Bootcamp vs Bootcamp

There are so many options now days when it comes to fitness. It seems that every gym is advertising a class that they call "bootcamp". I am going to address why you should choose one bootcamp over another. Your fitness goals should determine the type of bootcamp you choose. As a general rule, most people fall into one of two goal categories: 

Goal #1: Weight Loss & Toning

You are looking for a bootcamp that incorporates  a lot of cardio intervals (get your heart rate sky high and then bring it back down again) and high repetition of low weights. An example would be P90X or Intensity DVD workouts, they are aimed at weight loss and toning. 

Goal #2: Bulk Up & Muscle Building

You are looking for a bootcamp that incorporates power moves (block jumps, tractor tire drags, sledgehammer swings, etc.) and low repetition of heavy weights. Crossfit and sports agility training would be an example of this type of workout.

ALL of my workouts are aimed at goal #1 of weight loss & toning. We do interval training for the entire hour and an average person 140lbs burns 800-1,000 calories in one hour! 

Be sure to call the instructor before you sign up for a bootcamp and ask him or her to describe in detail the exercises that you would be doing. If you have fat that you need to lose you could be hurting yourself more than helping if you choose a bootcamp where the goal is to bulk up. You need to lose the fat first, then focus on muscle building. 

Calorie Counting & Exercise on My Fitness Pal

If you're trying to drop pounds you MUST count your calories. I have recommended using "My Fitness Pal" for doing so. However, there is a entry each day that asks for your exercise and then tells you how many calories you burned working out. It then tells you that you have that many more calories to eat.

Do not enter your exercise into your daily log. You need to eat the same amount of calories each day whether you worked out or not.

If you eat more calories because you worked out then there was no point in working out.

- Please excuse any typos as this post was written using BlogPress from my iPhone

Lettuce Wraps

It's time for another recipe! These lettuce wraps are SO crazy good that my husband and I fought over the last wrap.  There are only 1,000 calories in the entire dish and most of those calories are from the lean protein, so eat up!

Ingredients:

1 head of lettuce, Boston Bibb or butter lettuce if you can find it 

1 lb ground turkey

1 large white onion, chopped

4 cloves fresh garlic, minced

3 tbsp soy sauce

1/2 cup hoisin sauce

2 tsp ginger powder (or minced pickled ginger if you have it)

2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

Asian chile pepper (if you want it spicy, I did not)

1 8 oz can water chestnuts, drained & chopped

1 bunch of green onions, chopped

1 large carrot, shredded

4 tsp Asian sesame oil

Directions:

1. Rinse lettuce, be careful to keep leaves whole

2. Brown the ground turkey, set aside on a separate plate with a paper towel and pat dry

3. Cook the onion in the same pan, then add the garlic, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ginger, vinegar and chile pepper.

4. After onion softens slightly, add the water chestnuts, green onions, carrots, sesame oil.

5. Stir in the turkey meat.

You're done! Wrap the lettuce around the meat like a burrito and enjoy!