentary too as much as possible. If you for instance are doing a bootcamp and you have some jumping (plyometrics) or other high impact exercise, then on your alternate days choose biking, rowing or swimming. Walking is OK but it’s still on your feet so if you can get a different type of exercise even better. I personally love triathlon (and I’m not much faster than when I began 11 years ago) for the cross training effect. After a long run it’s a bike or a swim. By the time another run comes up in my workout I’m recovered and looking forward to it. Nothing gets over-used. I just finished working with a group of beginning 50+ triathletes, not necessarily ready to sign up but because the variety appealed to them so much. It got them “out of the box,” meaning out of their gym. Consider a change for your summer exercise. A reach outside of your comfort zone is good every once in a while! Speaking of which… I’m doing just that. I’m really a “flexitarian” at heart. I prefer a lot of fresh plant foods and meals built around them and fish and seafood. I like poultry and I believe that an endurance athlete (I flatter myself) needs some red meat sometimes so I favor lamb (Omega 3 rich) and bison (hey, I’m in Colorado). Although I just pedaled past a pasture full of them and I don’t know, it seems more personal now. I digress. I’ve had so many questions recently from vegans and vegetarians over 50 who are struggling with the same issues any women with hormone flux can. I feel I need better first hand experience and the best way to learn more about it is to do it. A lot of people do “meatless Mondays.” Well, for me this is meatless month. I still have buy in to 25-30 grams of protein at each of three meals and feature protein in snacks. I’m going to have to get creative I know -but I’ve gotten some great suggestions so far and am headed to stock up this evening. Which by the way…leads me to my dilemma today. I don’t know about you but when it’s nice out I have a really hard time pulling myself out of the sunshine to do “chores.” Including, stock the empty cupboard. So today meal #1 post a bike ride was a creative challenge. I had a vegan protein powder (brown rice) on hand, but that was just short of a serving. I made a smoothie out of what I had with blueberries and coconut milk. Then I stared into the cupboard and ‘fridge. I ended up with a quesadilla with leftover this and that and a can of refried beans! Ezekial tortilla with the beans and almond cheese, a few broccoli sprouts packed in and boom! I hit 30 grams of protein and was proud. Unless I want to repeat for dinner (I don’t) I’ll have to hit the store after working with a few coaching clients by phone. Got suggestions or questions about the vegan way? Share them. There’s been quite a bit published regarding whether you can or you can’t get all the essential amino acids from a purely plant-based diet. Considering RDAs are below what is required for for anything but preventing disease and most Americans fall short of them, it’s no wonder why many argue that you can get all the protein you need from plants. If you’re shooting for 25-30 grams based on preserving lean muscle tissue and boosting metabolism, my jury is still out. I’m searching for answers. Many physicians end up asking patients to add at least fish to their diet. What have you heard or what’s true for you? ~Debra