Archive for September, 2009

It is Important to Know What is in Your Supplements

Federal regulators recently warned consumers about various body-building products that are sold as nutritional supplements. Some of these supplements may contain steroids or steroid-like substances, citing reports of acute liver injury and kidney failure.

The Food and Drug Administration said it issued the warning because of increased reports of medical problems in men who had used such products.

But except for naming eight specific supplements sold by a single company, the Food and Drug Administration did not provide much clear guidance to consumers on what other products to avoid. The F.D.A. acknowledged that it did not know how many products its warning affects.

Generally, the F.D.A. said, buyers should beware of body-building products that claim to enhance or diminish the effects of hormones like testosterone, estrogen or progestin. In particular, the agency said consumers should not buy products labeled with code words like “anabolic” and “tren,” or phrases like “blocks estrogen,” and “minimizes gyno.” The references to estrogen and “gyno” are meant to indicate the products do not have a feminizing effect on the body, like swelling breasts or shrinking testicles, which can be unwanted side effects of steroid use in men.

“We think that there may be a number of firms that are marketing similar products, if not products that are exactly the same,” Michael Levy, director of the Division of New Drugs and Labeling at the agency’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in a conference call with reporters on Tuesday. The agency, he said, is considering taking action against those firms as well.

The warning is part of a larger investigation into body-building products that contain hidden steroids, according to court documents in the American Cellular Labs case. A spokesman for Joseph P. Russoniello, the United States attorney for the Northern District of California, said he could not comment on open investigations.

Unlike drug makers, which must demonstrate that a drug is safe and effective before the agency approves it for sale to the public, dietary supplements are a largely self-regulating industry. Manufacturers of such products are themselves responsible for the safety and effectiveness and marketing claims of their products, and for voluntarily recalling them if problems arise. The F.D.A. has authority to act only after it has received reports of serious health problems associated with products already on sale and it is able to prove a serious health hazard. If a company refuses to voluntarily recall problem products, the agency can then file an injunction and seize the products.

Over the last two years, the F.D.A. has received 15 reports of serious health problems — including stroke, liver problems and pulmonary embolism — associated with body-building products from various makers, the agency said. One of the five reports connected to American Cellular products concerned a 38-year-old man who had severe liver and kidney problems that needed to be treated with dialysis after he used the company’s products, according to warrants issued in the case.

Under the law, dietary supplements are defined as products that contain natural foodstuffs like minerals or herbs and do not claim to prevent, mitigate or cure specific illnesses. But it is illegal for dietary supplements to contain ingredients like synthetic steroids, said Mr. Levy of the F.D.A.

The overwhelming majority of dietary supplements are made by reputable manufacturers that ensure the products are safe, said Andrew Shao, the vice president for science and regulation at the Council for Responsible Nutrition, an industry trade group representing manufacturers and distributors.

Americans spent nearly $24 billion on dietary supplements in 2007, according to Nutrition Business Journal, a market research firm.

If you or someone you know is using nutritional supplementation, is it extremely important to know exactly what is in the product, as well as, the history and history of the manufacturer. Very few companies go above and beyond the call of duty as it relates to product testing as there is limited oversight within the industry.

One such company that does however, is AdvoCare. We strongly endorse AdvoCare, not only because of their third-party product testing, but more importantly due to their impecable record and Science and Medical Advisory Board, made up of the industry’s leading scientists.

With over 15+ years of incidnet free history, AdvoCare has the blessing of the NCAA, NFL, MLB, NASCAR, NBA and even the Olympic committee. Used by pro and amateur atheletes alike and found in almost every professional sports locker room, AdvoCare understands the products not only need work, but MUST be safe!

AdvoCare has a line of 70+ products, covering everything from weight management, energy, performance and even skincare. Choose who you use wisely! Your overall health and wellness are far more important than some short-term results.

By now, everyone should know the importance of physical fitness and fitness training programs, but not very many of us recognize the true value of healthy meal plans as well. Irrelevant of the types of fitness training you use, be sure you have a balanced healthy diet to go with it.

For those that need a little extra assistance, direction or motivation, visit eFitness for Life now and see how our fitness training plans and weekly diet meal plans can help you make the most of your investment, in the shortest possible time, with the greatest return. Our goal is to teach you the values of physical fitness and how to create healthy meal plans for a lifetime! All done online! All done with certified coaches! Truly, the Future of Fitness! Stop by today and we will be happy to build your starter programs to ensure you learn to live longer, healthier lives.

