PitFit Conditioning: Don't Stop, People Are Watching

Despite our reputation as the cornfield state, Indiana has it going on. Our state flower is the peony - quite possibly one of the prettiest and most elegant flowers; we produce more than 20% of the United States’ popcorn supply; we host the nation’s largest half-marathon; and we are the birthplace of James Dean, Kurt Vonnegut, Michael Jackson and John Mellencamp (how is that for diverse?).

But you can't write about Indiana without mentioning the Indy 500. No other race in the world has the traditions and statistics like the Indy 500. Needless to say, the Indy 500 is kind of a big deal.

So you can imagine my excitement when I heard about PitFit Training, a facility on the Northside of Indianapolis that trains Indy 500 drivers and also offers conditioning classes to the public. Since Jim Leo started PitFit in 1993, and opened his new facility in 2010, PitFit has been a game-changer in the development of motorsports-specific human performance training. The facility hosts chiropractic medicine, physical therapy, rehabilitation, massage, yoga by HTL Yoga and a training center filled with numerous fancy tools and machines to train race car drivers as well as people like me who just want a challenging, fun workout.

When I took my first PitFit Conditioning class last week, Jim didn't hesitate to announce my rookie status to the rest of the group and henceforth referred to me as "Amanda The Rookie." Totally fine. I knew I would successfully graduate from that status within an hour. Jim recorded my height and weight into his computer system and gave me a Polar heart rate monitor to strap around my chest. He then gathered the group around a white board to explain the different circuits and if needed, especially in the case of rookies like myself, demonstrate how to perform the exercise (if you have never done a Turkish Get-Up, yes, it is as difficult as it sounds). And then it was game time.

Jacobs Ladder, treadmills, flat screen with heart rates on display and other contraptions at PitFit.

Each circuit lasted one minute and had something unique to offer: CrossCore 180, battle ropes, Jacobs Ladder, kettlebells, Indo Boards, rowers and Concept 2 Ski Ergs to name a few. Jim even makes his own equipment, adding a steering wheel to a TRX to simulate the strength and coordination it takes to drive a race car. And because the group's heart rates were displayed on a flat screen the entire time, I was extra motivated to not let my heart rate dip lower than the average. Don't stop, people are watching...right?

Don't stop.

One of the coolest parts of the workout was seeing the names of J.R. Hildebrand, Scott Dixon and Pippa Mann on the various white boards throughout the room, and knowing that I was doing similar exercises as Indy 500 drivers and working out on the very same equipment they use on a daily basis. Not to mention, I took class alongside Charlie Kimball who drives the No. 83 car for Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing in the IZOD IndyCar Series (though I'll admit I didn't know this at the time).

PitFit is truly the real deal.

Following class, Jim gave me a personal lesson on the Dynavision D2, a fancy name for essentially a five foot board with lots of little squares that light up. When the light comes on, the user quickly taps it with one hand. The data - instantly displayed on a computer - shows if the user has better vision in a certain quadrant of the board. Jim explained that the board helps improve the driver's reaction, vision and peripheral skills. This reaction training is done after the driver's heart rate is elevated to simulate what really goes on inside a race car.

By the time I got home, Jim had already emailed the class a training session report with all our names and our training results including maximum heart rate, average heart rate and calories burned (all the more reason not to let your heart rate dip too low). My average heart rate was 148, my max heart rate was 179 and I burned 566 calories. Now why would you ever do a boring treadmill workout when you can have this much fun and burn almost 600 calories?

What? You don't practice changing tires everyday?

PitFit Conditioning classes are Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 5:30-6:45pm. Walk-ins are $20 or you can purchase five sessions for $75 or one month unlimited for $99. Do your body and mind a favor: get off the treadmill or elliptical and go have some fun!

The pit crew - 47 circuits complete on Jim's 47th birthday!

CrossFit: It Ain't Your Mama's Workout

If you participate in any type of physical activity, you've probably heard some buzz about the latest fitness trend - CrossFit. To be sure, CrossFit has been around since 2000 and has probably surpassed the "trend" category. Sometime within the past two years, CrossFit reached a tipping point in Indy. Up north, we have CrossFit Indy North in Noblesville, Inner Strength CrossFit in Castleton, CrossFit Fishers, CrossFit Carmel, CrossFit Zionsville and CrossFit Broad Ripple and downtown we have CrossFit Naptown.

