Sarah’s Blog

There’s an odor of food coming from the kitchen, yet I’m not in that room and no one else is either.  Cooking doesn’t mean slaving away at the stove for hours J in fact, all I did was pick up a boneless veal roast, put it in an oven-proof dish with a little cooking-spray in the bottom, some frozen “summer vegetables” and a glass of white wine. I put the dish in the oven, turned the knob to 400ºF and left it there. It’ll stay for a good hour to an hour and a half.

My muscles are a little sore today. Not all of them of course, I don’t train with full-body workouts these days, but rather one body part at a time 5 days a week.  Although I trained my back on Tuesday, today I could feel the tightness in the lats as I moved around doing things. Certain movements reminded me I’d trained shoulders on Wednesday. Admittedly, I skipped leg-day on Thursday! The sorest muscles are still my biceps from yesterday’s workout.  The chest muscles were worked on Monday, so they’ve recuperated by now J

Yesterday, I started with biceps and went on to triceps (alternate weeks I start with triceps and go on to biceps). Using the 7MM formula http://tinyurl.com/7MinMuscl , I started with 5 reps and ended up with just 2 reps on the last couple of mini-sets. I totally “died” – which of course is part of the plan and also the most fun. Breezing through the full  5 minutes  and still be able to do 5 reps for the last mini-set … I feel  cheated out of a good workout! That of course, signals the need to add more weight to the dumbbells next time.

This brings me to my point today – other than the initial one that a meal doesn’t need huge amounts of time to be tasty and elegant – I see too many women dilly-dallying around with puny little weights, or somewhat heavier ones but still obviously too light to offer any resistance for their workout. Asked why they don’t add more weight, I usually hear …

-          My trainer told me to use these (and forgot to mention progression?)

-          I don’t want to get bulky muscles

It’s true that some people (men included) will see a trainer for an initial few training sessions when they join a gym; get a program, and either not be told to increase the weight/resistance as they progress, or they forget that they were told to. It happened to me too, but luckily I browsed around the Net a bit and also had some great fellow trainees who set me straight.

As for the “I don’t want to get bulky” part … sorry, but just how do you propose to get bulky in the first place? And who told you you’d get bulky from a 20-pound dumbbell?

Answers: certain muscle magazines showing bulky women – those are “juiced” up with some sort of steroid cocktail, they did not get those man-looking muscle bulges naturally, trust me on that one. What else is altered in their bodies is irreversible and not something anyone in their right mind would want to do.

There is also a common misconception in most gyms that women shouldn’t do this exercise or that – I had a trainer tell me to use 5-pound Dbs for lateral raises (shoulders) because “women shouldn’t use the lateral raise machine”. There was no room for discussion, I was not allowed near that contraption, period. Why? The machine’s lowest setting was 10 lbs, lifted by both delts at the same time, ergo a 5-pound load for each, same as the 5 pound Dbs. So what was his reasoning? I’ll never know, but I not only did use the machine, I used it at 25 lbs! The reason I did was in fact mostly because he said I shouldn’t J I much prefer the freee-weight training anyway.

However, no woman has the natural predisposition to get bulky. We can lift and pant and grunt all we want, we lack the male hormone responsible in a large part for the muscle-growing. Sure we have some testosterone, but not nearly enough to get bulky. OK? LIFT SO YOU FEEL IT, have fun in the gym, rather than being bored out of your mind with the little “pink dumbbells”!

I’m wondering if that’s why so many women are sitting around chatting while they move their light weights around – they are bored silly! Try this next time: switch from the soup-can weight of 2-5 pounds to a meat-weight of … say 10-15 pounds, and do the same exercise again! Only this time, concentrate on the muscle you are working and ignore the next person over! Take notes on your performance, and make it a point to beat that the next time!

Sure, you’ll go from 30 reps with the “soup” weight to maybe 10 with the “meat” weight, but that’s fine. Challenge yourself! Compete with yourself. Never mind that the woman next to you manages more reps with the same weight, or more weight than you. You are not her, you are you. And guys, the same goes for you too!

