Jul 11 2012

Interval running

As of late, I have started to enjoy my distance runs less and less. I’ve never really considering running to be one of my favourite exercises anyway (especially when compared to cycling and swimming), but now I’ve started to dread the idea of going for a run five or six days per week. Until today, I’ve always tried to gradually increase either my distance or my speed. For instance, over the course of the past 18 months, I progressed from barely being able to run 2km at 6 km/h to my current of between 13-16km at 13 km/h. My method of increasing speed and/or distance was continuous, meaning that I would run at the same pace for the duration of the run.

Over the past couple weeks, however, I’ve been doing a lot of reading and research regarding interval running. It is a training method where one runs at incredibly high intensity for a short burst, and then slows to a speed under his or her normal pace for the rest of the interval. There have been many studies attempting to provide empirical evidence (as well as many success stories providing anecdotal evidence) supporting the notion that interval running burns fat more quickly than does continuous running. Though one may burner fewer calories by interval training, the calories from fat may be utilised before calories from another source. Thus my rationale for trying this new method–I want to lower my body fat percentage. I believe that my weight (~68-70kg [~150-155 lbs] at any given time) is healthy for my height (177cm [~5’10”]), but that my body fat percentage (currently around 16.5%) is a little high. I’ve never been able to successfully keep my body fat percentage under 15.5% for any substantial length of time, and thought that maybe this type of training would help.

To better understand the concept of interval training, here’s how I went about my run today:

Time Pace Duration
0 – 5′ 7.5 km/h (~4.5 mph) 5′ warm-up
5′ – 6’30” 16 km/h (~10 mph) 1’30”
6’30” – 10′ 10.5 km/h (~6.5 mph) 3’30”
10′ – 11’30” 16 km/h (~10 mph) 1’30”
11’30” – 15′ 10.5 km/h (~6.5 mph) 3’30”
15′ – 16’30” 16 km/h (~10 mph) 1’30”
16’30” – 20′ 10.5 km/h (~6.5 mph) 3’30”
20′ – 21’30” 16 km/h (~10 mph) 1’30”
21’30” – 25′ 10.5 km/h (~6.5 mph) 3’30”
25′ – 26’30” 16 km/h (~10 mph) 1’30”
26’30” – 30′ 10.5 km/h (~6.5 mph) 3’30”
30′ – 31’30” 16 km/h (~10 mph) 1’30”
31’30” – 35′ 10.5 km/h (~6.5 mph) 3’30”
35′ – 36’30” 16 km/h (~10 mph) 1’30”
36’30” – 40′ 10.5 km/h (~6.5 mph) 3’30”
40′ – 41’30” 16 km/h (~10 mph) 1’30”
41’30” – 45′ 10.5 km/h (~6.5 mph) 3’30”
45′ – 46’30” 16 km/h (~10 mph) 1’30”
46’30” – 50′ 10.5 km/h (~6.5 mph) 3’30”
50′ – 51’30” 16 km/h (~10 mph) 1’30”
51’30” – 55′ 10.5 km/h (~6.5 mph) 3’30”
55′ – 56’30” 16 km/h (~10 mph) 1’30”
56’30” – 60′ 10.5 km/h (~6.5 mph) 3’30”
60′ – 65′ 4 km/h (~2.5 mph) 5′ cool-down

As you can see, my intervals were 5 minutes apiece with 90-second high-intensity bursts followed by 3.5 minute “rest” periods (which were not exactly restful, but were slower than my typical continuous training pace). I did a total of eleven intervals, which equates to 16’30” @ 16 km/h (~6.5 mph) and 38’30” @ 10.5 km/h (~6.5 mph). Combined with my 5-minute warm-up and 5-minute cool-down, that was 65 minutes of training. I’m interested in seeing how this type of training affects my body fat percentage over the upcoming weeks. Instead of doing interval training each day, I’m going to do 2 or 3 days of interval, and the remainder of days (totalling 5 per week) of continuous pace. I’ll certainly post my findings in a few weeks.