So what exactly is CrossFit? I hear that question often and I have a hard time coming up with a concrete explanation because every workout, or WOD (workout of the day), is uniquely different. CrossFit is constantly varied, functional movements executed at high intensity. It's the principal strength and conditioning program for many police academies and tactical operations teams, military special operations units, champion martial artists and hundreds of other elite and professional athletes worldwide.

In other words, CrossFit is not easy.

Torture devices at CrossFit Zionsville: therabands for modified pull-ups, kettlebells and box jumps as tall as I am.

I've done many different types of workouts: hot yoga, pilates reformer, zumba, TRX, spinning, kickboxing, CompuTrainer and barre to name a few. I can very confidently state that CrossFit is the toughest workout I've done to date. You won't see anyone walking on a treadmill and reading Vogue. There are no pretty elliptical machines with built-in televisions. The only machines are rowers, powered solely by your muscles, not electricity. There are also plenty of intimidating torture devices including barbells, kettlebells, climbing ropes, squat stands, ab mats and PVC pipes.

The format is simple: a warm-up and a WOD. The actual workout is usually 20 minutes or less, but it's the most challenging 20 minutes of your life. Really. No joke. Here is what a typical class looks like:

Warm Up

Jump rope for 5 min, score = number of missed jumps (shoot for low score)

5 min to establish max reps on DU's or practice DU's

Strength:

1a. DB Seated Press 3x10

1b. 1 Legged lunge on Bench 3x10 (5 on each leg then switch = 1 set)

1c. DB Row 3x10

Conditioning:

"Fran"

21-15-9

Thrusters 95/65

Pull-ups

It ain't your mama's workout. I can only box jump on the shortest box, I have to "assist" my pullup by placing my feet in a theraband and when doing double unders, wait, I cannot yet do a double under. But in the CrossFit world, it's not necessarily about who can do the most pullups in five minutes or who can jump on the highest box. Each gym (what CrossFit refers to as "box") has its own mini community. The same members work out together at the same classes, they cheer each other on during workouts and they even share recipes. (CrossFit athletes commonly eat Paleo - a diet based on eating meats, eggs, non-starchy vegetables, seafood and some nuts and seeds.)

Luckily, I've found a wonderful new box in Zionsville. A dear friend, Elyse Merchant, spent three years after college personal training, assistant coaching and lead coaching at other CrossFit gyms. She realized that opening up Crossfit Zionsville was a personal BHAG (big hairy audacious goal) and went after it. Taking a class with Elyse can be summed up in one word: inspiring. It's not only her skills, her abilities, her strength and her passion that inspires me; it's her way of coaching and making everyone - from the most advanced to the most amateur - feel welcome.

Coach Elyse cheering me on during a 500 meter row.

The workout today involved a warm-up of practicing our jump rope skills for 10 minutes. Don't let this fool you because the jump rope routines were nothing like what you did in first grade during recess. Split jumps, one leg jumps, heel-click jumps, double under jumps, you name it, it was in there. We jumped rope for five minutes for accuracy and recorded the number of missed jumps (the aim was to get the lowest score). Next, we moved to the wall and did four rounds of a 20 second handstand hold or kick-up. I opted for the kick-ups. The actual WOD consisted of three rounds for time of: 30 wall balls, 30 ab mat sit-ups and a 500 meter row.

And then you pass out.

CrossFit is, simply stated, hard. But if you find the right coach who welcomes you and all the whining and injuries and needs that come with you (er, me), it's rewarding. Almost everyone starts at the same level when they begin doing CrossFit, but, like any feat in life, those who stick with it, consistently keep at it several times a week and are mentally willing to put in the hard work, achieve the most success. Elyse at CrossFit Zionsville offers an intro class every Thursday at 6pm and it's a great way to start learning the different movements and the correct form.

Do one thing a day that scares you - check!

My support crew at CrossFit Zionsville.

Rene's Bakery "Perfect Homemade" Chocolate Chip Cookies

Everyone likes homemade chocolate chip cookies. Even my nephew Alex, who doesn't like ice cream (what teenager doesn't like ice cream?) and used to pick the sesame seeds off from his hamburger bun, enjoys the occasional chocolate chip cookie. The perfect homemade chocolate chip cookie is dense but not cakey, chocolatey but not overpowering and soft but chewy all at the same time. Most importantly - it's simple. Boom. I said it. All you need is: flour, butter, sugar, leavening agents, eggs, vanilla, chocolate and plus one - your favorite addition.

