Ahwatukee StrengthLab Personal Training 480-612-7726

The definition of “organic” is vague and otherwise blurred in many areas of the food industry. 

Highly processed organic foods, containing synthetic chemicals and additives, are common and allowed by federal law, even at Whole Foods Supermarkets where they market the natural food and product experience to their customers in proverbial bucket-loads. 

In many cases, we’re simply paying more for the organic label and the “feel good experience” of doing what we think is right for us, our families and the health of our community… when in reality, we’re simply wasting our money on fancy marketing. 

For example, organic milk products are considered “organic” if the dairy producing cattle are fed an organic diet of corn.  The problem is that cattle shouldn’t be eating corn – they should be eating natural grasses.  Corn simply leads to malnutrition, sick animals and more problems for our diet and ecosystem. 

However, organic produce is still a good idea!  The soil is much richer and more nutrient, pesticides and fungicides are normally not permitted by law when cultivating the produce and the organic food grown is of a higher nutritient quality as well.

Organic doesn’t mean healthy… so carefully spend your money on quality products.  Otherwise, we’re going to have a bunch of unhealthy organic proccessed food, full of more chemicals and additives, to choose from in the future.

Side note 1:  Organic foods are trucked in from copious distances by diesel and refrigeration; soiling the organic label even more.  Buying local is more important in many cases than buying organic if the environment or your local community is especially important to you.

Side note 2:  Organic cuts of red meat, butter, cheese, whole milk and other various foods made of full-fat animal products, are no more healthy for you than conventional items.

To reduce a naturally grown vegetable or fruit to a reductionist scientific way of thinking, where we tease out one particular vitamin, mineral or antioxidant and attempt to bottle it as a healthy alternative to eating produce, is superficial thinking and wrong-headed.   Life requires, in many instances, a sense of mystery and acceptance of what we don’t know and sometimes can’t know.  Believe me when I tell you… current food technology has no idea what makes a fruit or vegetable so healthy for our physiology; so don’t succumb to oversimplifications and fancy bottles, pamphlets and marketing campaigns – simply eat the real thing!

A professional personal trainer and their private personal training environment lends itself to your personal  improvement through, not just a balanced fitness program, but what they’re feeding your thoughts while training.  Your emotions and thoughts and what they’re exposed to, while working together with your trainer, are just as important as the exercise.

Tomatoes get all the attention concerning lycopene, a pigment that reduces your risk for heart disease and may help to fend off various forms of cancers, but watermelons naturally supply even more lycopene than tomatoes.  Watermelons are also brimming with citrulline and arginine, micronutrients that increase systemic blood flow and keep arteries healthy. 

All this while delivering very few calories… watermelons are mostly water that just happen to be loaded with micronutrients!

An inexpensive steamer that’s great for preparing vegetables, fish, brown rice and hardboiled eggs.

Product Features

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00019G8IS/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B00073HLMU&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=192AVBHDJKQ00Y3DSYH8

Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of the Four Meals By Michael Pollan

It’s an enlightening, yet troubling journey up and down the food chain.  From the flora and fauna found outside (as well as inside) our supermarkets… to the end product we find on our dinner plates.

Here’s the Amazon link to the book:

http://www.amazon.com/Omnivores-Dilemma-Natural-History-Meals/dp/0143038583/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1283833734&sr=8-2

Hydrogenated oils (fully or partially hydrogenated) are man-made artificial fats (otherwise known as trans fats) that are extremely dangerous to our health… and I don’t use the word dangerous lightly here. 

Using hydrogenated oils in foods is a strategy employed by many companies of all sizes, to enhance the taste of their foods and extend the shelf-life and shelf-stability of those foods while saving their money; trans fats are considerably cheaper to use than natural fats.

The risk to us?  On-going destruction of our cell membranes without notice until disease has fully established and shown itself; from myriad cancers to strokes, to ubiquitous heart disease – no one is immune to its hazards.

Your goal is to avoid it’s consumption at every turn, don’t merely minimize it – some will slip into your diet anyway because its everywhere. 

Don’t buy anything in the store with hydrogenated oils included in the ingredients.

Fried food is often fried in hydrogenated oils, making an already unhealthy method of food preparation a complete and total disaster to our health.

Restaurants serve food loaded with hydrogenated oils – don’t eat out frequently.

