Wednesday WOD: It’s One-Derful and Filled with Running!

Posted on May 29, 2013 by Jennifer FIsher

I’m keeping this post short and sweet, like a one mile run! Speaking of one mile runs, this week’s Wednesday WOD has a few wonderful one mile runs for you to enjoy. Don’t sprint the first mile all out, you’ll run out of gas for V-crunches, kettle bell swings and remaining miles. Instead, aim for an 80% effort and see if you can hold the pace, even as you become fatigued from the accumulated output. I suggest running around the track and completing the exercises in the grass, but you could also lay a mat out by the treadmill. Inspired by the Under Armour Women’s What’s Beautiful Campaign, I designed this WOD to help me achieve my goal of competing in (and rocking) the Austin FitTest Challenge event that is coming up in a few weeks. I hope it helps you reach your goals too! Whoohoo, this is going to be fun!

On Mile Run: Think about keeping your cadence around 180 – 200 steps per minute for optimal performance. Stand tall, leaning slightly at the hip and concentrate on ‘pulling” your leg up, not “pushing” off from the ground. Below, Valerie shows the right angle for using”falling” in running and allowing gravity help you move efficiently.

100 V-Crunches: Lie on ground and start in hollow body position. With legs straight and together, bring them up and towards your torso. While raising your legs, reach for the toes with your hands. Finish in a pike position with your hands and feet meeting at hip level, then return to hollow body position. Check out a video if you need more visual. If you can’t complete these crunches all at once, break them up into sets of 10, 15, or 20.

100 Kettle Bell Swings: When completing the swings, focus on keeping shoulder blades pinched; don’t round back on descent. Also, keep weight on the back of your heels, don’t fall forward onto toes. And, the power behind the move comes from driving the hips forcefully, coming to a full hip extension at the top of the swing. If you can’t complete 100 at one time, break them up into 4 sets of 25 or 2 sets of 50.

Superfoodie: 16-cal Strawberry Lemonade Coconut Water Pops

Posted on May 24, 2013 by Jennifer FIsher

Are you ready to cool off with Strawberry Lemonade Coconut Water Pops? Just as yummy as a tall glass of the summer-time sipper (maybe even tastier) and loaded with potassium from the coconut water – a great way to replace the nutrient lost through sweat while running or working out.

Strawberries are a bona fide superfood, high in vitamin C and other antioxidants. Studies show that eating this red fruit has a myriad of benefits including reduced inflammation and cell damage, increased folate levels for heart health, and a lessened chance of age-related ocular issues. These are just a few perks!

And, there’s no need to feel guilty about enjoying this frozen confection, each pop only has 16 calories! I’m also sharing with you some fun facts about strawberries and some strawberry-inspired recipes from some fellow Fitfluential foodies.

Strawberry Lemonade Coconut Water Pops Recipe

1 6-ounce bottle coconut water (I used Zico)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons Stevia
1 ¼ cups fresh sliced strawberries

Place all ingredients in a blender and pulse on and off for about 30 seconds until everything is blended. The strawberries should be a little chunky. Pour liquid into 3-ounce freezer pop molds. Freeze for at least 3 hour or until frozen solid. Makes 6.

There are 200 seeds on the average strawberry.
Organic strawberries have more vitamin C and antioxidants than regular berries.
Regular strawberries have one of the highest concentrations of pesticide residues of all produce tracked by the USDA. If organic berries aren’t available, soak your strawberries in water for 2 minutes before eating.
Strawberries stop ripening as soon as they’re picked. For best taste, select bright red berries with their caps intact.
Don’t wash strawberries until ready to eat them, otherwise they’ll spoil too fast.
Along with cherries and grapes, strawberries are one of the few sources of ellagic acid, a compound shown to prevent carcinogens from turning healthy cells into cancerous ones.
Every man, woman and child in the US each eats 3.4 pounds of fresh strawberries per year plus another 1.8 pounds of frozen strawberries.We should all eat more!
One cup of strawberries has just 46 calories.

