Oh, I Almost Forgot

I almost forgot to mention.

1. We have finished/revised our nutrition program. If you are interested Nutrition Packets can be picked up at the front desk starting Monday, June 1st.

2. There will be no Friday class tomorrow May 29th, 2008. Sorry for any inconvenience.

3 More Reasons Aerobics & Cardio Are Bad

While reading the other day I came across 2 studies and 1 statistic about aerobic and cardio activities.

#1: Taken to extremes, aerobics can enlarge your heart, which is a dangerous condition if you have undiagnosed arterial disease. It is also believed that, according to New York City cardiologist Dr. Henry Solomon, "that a fanatical devotion to intense aerobic exercise can lead to temporary or even long-term heart-rhythm disturbances." In his experience, overzealous runners often need pacemakers later in life.

#2: Among people over the age of 35, bicycling and running lead to 85,000 more emergency room visits than weight lifting. - U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

#3: The metabolic effect of aerobics lasts only 30 minutes to an hour after exercise. The metabolic effect of weight training lasts up to 48 hours after exercise. This means that with weight training your body is in an increased fat burning mode for almost 2 days longer than after an aerobic workout. This is not to mention the fact that regular aerobic exercise eventually decreases your metabolism overtime.

These three facts I found in the book The Testosterone Advantage Plan by Lou Schuler and there are volumes more of others out there that show the same negative effects of aerobics and cardio. But despite all the evidence people will still try to improve their health and lose weight through aerobic activities even if the research suggests otherwise.

Live Fit,

Josh

Improve Your Health Through Vigorous Exercise

How hard do you workout? 

According to a Harvard Alumni Health study the harder you exercise the greater your health. This study looked at the activity levels of middle aged men from 1977 to 1993 the men who expended 1,000 calories per week through physical activity had about a 20% reduction in heart-disease risk. But, the men who expended 1,000 to 2,000 calories per week in vigorous activity had a 30% lower risk of dying from any cause.

So while moderate and low level physical activity may reduce your chance of heart attack or stroke, turning it up a couple of notches and pushing yourself will reduce your chance of encountering any health related problems and extend your life.

So what is vigorous exercise? 

Golfing? No

Running/Jogging/Walking? No

Gardening? No 

These activities are all fine, but are not considered vigorous. Vigorous activity includes:

Intense weight lifting, such as, the programs we design for you.

Sprinting - 10-15 seconds with 30 seconds to 1 minute of rest, repeated 6x-10x

Jumping Rope

Ropes Gone Wild - the conditioning ropes you all love doing at the end of your workouts

The Leg Matrix - every ones favorite

If you are doing our workouts three times per week you are getting your vigorous exercise and expending between 1500-2000 calories per week. So congrats to you are improving your heart health and lessen your chance of dying from any cause as well as extending your life.

Live Fit,

Josh

P.S. We will be closed on Monday May 25th, 2009 for the Memorial Day Holiday. We will also be changing our Saturday hours starting this Saturday. We will now be open 8a.m. - 2p.m.

Should You Risk It?

Last weeks blog talked about the need for more sleep. And continuing with that topic this week I will talk about the risks that come with to little sleep.

Chronic sleep loss (night after night of less than 7-9 hours of sleep) is a risk factor for insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, as well as a contributer to weight gain and increased levels of body fat.  This is because, according to researchers, people who do not get sufficient sleep each night tend to make poor food choices and eat the first things they see that are easy to eat (aka crap). No one ever got lean eating those Healthy Choice TV dinners.

People also tend to make poorer choices in general with a lack of sleep. And researchers have found that after 24 hours without sleep your performance results are similar to those of being intoxicated with a blood alcohol level of 0.10%. Again, you know the choices you tend to make after drinking too much, not good. Well when you are sleep deprived your foods choices tend to be equally as bad, except without the hangover.

