Ahwatukee StrengthLab Personal Training 480-612-7726

It’s entirely possible for any one of us, with great and sustained effort, to build a personal self that’s well beyond automatic biological impulses, inherited cultural mores and blind religious habits; rather, a personal self that’s built upon conscious design.

The link below provides the best sunscreens to use while the rest are exposed for being inferior products and a waste of money.

Hint: If your sun protection product is sprayed on your body – it’s simply inferior to a cream or lotion.

“The majority of sunscreens currently on the market are full of questionable ingredients and known carcinogens. Simply looking at the ingredients you’ll quickly realize you don’t recognize any of them. Many existing sunscreens have been brought to market with little concern for their safety and boast inflated SPF numbers.”

http://breakingnews.ewg.org/2011sunscreen/

The New Good Life: Living Better Than Ever in an Age of Less

How do you define the good life? For many, success is measured not by health and happiness but by financial wealth. But such a worldview overlooks the important things in life: personal contentment, family time, spirituality, and the health of the planet and those living on it. A preoccupation with money and possessions is not only unhealthy, it can also drain the true joy from life.

In recent years, millions have watched their American Dreams go up in smoke. The international financial collapse, inflation, massive layoffs, and burgeoning consumer debt have left people in dire financial straits—including John Robbins, a crusader for planet-friendly food and lifestyle choices, who lost his entire savings in an investment scam. But Robbins soon realized that there was an upside to our collective financial downturn: Curtailed consumerism could lead us to reassess our lives and values.

http://www.amazon.com/The-New-Good-Life-Living/dp/0345519841/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1332692635&sr=1-1

The Arizona Road Racers (ARR) South Mountain Classic is a 20K or 5K starting and finishing at the South Mountain Activity Center in Phoenix.

Directions: take Central Avenue two miles south of Baseline Road into the park.

Race Day:
Registration begins at 6:30 AM. The 20K begins at 7:30 AM and the 5K begins at 7:40 AM.

Please plan to arrive early!

Park Rangers will be checking each vehicle before entering the park. This can cause a backup in traffic, especially nearing gun time. A park pass will be available prior to race day for you to display on your dashboard.

See you there!

http://arizonaroadracers.com/southmountain/

The dietary fiber that we consume, and frequently too little of, is exclusively found in plant-based food and it’s typically undigestable; although it can be added to low-quality processed foods to give the appearance of healthfulness. Fiber comes in countless variations within the cell-walls of plants (and the fruits and vegetables it may bear). Dietary fiber should not be consumed through man-made purchased supplements rather through whole foods designed by nature. Human engineering can’t rival the quality or the complexity of fiber found in it’s most natural state or it’s perfect delivery system. Moreover, whole foods (vegetables, fruit and grains) containing dietary fiber include numerous components that work to keep us healthy and their fiber content creates a sense of fullness that comes on us quicker and lasts longer compared to processed foods. Lastly, fiber works to clean the digestive system as it winds its way through the process, as well as absorbs unwanted products found within our digestive system as it speeds the process of digestion along.

Health and fitness isn’t about immortality, we’re going to die regardless of our individual approach to life. What’s preferred here is to enjoy all the time we’re afforded with a high level of vigor and a fully functioning body and mind. Avoiding long, drawn out diseases, involuntary pain and suffering and crippling incapacity is the objective here. There are better ways to live… as well as better ways to die.

If the conscious mind—the part you consider to be you—is just the tip of the iceberg, what is the rest doing?

The majority of personal trainers have a credibility hurdle to contend with; they dont know enough, they don’t care enough and they’re not fit enough. Credibility, simply isn’t a matter of contention here.

We have human cells that are straying from their proper course of duplication everyday; during standard cell reproduction and normal turnover of body tissues. Our body’s immune system is tasked with the job of finding these errant cells that are mutating and destroying them before they destroy us. Well executed research has demonstrated repeatedly that cancer development is modified by how much animal protein we consume in our diets. Animal proteins consumed at less than 5% of our daily intake shuts down cancer, while animal protein consumed above 5% invigorates cancer; the higher the animal proteins consumed above 5% the greater the cancer rates (animal proteins are defined by cows, chicken, turkey, fish, pigs, lamb, dairy, eggs, et cetera.). The majority of Americans consume much higher rates of protein than the 5% maximum recommended and the cancer rates in America reflect that dietary choice.

Isolated nutrients (such a vitamins, minerals and antioxidants) taken as supplements to our existing diet or artificially added to a product found on a store shelf where it’s then called fortified, is simply a misunderstood concept and grossly inadequate for good health. For instance, vitamin C, is only one single compound of hundreds of compounds found within a single fruit or vegetable. Consuming more of it, when there’s no dietary deficiency (which is normally the case for all of us) without the other compounds, is misguided and unsafe. Vitamins, minerals and antioxidants consumed singularly, in large doses typically found in many store bought supplements, have proven to actually increase disease in carefully performed research on humans; so much so, the studies were halted early because cancer rates were increasing significantly in the participants – not decreasing as desired!

Case in Point:

The majority of our bodies are made of water (65-70% of our bodies); drink normally and things function as they should. But, supplement your normal drinking habits with excess water and you end up in the hospital with Hyponatremia (a metabolic condition in which there is not enough sodium in the body fluids outside the cells because of over-hydration). 

If something is good for you, then more must be better… is simply poor thinking.

From the creators of the groundbreaking documentary FOOD MATTERS comes another hard-hitting film certain to rock your world.

HUNGRY FOR CHANGE exposes shocking secrets the diet, weightloss and food industry don’t want you to know about. Deceptive strategies designed to keep you craving more and more. 

Could the foods we are eating actually be keeping us stuck in the diet trap?