Naturally Sweetened Balsamic Berries from Brenda at SugarFreeMom.com

Grilled Chicken with Strawberry Bail Sauce from Gina at RunningtotheKitchen.com

Sweet & Spicy Strawberry Peach Guacamole from Lindsay at TheLeanGreenBean.com

Farm to Fork Facts & Beef Stuffed Baby Bell Peppers Recipe

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Jennifer FIsher

This weekend, I spent another educational day with the Texas Beef Council learning about how my favorite protein source – beef — makes it from “farm to fork.” With beef industry experts on-board our charter bus classroom, a small herd of beef-eating athletes slash curious consumers rolled through the Central Texas countryside on a mission to gain a deeper understanding of the cattle industry . . . . and, ultimately, those steaks on our dinner plates. Over the day, we toured a working ranch, visited a feed lot and then hoofed it around a ginormous meat department at a super-sized HEB.

If you’ve read my blog before, you know I’m a big fan of beef. After avoiding it for the first half of my life, I suddenly found myself craving it during my first pregnancy. Of course, my body had finally taken the reigns from my brain, telling it I needed the added protein, iron, B vitamins, zinc and several other vital nutrients in which I was missing the mark. That was 17 years ago and today I’m still craving beef as a way to refuel my body after hard running and strength-training workouts.

But, that’s enough about me. I want to share some new-to-me, interesting things I learned about beef this weekend, facts I think you should know too. The final beef tidbit in my list is a yummy appetizer recipe that the awesome folks with the Texas Beef Council fed with us as a prelude to dinner.

A Few Farm to Fork Facts: Most I Never Knew – Did You?

The average ranch in Texas is just something like 46 heads of cattle; this really busted my “big business” view of the cattle raising industry. We visited the approximate 2,000 herd Breitschopft Ranch in Gonzalez and this, aside from just a handful of mega-ranches in the state, is as “big business” as it gets – yet it was a surprisingly down-home, salt-of-the-earth, family-oriented operation with an owner who works his butt off 365 days a year to produce a quality product for consumers.
When you buy “Certified Angus Beef” in the grocery store or order it from a restaurant menu you are ordering a “brand” of beef, not specifically a “grade” of beef. The grades of beef given by USDA inspectors are prime, choice, select and a few lesser-quality grades. According to the Certified Angus Beef website, this brand only puts its name on prime and choice grades – but this makes it no better or worse than equivalent piece of beef with the same grade. Another interesting fact about the admittedly yummy brand; the Angus designation only requires the animal’s hide to be at least 51 percent black. Really.
The yellow-orange tint in the rendered fat from grass-finished beef (meaning the cow never went to a feed lot before slaughter) comes from the fat-soluble beta-carotene in the ingested grass. I asked this question after being curious about the different-colored drippings in my grill pan after experimenting with a ground grass-fed beef product.
Changes in cattle breeding and fat-trimming methods have resulted in increased availability of leaner beef. I’ve mentioned a million times before that there are 29 cuts of lean beef. But, I didn’t realize that a whopping two-thirds (67%) of beef sold at retail (including popular cuts like sirloin tenderloin and t-bone) meet governmental guidelines for “lean.” How can you NOT have beef for dinner!
A cow’s stomach (a four-compartment vessel collectively called a rumen) is a very complicated thing. To put it simply, the animal co-exists with billions of microbes in the stomach – bacteria, fungi and protists – that break down grass, hay and other food products into nutrients a cow is actually able to digest. I haven’t done justice to the science behind the rumen, especially considering there are people with advanced college degrees on the topic!
The beef supply in the US is very, very, extremely safe and highly regulated by the thousands of USDA inspectors every step of the way. The chances of being affected by one of the media sensationalized “beef issues” is like “being struck by lightning AND winning the powerball lottery on the same day” according to a PhD beef expert I know to be very knowledgeable on the subject. By the way, Facts About Beef is a great resource for gathering more information on any beef concerns you might encounter.
My last tidbit is about cooking with ground beef. Ground beef is very convenient, cost-efficient and gives you so many ways to be creative! Plus, I forgot to mention ground beef can be super delicious as evidenced by this easy appetizer from the Texas Beef Council.

Beef & Couscous Stuffed Baby Bell Peppers

1 pound ground beef
15 baby sweet bell peppers (approx. 2.5” to 3” long)
2/3 cup spicy 100% vegetable juice
½ cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
¼ cup whole wheat couscous
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon dried oregano leaves
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ cup reduced fat shredded Pepper Jack Cheese

Heat oven to 400F degrees. Cut bell peppers in half lengthwise; remove seeds and membranes, but not stems. Place peppers, cut sides up, onto two rimmed baking sheets.

