How HIIT Workouts Maximize Fat Burning

If your busy and need to maximize your workout efficiency than HIIT workouts may be right for you. HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. It basically means you work hard for short bursts of activity and rest, then repeat. A typical HIIT workout lasts from 10-15 minutes.
HIIT workouts are so effective at burning fat because the short bursts of activity cause the body to release Human Growth Hormone (HGH). This substance increases metabolism and triggers the body to break down fat while also improving muscle growth. This is a double benefit because the more lean muscle mass you have the higher your resting metabolism and thus the more fat you burn at rest.
While there are many variations of HIIT the workouts I tend to favor and think work the best are ones that emphasize using your body weight and mixing in a few free weights. This blend of exercises will stress the cardiovascular system and the muscles causing the biggest spike in HGH and thus give you the best results.
A typical HIIT workout that I use would look something like this

 

20 seconds pushups, 20 seconds body weight squats, 20 seconds high knees
2 minutes rest
Repeat 3 cycles.

Notice in this variation there are no free weights but as you increase the number of cycles you complete and increase your fitness level it is easy to add holding a 5lb weight while doing the squats and the high knees. Also, if you are not comfortable with one of the exercises you can easily switch it out with another like jumping jacks, planks, burpees or any other exercise you can go full blast for 20-30 seconds.

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Meal of the Month
Created by Dr. Austin Erickson, DC

Sheppard’s Pie
Serves 4

This tasty and healthy Sheppard’s Pie recipe replaces potato with cauliflower.  The cheese and butter in the mashed cauliflower adds a savory flavor to this meal that is perfect for the colder winter months.

1 large chicken breast, cubed

cubed 1 medium head cauliflower

1 onion, chopped

1 carrot, sliced

2 cups broccoli florets

2 tablespoons butter

½ cup sour cream

1 cup coconut milk

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Steam the cauliflower for 15 minutes or until tender. In a large bowl mash the cauliflower with a spoon or beater. Add 1 tablespoon butter, the cheese and salt and pepper to taste and stir to blend. Set aside.
In a pan add the remaining butter and heat to medium. Cook the chicken until no pink remains. Add veggies and continue cooking until all veggies are tender crisp, about 5 minutes. Add sour cream and coconut milk and stir to mix. Add salt and pepper to taste.
In a medium baking dish layer the chicken mixture on the bottom of the pan. Layer the mashed cauliflower over the chicken mixture and smooth with a spatula. Broil until the top of the cauliflower is golden brown.

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Before reading this article let me be very clear in my intent in writing this.  I am not trying to build up profession or tear down another.  I am clarifying the purpose of each in the very complex field of health care.  Fortunately this can be done with a very simple analogy.

Let’s pretend your body is a brand new house.  It is a nice house with good electrical wiring, plumbing, insulation and appliances.  You have a well-built frame and everything functions as it should.  Over time you wear down.  Your wiring has areas that don’t work as well anymore, the plumbing is in need of repair in some areas of heavy use and the insulation is beat and the appliances are outdated and need replacing.  Who do you call?  A repairman or the fire department?

The answer is obvious in this case: THE REPAIR MAN!!

Why is this? Because it’s easier, more cost effective and smarter to repair the small things by having the repair man who specializes in them fix them then to have the fire department come and put out a fire that simply isn’t there (yet).  If you wait to repair the faulty wiring until it causes a fire that’s a different story which leads me to my next point.

 

Let’s say that now you are the house again and the faulty wire you have been putting off fixing actually sparks and causes a structure fire.  Ok, now who do you call? Once again the answer is obvious.

YOU CALL THE FIRE DEPARTMENT!!

It’s pretty obvious why and that because once you have a true emergency on your hands it no longer does any good to call the repair man until you have put out the fire.  You need the fire department to come in with their hoses, axes and other tools to save what they can of your house before it burns to the ground.

 

Ok so how does this apply to chiropractors and medical doctors?  Simple.  Chiropractors are the handy man.  They fix problems as they come up and they repair the less severe issues.  They fix sprains and strains, pinched nerves, chronic headaches and other similar problems that are inevitably going to pop up in life.  Incidenently these problems cause almost all the pain, tingling and numbness and other chronic issues people experience.

Medical doctors are the fire department.  Don’t come to the chiropractor if you’re having a heart attack. Call the fire department! Medical doctors are there to save your life when an emergency happens.

 

Conclusion:  Each profession is there for a reason.  Chiropractors take care of the sprains/strains and other injuries that come up during life.  They are the repair man keeping the house (you) in working order.

Medical doctors are there to save your butt when there is a real fire (think stroke, severe auto accident, etc…).  Each has its place and each is valuable but for pain the handy man is almost always the better choice.

 

To schedule an appointment at Arvold Chiropractic call 715-246-7500 today.