Learn the benefit of physical fitness and a balanced healthy diet NOW! Get started and provide you and your family with a healthy lifestyle! Risk-Free Trial, take advantage today!

Fat Burning Tips to Make You Lean in No Time

What do you have to do right? Information here, information there, information everywhere! Whose tips do you follow? Do you cut fat intake? Do you cut carbs? Do you count calories? Oh boy…. Listen up now, getting lean and mean isn’t just about calorie counting and it surely isn’t about cutting all your fat or carbs. Heck, if that were true, some company would get smart a create a whole line of meals with just so many carbs and just so many calories and anyone and everyone could get lean easily. Truth be told, while modifying your total calorie intake certainly plays a major role, the key to successful fat, loss lies in strategies that actually alter your body’s metabolism.

Altering your body’s metabolism is not merely a matter of “boosting it,” but also a matter of changing the way the body processes the foods you have eaten as well. For example, adding a fiber supplement to your daily routine will alter the way your body handles carbohydrates. Fiber stimulates carbs to bypass fat storing pathways, which in turn means they ultimately head down other pathways for muscle fueling or building. One quick tip right there……

Here are eight more tips you can use to lean up and lower your bodyfat level. Coupled with the proper macronutrient ratios and the correct caloric levels, these tips can transform your metabolism and help you tone and tighten your body.

8 Fat Burning Tips Anyone Can Use

1. INCREASE YOUR PROTEIN If you struggle with bodyfat, you should make protein intake a priority. More chicken, eggs, fish, beef, low-fat dairy and protein powders. Why? Not all calories from carbs, proteins and fats are equal in their efficiency or tendency to be stored as bodyfat. Protein exerts a greater metabolic boosting effect than either carbs or dietary fat. When calories drop, protein saves muscle, which helps keep the metabolism elevated. Depending on your daily routine and exercise program, you should shoot for between 1- 1 ½ grams per pound of bodyweight daily spread over five, six or even seven smaller meals.
2. MANIPULATE YOUR CARBS Notice that says manipulate…..NOT CUT! Carbohydrates as required so don’t follow ANY plan that tells you to cut them out! Carbohydrates help retain muscle (important to keep the metabolism revved up remember), yet they can also stimulate fat storage if not manipulated properly. Following a diet or eating plan that utilizes both high-carb and low-carb menus offers muscle support minus the fat storage. How? When you eat fewer carbs and replace those carbs with protein, in general, the body ramps up fat-mobilizing enzymes and hormones resulting in accelerated fat loss. However, a prolonged period of lower carbs can leave your muscle looking flat, since glycogen (the storage form of carbs in muscle) pulls water into the muscle. When you go low carb, the muscles get depleted of their glycogen and lose some water and therefore their fullness. Therefore, load back up on carbs every fourth or fifth day. Really not that difficult once it has been laid out for you!
3. STACK CARNITINE, BCAAs AND CAFFEINE Cardio is a good way to trigger fat loss. The ideal time is after resistance training workouts, as research shows that you burn more fat when you do cardio after a weight workout. However, another good time to do cardio is in the morning before eating. Why? That’s when sugar levels in the blood are at their lowest. If you perform cardio when your blood sugar and insulin are low, fat burning is maximized. One drawback: cardio can burn muscle. Using 5 g of branched chain amino acids, 1-3 g of carnitine and 200-400 milligrams of caffeine 30 minutes prior to cardio helps block muscle breakdown, preserves metabolic-driving muscle tissue and boost hormones that break down bodyfat. In additional, gentlemen, this supplement combo can even preserve testosterone, the muscle-building hormone that often declines with cardio activity.
4. EAT MORE FISH When calories are controlled, the inclusion of omega-3 fatty acids may increase fat loss. One study revealed that dieters who ate fish on a daily basis lost more weight than those who ate fish just once a week. One possible reason; omega-3s are thought to make the receptors on fat cells more sensitive to the fat-liberating effects of norepinephrine (also known as NE), a main fat-burning hormone. Another possible reason is that omega-3s tend to promote the storage of carbohydrates into muscle as muscle glycogen. If carbs are kept busy producing glycogen, they cannot stimulate or participate in the fat-storing process.
5. TAKE CREATINE FOR CUTS Creatine, the muscle-building supplement we’ve all heard so much about, can also aid in fat loss. Creatine exerts an increase in metabolism when combined with weight training, to the tune of 100 calories a day. So, make sure you get in 1-5 g with your pre- and post-workout meals. Ladies, you can use creatine if it is used sensibly!
6. COOK WITH GARLIC This flavor enhancer stimulates adrenaline (epinephrine) and uncoupling proteins (UCPs). Adrenaline triggers fat break- down; UCPs increase calorie burning. Garlic also controls cortisol levels, which can support muscle retention during dieting. Use fresh bulbs in cooking or give garlic supplements a try.
7. ENHANCE YOUR THYROID It’s the fitness world’s most frustrating irony: When you eat less and try to drop bodyfat, a lot of times your metabolism adapts to the change and burns fewer calories. One way to get around the slowdown is with phosphates. In one study, a combo of 537 mg of calcium phosphate, 107 mg of potassium phosphate and 25 mg of sodium phosphate given to dieters yielded a metabolic rate that was 12-19% higher compared to that of dieters who did not use phosphates. The amino acid tyrosine is also effective in turning a moderately calorie burning thyroid hormone called T4 into a more potent calorie burning one called T3. Three thousand mg of L-tyrosine taken before training or cardio will do the trick.
8. TRY MNS MAX or SLIM Metabolic Nutrition Systems (MNS®) help you target your specific weight management challenges.* MNS Maximum Energy contains a proprietary blend of botanical extracts and nutrients designed to help “rev up” metabolism.*+ It reflects years of research and development at AdvoCare®, where our Scientific and Medical Advisory Board has searched the world for the safest and most effective energy boosters.* It is the synergistic blends and scientifically proportional amounts of ingredients used in MNS Maximum Energy that make it an exceptional solution for weight management.* For added metabolism support, use it in conjunction with ThermoPlus™ Vitamin and Herbal Supplement.