Remember, it’s not about how much weight you can pull or push or throw around, not only. YOU need the right weight to challenge your muscles and mind and to grow; but you need one crucial element: correct form!

When I see inexperienced trainees watching in awe as a seeming expert pulls the whole stack on the lats pull-down … knowing the guy is doing it all wrong: he grabs the bar, throws himself onto the seat and keeps that movement going backwards, barely moving his arms with just a slight bend to the elbow … he’s not training his lats at all, he’s using momentum from the “body-throw” to move those weight-plates! Ridiculous show of stupidity Mr.”know-it-all”. Because of course, you can’t tell him he’s doing it wrong!

I’m more impressed seeing someone using the correct weight load for their strength, using perfect form, and executing a movement that has elegance and will give results. It may be only half the stack (to stay with the lats pull-down) but he’ll pull the bar/handle to his chest with a swift, exploding movement and return it to the start position slowly and deliberately, never allowing his butt to leave the seat (unlike the first guy who was flying all over the place). That my friends, is impressive training.

My plan now for the next 6 weeks – progressing on the 7MM http://tinyurl.com/7MinMuscl program from Level 1 to Level 2. I could have done so months ago, but I guess I just stayed in my comfort zone … enough of that, I want to have a little more challenge, so up I go to 14 minutes per morning, 2 days with the cardio, 2 with abs, and the last … supposedly calves, but without my donkey raise machine … I’ll see.

In combination with my workouts, I’ll stick to the Every Other Day Diet (EODD) http://tinyurl.com/myEODD because frankly, there’s nothing simpler, and it works! Why change a winning team, right? The only change will come from my choice of Plan, I will probably go from the Extreme Plan to one of the Lifestyle Plans or the Ultimate Plan – I have the rest of the weekend to decide which – and you’ll know what I decided next time I have 5 minutes to fill you in J

Incidentally, the veal roast was delicious. Hardly any work preparing it, the cooking took care of itself while I did other things, and all I had to do was set the table, dress the plates and serve with a glass of the same white wine it had cooked in. Simple, delicious, and healthy.

www.sarah@trainwithsarah.com

You know, I was sitting at work today, grumbling to myself over the lousy summer we’re having thus far, thinking of what a new neighbor said two weeks ago “2009, the best summer yet!” and …

For him, it made sense to say that because he’d just bought the house across the street this past winter and was “within his own walls” as they say in France; so for him, being out of the city, outside the main suburbia, in his own house, friends stopping by, grill-parties in the back yard till the wee hours of the morning … sure it’s the best summer yet.

To me though, it doesn’t seem like the best summer at all. For one thing, having started a new job, I have no vacation this summer at all (that’s the way it works here in Canada, not so in Europe so I was totally surprised when I found out). Secondly, the weather is totally unstable and unreliable, even if it looks nice in the morning, by the time a picnic is packed and strapped to the bike, it’s pouring rain. Once said picnic is unstrapped and placed on the kitchen table, the sun’s back out but the mood’s all gone.

We go in the pool, lie in the sun, an hour later it’s pouring down and there’s severe thunderstorms and the power’s out for over an hour, flicking back on and off and on again for the next three hours.

Great summer? Global warming? Best summer yet?

But that’s when it hit me. Of course it is the best summer yet! I am getting leaner and in better shape than I’ve been in 30 years and more. “Summer” is just a two-month period out of a 12-month year for crying out loud! Never mind “the best summer yet” how about “the best me yet!” ? After all, I have to live with myself and the image in the mirror, the results of photos in family gathering, the fit in my clothes for more than just the 2 months of summer!

The same goes for many of you as well. It’s not about looking great for that school reunion (although looking smoking hot in front of the “bitch-gang” from back then is a sweet revenge of the pudgy girl you were, as is turning the hottest guy’s head – well, he was back then, now he’s got a beer belly, right?). It’s not about showing your family how great you look at the next family “do” because all the older generation (your parents and older) will say you’re too skinny and need to get some meat on your bones – true, you want muscle, but they mean fat really.