Select your own food, prepare your own food and know your own food, before you consume it.

High Fructose Corn Syrup is merely another sugar… and sugar we simply get too much of already.

On the other hand, Partially Hydrogenated Oils are a dangerous and toxic ingredient at any measure and they should be eliminated from our diets.

Are you sure that you’re hungry? 

When at home… if you aren’t hungry enough to select a nice quality piece of produce, such as baby carrots, sliced apples, segmented oranges, a pre-cooked sweet potato or the like, then you’re simply not that hungry; you’re merely bored, stressed or thirsty.

Overeating leads to weight gain of course in the majority of people and being overweight makes all of us more susceptible to heart disease, various cancers, type 2 diabetes, strokes, depression and disabilities, among other things.  Yet, the simple fact of overeating, in and of  itself, also promotes cell division, otherwise known as cancer.  While, on the other hand, eating less food has been shown to increase longevity and vitality in myriad laboratory studies encompassing many years.

The StrengthLab adage to “eat less, eat better and move more” still rings true.

Economizing when buying food is a twofold mistake.

First, buying relatively inexpensive, processed food lowers the quality of our overall nutrition and endangers our long-term health.  Secondly, by purchasing relatively lower quality, processed food we’re supporting the very companies who make it available to us.

Eating better does frequently cost more, but remember… we’re voting with our dollars every time we buy the right things from the right companies.  We need to support the farmers, stores, markets and restaurants who are making a healthful difference and while doing so, we’ll be helping ourselves, as well as our future generations.

Recommendation: pay more for quality food, prepare it yourself and eat less of it!

In order to stay healthy, we need to invest more time, effort and resources into providing for our well being through whole food. 

Whole foods are foods that are unprocessed and unrefined (or as little as possible) before being consumed.  Whole foods typically don’t contain added ingredients such as sugar, salt, fat, chemicals, artificial preservatives, colors or sweeteners.  Examples of whole foods include unpolished grains; fruits and vegetables; unprocessed meat, poultry and fish.

Fast, easy and cheap food comes at a high price. 

Plan your food… keep produce fresh and available, know what’s for dinner and don’t rely on what’s simply available when you get hungry.  Educate yourself concerning food and put some thought into what you eat.

A whole piece of fruit is full of natural fiber and this fiber slows the release of its sugar naturally… that’s benefit number one. 

Benefit number two… is that the whole fruit contains minerals and micronutrients that would have been lost, had it been separated from it’s natural flesh and squeezed. 

In addition, all mass marketed juices are pasteurized (or flash super heated) to extend the juices shelf life (even Naked Juice flash heats their products) which destroys much of its valuable health properties. 

Juices that are freshly squeezed that day are still no match for the whole fruit – don’t let the juicer infomercials fool you.

Brussels Sprouts offer a phytonutrient that can help clear away carcinogenic substances in your body naturally says the American Dietetic Association. 

But this superfood is only getting started with that aforementioned quality; it’s loaded with other health properties and it’s really inexpensive. 

Steam them and eat them plain for best results.  C’mon don’t be afraid… they’re good for you.

Sprouts Farmer’s Market is the best place to buy conventional produce… especially if produce availability, consistency and low prices are important to you.  Although Sprouts does have organic produce, it’s quite limited in it’s quantity and availability most of the time. 

www.Sprouts.com

Total Life Coaching: 50+ Life Lessons, Skills, and Techniques to Enhance Your Practice and Your Life

http://www.amazon.com/Total-Life-Coaching-Techniques-Practice/dp/0393704343

Orthorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by an obsessive focus on healthy food and healthy eating. 

Really? 

In my opinion, the only way this could be a legitimate problem for someone is by misunderstanding what healthy eating really means in the first place.  In fact, I wish more (nutritionally educated) people were diagnosed with this problem everyday.

Life is a constant stream of challenges; from one large crisis to the next, from one small fire to the next – with relative calm sometimes experienced inbetween.  Learning to cope wisely with small, as well as large challenges, is a primary key to mental and physical health. 

There certainly are right ways and wrong ways to approach most things.

Act wisely… instead of RE-acting unwisely.

Afternoon Rest is a very valuable tool during the work day. 

