Recently, I have been feeling a little bit frustrated with workouts. That doesn't mean that I am not enjoying my current workout schedule by any means. I actually am loving it because I know it fits my goals right now. And, most days, I like not having to plan routines or find ways to make cardio more interesting. However, sometimes while reading other blogs that discuss their interval workouts, heavier lifting, group fitness training, Insanity workouts, or even sometimes the prevalence of running in blogworld, it leaves me longing for more.

Insanity

I miss these types of workouts. I miss feeling spent and like I totally killed a workout. I miss feeling like I have accomplished something or progressed in something fitness-wise. And I miss trying out new things. Well, thank goodness for yoga as something new to try in the "Do What You Don't" challenge. Well, just because I miss these types of workouts doesn't mean you have to. I definitely think they are beneficial to be added into your training. Let's learn a little more about the benefits of High Intensity Interval Training today.

High Intensity Inteval Training - aka HIIT is a form of cardiovascular training where you alternate high intensity burst with recovery periods.

Sample Interval Training Chart

For true, HIIT, your working intervals are around 20-30 seconds where your heart rate gets to about 90% of your max, or a 9-10 on the RPE (Rate of Perceived Extension) scale. You should feel like you could not push a second more at then end of the high intensity part of the interval. It is then followed with an average of 40-90 seconds of active recovery to decrease your heart rate to about 70% of your maximum, or a 5-6 on the RPE scale, before you repeat the process. You will continue alternating between the two for a total of about 20-30 minutes. Be sure a proper warmup and cooldown are included. The benefits of HIIT are:

• Trains both aerobic and anaerobic conditioning. Think of it being able to help both sprinting and long distance runs.
• Increases your calorie burn both during and after your workout. On average you are working harder than a steady state session, even though the intense intervals are a shorter portion of the workout. Also, you will  have more post workout burn from your body taking longer to recover.
• Can help limit muscle loss because of the shorter duration and, in layman's terms, the high intensity relies on more muscle fibers firing to promote burning glucose and fat as fuel instead of lean mass.
• Easy to vary your workouts. You can do so many different ratios for your intervals to make it something new almost every workout. You can do 30 seconds work and 60 seconds rest. Or 30 of each. Or 1 min of each (although longer intervals won't be as intense as shorter ones). Or you can do a pyramid set up of 15 sec, then 20 seconds, then 30, then 45, then 60 of work and go back down.
• Makes your workout fun. These workouts are tough, but having to constantly switch up what you are doing makes them seem to FLY by. And who doesn't like that? 😉

For a lot of great HIIT workout ideas, check out Janetha's, Naomi's, and Lisa's blogs. They incorporate this type of training regularly and always have fun ideas. And I have been stockpiling their routines to save for the day I can run my tail off with some intervals. Until then, I will live vicariously through all of you and your inspiring workouts. No point in possibly hindering my goal thanks to my body being more sensitive than most.

Are you ready for another installment on intuitive eating? I know I am no scientist, dietitian, or expert, but this is something I am passionate about and I love sharing my thoughts on the approach. Today I will be tackling principle two and how it will help with eating intuitively. To catch up on parts 1 and 2, click here for my introduction and here for rejecting the diet mentality. After reading, please be sure to share your insights as well 🙂

Principle Two - Honor Your Hunger

How easily do you recognize your hunger signals? Do you know what hungry feels like, in comparison to reaching the point of wanting to inhale anything and everything? Do you know what satisfied feels like, versus stuffed too full or having to convince yourself you have eaten enough? Hunger and fullness are two physiological signs that we should be able to easily recognize, but many of us do not. Perhaps it is because we follow a clock on when to eat. Perhaps it's because we stick to rules on how much should be in any given meal. Or perhaps its because we allow emotions, stress, boredom, etc to be the sole determination of how, what, and when we eat. And what about pills that have claims like this?

Hoodia Pills Ad

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After following those types of actions for any extended period of time, we begin to lose sight of our bodies' signals. We may get to the point of only being able to recognize extreme hunger. That "MUST. EAT. NOW!" feeling. Have you ever not eaten when hungry because you weren't "supposed to", only to turn around and eat more than necessary and feel uncomfortable from eating too much? Most of you know I have experience there, back before Makenzie when I battled binging. Fluctuations like these are common when not eating based on biological hunger.

hehe this made me giggle

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How can you learn to honor your hunger again? There are various things you can be mindful of to help reacquaint yourself with your own hunger cues.

• Recognize and allow yourself to always have access to food. If you try to eat based on a certain number of calories, a certain number of meals/snacks per day, only eating certain types of food, etc your body and mind will register the deprivation. Even if you are eating enough, having any limitations in place can affect how you perceive your hunger.
• Know you don't have to be ravenous to be hungry. Those are two different feelings and your body will respond differently to both. If you eat when simply hungry, you are more likely to be able to approach food in a rational manner, instead of being ravenous and consuming too much and not enjoying the process.
• Check in with your body regularly and assess your hunger level on a 1-10 scale. This will eventually become unnecessary and is simply a step in getting your body aware of how it feels when hungry.
• Don't consider eating only when hungry a way to lose weight and another diet mentality. It is perfectly acceptable to eat under different circumstances. The Intuitive Eating book mentions emotional eating, social eating, eating as a way of planning ahead (for example eating before hunger due to being in a meeting for hours and you know you will need to eat), and eating something purely for pleasure. Doing things mindfully are no reason to feel guilty and can definitely be part of honoring your hunger and intuitive eating.
• Understand your body's warning signals. Some people may feel their stomach growling before others would in their level of hunger. Some may get a slight headache first. Others may get a bit cranky as a sign of hunger. *cough cough*  When checking your levels of hunger regularly with the 1-10 scale, focus on what your physiological symptoms are and being to recognize them for the future.

Are you aware of your hunger cues? What things of the above do you, or have you, struggled with the most? Which of Tribole & Resch's tips do you think are most helpful for honoring hunger?