The Winners of the Homemade Dressing Giveaway!

In all my excitement this week I have neglected to announce the winners of the Homemade Dressing. I used random.org to assist in choosing the winners.

First prize winner will receive the flavor of their choice.

The winner is…..

Entry #5-

Averie (LoveVeggiesAndYoga):

February 17, 2010 at 2:06 am

i follow you on twitter baby!

2nd Winner is……

Entry #26-

Nicole, RD:

February 17, 2010 at 2:13 pm

The last Winner is…..

Entry # 35-

CG the Foodie:

February 17, 2010 at 8:52 pm

All winners contact me at smmuconnatgmaildotcom to claim your prize

Trainer on the Run’s Cardio Extravaganza

I really appreciate all the wonderful comments and questions. Keep the coming by just leaving them in the comment box below. I have two questions I will answer today:

First is from Katie:

Q: Thanks for this – lots of great information!  I was wondering if you might be able to discuss the best way to determine how many calories you’re burning through exercise. I know using a heart rate monitor is the most accurate, but do you have any other suggestions?

A: Katie-

While using your heart rate is the preferred and more accurate way to determine how many calories you burn during exercise, there is another way to get an estimate using an equation based on MET levels.

You might have noticed the abbreviation MET on some cardio machines (most recently I’ve noticed that Cybex equipment seems to show these values pretty regularly). MET (Metabolic Equivalent) values rate activities based on their intensity. One MET is defined as 1 kcal/kg/hour and is roughly equivalent to the energy cost of sitting quietly. For a comprehensive list of MET values for various activities check out the PDF on this website: http://prevention.sph.sc.edu/tools/compendium.htm

Once you know the MET value of a particular activity you would calculate the number of calories (kcal to be most scientific) required to complete the activity for one minute using the following equation:

(METs x 3.5 x body weight in kg*) = kcal/min
——————————–
200

*to determine your weight in kg divide your weight in lbs by 2.2

This equation is used to determine calories burned on your favorite exercise machine (it’s why your treadmill asks you how much you weigh) and on online websites that estimate the number of calories you burn per minute for various activities.

MET values are quite useful in comparing your cardio workout on one machine to your cardio workout on another machine. However, using the above equation is never going to be as personally accurate as using your heart rate. This is because depending on your personal fitness level you will use more or less oxygen to complete an activity. The amount of oxygen you use directly relates to the amount of calories you burn.

So…heart rate is key! BUT when we use this value to determine calories burned we are likely using an estimate of our maximal heart rate and not a value determined from a lab so even heart rate values won’t always get us to the most precise value of calories burned.

BOTTOM LINE:

*METs (metabolic equivalents) are used to calculate calories burned for an average individual for a given activity. METs can also help you compare the intensity of one machine to another (most useful purpose of METs.
*Equations that use your heart rate to determine the energy cost of a particular activity are much more accurate because they take your personal fitness level into account.
*Even though using your heart rate to calculate calories burned isn’t 100% accurate, paying attention to heart rate is extremely important and useful for cardiovascular training.

Q:  What is the best 30 minute cardio routine using a treadmill or other cardio equipment?

A:  To answer this I’m going to assume you are looking for a general cardio routine to be used on any equipment and not the best type of equipment to use.  If I am incorrect, let me know and also check out my response to Katie’s question following last week’s response.  Not to get into this too much I will just say MET values can help you compare the intensity of different workouts on different machines.
The best- read most efficient-30 minute cardio workout would be one that includes intervals.  Interval training is great for individuals of all fitness levels so don’t be discouraged by the name!  All this means is that you are changing between an interval of less intensity to an interval of higher intensity.  You could do this simply by  warming up on your treadmill with a few minutes of walking/jogging and then alternating between one minute at your normal pace and one minute at a higher speed than you currently use.  This can really help increase your cardiovascular fitness.  A word of caution-especially if you are training more intensely most days of the week-you don’t want to do heavy speed intervals more than once a week.  This could cause injuries. The good news is that as you work on intervals you will be able to increase your average intensity for your normal workouts as well. 
My favorite type of interval is a pyramid interval.  This means you start with a harder interval of a short length (i.e. 30 secs) and increase interval intensity until hitting your longest interval length before gradually decreasing the length of your more intense intervals. I use my favorite pyramid interval workout for the treadmill when I forget my music because it forces me to focus on something other than how borrrring treadmills can be

Here it is:
5 minutes at a comfortable running pace to warm up
30 secs high intensity
60 secs normal running pace
45 secs high intensity
60 secs normal running pace
60 secs high intensity
60 secs normal running pace
90 secs high intensity
60 secs normal running pace
60 secs high intensity
60 secs normal running pace
45 secs high intensity
60 secs normal running pace
30 secs high intensity
5 minute (or more) cool down at comfortable running pace
As is this works out to be about 22 minutes but gets the job done. You can always add a longer warm-up/cool down if you are looking to work on your time.

Have a healthy and fit week!

Catherine

Trainer on the Run

There’s No Place Like Home

Hello Blog Friends!!! It feels so great to be home and get back into a routine. My conference was one of the best professional experience I have had in my career. Not only did I leave with a lot more knowledge than I came with, I also met other professional that I can now network with and share teacher “"battle stories” with.

I came home to a family who missed me lots! Two of the three (Dad on the Run and Daijia) are feeling under the weather. Now I also have this nasty congestion thing going on. It does not help that the weather is just plain awful in New England. We are only on storm #1 of 3. Luckily it is just rain, but it is the cold nasty fall rain that chills you to the bone. Brrrrrr!!

I resume tomorrow to my regular food and product find posts. Thanks for all the positive comments and energy

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