We hope you are enjoying this year's Cruzfit program and are making good progress towards reaching your challenge goal and earning your CruzFit 2015 Finisher's T-Shirt! This is the point in our challenge when your commitment to fitness might be tested, as mid-term busyness and stress sinks in, flu season threatens to knock you down, and the New Year's motivation-boost starts to wear off. Don't give in to the temptations to slow down or quit! Ask yourself and your teammates, "Is my/your heart in this?", and then work to figure out how go ALL IN!
Speaking of your hearts, this upcoming Saturday is Valentine's Day and so we want to encourage you to pay some extra attention to you heart and it's contribution to your health, wellness, and physical fitness this week. Make a point to check your heart-rate during your exercises this week (the ACSM defines "moderate intensity" aerobic exercise as that which raises your heart-rate to 50%-85% of your maximum heart-rate [220-age]), attend this week's "Heart Health for a Long & Active Life" workshop, or read up on how to choose a heart-healthy diet (try the American Heart Association's online "Nutrition Center".
Just a reminder, if you registered late in the program you probably missed some of our earlier CruzFit messages and instructions. Please be sure to check the list of previous CruzFit emails listed in the CruzFit 2015 Resources section of this newsletter (below).
CRUZFIT FITNESS FREEBIE #3:
Have a Heart-Healthy Valentine's Day!
In the spirit of the upcoming Valentine's Day weekend, we want to give some special attention that wonderful heart of your's this week. This Wednesday afternoon (2/11), from 12:10pm-12:50pm in the OPERS Activities Room, we'll be offering a free health & wellness workshop on the topic of "Heart Health for a Long & Active Life". The class will be taught by Jay Johnson, MD, a member of the Physicans Medical Group of Santa Cruz (PMG).
Dr. Johnson is a board-certified cardiologist currently in private practice in Santa Cruz and is serving as Chief of Staff at Dominican Hospital. After completing his bachelors and Masters degree in physiology and exercise physiology at the University of California Berkeley he attended medical school at George Washington university. From there he went to UCSF for general medicine and completed his cardiology training at UCLA. He has special interests in heart disease prevention and heart failure.
Whole Foods Market Gift Card
Healthy refreshments and snacks will be provided by PMG, and the opportunity to win some great prizes for your attendance will be provided from Whole Foods Market. Intended prizes include:
- All Attendees = Raffle Ticket for Whole Foods Gift Cards ($20-$40 value)
First 20 Attendees = Choice of Whole Foods Goody Bags ($5-$15 value) or Extra Raffle Ticket.
FITNESS TIP #3:
High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
Are you interested in adding variety to your exercise routine while taking your cardiovascular fitness to the next level? High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a technique that alternates between high speed and recovery intervals to increase the overall intensity of your workout.
Most endurance workouts, such as walking or running, are performed at a moderate intensity/ exertion level (5/10). High-intensity intervals are done at an elevated exertion level (7+/10). This is typically sustained for 30 seconds to 3 minutes. The recovery intervals (exertion level 5-6/10) should be equal to or longer than the high-intensity intervals.
HIIT routines vary widely. There’s no one best single way to structure them. Experiment with shorter and longer speed and recovery intervals to find what works best for you.
Gradually work up to 10 or more intervals, depending on your fitness goals. The most common mistake made with interval training is making the recovery intervals too short.
Perform HIIT workouts 1-2 times a week at most to reduce your risk of injury. This training method is best used periodically for up to 6 weeks or so to enhance regular training rather than as a routine fitness strategy.
Make sure you start tracking your daily exercise in your Exercise-Tracker in Google Docs. If you don't yet have one, talk to your team captain, who was given instructions on how to create and share it with you. (If you're a team captain and you didn't receive your instructions for creating the Exercise-Tracker file, please email us to request we re-send it to you.)
3) Team Leaderboards
Keep track of your team's progress in comparison with that of the other 750+ teams taking part in this year's challenge. Challenge friends to a friendly competition to reach your goals (100%) first or accumulate the highest average minutes per team member. You can view the Leaderboard file on Google Docs.
4) FAQ's
Check out the FAQ pages in the CruzFit Section of our FitLife Website for answers to all your questions about CruzFit!