Cheers,
Zach

Jul 10 2012

Kashi Banana Chocolate Chip Soft n’ Chewy Bar review

Having been a fan of many Kashi products over the years, and always enjoying a wonderful slice of homemade banana bread, I purchased the new Banana Chocolate Chip Soft n’ Chewy bars. Though the product doesn’t seem to get many positive reviews on the Kashi site or on other sites like Amazon, I thought that people just weren’t used to type of product that the brand often releases–a health-concious alternative to a typical treat.

Kashi Banana Chocolate Chip Soft n' Chewy Bar box

I tend to like to have such a snack a little bit before going to bed (I know, I know; there are probably better times to have a snack than right before bedtime, but that’s when I like something sweet). I was excited to try these seemingly tasty morsels for myself, so I poured a small glass of milk, and grabbed one of them out of the box. The first bite was interesting, as it didn’t really remind me of banana bread at all, but rather of something like the pumpkin spiced breads from Thanksgiving time. Looking at the ingredients list, that taste made more sense to me:

Kashi Banana Chocolate Chip Soft n' Chewy Bar nutrition

As you may notice, the first hint of something banana (banana purée) doesn’t show up until quite far down the list. In fact, “dried pumpkin” shows up before it! In any case, the bars are pretty good, all things considered, but I don’t know that I would describe them as Banana Chocolate Chip bars. Though they have those ingredients, it seems to me that Kashi is trying to say that they taste like banana bread. To me, they don’t really have a taste that I can readily compare to anything else; they have a unique flavour. The texture is somewhere in between a soft cookie and a cereal bar. Many reviewers said that they were dry, but I didn’t find them to be that bad. Actually, I think that they were significantly more moist than some of the other Kashi products that I’ve had in the past.

Though they aren’t the absolutely best tasting snack bars that I have ever had, I find them to be quite enjoyable, especially seeing as they only have 3g total fat (0.5 saturated) and 140 calories. I also like that they 4g of dietary fibre and have a half-serving of both fruits and vegetables. Overall, not a bad little snack, but I will disagree with Kashi’s suggestion that they are “kid friendly.” I don’t think that many kids would find them tasty.

Cheers,
Zach

Jul 09 2012

Review of Pixar’s La Luna short

A couple weeks ago, I went with a friend of mine to see Disney / Pixar’s Brave in the theatre. It was a wonderful feature film, and you can read my review of it by clicking that link. Before the feature started, however, there was a new Pixar short called La Luna, which is an animation written and directed by Enrico Casarosa. The short revolved around a young boy, Bambino, who goes on a night-time row boat ride with his father and grandfather. Papa and the boy’s grandfather disagree on many seemingly trivial happenings regarding Bambino, such as how he should wear his cap. The boy seems torn between following his father’s lead and that of his grandpa, but eventually finds a happy medium between the two, and maintaining his own autonomous stance.

I don’t want to go into too much detail about the film, or the fantastical event that occurs whilst the three are on their boat. Rather, I want you to go see the short in some way, and I would highly recommend it on the large projection screen at the theatre. Needless to say, in the laconic (yes, the double entendre was intentional ;)) 6’53” running time, this film captures a beautiful coming-of-age story in such a remarkable manner that I’m still thinking about it weeks later.

Disney Pixar's La Luna - Bambino looks in wonder
Click to enlarge

Not only is the story incredibly touching, the animation is simply stunning (and Bambino reminded me a bit of a of one of the Precious Moments boys [likely because of the big, anime-esque eyes]). It is smooth, flowing, and vibrantly colourful without being overly saturated.

Anyway, Mr. Casarosa announced in an interview that the short will be featured in Pixar’s next collection release on DVD and Blu-Ray (which will definitely warrant the full 1080p Blu-Ray); I can’t wait! Until then, though, you can see it in the theatres, and pick up the marvellously illustrated book.

Cheers,
Zach