“So what do you do for a living?”

“I work in the health and wellness field”.

“So are you like a personal trainer?”

“No, I am more into a holistic approach to health”.

“So you do acupuncture and stuff?”

One of my most favorite “songs” in the world is Everybody’s Free (to wear sunscreen). I remember the first time I heard it and was literally awe struck by the advice in there. If you have never heard it, or even if you have, take a looksie below:

I am a big thinker. So big, my mind sometimes runs wild. I will start with a simple project, a simple idea, or opinion then get distracted by something, then get distracted again, and again, and again until I forget what exactly I am doing. It isn’t until I bear down and focus on what I am doing and stay focused do I produce massive results in whatever task I am doing.

Everyone knows that being active is healthy. Yet people still don’t do it. Obesity continue to go up. People continue to die from heart attacks, type 2 diabetes, strokes, and other factors that could be reverse through physical activity. So in hope that someone reads this, here is what some of the benefits of physical activity, based on the A.C.S.M. guidelines.

The US has seen an enormous increase in the number of people considered obese by the medical community. In fact many call it an obesity epidemic. Doctors are seeing people coming in at an alarming weight, yet we continue to be one of the fattest nations in the world.

I have always been into fitness. Even through high school, I was interested in sports performance and making myself the best that I can be. When I first got into kinesiology, I wanted to do what most people want to do and go into sports performance. And that still is a huge passion of mine and still help athletes hit their potential. But throughout college, I realized that there is a bigger problem than getting athletes bigger, stronger and faster. That issue is obesity. If an athlete doesn’t hit his numbers, they will still be able to live. If someone who is obese doesn’t get help, they will die.

You hear it ALL the time in the media. “BEAT THE BATTLE OF THE BULDGE!”. I don’t give a crap about the battle, I want you to win the war.

A general doesn’t care the result of the battles as long as he won the war. The battles mean nothing, but the end result means everything. What is your end result?

Your end result should be a life full of health and longevity. One bad weekend isn’t going to lose the war for you. You may lose that battle, but who cares about that one battle? Focus on your end goal and know you can enjoy Sunday BBQs with the family. You can enjoy Super Bowl. You can enjoy the holidays. But moderate it. Lose the battle, don’t get massacred. Stay focused on your long term goals to live longer and be healthier.

Now I am not saying you can lose EVERY battle and still win the war. If you lose every battle, you lost. As long as you win more battles that you lose, you will win the war. Moderation in everything and everything in moderation. Go enjoy yourself, but know overall, you need to eat cleaner, healthier and get your physical activity in.

You hear it all the time on the TV, Radio, from Doctors, around the coffee machine and throughout your daily life: Get physical activity in your life. But what exactly is physical activity and how much should you really get?

In science, physical activity is any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that result in energy expenditure. In real life, physical activity is basically anything that you break a sweat doing. Really anything. Do you work when you vacuum the house? That is physical activity. Do you work when you chase your grand kids? That is physical activity. Do you work when you go shopping and have to walk around the entire mall? That is physical activity.

What is NOT physical activity? Watching hours of TV. Sitting in front of a computer (reading killer articles on Ninteman Fitness is OK for now). Doing nothing is not physical activity. Physical activity doesn’t have to be hard to do. Just make sure what you are doing is hard. Park farther at the mall. Do lunges when vacuuming. Race the kids around an obstacle course around the house. Do jumping jack during commercials through your favorite TV show. Walk up and down your stairs at your house. Find a step and do 20 min of stepping up and down your step. When you look around, you can really find ways to get in your 30 min a day 5 days a week of physical activity each week. It shouldn’t be a chore. Find things you are doing already and amp them up to get in your activity. Your health will thank you in the long run.

Today’s post is by Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS. Craig owns a great fat loss product called Turbulence Training. Regular readers know how much I am against information product because in today’s day and age, everyone is an expert. Well, Craig is an expert. He holds a masters degree, high level certifications and writes for some of the most prestigious magazines on the markets. He stuff is legit and I highly recommend you heading over to Turbulence Training and check out his product. You will not be disappointed.