Combine ground beef, vegetable juice, spinach, couscous, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper in large bowl; mix lightly but thoroughly. Spoon beef mixture evenly into peppers; sprinkle tops evenly with cheese.

Bake, uncovered, for 25 – 30 minutes or until instant-read thermometer inserted into center of pepper registers 160F degrees and peppers begin to brown.

Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

2Fer: When to Mix Music with Running & WODs | Koss Fit Series Headphones

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Jennifer FIsher

Wondering if you should rock out with music while you run or workout in the gym? Poll your friends or Google some scientific studies and you’ll quickly discover that this ongoing debate has persuasive arguments booming out of both sides of the proverbial box. Some athletes wouldn’t dream of running a single step or lifting a dumbbell without pumping up the volume, while other athletes turn their noses up at anything but the unplugged, purist approach. There is no arguing that music has a beat that makes the body want to move. On the other hand, there are legitimate reasons to keep your entire mind “on call” when you run or workout. As usual, I support the best of both worlds. That is, knowing how to incorporate music into training on occasion and then being able to ultimately perform without it. And, make sure to read down to the bottom because I’m going to fill you in on the really awesome Koss “FitClip” and “FitBud” headphones that are designed by women, for women.

When To Mix Music and Exercise

To Enhance Performance with “Up-Tempo: Songs: Music makes a great substitute for that absent training partner who is just a little bit faster or stronger than you. When I don’t have a friend on the track to chase down and have to finish speed workouts alone, I will often wear headphones to help me kick it in high gear. I always wondered how music made me feel like I just ate my Wheaties. Well, according to a 2012 study, music can act as a metronome to help maintain a steady pace, reduce false steps and decrease energy expenditures. The researchers at Hallam University found that participants who cycled in time to music required 7 percent less oxygen to do the same work as their music-free counterparts. According to another music and exercise researcher, Costas Karageorghis from the School of Sport and Education at London’s Brunel University, the “sweet spot” for using music to enhance performance is between125 – 140 beats per minute. So, pick up-tempo songs, not slow love ballads!

To Get Motivated with “Favorite” Songs: On days when it’s hard to get out the door, cranking up the iPod and exercising to a few of my all-time favorite songs helps me readjust my mood. This isn’t just a touchy-feely claim; there is real science behind this type of attitude adjustment. A recent study showed that subjects who listened to music they reportedly “loved” triggered the release of dopamine, the famous feel-good neurotransmitter. But, when the same participants listened to generic music selected by the researchers, dopamine levels remained stagnant. In addition to being the brain’s reward and pleasure center, it’s no surprise to find out that dopamine not only enables our brain to see rewards, but sends the signals we need to take action and move toward achieving them.

To Trick Yourself into Beating Fatigue: When your body starts sensing signs of extreme exertion, it notifies your brain to take a break. But, the use of music can keep you going despite rising levels of lactic acid in the muscles, a pounding heart beat and increased sweat production. Experts say that music overrides the physiological feedback for the brain’s conscious attention – it’s a diversion in the same way that the phlebotomist’s office always has an interesting photo to look at while you’re getting blood drawn. However, during intense fatigue, music can lose its magic to override the suffering. Anyone who’s ever hit the wall in a marathon knows there’s not a song ever sung that can trick your mind out of the pain. However, the right music can elevate your mood and persuade you to ride out the waves of exhaustion, rather than giving up.

When Not to Mix Music with Exercise

When Coming Back from Injury: If you are rehabilitating from an injury, it’s best to work out without music. Experts say that listening to music can distract an athlete from the exercise at hand, encouraging a ‘push-through-the-pain mentality’ – even if it’s at a subconscious level. Instead of disassociating yourself from distress with music, try turning inward and listening to your body’s feedback.

When Competing: When competing, the best athletes seem to have every sense focused on achieving top performance without the aid of any external stimulus such as music. It’s true that listening to music prior to your start is a great way to calm down – or get pumped up. But, during the actual competition, music has the potential to become a disastrous liability, a disadvantage which trumps any performance benefit you could potentially have achieved with it. Think how stupid you would feel to lose your lead because you didn’t hear the footsteps of a runner challenging you from behind or you missed an important call from a referee and ending up with a DQ. Or, even just the inconvenience of your device losing its battery charge halfway through a marathon and being stuck lugging the dang thing to the finish line. Also, be aware that some sports governing bodies don’t allow the use of music, viewing it as a “performance enhancer” that gives unfair advantage on the playing field. For example, US Track & Field (USTF) bars the use of headphones or music for athletes who are competing for “awards, medals or prize money.”