(Yes, I'm indirectly referencing the famous New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookie with all its fancy bread flour and cake flour and sea salt and chocolate with at least 60 percent cocoa content. What gives?)

If I am not in the mood to make my own batch of perfect homemade chocolate chip cookies, Taylor's Bakery is a timeless favorite (the bakery just celebrated its 99th anniversary last February). I can count on Taylor's for the best "white on white" (white cake, white icing) in town. Nothing fancy. Does the trick every time. The Flying Cupcake never fails me when I need that last minute, no-time-to-place-an-order birthday treat for a friend at work. With four locations (and one on the way), this cupcake bakery is convenient to almost any neighborhood in Central Indianapolis. Indy is also home to Confectioneiress in Zionsville, Sweet Lucinda's in Zionsville (a personal favorite!), Sweet Tooth Bakery on Mass Ave (so elegant) and Circle City Sweets at the Historic City Market. I have also heard some amazing buzz about The Cake Bake Shop, scheduled to open this summer. I'll be the first in line to taste test!

Rene's Bakery in Broad Ripple

Broad Ripple is home to Rene's Bakery, a quaint, European-style bakery owned by A. Rene Trevino. The robin's egg blue bakery is tucked behind a side street in Broad Ripple and resembles more of a small cottage than a bakery. In the summer, you can find Rene's goodies at The Broad Ripple Farmer's Market, where his oversized chocolate chip cookies and chocolate chewies are stacked by the dozen inside pretty little glass jars. Such a tease, if you ask me. The bakery is known for its coconut macaroons, chocolate chip cookies and elegant tortes, but when I walked in for a visit yesterday, everything looked taste-worthy. Even the croissants (who knew I liked croissants?).

Little jars of heaven at Rene's Bakery, including some of their most popular selections: chocolate dipped coconut macaroons, ginger molasses cookies and oatmeal walnut dried cherry cookies. 

You can imagine my delight when I was Google searching recipes for a family event and came across Rene's Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies on the Midwest Living website. Ever since, it's been my go-to cookie recipe. The trick, like most recipes, is to bulk up on the good stuff, and to not be too cautious when measuring out a cup of semisweet chocolate chips. I add a bit more chocolate chips and a whole lot more coconut than I'm supposed to. I also split up my three cups semisweet chocolate pieces between both chocolate chunks and chocolate chips.

Other tips for great (versus good) chocolate chip cookies:
-Spoon the flour into your measuring cup and scrape off the mound with a knife. I can't claim to know the exact science here, but I've learned from baker after baker that for accuracy purposes, the next best thing to weighing your flour is spooning your flour into the measuring cup.
-If you are using dough that was previously frozen, or chilled in the fridge for more than 30 minutes, leave the dough on your counter for 25-30 minutes or enough time for your dough to get to room temperature.
-Make sure the cookie sheets are completely cooled in between batches to prevent spreading and hence flat cookies.
-Remove the cookies from the oven when they are just starting to brown. Give yourself a safety net here. Underbake your cookies.
-Wait at least two minutes before transferring the cookie to a wire rack or plate. This recipe says to cool for one minute, but why risk it? Put. The. Spatula. Down.

Rene's Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from Midwest Living

Ta da! My perfect batch of chocolate chip cookies.

Ingredients 
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 
1 teaspoon salt 
1/2 teaspoon baking soda 
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened 
1 cup granulated sugar 
3/4 cup packed brown sugar 
2 eggs 
1/2 teaspoon vanilla 
3 cups semisweet chocolate pieces (split between semisweet chunks and semisweet chips)
1 cup unsweetened flaked coconut

The Deal
In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt and baking soda. Set aside. 
In a large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. 
Add granulated sugar and brown sugar. Beat on medium speed about 5 minutes or until mixture is light and fluffy, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. 
Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. 
Beat in as much of the flour mixture as you can at one time with the mixer on low speed until all is incorporated.
Stir in chocolate pieces and coconut. 
Drop dough by 2 tablespoon portions 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Lightly press down on dough to flatten. 
Bake in a 350 degrees F oven 12 minutes or 14 minutes if dough is chilled or until edges are light brown. 
Cool on cookie sheets 2-3 minutes. Transfer to wire racks and let cool.