Turning down our bodies physical and mental energy for 10-20 minutes each day can improve our lives dramatically; by decreasing our stress levels and increasing our immune system as well.  No need to fall asleep, just use the wakeful rest to clear the mind and rest the body.   

The darker and quieter the space used generally the better…  

The majority of “extreme exercise” is carried out under the parameters of cardiovascular activity; and although cardiovascular activity is a proven health benefit, excess physical activity can be quite detrimental to our health. 

The Ironman triathlon for instance, which covers 140.6 miles over many hours in a single day; ultra-marathons performed on foot, which cover any distance over 26.2 miles in a single day; and even the ultra popular classic marathon distance, which covers 26.2 miles in a single day are all prime examples of exercise performed to excess. 

You see… exercise is a powerful generator of free radicals which cause damage to our soft tissues, the more exercise we perform at a given time, without sufficient recovery, the more overwhelmed our natural defenses become due to these insidious free radicals.  Furthermore, overexposure to our natural environment is a danger as well.  Too much sun exposure, inattentive drivers, accidents, overuse injuries and physical assaults are all risks that increase with time spent training for a future ultra distance event.  

Extreme exercise carried out by the average athlete can be for the love of the activity of course… but extreme exercise under the banner of health is a misguided and truly false assumption.

One of the best fatty acid blends on the market today; produced under the strictest procedures for quality and freshness; by a guy who knows fatty acids – Dr. Udo Erasmus. 

FYI: fresh oil correctly packaged in a dark bottle from the manufacturer, under a cold press (not hot), limiting light and oxygen exposure, is going to be a better choice than virtually any or all encapsulated gel caps.  Go fresh from the bottle! 

FYI: if you’re going to supplement your diet with essential fats or oils such as this, you need to lower your daily overall fat intake to avoid gaining weight.  Futhermore, the benefits of consuming this oil blend, will increase, with reduced fat intake from other sources as well.

And yes… I’ve read the book below.

“Fats That Heal, Fats That Kill: The Complete Guide to Fats, Oils, Cholesterol and Human Health”

Still one of the best places to eat well if you like to dine out!  Pita Jungle!

Where good food and nutrition come together!

http://www.pitajungle.com/index.cfm/nutritionPage

Lots of locations!

http://www.pitajungle.com/index.cfm/locations

You can even order on line!

https://orders.patronpath.com/bbFinder.php?f=3b4aaffe4fdd40b1d7b08a374e1fb627

There’s currently nothing on the market that’s slows or stops aging.  Nothing! 

Anti-aging products are selling eternal hope through false promises and lies. 

From “Oil of Olay” to Human Growth Hormone (HGH) it’s all false advertising.

The best that we can do is to take good care of ourselves and make smart choices…

Eat less, Eat Better, Move and Rest More!

A great way to get your produce and a great price.

Only $15 for conventional produce and only $25 for organic produce! 

Check their schedules and locations to make it convenient for yourself.

http://www.bountifulbaskets.org/

Healthy Aging: A Lifelong Guide to Your Well-Being by Andrew Weil, M.D.

http://www.amazon.com/Healthy-Aging-Lifelong-Guide-Well-Being/dp/0307277542/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1282797963&sr=8-1#_

Adding mushrooms to our diet may help ward off infections and cancer; researchers from Penn State University have found.

They speculate that the beneficial bacteria or nutrients within the fungi’s cell walls may strengthen our defenses against disease.

Mushrooms have even been found to cut women’s breast cancer risk by nearly two-thirds says the International Journal of Cancer.

Top five Mushrooms are probably the following:

1. Maitake

2. Reishi

3. Shitake

4. Crimini

5. Portobello

Neither vegetable nor fruit, the mushroom is a fungus — an organism that grows without seeds, leaves, flower or even roots. It’s estimated that there are 38,000 species of mushrooms, cultivated and in the wild, and most are excellent sources of protein, fiber, vitamin C, B vitamins, calcium and minerals. About 50 of the species are poisonous.

Then there are the medicinal mushrooms, comprising another 50 species. These nutritional powerhouses have been found to:

• Protect heart health
• Lower the risk of cancer
• Boost immune function
• Reduce high cholesterol
• Fight off viruses, bacteria and fungi
• Reduce inflammation
• Combat allergies
• Help balance blood sugar levels
• Support the body’s detoxification mechanisms
• Help fight blood clots

These are tasty and good for you!  Quick and easily portable!  Best price can be found at Costco!