So tonight just turn off the TV, computer, put the work down, and go to bed early continuing to make this a habit. And no staying up pulling all nighters is not the way to get work done. Do you really think work done at 2 a.m. is your best. Go to sleep and start fresh in the morning. You'll be more productive and your waist line will thank you.

Live Fit,

Josh

Go To Bed!

Remember when mom used to yell that to you? And when you ask why she said "Cause you need your sleep" and it took her counting to 10 before you went only to avoid punishment. Well, mom was right. You need to your sleep.

Do you know how long a human can live with total sleep deprivation?  11 days. 

So how much sleep does the average person need?  9 hours

Yep, that's how much the average American slept about 100 years ago. Before TV, Internet, and other modern technologies. And they had just as much to do as us. (Everything was done manually by hand.)

What does the average American get today? 7 hours with 33% sleeping less than 6.5 hours.

And no this is not because they are working harder or longer. It's because of TV, Internet, etc activities that are times wasters. Many people believe, esp. entrepreneurs, that fewer hours of sleep are the signs of a driven, passionate, and hard working business owner or employee. And these people will be quick to point out the great minds like Edison only slept 4 hours per night. Well, while all researchers agree that Edison had an exceptionally great mind they also believe that the light bulb may only have been scratching the surface of his full potential had he gotten more sleep.

So get your sleep. I know you may feel that just one more hour awake during the day will allow you to get more done. But, trust me when you are not sleep deprived you will get more down in less time because your mind will be able to work and focus better. Usually lack of time during the day is due to poor time management not lack of time. If you are well rested you will be better able to manage your time and projects and get more done in less time.

Live Fit,

Josh  

Top Selling Fat Burner Hydroxycut Pulled By The FDA

This past Friday the FDA pulled another fat burner from the market to join the list of 72 other weight loss and diet pills pulled earlier in 2009. This time it was Hydroxycut, the most popular and top selling fat burner.

The FDA has pulled it due to 23 serious liver injuries, one resulting in the death of a 19-year old man and another resulting in a liver transplant. Along with liver failure user's also experienced seizures, jaundice, and cardiovascular problems.

Many of you may remember a couple of years ago when Hydroxycut was recalled due to the negative side effects of ephedra and then it was brought back with a supposedly "safe" formula of ingredients. Well now that "safe" formula is causing your liver to fail and you to have seizures. Sounds very safe huh? Currently they are unsure which ingredient(s) are the culprits.

Bottom Line: FAT BURNING PRODUCTS ARE UNSAFE!! On top of that they don't even work and there is research and real-world evidence to back that up.

If you are currently taking any brand of fat burner it is recommended that you stop, as well as stop listening to the advice from the source promoting it and find a more reputable source. You will receive better results through a well designed fitness and nutrition program.

Live Fit,

Josh

Uncomfortable Is Good

"The only time you are actually growing is when you are uncomfortable." - T. Harv Eker

I picked this quote up the other day while reading T. Harv Eker's book Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, which is a great book that reinforces positive thinking and thinking differently about money and life in general.

Anyhow, I thought this quote was very appropriate for fitness. The workouts we do here and put our clients through are not easy in fact, they are very challenging, or uncomfortable. It is this uncomfortableness that needs to be overcome while working out that produces results. So, while the workouts may not always be enjoyable they produce results and produce a great feeling of success and empowerment at the end of a session. If everything we did were easy or you gave up at the first hint of a challenge you would still be the same person and have the same body three months later. But, if you step up and take the challenge head on and look for greater challenges you will begin to develop a new body and find a new person inside of you that you didn't know existed.

Live Fit,

Josh

New Group Strength Classes

Starting Monday May 4, 2009 we will be offering a new Strength Class at 7 p.m in addition to our current group classes. These class will be 45 minutes in length and offer you many new challenges. Class times are as follows:

Monday - Thursday 7 p.m. (except for this Tuesday due to prior engagements)

Saturday 9 a.m.

Vintage T-Shirts Are Here!!!

We have designed a new trendy looking vintage t-shirt that looks great with jeans. T-Shirts can be purchased at the front desk.