HIIT vs Steady-State Cardio and Fueling Workouts Over 40

Nikkiey: What's up, WarriorBabes? Hey, everybody. Nikkiey here, and welcome to our WarriorBabe Wednesday live Q&A time together. As you guys are joining in, comment, say, hey, what's up, so that I can see you guys and see your name. Sue's joining us live. And so that I know that this thing is working. This is only my second week using this new platform, so let me know that you guys are here and comment.

Plus, the more comments underneath the video, the more it keeps our video at the top inside the Facebook group, so that all the other WarriorBabes can see it and join into the Q&A. So comment. Hey, Christy, what's up? Jessica, what's up, babes? And if you guys are tuning in at a later date or time, just do the hashtag replay, and please keep all of the questions that pertain to this Q&A in the comment thread beneath this video, so that Kate, our community manager, can come back and answer any questions after this live is complete.

What's up, Kim? I feel like I got some food in my teeth. Hold on, guys. So what's up, Kim? What's up, Valerie? Hey, babes. Hey, Tanya. "Missed last week, but happy to see your face this week." Yes, I'm stoked to be here with you guys.

We'll get started in just a few seconds. There is a little bit of lag between Zoom and Facebook, so you guys can start commenting your questions below this video, and I will hop in and answer all the questions that I see coming through.

But before we do, I want to give a huge welcome to all of the new babes who have joined us this past week. Welcome, new WarriorBabes. I'm stoked that you guys are here. You are a part of a community of thousands of women who are getting toned and becoming stronger, more confident versions of themselves. WarriorBabe is where strong is the new sexy. You have the tools and the resources that are really going to put you on the true path to getting the body that you want and the goals that you want to achieve, whether that's decreasing body fat or maintaining where you are currently at and building some muscle.

You've got the tools and the resources at your fingertips now, and you are a part of this community who is so supportive, so inspiring and motivating as well. We've got the veteran babes in here who are going to be even more motivated with the newcomers coming in, and the newcomers are super motivated by all of the veteran babes who have had success. We're working together as a team, so remember that. If you see somebody who needs some help or encouragement, that's what makes our community thrive and what's so amazing, and everybody's sharing their progress along the way.

So if you guys are new, please let me see some wave emojis. I want to see some names. I want to be able to put the names to you guys when I see you in the community. I love scrolling through and seeing all of the posts, so I do highly encourage you guys to do that. What's up, Dina? What's up, Lara? What's up, babes?

If you guys are new, really quick before we dive into the Q&A, I want you to know that we do these Q&As every single Wednesday at 6 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. And we also do a rally call on Sunday at 6 p.m. Eastern Standard Time as well. So both of our calls are at 6 p.m., Wednesday and Sunday, which is super easy to remember. You just have to remember the days.

For our rally call on Sunday, I choose a topic to talk about. It's about a 15 to 20 minute call, and it's to fire you guys up with some motivation moving into your new week, making sure that you're kickstarting it off strong and keeping the momentum moving. Once you get in the groove of tracking your macros and doing your workouts, it's all about keeping that momentum, which is going to carry you through the days that you don't want to work out or you don't feel like tracking. Momentum is going to carry you through. Discipline is going to carry you through to making this into a habit and a lifestyle and fulfilling the goals that you want to accomplish here.

Another thing that I want to touch base on: if you guys are new to WarriorBabe, please make sure that you're going through the WarriorBabe Revolution blast-off emails that I'm sending you, one per day for the first 14 days inside this program. They are so beneficial for you to really dig deep for yourself. What do you want to accomplish while you're a part of this program? What are your whys? Why do you want to accomplish these goals for yourself? You'll make a commitment to yourself in the first 14 days, so that when you're done with these videos, you're ready to fight. You set a really strong foundation for yourself, and it's going to be really easy to find the motivation to carry through on a daily basis. Once you've figured out your goals, you're going to dive into workouts and macros and everything like that. But I highly recommend that you utilize these blast-off videos for the first 14 days, because they're going to help you transition into this lifestyle. So if you guys are new, don't ignore them. Really follow through with them, because it's on you if you don't.

