Try April's Granola Recipe! It's AWESOME!

Healthy Granola

6 cups rolled oats

1 cup bran

1 cup quinoa

2 teaspoons cinnamon

¼ to 1/3 cup of blackstrap molasses and/or honey (or both if you want it sweeter)

¼ cup canola oil

Mix above ingredients together and place on bake sheet. Bake at 275 degrees for 45 minutes. After cooling: Add ½ to ¾ cup of any combination of (sesame, sunflower, pumpkin, ground flax), walnuts, raisins, dried cranberries etc.

Best enjoyed with low fat vanilla yogurt!

Inspired

By Alison Wells

Over the past few days I've been interviewing our staff and writing their bios for the revamping of the New Heights web page. I never anticipated learning what I've learned...

I am so grateful to be a part of the team we have at New Heights. I am inspired by their personal journeys with fitness, their ability to overcome adversity in their own lives and their desire to help others. Though I knew it before, I was reminded of what an accomplished and inspiring team of fitness professionals we have.

Ruthie has battled depression and lost almost 100 pounds with healthy eating and exercise. I will never know that kind of determination but I do know she has it and I'm proud to simply know her.

Rob's experienced a childhood of ridicule and hurt. I will never know what he went through but I do know he had the courage to overcome all of it, lose 100 pounds and now help others do the same. He inspires me.

April had no self confidence and was so shy that she hid in the very back of her fitness classes and feared being in front of other people. Now, she's amazing at teaching classes! Have you seen that girl move?! And she doesn't care who's looking. When she gets up in front of the class, I know she's inspiring others to be free and confident in who they are, including myself.

Melissa's passion for life makes me want to be around her more often. Her smile is beautifully contagious and I know she is helping our clients feel good about who they are. She has such an amazing work ethic, not only personally with her own fitness goals, but professionally working 2 jobs and fitting in workouts and life on top of it all. I'm so proud of the career she's started in this industry and even more proud of who she's become.

Kourtney was 50 pounds heavier and so down on herself when she joined the gym that she actually feared coming to classes. She was afraid people would look at her and that she would be the slowest and weakest person in the group. She has overcome so much! Now she's so strong and confident and have you seen her?The girl is beautiful! She's a great indoor cycling instructor and I know she's helping to change peoples lives.

Verna always wanted to be a teacher. It hurt her to give this dream up. She was burnt out and working as a waitress when the owner of a fitness centre told her she should get into this industry. She says it saved her life. What she may not know is that her dream came true in the process. I see her teaching every day. She teaches fitness to our members and she's great at it. She makes them feel good about who they are and what they're doing and she teaches them how to be even better. Verna is a teacher.

Lisa used exercise to get through some really hard times in her life. Now she's helping others de-stress with kickboxing classes and cycling. She has such a fire in her that comes out when she's got the headset on or the focus pads in her hands. She has a way of getting people to work hard and feel good doing it. Under her tough exterior, I know she has a heart for helping others and I also know she's doing it.

Jenny is an accomplished power lifter. She's won gold, silver and bronze medals in the sport. And have you seen how small she is! The girl can squat and bench press most people. She's also one of the sweetest most genuine people I know. She's easy to get along with and has such a positive, uplifting personality that people want to be around her, including myself.

Sarah is dedicated and determined and it shows. She's worked very hard to be in the kind of shape she's in and continues to work hard every day. Although she's fairly new to the fitness industry, she is a fantastic cycling instructor with an intensity that makes her class attendants work hard and get the most out of their class. If she chooses to pursue it, I know she'll make a great fitness instructor.

Mandy is selfless. I ask her about herself and she tells me how inspiring the members at New Heights are. She tells me how they inspire and motivate her to be better. She says their dedication is "nothing but inspirational". She's so sweet and so positive and really wants to see people succeed in fitness. It's refreshing to have someone so uplifting greeting our members and helping them feel comfortable in the gym.

