NatNews

As it turns out, dogs with the zoomies are practicing healthy habits.

Many runners add interval training to their workout schedules, as it can help a person improve overall speed and can benefit one’s cardiovascular system, VO2 max, metabolic health, and body composition.

Dallas resident Bailey Blanton said she incorporates intervals into her running routine consistently once a week and sometimes twice, depending on her training schedule for that week.

“Interval training gets my body used to running at different speeds for different lengths of time,” she said. “Running every run at an easy pace (or at race pace) does not allow me to experience and get better at faster paces.”

But interval training isn’t limited solely to running. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) has become a popular form of exercise for many individuals, allowing them to take part in vigorous activity for short bursts of time with brief periods of either rest or lower-intensity efforts in between. According to Harvard Medical School, the interval portions raise the heart rate, and the overall exercise session results in a person burning more calories, strengthening his or her heart, and helping the body use oxygen more efficiently.

Dallas-area resident and owner of Fit Social Club Erin Vara said she would recommend that a person takes part in an interval form of exercise two to three times per week to see actual benefits and changes. Vara added that the actual advantages one experiences are contingent upon the modality of the person training.

“Interval running will create speed and endurance,” she said. “Interval weight training can create muscular-induced cardio increases and agility.”

Vara added that one nice aspect of interval training is that it can be accomplished in a short amount of time. Many group exercise classes, including the various cycling and strength training workouts at Fit Social Club, are 45 minutes to an hour, offering the opportunity for an effective workout without taking up an extensive portion of one’s day.

“Everyone is busy, and so this is a way to get in good physical activity without the mental tax of having to commit to something that takes forever or seems daunting,” Vara said.

Interval training also offers several benefits outside of physical health, including helping to reduce anxiety, improve cognitive function, and boost one’s overall mood. For Blanton, she said there is true enjoyment found in interval workouts on the track, where she runs on a weekly basis with the Dallas-based Train Pegasus running community.

“You feel so refreshed and exhilarated both during and afterward,” she said. “I look forward to this time every week. I get to put my headphones in, zone out, and feel amazing for an hour or so.”

As mentioned, interval training is helpful for one’s heart. According to Stanford School of Medicine, research has consistently demonstrated that this form of exercise provides evident improvements in markers of cardiovascular health and cardiometabolic health and decreases the risk of heart disease progression more efficiently than moderate intensity continuous training.

“Cardiovascular health is so important, and interval training is an easy and fun way to improve that in a short amount of time,” Vara said.

A person doesn’t need to be seeking to run faster or farther or take part in any form of competition in order to add intervals to their lives. Such a form of exercise can benefit someone simply seeking to increase longevity and improve overall mental and physical well-being.

“There is room for everyone in interval training,” Blanton said. “I think continuing to push ourselves to do hard things (or even medium-hard things) is good for our minds and our bodies. Cranking up the intensity for even 30 seconds at a time makes a huge difference. I don’t know the science, but I know I can feel the chemical impact after a short and fast burst!”

West Virginia is the only state entirely within the Appalachian Mountains.

Sourdough bread is still on the rise.

While baking sourdough bread is not a novel hobby, it became much more popular during the pandemic (with 37 percent of U.S. consumers reportedly baking bread at home) when people were stuck at home and searching for new ways to entertain themselves and take part in activities that distracted them in one way or another.

The hobby didn’t flitter away when the world became more “normal” again, though. It has become a lasting pastime of many individuals and remained popular as a result of social media outlets continuing to allow sourdough aficionados to post their masterpieces and potentially inspire others to start rolling their own dough.

Influenced by a family member rather than various Instagram and TikTok stars, Dallas-area resident Libby Shewski more recently began honing her skills of the sourdough nature.

“My dad makes sourdough, and his bread is always so good—way better than anything store-bought,” she said. “He made the process seem easy, and I thought that if he can do it, so can I.”

And for Shewski, being able to give away some of the bread she makes is the most rewarding part of the experience.

“It’s a process that takes quite a bit of time and energy, so when I give a loaf to someone, they really know how much I care about them,” she said.

If you’ve ever spoken to someone who bakes sourdough, that word “starter” might sound familiar, and you have perhaps also heard the word “discard” used a time or two within the same context. A sourdough starter is the yeast element of the bread—a live fermented culture of flour and water filled with yeast (wild, not commercial) and bacteria from the environment to make the dough rise. To put it more simply (hopefully, maybe), it’s a thick liquid made from flour and water that develops over time, cultivating the yeast and good bacteria in the flour and air.

