Healthful Bites

Sixty minutes is a long time to spend on the treadmill. But if you’re looking for a serious cardio session, I have the fix that will help make time fly! Try my double pyramid workout, named for the time segments and speed variations. You’ll start with a five-minute, slower interval, and work your way up to a one-minute, swift one. Then for a breather, you’ll jog back down the pyramid (stop here for a 30-minute workout) and repeat the pyramid once more!

Of course, adjust the intensity based on your fitness level. The speed notes are just suggestions!

How long does it take before you lose interest on a gym machine? Any tricks to banish that boredom?

The title refers to what your fellow gym-goers will be saying when they see you completing this unique, fun routine! Alternating side shuffles with walking intervals is a fantastic way to bust boredom and target your leg muscles from different angles. We all spend so much time moving on a forward plane that we sometimes forget to go side-to-side—like back in grade school when we would gallop! Plus, shaking up your routine may be just what you’re looking for if you’re struggling with a plateau.

This description is based on a treadmill workout, but you can also try this outdoors. (Note: Alter the speed and interval length to suit your fitness level.)

You may get a few extra looks, but it’s well worth it! What’s the strangest workout you’ve seen someone do at the gym? Have you ever stolen those ideas after the fact?

This Saturday, I joined some co-workers to take part in the Fifth Avenue Mile event. It’s exactly what it sounds like—Fifth Avenue is shut down from the Upper East Side to Midtown for runners to make their way from about 80th to 60th Street. Considering I’m not a consistent jogger these days (I’m more often found in a spinning studio or my apartment trying a new workout DVD) I didn’t have huge expectations. I was thinking a sub-8-minute mile would be decent, so I was pretty pumped when I crushed that goal by nearly one minute!

I credit interval routines, like this one below, for keeping my pace in check. Since it involves short, quick bursts of running separated by longer bits of walking, this routine is doable yet effective. Tweak according to your current fitness level (perhaps you can make the walking intervals 3.2-3.5 MPH and decrease the jogs by 1.0-1.5 MPH each). Once you reach that last run, rev up your speed, while staying under control, and give it all you’ve got! It’s the end of the workout, so you might as well, right? :)

Do you think more about your quickness, endurance or both while training?

I was lucky enough to spend this past weekend in Colorado—prime hiking territory! In fact, I think it’s safe to say I did my longest-ever trail trek. (We did this path with a little extra tacked on to the end. It was six miles of fantastic views, chatting and exercising!) That event inspired today’s Good for You Moves post, which involves a quick indoor hiking routine!

You’ll need a treadmill to follow this plan in the simplest way (since you’ll be able to easily monitor your speed and incline) or free-form a similar hike at a hill near you.  There’s no reason why you have to run to get a great sweat going while toning up your lower half. Simply print out this program and follow the speed and incline prompts for a nice, hilly workout!

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(Note: Please listen to your body and if this is too fast or too steep, take it down a notch.)

What type of machines or workouts would you like to see in similar posts in the coming weeks? Or perhaps you would prefer an equipment-free at-home workout? Do tell!

We’re forging a new path today on Healthful Bites! Rather than just sharing videos during Good for You Moves posts, we’ll now switch it up between videos, cardio routines (something to look forward to next week!) and fun fitness-related interviews and helpful hints. Please let me know what you think of this new angle or share any suggestions in the comments.

To start off the new format on a high note, I was lucky enough to recently connect with fitness DVD star, group instructor, personal trainer and all-around exercise superstar Jessica Smith (left). She has released 10 DVDs to date, including two new-for-2011 “10 Pounds DOWN” workouts that involve similar cardio and sculpting methods to those she uses in her weekly classes that she teaches in Miami.

Read on to find out more about the trainer behind the DVDs, Jessica’s guilty pleasures and the one move she wish she could fast forward through during her workouts!

How did you first get involved in the health industry?
In my late teens, I gained a lot of weight (for my body) and struggled to keep it off. I tried everything from diet programs, packaged meals to diet pills to try to lose it—and nothing worked. I ended up gaining anything I’d lost and then some. I finally started taking small steps like exercising for 10 minutes at a time (because it was all I could handle) and making gradually changes in my eating habits. That’s what helped me lose over 40 pounds, and inspired me to help other people who might have struggled the way I did, to lose weight the healthy way.

Were you personally always healthy?
Definitely not! I’ve always really enjoyed food (especially sweets). And my Mom is Italian, so we had plenty of pasta! I’ve found that I can’t eat only salads and skip bread all the time—I’d go crazy! I still indulge myself on occasion, watch portions, and aim to eat healthy 80 percent of the time. I give myself some room to play because a girl’s gotta have her chocolate! The concept of moderation has finally helped me to let go of going from strict dieting to binging.

Explain your ideal workout.
I sort of have two. My absolute favorite “workout” is walking. I try to walk outside for an hour most days of the week, weather permitting. I get some of my best ideas while I am walking. My second favorite is “cardio sculpt:” lighter weights and higher reps done at a quick pace with cardio interval bursts mixed in. That is what I do when I’m ready to WORK. I do an hour long cardio sculpt session two or three times per week.

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