Why Cardio Doesn’t Work for Fat Loss

By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
www.TurbulenceTraining.com

Cardio exercise is such a strange thing. In theory, it should work
so perfectly well for all men and women, but as anyone who has
tried it knows, the practicality of it just doesn’t add up.

After all, some men and women do cardio 6 hours, 9 hours, or more per week, and still have belly fat to burn. On the other hand, it works just fine for others.

British researchers wanted to get more insight into this paradox, and studied 35 overweight men and women, who weren’t previously exercising.

(Reference: International Journal of Obesity 32: 177-184, 2008).

Subjects exercised 5 times per week for 12 weeks. That’s a lot of
exercise, but it helped the subjects lose an average of 8.2 pounds, which is great – I was positively surprised by the results.

So cardio will work for some people, however, in my experience, it works best in young men, who need the help the least!

Back to the study, the variance in fat loss between individuals was huge. Check this out…

The best subject lost a staggering 32.3 pounds in 12 weeks, while the worst subject actually GAINED 3.74 pounds.

The scientists think they know where things went sour. They
classified the subjects into 2 groups, called the “Compensators”
and the “Non-compensators”.

The Compensators were hungrier, and as a result consumed an extra 268 calories per day, all but wiping out their cardio efforts.

Therefore, the Compensators lost the least amount of weight, and scientists believe that was due to the huge “compensatory” increase in appetite experienced by this group.

Does your appetite increase when you do slow cardio? If it does,
research shows it will ruin your cardio efforts.

So if your cardio program is not working for you, check your
appetite and calorie intake to see if you are “compensating” for
your efforts. If you are, you might be better off using a program
of high-intensity resistance and interval training (i.e. Turbulence Training) for your weight loss efforts.

As Australian Professor Steve Boucher has shown in research,
interval training increases hormones called catecholamines. And
increased catecholamines can reduce appetite, among other fat-
burning benefits.

In the real world, few people lose 33 pounds after 12 weeks of
cardio. Heck, few even achieve an average weight loss of 8 pounds with aerobic exercise.

So again, check your appetite, and consider giving high-intensity
exercise a go for your next workout program.

Beat the curse of cardio with high-intensity Turbulence Training.

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training
About the Author

Learn about the “Dark Side of Cardio” in the free report from Craig Ballantyne at www.TurbulenceTraining.com. Craig is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit www.TurbulenceTraining.com

The term “Health and Wellness” is starting come into main stream as of late. Most people just relate it to their health and “wellness”. But do you really know the meaning behind “health and wellness”? It goes deeper than you would think.

I recently posed the question “What is the definition of health and wellness to you” on facebook and twitter. People came up with some great responses:

Here is my definition of health and wellness: Getting the whole pie.

Health and wellness has 5 categories mixed into one.

• Mental health-the ability to learn and develop intellectual capabilities
• Spiritual health-The belief in a unifying force-Godlike for some, nature for others, even science.
• Social health-The ability to interact and develop interpersonal relationships.
• Physical health-To supply the body with the nutrients and activity to ward off illness and disease, supply energy and maintain bodily function for maintenance and growth.

Health and wellness is making sure you have a full balance of every aspect of your health. Here is a breakdown on how you can work out each area of health and wellness:

• Mental health-Read, write, do puzzles.
• Spiritual health-This is important, even if you are not religious. But you have to believe in something, even if it is the religion of YOU! Take a few minutes every day, religious or not, to meditate. It clears your mind and allows you to “talk” to a higher power.
• Social health-GO OUT! If you have a significant other, go for a walk, go to a park. Go do something. Have a great circle of friends, go for a night out on the town, or stay in and play a game. Interaction is a key part to the health.
• Physical health-this is the easiest one! Work out. Go for a run/walk. GET EXERCISE!

For more information on ANY of these aspects, please feel free to email us at fitcoachzach(at)gmail.com. We will send you more information so you can stay healthy in all the areas of wellness.