Quick Workout

i know this is a super busy time of year. often the thing that gets cut from the busy schedule is your workouts. i try to be as consistent as possible with my workouts because it actually keeps me sane. with that in mind, i thought i'd share with you how i get a quick hard workout in when i don't have a whole lot of time. it's my "i get bored easily" cardio fix.

as mentioned, i tend to get bored very easily. having a personal trainer has helped that a lot but i realize not everyone can have one of those. (truthfully without my trading of services - i cook for him, he trains me - i wouldn't be able to afford it.) i like to keep a bunch of different exercise dvd's on hand so i can squeeze in quick workouts at home which saves lots of time because i don't even have to drive to and from the gym. however when it comes to cardio, i have to get to the gym - it's too darn cold outside!

so, here is what i did today:

treadmill
minutes: 1-5          speed: 3.5mph          incline: 5.0
minutes: 5-15        speed: 4.0 mph         incline: 10.0
cybex arc trainer
minutes: 15-30      intensity: 50 (out of 100)    incline: 10
elliptical
minutes: 30-45      level: 5

this kicks my butt (literally!) its a quick 45 minutes but it's intense. according to my heart rate monitor i burned over 400 calories! my advice is when you are short on time, make it intense. mixing up the machines keeps me from getting bored. you can do this on any machine. mix it up - bike, treadmill, arc trainer, elliptical, rowing machine, etc.

after my workout i always try to have a bit of protein to help my muscles rebuild. its most important after weight training but i figured since i really pushed it today, i'd have a little protein. the only problem? its really cold outside today and i just couldn't bear to drink a cold smoothie. so . . . i tried something a little different.

i made some hot chocolate with protein powder in it. i was very surprised how well it turned out! my concoction included these:

1/2 scoop of dessert chocolate fudge protein powder and half a package of nestle dark chocolate hot chocolate mix mixed with 8 oz hot milk. yum! this drink had 20 grams of protein (between the powder and the milk) and 9 grams of sugar. even though the sugar is a little high, i thought it was worth it to be warm and i only needed 1/2 a packet with the chocolate protein powder. i will be having this again, no doubt.