What it is about, is you! It’s about me. It’s about feeling good in your own skin, in your clothes, in your own existence! Never mind everyone else! Yes, be “selfish” for once. Think of what you want, what you need, how you feel!

Don’t let “peer pressure” make you have a dessert you really didn’t want; or that cocktail when all you asked for was a glass of water with a lemon twist; or a “fancy coffee” overflowing with useless calories instead of the unsweetened coffee with just a touch of creamer you really wanted. Leave rice and potatoes if it’s not your treat/ re-feed day. Don’t let “them” bully you into eating like them!

It’s sad how “they” – the overweight and living a largely unhealthy lifestyle – allow themselves to criticize those who want to live a healthy life, trying to push their non-foods and sedentary non-activities on you. Sad, because if you dare open your mouth about their choices being unhealthy, you’re the one preaching and having a one-track mind!

The easiest way around this, is to claim some sort of health issue with starches, sugars and alcohol; from the benign to the more serious like food allergies or even worse. No one will push you to consume something that’ll make you sick and you could blame them for!

In a way it’s true too. You do have an allergic reaction to the junk foods and sugary sodas, desserts and alcohol with empty calories. That allergic reaction is called excess body fat! Bloat, discomfort, dehydration, digestive issues, heartburn … still want to have a “for once” item? I don’t.

If I feel the need for something special, I’d rather wait till I can control it myself. Such as fresh, sweet strawberries with some whipping cream (not too much); or raspberries, or a mix with blueberries. I can have my own “fancy” coffee by mixing a teaspoon of unsweetened cocoa powder and two drops of liquid Stevia in my coffee, even some cinnamon and/or ground cardamom. And I enjoy a glass of ice water with lemon, preferably freshly squeezed juice of one lemon, but a slice or wedge will do.

So yes, 2009 is going to be the best summer yet – from a personal body-image point of view.

The weather? Remember that old song, “raindrops keep falling on my head”? At one point he says he can’t do anything about the weather, that the rain just falls anyway? No point being moody over bad weather Just enjoy whatever weather there is, because it won’t go away just because you don’t like it.

Excess bodyfat can go away if you don’t like it though. Here you have a choice, something you can influence and fix.

I did. Since April 2004 when I joined a gym, subsequently buying the place and learning all I could about training and nutrition, I’ve gone from a traditional bodybuilder diet to a more user-friendly nutrition plan. On the bodybuilder diet, I burned a lot of fat and gained substantial muscle mass; almost too much for the look I wanted.

Switching to Jon Benson’s Every Other Day Diet http://tinyurl.com/myEODD I burned even more fat and kept my muscles tight and strong (what is popularly called a “toned” look!). Using his 7 Minute Muscle program http://tinyurl.com/7MinMuscl for just 7 minutes per day 5 days a week (plus 9 minutes of cardio) is all it takes. The combination of the two is fabulous, and you can actually get a great deal by going to this link: http://www.7minutemuscle.com/go/FitnessFor/oto  7MM + EODD + coaching + M-Power in any combination you want for a discount price! Wow. Wow, because M-Power is truly EmPowering! If you already have EODD and 7MM, look at http://tinyurl.com/M-Power-Series for all the motivational, mind-set help and instruction you’ll ever need or want.

Incidentally, both 7MM and EODD are available as hardcover books; as is Fit Over 40 http://tinyurl.com/Fit-O-40 I make sure to bring one or the other along when I go to any place I know there will be a wait – dentist, doctor, hair dresser, official office … you name it, I have one of the books in my tote-bag. One is on my nightstand permanently. The third is on the coffee-table. I can grab either one when there’s a little sun and lie there tanning and getting instruction and inspiration at the same time.

Yes, 2009 will be the best summer yet!