For anyone looking for an easy-to-use solution for weight loss and weight management, AdvoCare® Slim™ is the perfect answer.* Combining appetite suppression, energy and metabolic enhancers, this 2 oz. liquid serving not only helps you control your cravings but also promotes fat reduction and an improvement in your body composition.* Altogether, Slim has a synergistic effect, helping you manage your diet and maintain energy while changing your body from within.* It really is a system in a bottle!

As much as we would love to tell you that you can achieve the look and feel you want by counting calories and training hard, the truth is, your metabolism has to be on-board as well. The eight tips should stoke the fire of your metabolic rate and provide a real return on your diet and exercise diligence.

Tools to Staying Motivated and Reaching Your Fitness Success

An individual can have the greatest intentions in the world when it comes to getting fit or healthy, however, if they lack the ability to maintain long-term motivation, they will inevitably fail. We see this in gyms across the country every year. New Year’s resolutions come and go by the end of January without fail. Why? Simple, they have failed to master the mental aspect of fitness!

Fortunately, this too can be trained and you can build the necessary mental muscles needed to ensure long-term lifestyle and success! Read on to see what tools you must focus on to ensure long-term success!

GOAL SETTING First and foremost, you have to know what you want! Just like every other aspect of life, you need a foundation on which to build. Clear, detailed goals that provide a road map that you can fix in your mind (and on paper) so you stay the course and never lose sight of that which you are after.

Set goals that pull you towards that which you dream of! Your goals should never be a burden. If they are, you have set them for the wrong reasons. You want goals that motivate you as you progress! You want goals that are so deeply powerful, when you read them each day, your hunger and desire is stoked yet again!

FOCUS Just as your fitness requires you to train through both cardiovascular and resistance training methods, your ability to focus, or concentrate on the task at hand, is a key element of reaching your goals. Training your concentration or will to succeed, towards any goal, not just your fitness or health related goals, is an amazing tool.

Practice the technique of excluding extraneous thoughts and sensory data until all of your concentration is laser-focused into the task at hand. Learn to remove outside influences and focus solely on your immediate target. Practicing such focus or concentration training can actually create much more control over your body, even allowing you to lower your blood pressure and pulse rate. Irrelevant of whether you focus is directed at the bigger picture of reaching you target of losing 20 pounds or one each and every rep during your workout, focus is an element often overlooked. Don’t make this same mistake!

VISUALIZATION This combines goal setting and focus to help you create a realistic visual on the ideal shape, or individual features that are seeking to achieve. Visualization works best when you set aside 15-20 minutes of quiet time, preferably at night while lying in bed, with the lights off, to best take advantage of the calm state of your mind and body. Think of your goals, focus your thoughts on them and “see” yourself in detail! Picture every aspect of the goals you have set. Visualization takes practice, but the rewards are unquestionable.