Product Description:

Delicious, all-natural energy from fruits, nuts, and seeds! We start with fiber-rich apple flake, then blend in pieces of real fruit along with heart-healthy nuts, sunflower & flax seeds, fruit juices, and high-protein soy nuggets. The result is a delicious burst of energy for people on the go that’s rich in antioxidants (vitamins A & C), low in sodium, and a good source of protein. And with no preservatives, no artificial flavors or colors, and no cholesterol, it’s a snack you can feel good about!

Don’t complain about not having enough time to exercise. 

We all have 24 hours in a day… and we all personally choose what to do with those hours. 

If you’re not finding time to exercise, you’re simply choosing to do something else with your time.

Not right – not wrong… simply your choice. 

We make the time to exercise with our decisions.

Research from Purdue University (located in West Lafayette, Indiana) revealed that milled yellow corn products (NOT processed corn products found in junk food) such as cornmeal, grits and corn flour are rich in two antioxidants, zeaxanthin and lutein.  These two particular antioxidants protect our eyes and skin from everyday UV (ultraviolet) damage.  Furthermore, yellow corn is full of various other antioxidants as well, that we’re only now beginning to understand.  Bottom line here… eat whole food, such as corn, that have plenty of natural color in them; that’s where a lot of the health protective antioxidants can be found. 

Steam or boil corn briefly to maintain the cholesterol and blood sugar lowering benefits of the kernels and don’t ruin the health benefits of sweet corn-on-the-cob by bathing it in some fatty substance, such as butter or margarine.  

FYI: processed corn products are garbage.  Eat the whole kernel!

If you experience more than mild soreness in your muscles after a weight training workout, you or your personal trainer have pushed it too far.  Occassionally, excess muscle tissue damage (or soreness) is going to happen if you’re giving your best efforts week in and week out, but consistingly feeling like you over-did-it is incorrect resistance training!

Fat free milk is virtually white colored water that not only can build strong bones but supply quality protein as well. 

In a study out of Harvard, people who drank more than one glass of fat free milk a day lowered their risk for colon cancer by 15 percent and they lost fat weight too.  The calcium and vitamin D in milk may work together to halt the growth of cancer cells and that’s a major benefit to the 33% of Americans who will get cancer in their lifetimes. 

In addition, fat free or reduced fat chocolate milk is a great post-workout snack!  Forget the expensive and heavily marketed bodybuilding drinks that are simply full of unpronounceable chemicals – drink fat free or reduced fat chocolate milk instead!

If you work diligently to maintain balance in your life and a high level of physical fitness, you’re more likely to be prepared and mentally ready to bounce back from tough times when they occur; and that’s the definition of resiliency.  The ability to cope with rough waters and to bounce back with renewed determination regardless of the circumstances you’re dealt. 

For a basic and well structured home resistance program there’s nothing better than an innovative pair of PowerBlock dumbbells and a quality variable angled bench.  Both items will last a lifetime!  For a more complete home resistance program… add a simple pulley-system, a squat rack and an olympic barbell with weight plates!  Avoid all-in-one resistance machines – the majority are JUNK! 

Contact StrengthLab Personal Training if you need discounts on fitness equipment or a DiY (Do It Yourself) Individualized Resistance Program (with or without personal training instruction).

Your health and fitness goals should be judged on progress, not perfection! 

Each time you consume fresh fruit rather than processed crackers from a bag you’re making progress.  Every time you make the brisk walk or the training session that you planned on doing, you’re making progress!  The ultimate goal is progress…

You’re either moving away from health and fitness… or toward health and fitness through your actions.

A Community Supported Agriculture Farm in Queen Creek, Arizona!

Locally Grown and Fresh Picked Pesticide-Free Vegetables and Herbs

***Delivery to Home or Office and Pickup Options Available Valley Wide!***

www.desertrootsfarm.com 

602-751-0655

Just like wine, the skin of red grapes contains the protective chemical resveratrol (as well as other antioxidants) which may sharpen your brain and reduce your risk for both heart disease and cancer, as well as dementia.  In addition, by avoiding alcohol found in a bottle of wine, you’ll stay sharper and more motivated by avoiding the wine’s depressing effects; and alcohol has clearly been linked to certain cancers making fresh grapes a better choice yet!