Meal of the Month

Created by Dr. Austin Erickson, DC

 

Chicken Wild Rice Soup

Serves 4

 

What you will need:

1 large chicken breast, cubed

¼ cup wild rice

4 cups chicken or vegetable broth

4 cups coconut milk

1 cups frozen broccoli

1 small carrot cut into coins

1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced

2 tablespoons butter

 

In a small pan combine rice and 2 cups of broth.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 30 minutes.  In a large soup pot over medium heat add the butter and let it melt. Add the chicken and cook until no pink is visible.  Add carrots and mushrooms and cook additional 5 minutes.  Add the remaining broth, coconut milk, broccoli and rice mixture.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium low and simmer stirring occasionally.  Cook for 15 minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

 

Need to Schedule a Chiropractic Visit at Arvold Chiropractic? Call 715-246-7500 Today!

We also perform DOT Exams

Everyone who owns a car knows that in order to keep it running well you need to perform regular maintenance.  Bringing your car in every 10,000 miles or so for a checkup is just common sense because over the course of driving your car wear and tear on its parts inevitably occur.

 

Usually when you bring it in there are a few minor things that need to be done.  An oil change, tire rotation and maybe a new set of breaks or other smaller part needs to be replaced.  But overall keeping up with your car’s maintenance keeps you from experiencing a major breakdown and needing to replace an engine or some other large part because, well you kept up with the regular care of your vehicle and all those larger problems were taken care of when they were still small problems.

 

Your body works in much the same way.  Over the course of our daily living we inevitable cause wear and tear on our joints, tendons, muscles and ligaments.  This can be from acute injuries or repetitive stress injuries but unless you are Super Man your daily activities cause wear and tear on your body.

 

Just like your vehicle your body needs regular maintenance to function at its best and to avoid and major mechanical issues.  You need proper sleep to allow the body to heal fully. You need good nutrition to provide the parts your body needs to heal and your spine needs regular chiropractic care to make sure the muscles are relaxed and the joints in the spine are moving properly.  When the joints are not moving like they should you feel stiffness.  When the muscles are achy and sore you feel pain.  These are two surefire indicators you are in need of a tune-up.

 

And just like your vehicle waiting too long to fix something after a warning light comes on usually means its takes longer, is more costly and is much more inconvenient for you to fix.  Don’t wait too long and allow minor problems to become big problems.  You can learn more about our office and how we can help you at arvoldchiro.com or call 715-246-7500 to schedule an appointment now.

 

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Carrying around a few too many extra pounds is one of the biggest healthy concerns in American today.  In addition to increasing the risk for heart disease, stroke, diabetes and other degenerative conditions it is also a leading cause of back pain because the change in biomechanics of the spine from the extra weight often lead to pain in the lower back and shoulders.

Americans spend millions of dollars on weight loss strategies from elaborate diets to expensive surgeries.  Weight loss has become such big business in fact that it has become one of the biggest industries in health care.

So what if there was a way to lose weight that didn’t involve drugs, surgeries, complicated diets or massive amounts of exercise? There is and it’s called intermittent fasting.  Fasting in general gets black listed by many doctors, trainers and other people in the health field based mostly on bad information. Before we look at a few of the misconceptions out there lets examine the actual process of losing weight.

First, there is only one way to actually lose weight and that is to run a calorie deficit.  This simply means you need to burn more calories than you consume for a period of time sufficient to get you down to the weight you want to be at. IF helps you accomplish this by taking one 24 hour periods during the week without eating.  Since you are essentially removing one day worth of calories from your diet you effectively reduce your weekly calorie consumption by anywhere from 1800-3000 calories.

Since you are choosing one 24 hour period you never actually go a full day without eating.  For example, if you eat breakfast you simply skip lunch and dinner and resume normal eating with breakfast the following day.  In 24 hours none of the health industry hype about fasting occurs.  You do not enter starvation mode, your metabolism does not slow down and your body does not cling to calories. In fact quite the opposite happens.  Let’s look at the metabolic benefits of intermittent fasting in more detail.

About 12 hours after your last meal your body begins to burn fat as fuel.  When you consume excessive calories (specifically carbohydrates) your body stores the energy as fat.  This is precisely what it is supposed to do so that when you encounter periods of time without food you have a ready energy supply to burn without affecting your mental function or muscle mass.  This is the reason IF is so effective for slimming down because body fat is used and muscle tissue is preserved.

IF also causes increased levels of growth hormone (GF) secretion, especially during sleep.  Increased GF production increases muscle growth which is why some form of resistance training is essential when utilizing IF protocols to see the best results.  Increasing you muscle mass also causes the body to burn more fat during fasting periods because at rest the muscles are the tissues that burn most of the fat.

There is much more to IF but it is an easy tool to incorporate into your healthy routine to see better and quicker weight loss results.  If you have questions about it or want help adding it to your fitness regimen call 715-246-7500 to talk with Dr. Austin Erickson.

 

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The holidays are a great time of year.  So much to do and people to see.  Parties to attend and fun to be had!  But it is also a stressful time of year with so many additional demands on your time and wallet not to mention the typical holiday food binge most of us indulge in.

