Spring into Fitness for FIT Principles
By: Total Nutrition Technology - Angela Wilkinson & Stacey Gretka
Allow the growing daylight hours to entice you to put some spring in your step. As the long, cold winter days melt away, nearly all creatures are anxious to get moving. And we are no exception.
Following their lead can help you embrace the coming sunny summer days with a new outlook and even a new body. As New Year’s Resolutions become challenging to keep, now is the perfect time to re-vamp your routine. All it takes is a little spring cleaning of your workout attire and equipment, along with a few of these fun ideas, and you’ll be ready to (re)commit to be F.I.T.
Introducing the F.I.T. Principles
F.I.T. stands for:
Frequency – The number of times per week you exercise
Intensity – The effort with which the exercise is performed
Time – The duration of each exercise session
In order to achieve maximum results, there must be a certain output of energy during exercise. By incorporating any of the F.I.T. principles into an exercising plan one can not only add variety but can also help prevent boredom. For example, if one decides to increase his or her intensity, then perhaps the time could be cut down in exchange. Just be sure to have the same caloric expenditure (usage).
The F.I.T. principle can help add “spice” to workouts as well. If you are exercising at a low intensity (pace), challenge yourself to go a little harder or push yourself to go a little longer. The main goal is to be able to increase your level of fitness as your body adapts to its demands. Before making any of these exercise changes on your own, please consult with your health educator for specific details.
Implementing the F.I.T. Principles
Here are some fun ways to Get F.I.T!
- Spring clean your house
- F= Once
- I = consider speed, stairs, and vacuuming plus ADD 1 pound wrist weights
- T= If normally take you 3 hours try to shave off 20 minutes next go around
- Daily walks or jogs
- F = If normally 3 times try 4 per week
- I = consider adding inclines, adding hand weights OR add in some sprints
- T = Instead of 30minutes ADD 15 more
No matter what your exercise routine, the changing of the season into spring is the perfect time to put that spring back in your step and recommit to yourself. Incorporating the F.I.T. Principles into your existing workouts or a new workout will help challenge you and keep your workouts fresh and exciting. Remember it doesn’t matter how long or how fast you move…just start moving and the rest will soon follow! If you are looking for a great challenging Crossfit workout that you can do at home check out our TNT Spartan Workout. It can certainly be adjusted to suit any fitness level. And if you have questions about this workout or any other aspect of your workout routine, don’t hesitate to ask!
What is your favorite way to get exercise outdoors?
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What the WOD? Your Guide to Crossfit Terminology
Total Nutrition Technology
Crossfit has become all the craze. A team from Total Nutrition Technology just completed a great crossfit challenge this past week - the Spartan Sprint. It was a wonderful team building experience and an amazing physical challenge for everyone on Team TNT ProFit. Crossfit is an excellent way to keep workouts fresh and exciting AND constantly challenge yourself. But if you are new to Crossfit, it might seem a little overwhelming. "Can I make it through a class?" "What do all those names and acronyms mean?" Well we've put together a list of some of the most common Crossfit terms to help you decode your workout.
1. Workout of the Day (WOD): Plain and simple, this is the set of exercises a CrossFitter does on any given day.
2. As Many Reps/Rounds As Possible (AMRAP): Here the goal is to complete a circuit as many times as you can within a specific time frame. For example, 5 minute AMRAP: 10 pull ups, 20 double unders and 5 deadlifts. Then you record the total number of rounds you completed in those 5 minutes.
3. Pistol: A pistol is a one-legged squat, which helps to isolate each leg and build lower-body strength.
4. Burpees: Burpees are like the foundation of CrossFit workouts. You start from a standing position and then bend down and plant you hands on the ground, kick back into a plank position, and perform a push-up. Then you bring your legs back in under your chest and then transition into a slight jump up and hands touching over head. Fun, huh?
5. Double Under (DU): For this you need a jump rope. The goal is to have the rope to pass under your feet twice while you're still in the air.
6. MetCon: Short for “metabolic conditioning,” Metcons are designed to train stamina and endurance. Unlike WODs— which usually just include strength and skill-based workouts - metcons usually include some form of AMRAP component.
7. Pood: A pood is actually a Russian unit of measurement used for kettlebells.1 pood =16 kg/35 lbs; 1.5 pood = 24 kg/53 lbs; 2 pood = 32 kg/71 lbs.
8. Ass To Grass/Ground (ATG): ATG guarantees you're getting as low as possible when doing front, back or air squats.
9. CrossFit Total (CFT): CFT give you an accurate idea of how strong you are by testing yourself in three of the most functional CF exercises/modalities: back squat, strict press, and deadlift. To get your CFT, you will perform each of the three movements three times. The sum of the max weight performed in each movement will give you your score.