All I can say is that it's a privilege to work with such a great team of professionals and it's been awesome getting to know them better. They inspire me.

Mmmm Try these Healthy, Energy Chunks!

1 cup of honey
1 cup natural peanut butter
1 cup carob powder or coco powder (or 1 scoop of whey protein powder)
1 cup sesame seeds
1 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup dried cranberries (optional)
1/2 cup slivered almonds (optional)
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Heat honey until warm. Add natural peanut butter slowly. Once it mixes with the honey stir in the rest of the ingredients. Place in 8-inch square pan and cool in fridge. Cut into Squares & Enjoy!

Warm Up For MAXIMUM Fat Loss!

If you're an exerciser, chances are you know it's important to do a warm up before starting your workout. The warm up prevents injury, lubricates the joints, increases circulation to the working muscles and prepares the body and mind for what's to come.


But did you know that you can actually burn more calories and more fat during your workout if your warm up is longer and more intense?


It's true! Short duration, low intensity warm ups (less than 5 minutes) are simply not effective if your goal is to shed excess body fat. The reason is simple; it takes about 15-20 minutes for the body to begin utilizing fat stores as it's primary fuel source. If the warm up is short, the body will still be using blood sugar and glycogen stores to provide fuel for the start of the workout, limiting the amount of fat burning and caloric burn during the workout.


However, a warm up that lasts about 15-20 minutes and gets the heart rate up and the body warm enough to begin sweating will increase the caloric burn and have the body using fat storage for fuel as soon as you begin the intense workout. Basically you'll get more caloric burn during your workout than you would have if you started with a shorter warm up and, you'll burn calories for a longer period after the workout as well.


Even if you only have 40 minutes, you're better off using the first 15-20 to warm up and the next 20 for the workout, than you are to have more time devoted to the main workout.
So, give it a try. Not only will you burn more fat during your workout but you'll also get the added bonus of 20 minutes of cardio to help strengthen your heart and lungs. It's a WIN WIN!


Try this warm up...choose whichever type of cardio equipment you'd like. The first 2 minutes take it light, then for the next 3 minutes increase your intensity (speed or incline) to a moderate intensity. Then for the next 15 minutes perform intervals with a 1:1 work to rest ratio. 1 minute work as hard as you possibly can / 1 minute recover then repeat. HAVE FUN!

The Finish Line

It's way to early to be awake but not only are we awake, we're on our way to the start line of a duathalon we entered on a whim, "JUST FOR FUN". Some days I really do think my clients are right when they say my husband and I have a messed up version of "FUN". Yes, we're probably crazy.

It's freezing cold for early September and my stomachs in knots. I'm nervous and excited and ready to get this over with. As I shiver and yawn, I ask myself WHY am I doing this?! I really don't have an answer but here I am nonetheless.

We line up with our ages on our calves and numbers on our arms, and we wait in the crowd of eager athletes. Waiting is the worst part. This is when you try your best not to compare yourself to the others. The girl in front of me is in my age category, she looks like she's in amazing shape. So does the girl beside her. My husband sees me losing focus and tells me to stop. So I take a deep breath and remember that I am doing this against myself and no one else.

Finally, the horn goes off and so do we. A shot of adrenaline makes me breathless and my muscles tighten up as I start to accelerate. Soon I'm exhausted and the mental battle begins. Why am I putting myself through this misery? I'd much rather be in my warm bed right now. Why do I do this to myself? This is crazy.

Then I remember what I heard on Dr.Phil the other day (YES I watch Dr. Phil!) He said, "WINNERS DO WHAT LOSERS DON'T WANT TO DO." So there I was, repeating this line over and over in my head hoping it would give me some kind of focus. Still, I didn't have an answer for why I was doing this, but I certainly knew I was doing what losers wouldn't want to do.