AFFIRMATIONS Never give up! Constantly remind yourself what you intend to accomplish and more importantly WHY! One of the best tips I’ve ever been given is to read your goals every single morning and again every evening right before you go to sleep! Keeping your goals within your subconscious gives you a better chance of success.

For some, this list will seem unimportant, even ridiculous. I am well aware of this. Unfortunately, those who ignore this list, believing they are beyond the need of such practices, chances are, they are also the ones stuck in their current fitness or health state. It is unfortunate, but all too often, that those who fight the assistance of others, no matter how trivial the help may seem, are those who fail to reach any goal they set. To be honest, my hope is that just a few of you out there actually begin to practice these tools and write back in the future, sharing your successes.

Remember, we have the ability, through our coaches, to help you set, define or achieve almost any goal, whether fitness or life related. Call on us if you think there is even a chance we can be of assistance. Good luck and stay motivated!

10 Requirements for a Tight Midsection

All too often, people are looking for advice on how to slim, trim and tighten their midsection. Pick up any magazine related to health or fitness and you’re bound to see at least one article related to the abs. Why? Easy, sleek, well defined abs are nice looking and sexy! They are the quickest way to determine whether an individual takes their healthy lifestyle seriously.  A deeply chiseled, well-defined midsection gives the appearance of being in good condition. Dominant abs can make any physique look better, irrelevant of the rest of the bodypart definition shown.

In an attempt to minimize confusion and provide a straight forward approach, we have put together what we believe are the 10 most important and useful principles to creating a killer, tight, set of abs.

Take the time to carefully read the below principles and make a concerted effort to understand them. Truly understanding how the abdominals function goes a long way to building a better set for yourself.

1. USE FULL RANGE OF MOTION As with every muscle group, you MUST use a full range of motion. A partial range of motion equals partial development; full range of motion equals full development. Yes! It’s that simple!
2. HYPEREXTEND YOUR TORSO Full extension of the torso is typically assumed to be 180 degrees, but that’s really only partial extension of the rectus abdominis. The deepest stimulation of the abdominal muscle fibers is achieved when you arch backward another 15 degrees. From that point, you get a much longer contraction and extended range of motion.
3. EMPLOY HEAVY WEIGHT AND LOW REPS Abdominal muscles are made up of white muscle fibers and therefore need to be trained with maximum resistance for total fatigue in as short a time as possible. That point should be reached with never more than 12 repetitions and preferably no more than 10. None of these 50-100 rep sets please!
4. SQUEEZE Don’t lift. Apply continuous tension with peak contraction. DO NOT relax at any point during the abdominal exercises you choose. The point of maximum contraction, in fact, is when they should apply maximum effort to intensify a peak contraction, squeezing the muscle all the more. Try that during hanging leg raises and crunches, and you will feel a tremendous burn in your abs. Without peak contractions, one could rep out for hundreds of repetitions with absolutely no results. Contract from the 15-degree hyperextension of the first repetition all the way to the end of the set.
5. TRAIN EVERY ABDOMINAL MUSCLE The most visible abdominal muscle is the rectus abdominis, but this does not mean it is the only one you should concern yourself with. Make sure you also train your obliques, serratus and intercostals by means of crossovers, twists and side movements, when performing leg raises, sit-ups, crunches and reverse crunches. Those muscles are necessary to accentuate the rectus and, for that matter, your entire torso.
6. TRAIN YOUR UPPER AND LOWER RECTUS ABDOMINIS INDIVIDUALLY This does not mean on separate days or even in separate workouts, just merely with different targeted exercises. Due to the design of the abs, all areas will receive indirect work during just about any ab exercise, but to truly build a beautiful, functional midsection, you must target each area. For example, sit-ups emphasize the upper rectus, and hanging leg raises emphasize the lower rectus. Use both!
7. TRAIN ABDOMINALS FREQUENTLY Abdominal muscles have an ability to recover rapidly, so train them three or four times a week, not once or twice, as for other muscle groups.
8. TRAIN FOR STRENGTH The core is extremely important aspect of the body as its role in overall stabilization is paramount. For this reason, it is important to train it for strength, as well as for appearance. Too many people having trouble doing exercises such as bent rows, barbell curls, deadlifts, benches and, especially, squats properly due to weak abdominals. If your abdominal girdle is strong, you’ll get more out of every exercise for every bodypart and your overall progress will be faster.
9. USE PROGRESSIVE INTENSITY Every successive workout should be more intense than the last. Use more weight, or harder contractions, or shorter rest periods between sets, or all of these.
10. TRY EVERY EXERCISE Don’t dismiss any abdominal exercise until you have personally tried it and determined what kind of results you achieve. If you feel an exercise working, use it.  If you don’t feel it working, don’t use it. For most people, the exercises mentioned above are the most productive, but, ultimately, you must judge each for yourself. It’s possible that some people simply will not be able to create an intense burn from hanging leg raises, but they may star a fire by using reverse crunches. Use what works best for you!