In this free online premiere event you’ll discover:

• How to navigate your supermarket – what to buy and what to avoid
• The real truth behind “DIET”, “SUGAR-FREE” and “FAT-FREE” products
• How to overcome food addictions and cravings
• Why fad diets dont work
• What food additives to avoid and how to read labels
  
• What is fat and cellulite and how do we get rid of it for good
• The most effective detox and cleansing strategies, and
• How to eat for clear eyes, glowing skin and healthy hair

Find out what’s keeping you from having the body and health you deserve and how to escape the diet trap forever.

Featuring interviews with best selling health authors and leading medical experts plus real life transformational stories from those who know what it’s like to be sick and overweight. 

Learn from those who have been there before and continue your health journey today.

Register below to watch the film online during the Free Worldwide Online Premiere, March 21-31, 2012. 

The DVD will be available for purchase exclusively on this site from March 21st onwards. By registering your details below you’ll be notified when the DVD goes live.

http://www.hungryforchange.tv/p/free-worldwide-online-premiere

The average American lifespan is currently in decline; decades of increased well-being through good sanitation and eradication/control of external diseases is no longer enough. It’s not stress, poor genetics, accidents or toxic environmental factors that are causing this longevity reversal… it’s simply the food we choose to eat.

The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reported in a past article that physician error, medication error and adverse effects from drug and/or surgery kills over 225,000 Americans every year; over 100,000 of these American deaths were from unintended consequences of a drug that was provided at an accurate and normal dosage.

Remember, physicians and the medical establishment may save our lives in an emergency situation, we are lucky to have them, but relying on them for disease prevention and sound health is foolish and not their responsibility. The road to good health begins in prevention and the majority of physicians know nothing about it…

Human Beings are weak by design; we’re encapsulated in soft-tissue that damages easily and we require special care just to survive. We last only days without adequate hydration and only a matter of minutes without adequate oxygen. Military trainers in the Special Forces spend countless man-hours hardening their troops mentally and physically, yet, their troops can be broken in a matter of hours when there’s heavy losses involved in their unit. Human beings are considered strong, and maybe even durable, but only when compared to one another.

Know your limitations and respect your needs… perhaps then, you’ll do better than just survive, you may even thrive.

The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do To Get More of It

http://www.amazon.com/The-Willpower-Instinct-Self-Control-Matters/dp/1583334386/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1331218173&sr=1-1

Mature, responsible, intelligent adults want and work toward self-control, the rest simply want more adult distractions… no different than a child wanting more toys and candy.

In the United States, nearly 50% of all men and 40% of all women will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetimes, while roughly 40% of the population will prematurely die from heart disease. Well done, unbiased, viable research by respected scientists, states that 98% of these cancer and heart disease cases would be avoided by diet and exercise alone, only 1-2% of these disease cases mentioned were genetically driven and unavoidable.

The more animal protein (i.e. dairy, poultry, red meat, eggs and seafood) that we consume… the higher our risk factors for chronic disease. We should be eating vegetables, fruit and whole grains while consuming animal proteins only occassionally. The amount of animal protein that we consume runs parallel to our disease risk factors. In other words, the more animal protein we consume, the higher our risk factors, while the more we minimize their consumption, the lower our risk factors. Myriad cancers, heart disease and strokes are directly related to animal consumption. No longer should our meals be anchored by animal protein as the centerpiece and not every meal should have animal protein as an ingredient. Lastly, supplementing our diet with a protein supplement (for weightloss or weight gain) is grossly unnecessary, entirely misunderstood and unwise.

Everyone has an opinion on health, fitness and nutrition… but very few people know what they’re talking about with any depth based on known facts. And, although there’s an enormous amount of constructive research and information currently available to the public, the truth literally gets buried beneath the junk science, fad diets, celebrity exercise programs, greedy capitalists who ignore the facts and a food industry that vehemently protects the financial value of their products, regardless of the ramifications on human health. Most diseases aren’t accidents, what you consume does matter to your health and there’s a right way and a wrong way to approach exercise. Fact or merely someone’s opinion? You should know the difference before you decide.

StrengthLab Thoughts: I’m personally re-visiting this book; published in 2006, this is still the most important book on nutrition and diet written to date. “In Defense of Food” written by Michael Pollan would be the next best significant book in this genre for those interested in educating themselves with factual information – not hype and not marketing.  

The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted And the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss, And Long-term Health

Ahwatukee’s Farmer’s Market – 48th Street and Warner / NW Corner – is in full swing right now!

From fresh produce, to local honey and even hand-made pastas… it’s a great place to stock up on healthy items and support your neighborhood. 

It’s every Sunday from 9am-1pm. The earlier you visit… the better the choices!

Consumer Reports released a shocking survey in 2011 that found that just 1 out of 10 Americans admitted to eating unhealthy. There seems to be a serious disconnect between what people think is healthy and what is literally healthy for us. Plants and the things that grow from them are healthy… energy bars, supplements, diet frozen dinners, frozen yogurt, baked chips, multi-vitamins, myriad juices and roasted nuts are not. Animal protein should be no more than 5-10% of our diets (that includes red meat, seafood, poultry, eggs and dairy) and animal protein should NOT be the cornerstone of every meal. Vegetables, fruit and whole grains!

Our genetics (family history) is frequently thought to hold our personal vitality and longevity, but that’s a very simple view to a complex subject.

For example, if we happen to have a genetic propensity for cancer, heart disease or a neurological disorder, we may simply have an empty gun laying around inside our cells, but our decision making when it comes to our health, nutrition and fitness habits decides if that gun gets loaded and the trigger pulled.

It’s most frequently our choice to make when it comes to our health – NOT genetics alone; we determine our fate most of the time.