10. Tabata: Tabata is a work-rest method associated with many CrossFit WODs. Tabata training is also one of the most popular forms of high-intensity interval training. You will perform 8 rounds of ultra-high-intensity exercises in a 20-seconds-on, 10-seconds-off interval. The circuits may only last 4 minutes but your are pushing yourself to the absolute limit and you will feel it.
11. RX: When a WOD is performed RX’d, that means the athlete performs all exercises using the approved weight and reps. REMEMBER...in CrossFit, all WODs can be scaled down to meet your personal fitness level. Just keep in mind that the goal is to get to a place where the RX is challenging, yet achievable.
12. PR'd: You'll hear "PR" when an athlete achieves their personal record on a lift.
What is your favorite WOD?
For a more indepth list of Crossfit terminology, check out this comprehensive list from Greatist.
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Healthy St. Patrick's Day Food Ideas
St. Patrick's Day is here and for many this brings on thoughts of all things green and lucky. Give these fun and healthy food ideas a try this St. Patty's Day...you and your kids won't even realize they are good for you!
Fruit Leprechaun from Kitchen Fun with My 3 Sons.
Forget a Shamrock Shake at Mc Donalds...
give this healthy Shamrock Smoothie from Homekeeters.
Wake up to a St. Patrick's Day breakfast from Meet the Dubiens.
St. Patrick's Day Treat - Avocado ice cream from All Among Friends.
Green Rice from Kitchen to Nirvana.
Rainbow Veggies and Humus from JDaniel4′s Mom.
Lucky Leprechaun Dip from Lunchbox Bunch.
Leprechaun Hats from Creative Food
Shamrock “Chips” from Zakka Life
St. Patrick’s Day lunch from Kitchen Fun with My 3 Sons.
Happy St. Patrick's Day!!
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Spaghetti Squash Chicken Pad Thai
Servings: 4
Exchanges: 4 Meat, 1 Starch, 1 Vegetable, .5 Fat
Ingredients:
1 large spaghetti squash
1 cup bok choy (diced)
1 cup carrots (thinly sliced)
2 cooked chicken breast, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup low sodium chicken broth
2 tbsp natural peanut butter
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 red chili pepper
Garnishes:
2 tbsp dry roasted peanuts, chopped
1 green onion (chopped)
cilantro
lime wedges
Directions:
Cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise. If you are having difficulty cutting it, try microwaving for a minute or two, whole. Scrape away the seeds. Place on foil covered cookie sheet and season with salt and pepper. Roast on 350 degrees for 40-60 minutes. Remove, let sit 5 minutes and then "shred" the squash with a fork.
In a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, sauté garlic for 1 minute. Add the bok choy and carrots and sauté over medium-high heat for 3 minutes. Remove to a plate. Add chicken broth, peanut butter, soy sauce, rice vinegar and red chili pepper to skillet. Heat until smooth. Return veggies to the pan, as well as the spaghetti squash. Add in chicken, and heat over medium heat for 5 minutes or until sauce has coated all.
Divide among 2 plates/bowls and top with peanuts, cilantro, green onion, and lime wedge.
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Recipe adapted from : Stuff We Ate
Meet TNT Client Heather
For over 20 years, Total Nutrition Technology has been helping men and women realize their health and fitness goals. Whether you are looking to lose weight or take your health and fitness to the next level, TNT has the knowledge and passion to get you there.
We'd like you to meet TNT client Heather. Heather came to Total Nutrition Technology after struggling with her weight for the majority of her adult life. She met with TNT Health Educator Brock Murray and they were off and running with a plan tailored specifically for her. Heather has been kind enough to share her personal journey so that others can find inspiration and see that anything is possible!
Heather's Journey
"During my entire adult life, I've struggled with maintaining a healthy weight I was comfortable with. It all started in college when I gained the ‘freshman fifteen’, which quickly turned into another 15 lbs. By the time I got married at the age of 26, my weight had fluctuated so much that my closet had 4 different clothes sizes in it. Even worse, I gained another 35 lbs during the first two years of marriage. I couldn't believe it when I stepped on the scale for the first time and saw that I was 200 lbs! Thankfully, I was able to lose 45 lbs in 9 months. It was a success (sort of)! With the help of a regular work-out regimen and some not-so-healthy dieting practices, I've stayed within 10 lbs of the 155 lb. goal. However, staying that way always seemed like a struggle and I never really felt like I had a full understanding of overall wellness...that is until I started TNT.