The abdominals can appear, at first glance, to be an overly complicated muscle group. Don’t shy away from them! Use the above ab tips and you will be well on your way to a much leaner, meaner midsection! Oh…. one more thing, don’t worry about that age old fallacy of using lighter or no weights otherwise your ab muscles will get too big! Come on now folks! Really, find me a natural trainer with an abdominal wall where the muscles are “too” big! Ain’t gonna happen so relax……just not during your AB WORK!

Today we feature an article written by our friend and colleague from across the pond, Gemma Carter. Gemma is a well-recognized fitness expert in London. She has agreed to write for our readers from time to time and kicks off her series with an article on running. Beginners and advanced runners alike can certainly benefit from her passion and knowledge for this form of exercise. We hope you enjoy. Don’t forget to leave Gemma comments below.

Running is a fantastic way to keep in shape, not only is it one of the best ways to get an overall workout, but it is also one of the cheapest! For those of you who are new to running or those who have run before but want to get back into it again, this article will provide you with all the necessary information you need as well as vital tips to maximize your work out and enjoyment.

THE BASICS OF RUNNING

Mental Preparation:

Before you actually start out on a running program for fitness, it is a good idea to assess what are your motivations for running? Is it to improve your health? Is it to achieve a goal- such as completing a marathon? Are you running to relieve stress and find some time that can be dedicated just for you? Additionally, ask yourself- am I ready to dedicate a portion of my daily life to this hobby, to learn and improve for maximum results?

Once you have evaluated these reasons and know where your motivations lie, you can focus your goals and intentions more effectively and thus have a better chance of success. ‘Quem corre pro gusto, nao cansa’- as the Portuguese say ‘who runs for pleasure never gets tired’!

Running Gear:

Shoes:  You must have good supportive shoes.  Make sure they are a high quality running shoe and with enough room for your foot to feel comfortable. If you want to be certain you have the correct fitting shoe, go to a professional running shop and have your gait analysed. Also make sure to invest in a good running socks they will help prevent blisters- trust me, it’s worth it!

Clothing:  loose and light is always a good start! Most runners swear by their Lycra running tights and a sports top, however these days new materials are being designed with temperature controls to keep your body performing at optimum conditions. Additionally, for all you women, yes it’s time to dig out the sports bra!

Weather Dependent: a hat to keep rain off your head (and out your eyes!) and a waterproof light weight jacket are musts in bad weather conditions. When the temperature drops it’s great to invest in good thermal running clothes and insulating running tights to prevent numbness when running in the elements.

Diet and Nutrition: This is an area that professional runners take very seriously and it’s a fact that your running performance will benefit immensely from a good diet and overall healthy lifestyle.

To prevent dehydration and depletion of electrolyte minerals through sweating, muscle cramps, and injuries after training, make sure you get the right minerals from your diet.

A Few of the Best Running Diet Tips:

• Flat cola - great post run drink, with caffeine to boost muscle recovery and keep energy levels high. Having the cola flat is easier on the stomach

• Bananas – a great source of magnesium, reducing muscle cramps

• Caffeine – whether from your daily coffee or pill form caffeine is shown to boost performance levels.

• Your Greens – a great source of iron fueling the body

• Green Tea Extracts - packed with antioxidants which fight off infection

• Milk – a source of Calcium

• Water – HYDRATE! HYDRATE! HYDRATE! I can never say it enough!

• Ginger and Mustard – strange but true these ingredients are great for muscle aches

• Glucosamine and Condriotin – this supplement is used by many runners to help keep joints supple and cartilage at its best.

The Runners Bag:

• Music – even the great Ethiopian runner Haile Gebrselassie, set a world indoor record for the 2000m by synchronizing his stride to the beat of a song called ‘scatman’!