Sourdough discard is the portion of the starter that one removes prior to adding fresh flour and water to what’s left in the starter jar (known as “feeding”) to keep the starter healthy. A baker need not rid of the discard if it’s not moldy and whatnot, though—in fact, there are several ways one can use the discard in other recipes.

Dallas-area resident Nikki East originally began baking bread because, as she noted, it is “a source of life” and one of her favorite foods.

“Several years ago, I started making basic white bread and thought I’d give sourdough a try because it’s the best kind of bread, in my opinion,” she said. “I failed multiple times to get a sourdough starter going but kept trying. Once my starter was a success and healthy, I dove in.”

East said aside from the fact that she thinks sourdough is delicious, she enjoys making it because, like with all baking for her, it allows her mind to focus on something and drown out the rest of the world.

“It is calming and therapeutic,” she said. “I also enjoy the process. There are clear steps and timelines, which I appreciate.”

Baking doesn’t always go according to plan the first time one tries a new recipe, but that doesn’t bother East. In fact, she said she enjoys the aspect of trial and error that sourdough baking affords.

“It’s like a science experiment—determining the best time to bake based on the activity of an active starter, determining if the dough needs more time to proof or if it’s over-proofed, playing with the duration of the cold proof, how the crumb looks after each bake, etc.,” she said. “I experiment and take notes. It’s fun!”

Making a loaf of sourdough entirely from scratch can be a rather lengthy process, as noted by Alexandra Stafford of Alexandra’s Kitchen and Kate Freebairn of the Pantry Mama. Individuals who struggle with patience might become quite frustrated with such a reality, especially when the final product doesn’t come out as expected.

Shewski acknowledged that though baking sourdough is quite a simple process, the most challenging part is remembering to feed the starter every day and, because of that duration component, beginning the entire process early enough.

“There are a lot of steps that go into it,” she said. “While it’s easy, it also takes a lot of time. You have to commit to being home for the first couple of hours for the stretch and folds.”

For East, she said though she faced challenges when she initially began baking sourdough, she doesn’t experience many frustrations anymore. One difficulty she did encounter, though, was dealing with colder temperatures during the winter months.

“Sourdough starter and dough need warmth (but not heat) to thrive,” she said. “I keep my house cold in the winter, so you can see the conundrum. My oven light didn’t do the trick, so I invested in a proofing box—best thing ever.”

Don’t expect the sourdough craze to dwindle anytime soon, especially with its potential health aspects (including prebiotics and ease of digestion) and people like Taylor Swift continuing to popularize it and share it with others.

“Sourdough is delicious and supposedly better for your gut,” Shewski said. “I also think that TikTok and social media have made it seem aesthetic, and people are really into aesthetic hobbies.”

East added that she believes that sourdough will remain a staple in people’s kitchens because of the taste, lack of additives and preservatives, and its versatility.

“Yes, sourdough bread is the star of the show, but active sourdough starter and sourdough discard can be used for a variety of things,” she said. “I’ve made cinnamon rolls, focaccia bread (savory and sweet options), biscuits, pancakes, cookies, cake, cheese crackers, and tortillas. It’s also very helpful to have dedicated taste testers on standby to try out the concoctions for additional input as you move through the process.”

WEEKLY PHOTO OP

NatNews staff, our sole investor, and some dear readers hit the bullseye in friendship and were on point with opting for tacos for dinner

Monday, October 5: Stars vs. Sharks at the American Airlines Center; Free Halloween Movie Month — John Wick at Sundown at Granada; TLC & Salt-N-Pepa with En Vogue at the Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
Tuesday, October 6: Free Halloween Movie Month — Sinners at Sundown at Granada; National Taco Day
Wednesday, October 7: On Wednesdays, we wear pink
Thursday, October 8: Cowboys vs. Buccaneers at AT&T Stadium; Cool Thursdays Concert Series — Coldplay tribute at the Dallas Arboretum
Friday, October 9: Candlelight — Tribute to Queen and the Beetles at Cathedral of Hope; Role Model at the Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory; Legends of New Country tribute band at Legacy Hall; Brooks & Dunn at Dickies Arena (also on Saturday)
Saturday, October 10: WRRC Saturday run from Taco Joint; Red River Rivalry at Cotton Bowl Stadium; Kacey Musgraves at the American Airlines Center (also on Sunday)
Sunday, October 11: SMU Volleyball vs. Pitt at Moody Coliseum