What's up, Patty? Hello, Emily. What's up, babe? So if you guys have any questions, let's kick off this live Q&A. Put the questions beneath this area here and we can fire into this Q&A time, because I want to be able to answer any questions you guys have. And understand, there's no silly or stupid question. There's no right or wrong question. Anything that you feel like you need clarification on, I highly recommend you find that clarification through me, because it's easy to assume what you think you should be doing and then get lost in your own assumptions and the overwhelm of a million different things out there. This is a space that's safe to come to, and you're either going to get some blunt, honest truth from me, some tough love, or exactly what you need to do moving forward. So speak up. If you have any questions, drop them below this video.

Jessica says, "Not a question, but just a shout-out to this community. I posted my two-month progress pics last week and had such great feedback and support. It really made me see the changes and progress that I have. This group is awesome." It really is. I love that, Jessica. Thanks, babe, for sharing that. It's a safe place full of thousands of women who are working together on a collective goal. You all want to change your body composition. You want to build some muscle. You want to decrease some body fat. You want to be more toned. This is our community to share your successes with your babes and to share any defeats that you feel like you're going through. This is what makes our group so amazing. It's motivational, it's inspiring, it's supportive. So thank you, Jessica, for sharing that, and thank you to all you babes, because you guys make the community. That's what's amazing about it.

What's up, Lara? Hey, babe. What's up, Eliza? What's up, guys? Nobody's got any questions for me? I think this is the first Q&A that I have ever experienced where nobody has any questions right now. Guys, fire it off. I know you guys have questions. We only have 30 babes on right now, but I know you guys have questions.

Laura: "I do a two-hour mountain biking ride every weekend. I typically eat a good breakfast when I wake up and I'm out the door about two hours later. Is that okay? I find if I eat less, I don't have the energy to perform my best." Well, if you're out the door about two hours later, you might want to sneak in a rice cake or two before you hit it. And then I do recommend either increasing your carbohydrates on that day, or bringing some gel packs or some food with you while you're out on the trail, so that you're fueling your body during this biking ride. If you eat a good solid breakfast and you're out the door two hours later, I still would throw in some rice cakes so you have some fuel before you even hit it. That's just my personal recommendation of what I would do. And then I would also bring some food with me to make sure you're fueling yourself during that ride.

I talked about this inside our rally call on Sunday, you guys: the difference between HIIT versus low-intensity steady-state cardio. You're really doing yourself a disservice if you are doing way too much cardio. It's just not beneficial to the muscle building that you all want to accomplish here. And muscle building is what gets you toned. So way too much cardio counteracts that process, especially if you're not giving your body enough fuel. There are so many women who don't know that they should be eating a lot more than what they are eating.

Hold on, you guys, the comments are going away right now. Let me just figure out how I can see everyone's comments. Oh boy.

So they're going away. I just saw Laura ask a question about the pictures. Guys, remember, this is the Revolution group, and then we have the Blueprint group. Our Q&A here is based around the Revolution group. For the Blueprint Q&A, you're going to be posting your pictures underneath the events tab. If you watch the new modules inside week one on how to participate in the Q&As, it'll break down exactly how you're supposed to post your photos.

Another question here that pertains to the Blueprint: is it okay to work out on the modules as we are retraining? If you are retraining your metabolism and you're going through that point, then absolutely. But again, these questions should be for the Blueprint Q&A, because somebody else may have the same question that you have inside the Blueprint program. That one starts at seven o'clock and goes for two hours, so make sure you're asking your Blueprint questions inside the Blueprint.

"Hi, loving all of this. I feel like a powerhouse already under some fluff." Nice, Carrie. I love it, babe. Keep going.

Jessica: "I mountain bike in addition to this as well. It takes forever for my legs to recover from weights for some reason, even if I space the workouts out for days. I do the BCAAs, but nothing seems to work." So then I would place a cheat meal, Jessica, around your leg day and when you're doing this biking. I would also make sure that you're taking glutamine as well. BCAAs are a recovery agent, but they're mainly about carrying protein synthesis through your body. Glutamine is going to be a really good added recovery supplement that you can put into your post-workout shake that really focuses on recovery. And on top of that, if you're taking vitamins, make sure that you're taking women's sport vitamins, not just one-a-day vitamins, because there are specific nutrients inside the women's sport ones. So those are some additional things that I would recommend.