When in Potentially Hazardous Situations: Put safety above your playlist. Use common sense when it comes to running or exercising with headphones on. If the volume is cranked and you are totally tuned out, you may not hear oncoming traffic, unfriendly dogs, or potential criminals. In races and competitions, you may miss important directions from the officials and not benefit from the thrill of hearing the cheering crowd.

Also:

Keep it Courteous: Also remember that one man’s music is another man’s migraine. If you’re in the gym, garage, or running with a speaker vest and playing your music “out loud” remember to be courteous and keep it at a reasonable volume.

A Review of KOSS Fit Series Headphones

So, I think we should all mix music with our exercise at least every once in a while. If you agree, you’ll want to have some great headphones to maximize the listening experience. Nothing worse than a crackling, cheapo pair of headphones that wants to slide out of your sweaty ears. Or, worse yet, won’t even fit in your ears. Well, earlier this month, the Koss Fit Series hit the market and they sent me both of their new models to try out– the FitClips and the EarBuds.

So, what’s great about the Koss FitClips? These headphones use an original design to ensure that perfect fit we women want; they measure in 33% smaller than the standard earbud. The speaker element rests comfortably in the ear and comes with one of three sizes of ear cushions to make sure a girl is getting the perfect ear “seal.” The ear clip is soft and flexible and after running 8 miles in it this morning, not once did it fall out or slip thanks to both the design and sweat-resistant coating. In fact, I forgot that I was wearing them! There are five vibrant colors available; mine are a pretty blue that reminds me of the Texas Mountain Laurel that I see on my trail runs.

Koss FitBud

Koss FitClip

Another thing to love about the Koss Fit Series, Darra Torres is their spokeswoman. Named as one of the “Top Female Athletes of the Decade” by Sports Illustrated, the swimming sensation is about my age and such an inspirational role model. Darra believes that it’s never too late to accomplish your dreams and that determination trumps age – I love this! These are words to live by!

If you’re interested in a pair, head over to Koss and use the code Fit4Life for $5 off plus free shipping.

Wednesday WOD – Turn Hump Day into Jump Day!

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Jennifer FIsher

I have a fun workout for you today! Get those legs jumping and your arms pumping with this four element extravaganza. You’ll need a jump rope, medicine ball (any weight), gymnastic rings and a sturdy platform for jumping. A combination of cardio mixed with plyometrics and body weight training, you’ll find this WOD to be fun yet harder than it sounds. Thanks to Valerie Hunt at CrossFit and Fearless for helping show off some of the moves. Try to complete three to five rounds! Let me know how it goes in the comments.

Two Minutes of Jump Rope: I jump with two feet together, getting only as high off the ground as I need to in order to clear the rope. It’s about efficiency. If you’d rather skip rope or go for some harder-core “double unders,” by all means, please do!

Don’t let a little lap dog show you up!

Five Kipping Ring Dips: Support yourself on the rings and dip downward with your chest, bending your arms at the elbows. To gain momentum upward, tuck your knees up and then quickly extend them as you push with your triceps back to the upward start position. I’m sure you’ll do better than I did, I got the giggles.

Ten Medicine-Ball to Box-Jump: Stand about 18-inches behind a box with a height you are comfortable using. To the back of you place a Dynamax medicine ball in the spot where your rear would naturally land if you were to sit down. To complete one rep, jump forward onto the box extending with hips fully. Next, jump backward to your starting line and sit down onto the ball (be careful to make sure you’ve landed in the right place and it’s actually there)! Watch Valerie demonstrate in the video. If this is too challenging, stick with regular box jumps and focus on landing back on the start line when jumping off. Once you’ve mastered this, you can add in the medicine ball.

Fifteeen Chest-to-Floor Push Ups: Go all the way down on these pushups and touch your chest and belly to the floor before extending back upward. Keep your core tight, it helps!

thefitfork.com

The Fit Fork