After my metabolic test and my consultation with Brock, I could tell that this guy knew his stuff. Trust in him and his methods was built immediately. When he told me the plan of how we were going to reach my goals, at first I thought Boy, this is going to be expensive! This better be worth it!” My second thought was “This is going to be hard.” I could tell right away that it was different than any other program I had ever tried because this wasn't a ‘diet'. In the past 6 months, my journey down the path to health and wellness has changed my life and that is no exaggeration.
Today, I feel empowered, confident, and beautiful. Those are three words I never thought I’d use to describe myself and certainly not on the day when I weighed in at 200 lbs a few years ago. TNT gave me the tools I needed to rebuild my self-confidence and become my best self. As people have seen my body transform, they've asked me how I’m doing it. When I tell them about TNT, I explain it as a personalized plan that teaches you about feeding your body the nutrients it needs to function at its best. Plus, there’s flexibility. Yes, I still have a cupcake now and then. In fact, I’m eating one right now. What I love most about the program is that I've learned how to eat healthy for the rest of my life, not just for six months."
For more information on how TNT can help you realize your health and fitness goals contact a TNT Health Educator and schedule your FREE health assessment today!
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Suzie's Multigrain Thin Cakes: Spelt & Flax
By: Angela Wilkinson - TNT Founder & President
I am always on the hunt for new
healthy snack options. So I was scanning the aisle at
the grocery store a couple of months ago when this rectangle of cakes just kept
staring at me. I couldn’t resist taking
a closer look. This intriguing snack was
called Suzie’s Whole Grain Thin Cakes and when I picked up the Spelt & Flaxseed
thin cakes to read the ingredients and
nutrition facts, I was pleasantly surprised: 57 calories, 0g Fat, 10g Carbs, 2g
Protein for 3 cakes which is considered a serving size.
It turns out that Suzie’s makes some
great healthy snacks: organic crackers, flatbreads, puff cakes, naan crackers
and thin cakes. So I picked up a pack of
Suzie’s Whole Grain Thin Cakes – Spelt & Flax to put them to the test. Immediately I fall in love with the 3 simple
ingredients, spelt wheat, flaxseed and sea salt. Simple.
No need to worry about anything else.
The thin cakes are also available in brown rice, brown rice with salt,
multigrain, salted corn and corn/quinoa/sesame.
And as a bonus…the brown rice is GMO free!
Well Suzie’s Thin Cakes were an
instant hit in our house. They even
passed the kid test! These thin cakes
have that crunch factor that so many of us love and are good alone or with
anything you choose…cheese, natural preserves, nut butter, hummus…the
possibilities are endless. We have even
had them with a little pizza
sauce and low fat mozzarella cheese on top for a quick little pizza, yum! The kids’ favorite was a thin layer of
natural peanut butter topped with banana slices then warmed 15 second in the microwave. The perfect afterschool snack.
So if you are looking for a
low-calorie snack that packs a great crunch I highly recommend Suzie’s Thin
Cakes. The ingredients are clean and
simple and the 6 different varieties offer something for every taste. I picked up my Suzie’s Thin Cakes at Harris
Teeter but Suzie’s
brand products can be found nationwide at a variety of supermarket, natural, and
specialty stores, in addition to amazon.com and goodgroceries.com.
Enjoy!
Angela
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TNT Boneless Buffalo Wings
Recipe from TNT's Get Lean Get Fit Get Cooking Cookbook
TNT Boneless Buffalo Wings
Makes 2
Servings (5 wings each)
- (1) 8-oz raw boneless skinless lean chicken
breast, cut into 10 nuggets
- ¼ cup Fiber One bran cereal, original
flavor
- 1oz BBQ Baked Lays (about 14 chips)
- 3 Tbsp Frank’s Red Hot Original Cayenne
Pepper Sauce
- Dash onion powder
- Dash garlic powder
- Dash cayenne pepper or ground red pepper
- Dash black pepper
- Dash salt
Directions:
1)
Preheat oven
to 375°F.
2) In a blender or food processor, grind Fiber
One cereal to a crumb-like consistency.
Crush potato chips completely. In a small dish, mix crushed chips with cereal crumbs. Add onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne,
black pepper, and salt. Mix well.
3) Place Chicken pieces in a separate dish and
cover with Frank’s Red Hot and toss to coat.
4) Spray baking sheet with nonstick spray
5) Give each chicken piece a shake so it’s not
dripping with sauce, and then coat evenly with crumb mixture. Lay crumb- covered chicken on the baking sheet
6)
Bake in the
oven for 10 minutes, then flipping nuggets over and baking for 10 more minutes
or until outsides are crispy and chicken is cooked completely.
Exchanges: 4 Meats, 1/3 starch
For more delicious recipes like this try Total Nutrition Technology's NEW eCookbook Get Lean Get Fit Get Cooking available now. Learn more here