Beth: "Hey Nikkiey, I work out early, 5:30. I find I can't eat 30 minutes before, and I find it's hard to work out recently eating. Any suggestions?" Well, this is what I would suggest, because I've literally heard this in my three to four years of coaching women: anything that your body's not used to doing, especially if it's not used to eating in the morning, of course it's going to take time to change and create new habits. So even though it's hard to do right now, it's because your body's just not used to it and your body needs to adapt to it. That's what I would personally say. It's what I've said to hundreds of women. And once they actually follow through with doing that, they go months eating before working out, and then they're like, I don't know how I ever did not eat before working out. So make sure you're doing something light as well. That would be my next suggestion: egg whites and maybe some rice cakes. It's super light, super easy and fast-digesting, so you'll be able to do your workout within 30 minutes. But the main thing is you've got to let your body adapt to it, and in order for it to adapt, you're going to have to give it some time.

Let me go back to the statement that I was making before I got worried about the comments not showing up. You guys really want to make sure that you listen to the previous rally call that I just did on the difference between high-intensity interval training, HIIT cardio, versus low-intensity steady-state cardio.

There's a massive difference. Steady-state cardio focuses on going into your fat stores and using fat as an energy source, and HIIT uses carbohydrates as an energy source. That's why a lot of women who do HIIT workouts, if they don't understand what kind of nutrition they should be following, are banging their head into a wall and not seeing the results that they want. Because it's using glycogen and energy from carbohydrates, and the majority of women don't even eat enough carbohydrates. We all know it's a freaking epidemic in this fitness industry right now.

A lot of you guys come into this program afraid of carbohydrates, but you're doing a bunch of high-intensity strength training, high-intensity workouts, high-intensity cardio. The biggest thing there is you are using carbohydrates for that activity. So let that sink in. Carbohydrates are not your enemy. Carbohydrates are a very good fuel source for your body, especially when it comes to strength training and building muscle and getting toned.

So for all of you babes who think, oh my God, I just need to do cardio because that's going to be the fastest way to lose weight, you really need to reprogram your mindset around that. No joke. Cardio is not something that you should be doing on a daily basis. Cardio is something that needs to be used as a tool to aid in fat loss. That's why I only recommend the three or four days that you see inside the application, at 30 minutes max, because women who don't eat enough and then kill themselves with extensive amounts of cardio are the ones that are drilling their hormones into the ground, and that's why they have thyroid problems and why they have cortisol through the roof.

You need to understand that food is a big agent in recovery processes within your metabolism, within your cells, within your reproductive systems, within your bones, within your muscles. Food is the reason why everything works inside your body and why it functions really well. So if you're not eating enough and you're doing too much extensive freaking cardio, you're not going to see results, especially when it comes to building muscle, and building muscle is what will get you toned. So you really want to take my word for it and only follow the kind of cardio that I have inside the program.

Now, this is also a lifestyle. So if you are a biker or if you like to do endurance runs or things like that, then you need to give yourself extra fuel on those days.

So now I'm starting to lose comments because you guys are starting to comment. I need to figure this out. Wow. It worked last week. Okay.

Michelle: "What is the best time to eat fruit in the day?" You can have fruit whenever the fuck you want. There are literally no restrictions with any types of food other than fats pre- and post-workout. You don't want to have a lot of fats pre- and post-workout, but you can have fruit. Fruit is a really good pre-workout meal and post-workout meal. And if you have fruit at any other point of the day, I personally don't have it around my workouts. I have it with yogurt, and I put peanut butter in there to slow down any spikes that you would initially get from the sugar in fruit. So if you put a fat with it, then you're solid.

Eliza: "Do you have any suggestions for beating cravings on your period? I am this week, and I've been really trying to make sure I am evenly distributing macros between meals to combat cravings. Is there anything else I can do, or am I on the right track?" Yeah, girl. And man, I think all WarriorBabes are in alignment with their periods. I'm getting mine any day now, so I'm right there with you. But really, for me, it's mind over matter. I was having this conversation in one of the interviews that you guys will see in a couple of months with one of the WarriorBabes.

Sorry, I want to make sure I'm reading these comments, because I can literally only see four at a time and it's going to mess up my train of thought. So what was I saying? Oh, it's really mind over matter. Yeah, Nicole, I see yours. I appreciate you putting it back up there. Maybe there's a way to copy and paste. There's got to be a better way to do this. This is so inefficient.

