sweet banana pilaf and speed cardio

on August 25, 2008

Morning! I went to bed early last night and made it to the gym for an AM workout. I haven’t done this in a while, and it felt great! Mondays are usually super busy, and I knew my workout would fall to the wayside if I left it until this evening.

Since I was crunched on time (I literally had 30 minutes at the gym), I decided to do a speed cardio session on the Stairmaster. This workout targets all your different leg muscles, shoots your heart rate through the roof, and gives you maximum calorie burn in a short amount of time.

Speed Cardio on the Stairmaster

Minute 0 – 5: Warm-up at Speed 7 (75 steps per minute)
Minute 5 – 10: Climb at Speed 8 (82 steps per minute)
Minute 10 – 15: Climb backwards at Speed 7
Minute 15 – 16:30: Climb facing right (keep your hips straight) at Speed 7.
Minute 16:30 – 18: Climb facing left at Speed 7.
Minute 18 – 20: Climb at Speed 9 with kick-backs (step, step, step, kick behind you with your left leg; step, step, step, kick behind you with your right leg).
Minute 20 – 25: Climb at Speed 8
Minute 25 – 30: Climb at Speed 7.

It’s pretty intense, but it was worth it! Here are my statistics:

Duration: 30 minutes
Average Heart Rate: 157 bpm
Maximum Heart Rate: 180 bpm
Calories Burned: 242

Pre-Workout Snack

Last night, I got hungry right before bed and had 1/2 of a PB Larabar. Before my workout this morning, I ate the other half and drank a coffee + water.

Breakfast – Sweet Banana Pilaf

I can tell I’m rapidly becoming obsessed with Kashi Pilaf. It is soooo versatile! Because I made the pilaf yesterday, all I had to do was microwave everything this morning. It was too easy and there were NO pots to clean (and that’s how I like breakfast on a Monday morning).

I combined 1/2 cup pilaf, 1 sliced banana, and 1/3 cup milk in a microwavable bowl and nuked it for 2:30 minutes. I poured about 1/2 tablespoon of brown sugar and a few pecans on top–viola! So delicious! With 6 grams of fiber and 6 grams of protein in 1 serving of pilaf, this breakfast is sure to keep me going for hours.

I noticed on my way home from the gym that today is the first day of school! All the teenagers looked tremendously irritated walking to the bus stop. 🙂 I wish I could go back to school (well, maybe college)! If you are starting school or classes today, good luck and enjoy it while you can! Have a wonderful day.

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