After the run, I got on my bike and endured 20 kilometres of burning legs, all the while telling myself I may never do this again. I felt strong on the bike despite the mental battle and severe muscle burn. Even though I was tired, I was feeling confident and starting to enjoy the race.

Then came the 2.5 kilometre run. This is by far the hardest part of a duathalon. The legs have already worked so hard and now that they feel like noodles, they have to run. It takes a few minutes for my legs to relax and get into the groove of running but when they do I start to feel good. Knowing the race is soon over is enough to keep me going.

Then I see the finish line just up ahead. I can hear the crowd cheering and I can see that this is almost over. I start to speed up to finish the race as strong as I can and I fly across the finish line with a smile on my face. The answer to why I put myself through this rushes over me like a wave. I do it for the finish line.

Nothing compares to the feeling of accomplishment that comes with finishing what you started. Nothing feels better than crossing that finish line. I can't put it into words but somehow it's worth all of the training, it's worth the early morning, it's worth the muscle burning, the nervous stomach, the exhaustion and wobbly legs. Somehow that finish line makes me want to do it all over again.

They say racing is much like child birth. Once you forget the pain, you'll want to do it again. Today the muscles are recovered and I'm itching for the next race. It may be crazy but at least I know why I'm doing it. For me, finishing is winning. So on that note, I'll let you know how the next one goes!

Accept Yourself As You Are Today!

By Alison Wells

If my words could cause bodily harm, my legs would need some serious protection! Without it, they'd be bruised, scraped and cut. They'd likely have a few dislocations, sprains and even breaks; probably in several places.

It sounds brutal but it's true. You see, until very recently, and no secret to them, I've HATED my legs. If they could talk, they'd tell you they've been verbally abused their whole life and want a new owner.

I've called them "hideous," "tree trunks," "sausages", "heffer thighs", and "fatty boombas." I've hidden them with long pants and avoided every fashion statement that involves showing them off (don't even get me started on skinny jeans!) I've exercised them until they couldn't move, I've poked and prodded them hoping they'd shrink, and I've even dreamt of re-shaping them with invasive surgery.

The fact is, I was born with legs that are not slender and long. Instead, my legs are muscular and short. Up until a few months ago, I viewed these muscular legs as a genetic curse. However, in recent months, they've proven to be quite the opposite. My legs carried me across several finish lines this year, including a 42.2 k marathon and most recently they've assisted in a 3rd place finish in a duathalon that involved a 10 k run into a 40 k bike into a 5 k run.

This epiphany came when the bronze medallion was placed around my neck. I thought to myself, "all this time I've hated my legs and they just put me on the podium. All this time I've focused on how they look and what they are not, rather than how well they function. From now on, I will be thankful for the legs I've got!"

The truth is, I've worked hard for these strong, athletic legs and I should be happy with how I've shaped and sculpted them. I've ran, biked, kickboxed, lunged, squated and skipped and my legs have improved because of these efforts.

Despite the years of verbal abuse, they clearly haven't held a grudge. I can now say with complete sincerity that I love my short, muscular legs. I love how they look and how they function and I wouldn't trade them for anyone else's.

Now I wear shorts and mini skirts.

Before I go, I'll leave you with an interesting bit of information. The very day I changed my mind about my legs, so did others. I received several compliments on how beautifully athletic my legs are. My hair dresser even mentioned she wanted to trade legs with me! It's funny how the world around you changes, when you change.

So, I'm telling you right now to accept yourself as you are today! Don't beat your body up because of its bulges, imperfections, limitations, weaknesses, or pains. Don't resent your body for what it IS not, instead, celebrate it for what it IS. Then, find the balance between accepting your body today and inspiring it to  move further, improve and become stronger and healthier. It's okay to want to change the way your body looks and feels but you need to first STOP beating yourself up with your words, you deserve better treatment. You are AWESOME! Those who love you, already know it, those who don't, don't matter anyway.

Please let me know how I can help! Visit New Heights Fitness & Wellness Centre in Hanover