• Foam Roller – used in stretching it can help stretch out tight legs (especially your IT BAND)

• Ice Spray – great to have just in case of injury by reducing swelling

• a change of clothing

• towel

• bottle of water and snack

BASIC TRAINING TECHNIQUES FOR BEGINNERS

Where to run?- find somewhere that is flat, safe (away from cars!) and is in an area you are reasonably familiar with. The best places to begin running are usually parks where you can be in the safety of other runners.

How fast should I run? – This is completely dependent on you. How fast feels comfortable should be a guide- are you running so fast you can’t speak? Or does it feel easy. A great way to gauge this is by P.E.L. (perceived exertion level from 1-10), 1 being easy and 10 being your absolute hardest.

The 10 Percent Rule- to avoid injury never increases your weekly running mileage by anymore than 10 percent per week.

Sprints- short bursts of speed improve cardiovascular efficiency pushing your body above its threshold. To improve your VO2 max include these into your weekly training schedule.

Go Soft- avoid the concrete as much as you can. Try finding grass/dirt tracks and softer surfaces to lessen the impact.

GENERAL RUNNING TIPS

Arrange runs with other people so you won’t quit as you’ll be letting someone else down. You’ll also have someone to talk to.

Take your running kit everywhere with you- then there’s no excuse to get out for a run when the opportunity arises!

Keep a training log- monitor your progress so you can evaluate where you need to make improvements.

Get enough sleep!- when doing physical activity you will notice that your body needs more sleep to repair so make sure you give it enough time.

To prevent blisters make sure you have moisture-wicking material socks without seams and always make sure to wear in new shoes before a long run.

A great way to reinvigorate your motivation for running is to run for a charity or for a cause- look into what charities inspire you.

Positive attitude- it is research has shown that runners with a positive attitude towards their running and recovery from injury heal faster.

Finally…….ENJOY IT!!! Good luck runners! For more running information and advice stay tuned, more running features to come!

Anxiety is diminished by the benefits of diet and exercise!

It seems as though part of living in the 21^st century for most of us includes regular bouts with stress.  Doesn’t it seem that not a day goes by that we are not faced with a stressful situation or at least what we “perceive” as a stressful situation? Most of us don’t realize that not only are our mental abilities affected by stress, but that there is a real physical connection as well.

It is well documented that increased stress levels elicit an elevated release of cortisol within the body.  This hormone can break down muscle while promoting fat storage. Obviously, these two occurrences can sabotage our efforts to be healthier. The benefits of diet and exercise, however, can be your weapon against the effects of this hormone.

Consuming more protein and good fats like the omega-3 and incorporating exercise (especially resistance training), will help preserve muscle tissue and offset the effects of cortisol.  If warding off the negatives of cortisol isn’t reason enough, consider the benefits of diet and exercise in your overall health.  You will not improve your health, but you will look, and more importantly, feel great!

Did You Know Strength Training Can Enhance Immunity and Help Burn Fat?

By now we are almost all aware that strength training should be a part of our fitness routine as it enhances the musculoskeletal system through overall increases in strength, muscles mass and bone density. We should also know by now that aerobic training simply doesn’t provide those same benefits. While aerobic exercise certainly has its benefits and should be a part of every fitness training plan, strength training has proven to have additional benefits to enhance our immune system that may be of interest to you.

In addition to the effects noted above, research has shown that strength training helps decrease bodyfat levels and increase insulin sensitivity. Increased bodyfat and insulin insensitivity are well known risk factors associated with diabetes and colon cancer. Resistance training also decreases gastrointestinal transit time, thus providing better protection against colon cancer. Lifting weights also appears to lower blood pressure, allowing many with borderline hypertension to move into more normal blood pressure ranges.

Apparently, not only does resistance training help make one stronger, but it also helps protect us against these three leading diseases. There is now a considerable amount of research out there verifying the power of strength training so please make sure you are doing resistance training a part of your weekly fitness routine.

At a minimum, everyone should add three resistance training workouts to their weekly routine. For those not well versed in proper weight training or fitness program design, as well as, those individuals that currently train but would like better results, we strongly suggest consulting a fitness coach to have a personalized plan built for your goals, lifestyle and schedule. As always we strongly suggest getting your doctor’s approval to begin any exercise routine.

Get a Fitness Training Plan Built for Your Goals, Lifestyle and Schedule Now!