So what I was saying with your period: mind over matter really does come down to that. If you just understand that it's only for this allotted number of days, why would you want to hit the reset button on any of your cravings? If you want to indulge, it's going to happen, and then you really hit that reset button. So again, mind over matter. This is just for a couple of days. I'm stronger than my emotions. I can fight through this. And I know that in the next couple of days it's going to dissipate. I'm going to have my period, and a week from now, I'm right back on track.

That's what I would personally say from the tough love aspect. But make sure you're drinking enough water. You've got to stay hydrated. During this time, drink tons and tons of water. Definitely distribute your macros. If you have a cheat meal, place a cheat meal; that can help get rid of your cravings. Fit in a fucking piece of chocolate. No joke. If you have your period, it's macros, right? You can fit in a Dove chocolate at the end of your night, two Dove chocolates. You can fit in Halo Top. So work it into your macros. It's not dire. You need to understand that you can fit in the foods that you want to enjoy. That way you don't feel restricted. So fit in that stuff. I have cookie butter almost every fucking night because it is so fucking good, and I need to satisfy my craving or else I'm just going to indulge. So that's my personal advice for that.

Nicole: "How do you feel about boxing classes? It's real boxing, hitting a heavy bag. I do it three times a week. It's high energy and I'm wiped once done." I would probably knock it down to two days a week, and then the other two are low steady-state cardio.

Christy: "What is your favorite protein powder? Trying to find something that tastes decent and doesn't break the bank." I personally recommend AllMax, the AllMax chocolate peanut butter. It's so good.

Carrie: "What are the ab warm-ups? I've seen several different ones. I've been doing crunches, reverse crunches, bridges, side crunches and planks." It's in your application. If you go to strength and you go to the core circuits and tap on it, there are about 10 different circuits that you could be following.

Nicole: "I ordered the ISO 100 from the Coalition app, chocolate flavor. It's so good." Yeah, the ISO 100 from Dymatize is really good. I've personally been using AllMax for about a year and a half now, and I love them. Anything NutraBio is great as well. NutraBio is super transparent on their labeling, and you can understand what you're consuming. And if you guys go to The Coalition Nutrition or order from the Coalition app, who are my sponsors, you can use the code warriorbabe, no symbols, and that'll save you some money at checkout. Yeah, Christy, you're welcome.

Melissa: "What are your thoughts on apple cider vinegar and the best time to take it?" I think it's great, and I would personally take it first thing in the morning. I used to take it first thing in the morning. It helps aid in digestion. I would do it right when you wake up, on a fasted stomach, meaning an empty stomach. Anything that's natural and organic and healthy like that, I'm always going to recommend for sure.

Cheryl: "Rule One, Dreamsicle or Mint Chocolate Chip are great too." Yes, Rule One is another great brand as well. They're always my go-to. Melissa, you're welcome, babe.

Any more questions, guys? Does that cardio stuff make sense? Do you guys understand that? It's something that I really need to get across to every woman that I ever encounter who has the goal of getting toned. Cardio is a tool used to aid in fat loss. It is not a necessity. And if you had told me that five years ago, when I was doing two half marathons and running my ass off, I would have never believed you, nor would I have listened to you, because I so thought that cardio was the only way to achieve the goals that I wanted. I was so naive and so unaware and so sheltered in my thought process. That's just what I thought, because everybody was preaching it all over the internet. It is not what you need to be doing, nor should you be doing it five, six, seven days a week.

I see so many women who do that, and you wonder why you've got some thyroid issues. You're killing your body if you're not giving it enough fuel. Let me say this too, which I talked about on the rally call as well. Low-intensity steady-state cardio is super easy on your body versus HIIT. If HIIT is done correctly, it is very high stress on your body. High-intensity interval training is very stressful on your body. And if you already lead stressful lives, if you already naturally have high cortisol levels, you are just bringing more stress onto your body by doing high-intensity interval training.

Steady-state cardio is so much healthier. To me, steady-state cardio just makes way more fucking sense. You're using your fuel, your carbohydrates, that glycogen, that energy, for the high-intensity strength training that you're doing. You're using that energy for a good reason, to build muscle. And then when you're done with that training, you go into steady-state cardio, where your body switches gears to burn some fat. So it's the best of both worlds. You're burning through the fuel that you ate beforehand, and then you're switching gears to burn fat through steady-state cardio.