On a side note: imported grapes (in particular from South America) tend to have higher levels of pesticides due to their more lenient pesticide laws and regualtions.  So go with organic grapes or grapes grown in the USA instead!  Include all varieties and colors of grapes in your diet – they’re full of antioxidants too!  

One of the largest studies ever to examine the dangers of male and female abdominal fat was recently concluded – and those with the biggest waistlines have twice the risk of dying over a decade compared to those with the smallest waistlines.  A bulging midsection also leads to an increase in dementia, heart disease and breast cancer.  Carrying all your extra weight in the middle of your body comes at a big risk!  It’s time to eat better and start exercising more if this applies to you. 

The darker a bean’s color, the higher its antioxidant activity! 

Beans are nutritionally versatile as well, they have characteristics in fact that straddle 2 slots on the food pyramid.  They’re high enough in protein to be a meat with the vitamins, fiber and antioxidant levels of a vegetable. 

Enjoy all the colors and varieties of beans in their natural state!

Read why Halo doesn’t use Chicken Meal and why it should be avoided below :

http://www.halopets.com/ingredients/chickenmeal.php

Halo Natural Animal Food:

• Formulated with vitamins, minerals, and other trace nutrients
• No artificial colors, flavors or preservatives
• No rendered meats, poultry or fish, no animal or plant meals

Quality Ingredients:

• Butcher-quality chicken
• Whole egg
• Bounty of farm-raised vegetables

Wholesome & easily digestable:

• Home-style recipe with easy to recognize and understand ingredients
• Natural sources of soluble and insoluble fiber
• No corn, wheat or wheat gluten

Halo’s Ingredients:

Chicken, Eggs, Pea Protein, Oats, Vegetable Broth, Pearled Barley, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Whole Peas, Chicken Liver, Salmon, Flax Seed, Salmon Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Pea Fiber, Sweet Potatoes, Apples, Blueberries, Green Beans, Carrots, Cranberries, Zucchini, Alfalfa, Inulin, Calcium Sulfate, Potassium Chloride, Taurine, Salt, Vitamins (Folic Acid, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Choline Bitartrate, Niacin, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Ascorbic Acid, Riboflavin Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin), Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Cobalt Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium longum, Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus plantarum

http://www.halopets.com/

Far from being a bad habit – albeit an expensive habit at times – drinking up to 3 cups of coffee each day will increase your attention span and your physical capabilities while under its (several hour) influence. Coffee may even slash your risk for death from heart disease by as much as 25 percent, a study in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed recently.  The combination of antioxidants and certain acids in coffee may work together to soothe inflammation in your blood vessels leading to this conclusion.  In addition, your risk for serious accidents decreases as well due to your heightened alertness and your ability to learn and remember is enhanced too.  What’s not to like here? 

If something were to happen to you unexpectedly, there are people of all ages who could benefit… you could in many cases be saving their lives.  Please sign up, by following one of the links below, to be an organ donor and encourage others to sign up as well.  My wife and I signed up years ago and we hope never to be able to help in this way, but we would of course if the moment presented itself.

Here are the organization’s primary pages: 

http://www.azdonorregistry.org/

http://www.dnaz.org/Home.aspx

Here is ADOT’s (Arizona’s Department of Transportation) web site where you can sign up using your driver’s license as well:

http://www.azdot.gov/

Those recommending supplements (whether magazine, television or individual) are the same one’s selling them!  It’s simply snake oil for the 21st century.  Buyer beware!  If your gym or personal trainer is selling supplements they’ve simply sold out.   

Try some turkey, fish or chicken with some fruits and vegetables instead…

The majority of males get their health and fitness information from magazines that are full of professional bodybuilders and muscular models who use steriods, as well as other illegal chemicals to achieve their desired look.  Not only are these fitness role models typically using drugs to obtain their facade of health and fitness they’re frequently pedaling strength training routines that are literally a figment of someone’s imagination.  Choose your health and fitness information wisely. 

Let me start by stating that weight-loss diets absolutely do not work and that’s a proven fact, nor do weight-loss supplements! If you cannot stick with an eating program for the rest of your life then don’t start the program in the first place, because you’re wasting your time.  If you happen to be so lucky as to lose any weight at all while on a “weight-loss” diet, it will simply come back when you abruptly stop the diet and return to your normal eating behavior.

