Fit-20 Workout - Kettlebell with Stairs

Fit-20 Workout - Kettlebell with Stairs

Last night I was going to workout upstairs, but my kettlebell was downstairs. As I carried the kettlebell up the stairs, I had an idea for a new workout...

For those of you new to the Fitness Gazette site, Fit-20 Workouts are workouts designed to give you a full-body workout, muscles and cardio, in about 20 minutes, using little or no gym equipment. Ideally you can squeeze a workout in before work, or at lunch, without squeezing your family out of the picture. Click here to see a list of past Fit-20 Workouts.

Today's Workout

• Stairs. Carry the kettlebell up and back down a flight of stairs. Alternate which hand holds the kettlebell each trip. (Easier - alternate going up or down, not both, between each exercise; Advanced - up and down twice between each exercise, once with your right hand holding the kettlebell and once with your left.)
• 2-handed Kettlebell Swings - 18. (Easier, do 12; Advanced, do 25)
• Stairs
• Kettlebell Cleans - 12 Each Hand. (Easier - 8; Advanced - 16)
• Stairs
• Kettlebell Snatch - 12 Each Hand. (Easier - 8; Advanced - 16)
• Repeat for 4 cycles
• Time yourself. Your goal the next time you do this workout should be to beat your time, and/or to do more repetitions of each exercise.

To your fitness,

-Chris Butterworth

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grilled cod with potatoes and vegetables

grilled cod with potatoes and vegetables

I always hear about how healthy fish is, but truth be told, I don't eat it that often. It's one of those foods that's awesome when it's prepared perfectly, but you can ruin the whole meal if you miss by just a little bit - either under or over-cooking, or by mis-seasoning it. (unlike a burger, where you've got plenty of margin for error on either side of medium-well..) Plus, my wife isn't a big fan of having the whole house smell like fish for the rest of the day.

That being said, once in awhile I get a craving for fish, and this weekend was one of those times. I had an idea in my mind about halibut with asparagus and rice pilaf, so Collin and I went off to hunt at the local grocery store.

It turns out they don't carry fresh halibut (and if they did it would be about $25 per pound, says the fish butcher), so we settled on cod - a 3/4 pound fillet for $4. The asparagus was priced high at $4 per bushel, so we reached for fresh green beans as an alternative ($2.50). As for the rice pilaf, Collin voted for french fries, and after last month's potato debacle, I've been looking forward to my next chance with the little spuds. We agreed on home-made steak fries. (a bag of red potatoes was $3.)

This time I cut the red potatoes into steak fries. I placed them in open foil with a little oil and seasoned them with Montreal Chicken, then let them cook on the grill for about 35 minutes, stirring occasionally. I wrapped the fish in foil with some oil, water, sea salt, lemon pepper, and a pinch of garlic powder, and set it on the grill for about 15 minutes, flipping it a couple times throughout. The green beans got an oil spray with salt and pepper, and about 10 minutes on the grill.

* Note - my son Collin eats gluten-free and casein-free (basically no wheat or dairy). We try to modify our recipes to account for this, as a show of support and because it's easier than cooking multiple meals. If this wasn't the case, the fish and green beans would have been smothered in butter! :)

The Results

Awesome - This meal turned out perfect.

CalorieKing says each serving contained 326 calories. (119 fish, 123 potatoes, 44 beans, and 40 oil.) Our servings of fish and potatoes were a little larger, so we might have been closer to 500. Still, this was a dinner that was fresh, healthy, less than $10 for both of us, and well within moderate calorie guidelines. I'll make this again later in the summer for sure.

Would you want to try this meal, or do you have any recommendations for making it better? Come back and let me know in the comments!

-Chris Butterworth

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why trail running is better than regular running

why trail running is better than regular running

There's a desert wash near my house. It's about a quarter-mile wide, and runs for miles in either direction. These natural washes criss-cross the city, and carry water run-off (usually in the form of a flood) on those rare occasions when we see water falling from the sky for more than an hour or two.

Due to the size and use of these natural, dry riverbeds, it's very expensive for a city to develop them; they typically remain native desert, with minor enhancements for the structural safety of nearby homes and businesses. Instead, the cities use these natural corridors to build an awesome network of bicycle and walking paths. (at the top of the riverbank, obviously.)

I've been on these paths thousands of times over the years for running, biking, walking, skateboarding, riding scooters - basically anything and everything, exercise alone and recreation with my family. But a couple days ago I had a crazy idea:

What would happen if I actually ran IN the wash?

After running the wash for about 45 minutes, it was easy to make favorable observations comparing it to running on the regular sidewalk:

1.) Harder Work - easier pace. I found myself less worried about my pace and timing splits, and instead just enjoying my run. My pace was significantly slower than usual, but I could tell I was getting a good workout by how much I was sweating!

2.) Full Body Engagement. I had to adjust and plan for each step, using balance, dexterity, my core, and different muscles in my legs. (mostly to make sure I didn't break an ankle!) This was a significant departure from the repetitive, piston-like motion of legs pounding on smooth pavement. By the end of the run I felt rejuvenated and exhausted at the same time.

3.) Better Form. Small steps, feet underneath you. Easy, light, smooth, and fast - I could feel exactly what Caballo Blanco meant when he said "if you think you need 2 steps, take 3," while teaching Christopher McDougall how to run trails in the book Born to Run. "Easy. Light. Smooth. and Fast. You get the first three, and you won't have to worry about being fast." (I'm quoting from memory, so even if the quote isn't exact, I'm still giving credit with quotations.)

4.) Intense Focus makes time and distance pass quickly. I found myself focusing on the ground in front of me for a few minutes at a time. Then, I'd look up and see I had suddenly run for 5 minutes and had covered quite a bit of distance. That was so much better than the sidewalk, where I usually look ahead at the same streetlight for what seems like forever and wondering why I'm not getting anywhere.

5.) Changing Terrain. This is sort of a combination of the first 3, but the fact is every step is different. In 20 minutes' time, I ran over big river rocks, small river rocks, gravel, dirt, and sand as thick as a luxurious beach. Each surface required different muscles, and a different pace. And the surfaces changed every few minutes.

6.) Better Scenery. Short and sweet - trail running can get you further into nature, to places the rest of the joggers don't get to see.

7.) More Calories Burned per minute. The chart below is part of a much larger chart I found on the MyCaloriesBurned website. I'm not sure if I believe everything on the chart (ie: swimming laps and kick boxing burn less than cycling..?), but at least it's an objective 3rd party saying trail running burns more than regular running.

So get out there and give trail running a try. Then come back here and let me know what you think..

-Chris Butterworth

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