Yeah, Cheryl and Valerie. Laura: "Is it okay to do more abs, like an additional six minutes?" Yeah, absolutely.

Melissa: "I'm just starting the program and I fall in the muscular category, so I'm just walking for my steady state three times a week." Yes. Yup, a hundred percent.

Rochelle: "What is your favorite workout?" I don't do much HIIT. I literally do steady state. And if I do HIIT, I'm doing six minutes of sprints. That's it. I don't do much bodyweight stuff, like slamming med balls and doing burpees and throwing kettlebells. I do six minutes of sprints on the treadmill. That's my HIIT. I do 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off.

Laura: "Biking is my super happy spot, though, and I just want to make sure I'm not going to do more harm by not eating correctly around the endurance." No, if you're following the video that I have in the app on what you should be doing as an endurance person, you're solid, babe. Enjoy your happiness. I get that. I love hiking, and sometimes I hike for three hours, but I make sure to eat more on that day to balance out the calories in, calories out. So yeah, it's all about lifestyle. If you love doing it, just make sure you're fueling your body appropriately. That's it. Broadly speaking, just make sure you're fueling your body appropriately.

What's up, Melissa? I love the flex. Let's go. Victoria, what's up, babe? Christy, hi. Does anybody else have any more questions for me?

Laura: "Perfect, thank you. I planned my cheat meal for that day." Perfect. Perfect.

All right, babes. If nobody's got any more questions for me, I'm probably going to tune out in the next couple of minutes. I'll hang out here for a few more minutes as you guys trickle in any questions that you do have.

But if we don't have any more coming through, what I'm going to say is keep up the fucking good work. Keep showing up for yourself. It's you versus you along this journey. I shared it on my Instagram story the other day, and I think I've shared it before as well: never compare. Comparison is the thief of all joy, you guys. How many of you go on Instagram and look at people's bodies? How many of you sit on Facebook and look at people's bodies? Or even look at the community and think, oh my God, that's amazing, I want to look like that? Never compare your day 68 or day 100 to my day 1,000, or somebody else's day 400 or day 2,000. It's your journey. It's you versus you. Stay the course and keep working on becoming the best version of yourself, a stronger, more confident version of yourself.

Victoria, yes. All of the Blueprint upgrades are available to all members. You have everything. It's already inside the platform. There are 13 new modules inside the program, so you already have access to them.

Bo: "I want swag." Yes, baby, it's coming. The COVID stuff is really messing gears up right now, and I may have to switch to a different company.

Colleen: "How do we find the updated Blueprint workouts? I think I saw there were updates." It's inside your course. If you go to week three in the top toolbar, to the workout philosophies, and click on that, anything that doesn't have a check mark, meaning you didn't watch it yet, those are new. The workouts themselves, though, I am currently filming, so those have not been updated. There are three new modules in the workout section, but they're not the workouts yet. The workouts I'm currently filming. It's a lot of information, you guys. But you are getting new workout programs inside the Blueprint, so it's super exciting.

Emily: "Thanks for starting this kick-ass program, Nikkiey." Absolutely, babe.

You guys asking about the swag status: I know, Em, I just filled you in. With the company that I was using, it took a month for the swag to get to me, and a month and about a week for the crop top that I'm wearing to get to me. You guys don't want to wait a month for the stuff to come in. You order it and you want it to come right away. That's at least the standard that I hold. So I may have to switch companies, and that's all because of COVID. If COVID stops, maybe things will change. This is probably one of the most annoying things of this whole thing. I want to get it to you guys, but I will keep you posted.

Victoria, awesome. Yes, updates are awesome. So far, the 13 new modules, there's a lot of information in there, and the best is yet to come. The workouts are going to be a fucking game changer. I can't wait for you guys to have that material. It should be there by the end of the week. That's exciting.

All right, rock stars, I'm going to tune out. It was a lot of fun hanging out with you guys. If you need anything, don't hesitate to comment inside the Facebook community and tag Kate, our community manager. She's always in there answering any questions that she sees coming through to support you guys.

Have a great rest of your evening. Remember to show up for yourselves, because that's what matters. And I will catch you on our Sunday rally call. Bye, everyone.