Focusing on a few simple things can greatly reduce how much holiday stress affects you and they are all simple things you have direct control over.  Doing these helps balance the adrenal glands and regulate hormone levels in the body which helps you keep an even keel while navigating the holiday season.

 

  1. Reduce Caffeine Intake-  While it might seem ideal to get a little kick off a cup of coffee or mix a few cocktails with energy boosting mixers caffeine is really just borrowed energy.  It stimulates the body to produce stress hormones which directly affects the bodies ability to repair itself and reduces the amount of time you spend in deep, restorative sleep.
  2. Get More Sleep-  Skimping on sleep is a guaranteed way to increase the effects of stress during any time, especially the holidays.  Studies have shown that when people go even just 3 days without regular deep sleep they begin to show symptoms of nervousness and other mental health conditions.
  3. Stay Hydrated- Drink, drink, drink… water that is.  Keeping your body fully hydrated blunts the effects of excess alcohol, makes you feel more full and helps prevent overeating and makes sure your body is able to effectively carry out detoxification.  Keep a water bottle handy at all times!

 

 

 

This short list seems simple, and it is but these 3 steps can help you get through the holidays happy, healthy and ready for a new year!

 

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Need to schedule an appointment? Call 715-246-7500 today to schedule your appointment at Arvold Chiropractic.

Professional athletes need to be in tip top shape to perform at the level that professional sports requires of them.  They have expert guidance in nutrition, sleep, workout recovery and a whole other range of therapies.  One of the most important and most common treatments pro athletes receive?  You guessed it… chiropractic care.

Several years ago I remember watching a football game where the Philadelphia Eagles where playing the Green Bay Packers.  Midway through the third quarter an Eagles running back jogged to the sideline, had his shoulder pads removed and had his middle back adjusted on the sidelines before putting the pads back on and continuing to play.  Over the years many pro athletes from Jerry Rice, Joe Montana, Michael Jordan and Aaron Rodgers have all advocated trips the chiropractor to keep their competitive edge.  Below are the top 3 reason professional athletes (and everyone else) benefit from chiropractic care.

 

  1. Moving quickly and accurately requires the body to have normal range of motion in the joints- The complicated movements athletes do such as extending to catch a football or leaping over a hurdle require the body and specifically the spine to move in its full range of motion.  Joint restrictions in the spine prevent this motion and limit physical performance.
  2. Removing nervous system interference speeds healing- Sports inevitably cause damage to the body and when injuries do occur a compromised nervous system slows healing.  Pro athletes know this and utilize chiropractic accordingly.
  3. Avoiding using drugs which could affect performance- If you are playing a sport that requires not only peak physical condition but also peak mental function you can’t be on painkillers, muscle relaxers and other drugs all the time.  Chiropractic allows athletes to heal and experience less pain without resorting to toxic substances that could compromise performance.

Conclusion                           

If chiropractic is used by elite athletes to maintain peak performance don’t you think it has to be an effective and in many cases essential therapy?  Chiropractic is great not only for keeping elite athletes functioning great but also at helping maintain a pain free and optimal life for anyone!

Need to make an appointment? Call 715-246-7500 today to schedule your visit and find out what chiropractic can do for you.

In this short video New Richmond and Glenwood City chiropractor Dr. Austin Erickson talks about how problems in your neck can be contributing to your chronic headaches.He primarily discusses how neck joints and muscles interact to create a scenario where the additional tension causes headaches.

Watch the video here

If you suffer from chronic headaches, I don’t need to tell you how debilitating they can be. The aching, throbbing, vice-like pain that steadily increases throughout the day leaves you a wreck by the time 5 o’clock rolls around. Any chiropractor knows that muscle tension plays a big part in most types of headaches. Especially tension headaches. But that doesn’t mean all them address the muscle tension.

Muscles in the neck directly attach to the bones that make up the neck joints. When these muscles get tight from chronic stress, too much caffeine and being overworked a situation develops when they simply do not allow the neck to move normally. This puts even more pressure on other areas like the shoulders and soon we have conditions perfect for creating daily headaches.

This is why is it so important to address the muscle tension as well as the joint malfunction since they are both directly involved in the headache coming back day after day. At our New Richmond and Glenwood City offices I see lots of people with headaches. And on 100% of these people the neck muscles are tighter than they should be. Some people also have knots in the muscle and others have ropey bands of tender muscle tissue. All of these are signs that the muscles are not letting the joints move like they should.

Enter soft tissue massage. It doesn’t take much to relax the muscles in the neck prior to an adjustment. 2-4 minutes of focused massage is often enough to reduce muscle tension to the point where the adjustments go easily and normal joint motion is restored. Over the course of several visits with the muscle massage repeated each time it is common for patients suffering from headaches to see substantial decreases in pain and frequency of headaches.

This powerful combination of muscle massage and chiropractic adjustments works great for headaches. If you suffer from headaches call our office today. We can be reached at 715-246-7500 and you can schedule appointments for either our New Richmond or Glenwood City offices. You can also check out our website www.arvoldchiro.com for more information and to join our popular email list.

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Arvold Chiropractic Blog

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