Hi everyone,

Hope you’re all enjoy­ing your weekend!

Today I would like to chat about trai­ing within spe­cific heart rate zones. I recently pur­chased a mon­tior and have found it be a fan­tas­tic train­ing tool. I never really paid much atten­tion to my heart rate unless it seemed unusu­ally high or low, at which time I would typ­i­cally slow down or speed up accord­ingly. But with a mon­i­tor, you will learn how to train in a more dis­ci­plined, effi­cient manner.

Dur­ing the win­ter sea­son, I focus on base build­ing or build­ing my aer­o­bic capac­ity. For the most part, this means train­ing in zone 3 or at medium inten­sity. I like to think of this train­ing zone as “sus­tain­able dis­com­fort” or “com­fort­ably hard”. In terms of your heart rate, zone 3 is typ­i­cally betweem 75%-85% MHR.

I think the hard­est part about train­ing with a mon­i­tor is main­tain­ing the dis­ci­pline to stay within the zone and not go over/​under. Remem­ber, this is the time of year when we need to work on our endurance, not focus on anaer­o­bic or inter­val work. I like to throw in a few short sprints every now and again but for the most part, I like to keep my heart rate consistent.

Here’s a good link for those of you who aren’t sure what your MHR is. Keep me in mind, these are approx­i­mate cal­cu­la­tions, and there are vari­ances. I think equa­tion 6 is the most accurate.

Here’s to trai­ing smart!

http://​www​.digi​fit​.com/​h​e​a​r​t​r​a​t​e​z​o​n​e​s​/​m​a​x​i​m​u​m​-​h​e​a​r​t​-​r​a​t​e​.​a​s​p​?​A​g​e​=​4​6​#​t​a​b​l​e

Hi there,

Yes­ter­day, I spoke briefly about my train­ing week down in Florida and how my work­out nutri­tion or lack thereof, was really hin­der­ing my progress/​performance. To give you an exam­ple, I used to shove a banana down my throat about a half hour before a long train­ing ses­sion (any­thing longer than an hour) and would for­get about refu­el­ing until the work­out was done. I would bonk around the 1.5 hr mark and just push through it, not pay­ing atten­tion to the fact that my glyco­gen stores were totally depleted. My mus­cles would fatigue, my back would ache and my brain would be telling me to give up but I would keep going until I just couldn’t go any fur­ther. Now, after expe­ri­enc­ing the results of proper hydra­tion and nutri­tion while train­ing, my per­for­mance has never been bet­ter. My endurance and men­tal atti­tude has dra­mat­i­cally improved with this new learn­ing. I am now refu­el­ing every 30 min­utes with a quick release carb, like a gel or chew. My water intake is timed every 15 min­utes so that my body is never hun­gry or dehy­drated and my focus stays sharp. My cousin made a good obser­va­tion about the inter-​dependent rela­tion­ship between nutri­tion and train­ing and that is, once you begin to feel edgy or ready to quit, your body is telling you it needs to be fed. She was so right! Give it a try the next time you head out on a long ride or run. You’ll be amazed at how your body will respond.

On another note, while I was in Florida, I enjoyed some deli­cious Cuban food after a long, chal­leng­ing ride. I carb loaded with saf­fron rice, navy beans and the most deli­cious starchy veg that I’ve ever tried. It’s called yuca or cas­sava and if you’ve never tasted it, you really must. All you need to do is peel it and either bake or boil it until ten­der. It’s kind of like a potato, only bet­ter. You can mash it or cut into fries and bake them until they form a crispy exte­rior and a creamy, fluffy inte­rior. I cut mine into big chunks and boiled it in chicken broth until soft. I then sauteed it in olive oil, gar­lic and onions. Just before serv­ing, I added a squeeze of fresh lemon, a hand­ful of chopped fresh pars­ley and lots of sea salt and fresh ground black pep­per. Delicious!

I bought my fresh yuca at Longo’s. Here’s a pic for you, so you’ll know what to look for.

Enjoy!

Hi everyone,

Hope you’re all enjoy­ing this chilly Tuesday.

I thought I’d share with you Saveur Magazine’s (a great food mag for any­one who loves to cook), best food blogs for 2013.

I par­tic­u­larly like, Green Kitchen Sto­ries, a veg­e­tar­ian site. It’s filled with inter­est­ing recipes and beau­ti­ful photography.

Enjoy!

http://​www​.saveur​.com/​a​r​t​i​c​l​e​/​b​l​o​g​/​2​0​1​3​-​B​e​s​t​-​F​o​o​d​-​B​l​o​g​-​A​w​a​r​d​s​-​W​i​n​n​e​r​s

Hi everyone,

Happy Friday!

Wish the weather was a bit more cheery but then again, it is Novem­ber in Toronto. What else should we expect?

Today, I thought I’d share with you a list of some of my favourite things. Things that I pretty much eat or use on a daily basis. Things that I just can’t seem to live with­out. Here goes.…

Hi everyone,

I’m sorry that I haven’t posted in awhile. I guess you could say life got in the way but then again, we’re all busy and that’s really no excuse. So what’s new and excit­ing in my world? What’s dif­fer­ent since the last time you vis­ited? In short, not too much!