News Flash – Obesity is a Killer

Recent studies show that extremely obese people, those who are more than 80 pounds over a normal weight, can expect to live three to 12 fewer years than their normal-weight peers. Sadly enough, this is not shocking news. Unfortunately however, we have known the dire effects of obesity for quite some time and still, the number of overweight individuals in the United States continues to rise each year.

While these studies showed little to no effect on life span of those who are overweight or moderately obese, we should all recognize by now that the effects of being overweight or unfit do in fact have consequences, including much higher health care costs.

Overall, about 66% of adults in the USA are either overweight or obese. About one-third of people are in the obese category, meaning they have a body mass index of 30 or greater. Body mass index, or BMI, is a measure based on height and weight. About 6% of people are extremely obese — that is, they have a BMI of 40 or greater.

Economists with RTI International, a non-profit research organization in Research Triangle Park, N.C., analyzed national data on 366,000 people. Among the findings being published online in the journal Obesity:

•Overall, excess weight was responsible for the loss of roughly 95 million years of life in the USA in 2008.

•Non-smokers who are obese — those who are about 30 or more pounds over a healthy weight — have a shorter life span by a year or less.

•Non-smokers who are overweight — about 29 pounds over a healthy weight — do not have shortened lives.

•Smoking takes a toll, too, and very heavy smokers are affected most. An 18-year-old white male who is normal weight and does not smoke can expect to live to age 81. If he’s extremely obese and a smoker, his life expectancy is 60, a difference of 21 years.

The effect of extreme obesity appears to be greater for men than women and for whites than blacks, says Derek Brown, a health economist with RTI International and co-author of the study.

Lead author Eric Finkelstein says being moderately overweight may not affect people’s life span because there are so many effective treatments to manage the health problems that often come with extra pounds, such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes.

For instance, of the top 25 most prescribed medications, 10 target high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes, he says.

Finkelstein and obesity experts with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have conducted additional research that shows the high medical costs of extra pounds. They recently published a study that showed obese Americans cost the country an estimated $147 billion in weight-related medical bills in 2008, double the amount a decade ago.

Obesity now accounts for 9.1% of all medical spending, up from 6.5% in 1998, they found. Overall, an obese patient has $4,871 in medical bills a year compared with $3,442 for a patient at a healthy weight.

Did we really need yet another study to remind us that we need to do a better job of managing our weight and making our physical fitness a priority? Sadly enough, yes! We probably did and so many will ignore this research as well. Please don’t be one of them…..

The Glycemic Index is Your Friend

We all know that there are times where getting in your daily exercise in can be quite a challenge considering our busy lifestyles and schedules. Not only that, many of us don’t really like exercise in the first place which can make it difficult to stay motivated at the gym. Of course, deep down, we all realize that getting some exercise is one of the best ways for us to not only stay trim, but also, healthy. That doesn’t mean, however, that it is the only way for us to do so. Nor does it mean that our nutrition isn’t important. If you get just a moderate amount of exercise throughout the week, you are capable of making drastic strides in your fitness and health levels by some simple diet changes.

One problem that many people run into when it comes to eating properly is all of the contradictory programs and information floating around today. Although it is a good idea to have a program in mind whenever you make the decision to adjust your eating habits, being too drastic or jumping from program to program is not going to help you at all. Another thing that many people tend to do whenever they “diet” is to cut something out of their diet which the body needs. It is difficult to estimate how many people have damaged their metabolisms as a result of yo-yo dieting through low carbohydrate or low-fat eating.

If you really want to get or stay fit, it is difficult to beat the benefits that you receive from eating a lower glycemic diet. The way that you would do this is actually fairly simple to understand. The glycemic index is a list of foods that are arranged according to how quickly the sugar that is in them is released into our system. The higher on the list the food resides, the faster the sugar is going to be dumped. This can cause our pancreas to overload us with insulin, something that is going to end up increasing fat storage on your body.

By eating a healthy diet that includes five to six small meals on a daily basis, you can really get your metabolism running at top speed and minimize insulin spikes at the same time. Your goal is to include a protein, legume and plenty of low glycemic vegetables at every meal, preferably raw. If you are able to adjust your eating habits as noted above for just a couple of weeks, you will see a noticeable difference in the way your clothing fits and what the scale shows.

While exercise is a necessity to achieve total fitness and optimal overall health, good nutrition makes all the difference in the world. Using the Glycemic Index is not only a simple, but extremely productive way to get a handle on your body and health!