With that said, weight-loss is earned through dedication to a lifestyle change involving natural whole foods, where overall calories, carbohydrates, protein and fat consumption are all minimized, while following a carefully constructed fitness program that allows the participant enough time to recover physically and mentally.  Therefore, it’s important to carefully control the type, intensity, duration and frequency of the activities introduced and executed, so as to remain exercising for a lifetime.  Be patient, consistent and determined!

Your food selections should contain natural ingredients – No Artificial Ingredients such as colors, flavors or preservatives (your goal here is to minimize all artificial ingredients, it’s nearly impossible to avoid them all).  Trans Fats a.k.a Hydrogenated Oils, Animal and Vegetable Shortening, as well as Margarine should be severely minimized or NOT consumed at all.  And lastly, Artificial Sweeteners such as Saccharine a.k.a Sweet’n Low, Aspartame a.k.a NutraSweet and Sucralose a.k.a Splenda should be minimized or avoided as well.  Artificial sweeteners do not aid in weight-loss; there’s no health benefits associated with artificial sweeteners and they’re hotly debated as health risks as well.  If you consume diet soda restrict it to one 12oz serving per day.

You must take charge of your health through consistent physical activity and solid nutrition and never let others convince you that it’s not important… because it is to you.  Social activities are a major failure point in building a healthy eating program and lifestyle.  Do not give in and join the sedentary and overweight crowd.  If you must, order simple and specific food (e.g., grilled chicken breast, a side salad, fat free dressing on the side and a coffee or tea) when eating out and let your company, not the food, be your enjoyment.  In addition, you must take time to exercise consistently, do not let others stand in the way of moving your body in a purposeful and productive way, that will help medicate your self-esteem with natural good feeling chemicals and improve your overall health physiologically the natural way.  There’re a lot of obstacles to good health and you must fight the good fight everyday, every week, every month and every year!

A few more tips to live by… prepare your own food; restaurant dining will be a huge pitfall in your success if you do not prepare your food and plan ahead.  Beverages should be non-caloric the majority of the time.  Fried food… do I have to say anything at all?  Consume no more than 10%-15% of your calories from fat per individual serving (10% of calories should come from fat if you’re trying to lose weight) and consuming less is even more desirable – the labels tell the story here.  For example, if there are 100 calories in your food item and 10 calories are from fat that’s 10% of fat from calories (so read your labels).  Get plenty of sleep and keep your stress down; this is best achieved by planning ahead and being organized; fly by the seat of your pants and you’ll get what you get, which isn’t necessarily what you want!  I recommend a good multi-vitamin/mineral product (recommended dose on the bottle) and a calcium/magnesium product as well (500-1000mg of each).  Damage to your cells is cumulative, so eat as well as you can, as often as you can, while making exceptions and being flexible only when necessary.  Don’t take unnecessary risks with your health. Up to 90% of disease and premature death are lifestyle related conditions; you can control your situation and make it positive.  Don’t smoke and don’t drink more than 1 serving of alcohol each day.  Wear your seatbelt and drive carefully. You need to walk the walk, not just talk the talk!  Be positive and keep an optimistic attitude.

Remember, the following are helpful recommendations only. You must be proactive in your decision making and carefully read all your labels. You need to educate yourself and stay motivated to make sound decisions; don’t let others choose for you.  You need to work on consuming whole fruits and whole (cooked or raw) veggies and they need to be at arm’s length when needed.  Lean sources of protein such as sliced deli turkey or chicken, pre-cooked cold fish, turkey or beef jerky without artificial ingredients, low-fat yogurts, fat free milk, hard boiled eggs (without the yolk), egg beaters and/or egg whites need to be ready to eat when required.  Fitness, weight-loss or “ergogenic” supplements are not necessary and a waste of money.  Furthermore, be ready to eat before you’re deeply hungry.  Salads have to have fat free (low-fat is not good enough) dressing (used sparingly) with light cheese and better yet, no cheese, and lots of veggies!

You must plan ahead to succeed!  And you must be dedicated to stay with it!

The majority of our workouts should be intense – yet brief.  If our workouts are intense and long in duration, too much damage typically takes place and the recovery takes too long.  If our workouts are intense, yet short in duration, adequate stimulation for adaptation takes place without wasting time, recovery is typically shorter and we’re less likely to burn-out over time. 

Brief intensity, driven with purpose and good technique, produce impressive results, clearing the mind of stress and leaving us capable of recovering quickly, so that we can exercise again sooner than later, creating more positive adaptations in the long run.

Caveat: adequate recovery or lower intensity movement should be utilized between the intense bouts of exercise.

Researchers at the National Cancer Institute found that over a 10-year period studied, those who ate the most red meat everyday had a 30% greater risk of dying compared to those who had less red meat each week.  The causes of death were mostly from heart disease and cancer, the two leading causes of death in the United States.  The primary problem with red meat is the high amount of saturated fat contained in the product.  Saturated fat has no known benefit to the human body, but because the fatty oil remains a solid at body temperature it does come with plenty of risk once consumed.  You don’t have to cut out red meat entirely if you enjoy it… but consider reducing your intake to a maximum of once a week and always choose lean cuts of meat while removing all the visible fat from the product. 

We start to lose natural muscle mass as early as 25 years of age and the amount of muscle mass we lose simply increases with each passing decade.  In addition to this, body fat levels change drastically for many of us in our early thirties and myriad injuries increase as well due to the natural aging process.  Most of this downward slide can be haulted with intelligent, consistent and progessive weight training.

Yet, weight training does NOT make us stronger, this is a common but untrue notion; weight training simply causes damage to our intended muscle tissue, it’s simply a step in the process to getting stronger.  After the muscle damage (or micro-trauma) has occured through resistance training, the proteins we consume and the sleep we get each evening help to continue the convoluted process of making us stronger than we were before we exercised.  If the applied methods of resistance are correct in their technique, intensity, duration and frequency positive adaptations will occur in our musculoskeletal system over a period of continued application.

Women who lift weights (heavily and regularly) do not and never will bulk up from muscle growth!  That’s the simple truth stated clearly; unless of course ingestion of male hormones (testosterone for example) are involved and that’s another topic altogether.  Females have naturally very low levels of the body building hormone testosterone, so not to worry… women should push weights intelligently but with absolutely no reservations.  The more natural muscle tissue – the better!

How does the female “bulking up” myth perpetuate then? 

Start building more muscle tissue (on a male or female frame) while simultaneously not losing some of the original fat tissue (or even gaining it) and you’ll potentially bulk up (male or female).

Fat tissue takes up 5x more space than muscle tissue – that’s the bulking up experience that many women are alluding to; and many men take advantage of when trying to fill out a shirt.

Push against heavy resistance… move your body with a plan and consume better food choices!

StrengthLab would like to take this opportunity to encourage you to think for yourself! 

I’ve underscored “think for yourself” so that some people can look it up.

While other trainers are worrying about paying their bills and looking for another job, StrengthLab is reading, learning and planning your next workout.  While other trainers are occassionally picking up a weight to build their biceps, StrengthLab has been doing two-a-day workouts for over a decade.   While other trainers are running around saying they have a passion for fitness, StrengthLab shows through committed action and consistent dedication what passion looks like.  While other trainers are searching for more clients because they can’t retain the ones they already have, StrengthLab continues to build client relationships and loyalty through diversity in program, authentic life-long enthusiasm and professionalism that’s never artificial.  StrengthLab is deeply committed whether it’s inside or outside the gym. 

Professionalism, Loyalty and Commitment all matter here.  

The slipping:  When we start to feel ourselves gradually slipping away, we begin to realize that we’re losing physical, as well as mental capabilties.  We keep thinking that we need to stop this degeneration and get back in our old form, but yet, the time never shows itself clearly enough to make a fresh start.  In the meantime, letting our bodies go, often leads to giving up on our values and our dreams, leading to chronic low-grade depression and often illness.  A life not lived to its potential, to say the very least. 

The Return:  The gradual return on the other hand, when the decision is made, can be invigorating from the very first day.  Leading to greater self-esteem, increased self-efficacy and a level of hope that’s been missing for sometime in our lives.  The return enables us to handle things in our lives better, decreases our chances for serious illness and depression, while improving our lives in so many other intangible ways; long before the long-term objectives have even been met.

Advice: Stop the Slipping and make the Return!