Sarah

www.trainwithsarah.com

Are you worried about your scale weight? Do you obsess over it even? To the point of getting depressed if it’s even a little bit up from yesterday?

You’re not alone, and there is a cure.

The first thing to realize is that bodyweight overall fluctuates enormously from one day to the next, due to retained water, lack of bowel movement, or the opposite of these two things. For us women, there’s a natural jump up of the scale weight once a month – water retention coupled with that crazy chocolate craving!

The second thing you should consider, is not so much your actual scale weight, total body weight, but your body composition. What is that weight made up of? You feel you are fatter than your best friend and you know you are heavier, but is this really true?

I once had two girls come to my gym asking me to check their bodyfat percentage. Not with these electronic scales or hand-held things, I use calipers. One of the girls was a skinny-looking little thing, coming in very confident and certain that she was lean. The other was rounder-looking and obviously just doing this because her friend was, she was more apprehensive and nervous about the outcome. Who wants to get it confirmed that they “are fat”?

The funny thing was that the rounder girl left my gym smiling from ear to ear and her thin-looking friend  looked like she’d been kicked to the curb!

It turned out that the skinny-looking girl carried more bodyfat than her round-looking friend.

Why care if you are “round” if this is due to natural, womanly curves? Who wants to look skinny, if this is just an illusion and they carry hidden fat around their vital organs – yes, including the heart! This won’t show necessarily, but it’s just as dangerous as if it did show.

The thing to do, is a mental reprogramming of your brain, your mind set, the way you look at your self and your body, what you really want, why you want it. Soul searching, but on a different level than usual.  Is this easy? Heck no! Try it by yourself, and you may never get to the bottom of it, or get the optimal solution. Or you do it in 48 weeks with the M-Power Series (http://tinyurl.com/M-Power-Series ).

48 weeks? Almost a year? Yikes!! Not “yikes” J this is one of the best gifts you can give yourself. You’ll be your own “shrink” and probably a much better one than those who put you on their couch too, because you care about you and you know you, they want your money (overall and generally speaking, I guess some do care).

One “lesson” or session a week, but unlike your shrink (assuming you’d even go to one – I know I’d resist and even refuse!) the audio is available the whole week, as many times as you want to listen to it. You can – and should – go over it a few times to get all the angles, the subtleties, do the exercises – even re-do them, you may give different answers and get different results after having listened to the audio a few times.

Another thing to know about the scales … yes, you do need them, although some “gurus” say throw them out, I don’t really agree. Without the scales, you don’t know what’s going on. The trick is to see it only as a part of a whole.

I completed a 3-week pre-contest-type plan and dropped a lot of “weight” – about a 50/50 mix of water, sh(beep) and fat. This was 3 weeks ago, and since then the scales keep showing a steady increase in numbers.

Now, I could panic, get depressed, jump back on the 3-week plan right away … but I don’t. Why? Because I’ve been doing 7 Minute Muscle (http://tinyurl.com/7MinMuscl) every weekday morning for the past 3 weeks. I know from my calipers, that the bodyfat percentage is not going up at all, the added weight is

-          Muscle

-          Some water

-          Some not-yet-eliminated “matter”

I care more about my body composition than my overall weight. I look at how my clothes fit. I check that waist chain for tightness, I look for visible muscles – not just abs, delts, biceps, triceps, quads, calves … the back is harder to check unless you have access to a 360º mirror, but you can get someone to take a photo (or do a self-shot).

Am I still following Every Other Day Diet (http://tinyurl.com/myEODD) ? You better believe it J frankly, you don’t throw out something that works. Ever since Jon Benson “threw” that e-book out over the Internet in January 2008, I’ve been convinced.

First that it was a great idea – and with 3 different plans to follow there was no problem finding the one that suited me the best – following it I saw the results and was even more convinced it was the best thig I’d ever done. With the 2.0 version SNAPP, there are now 4-5 different Plans, no way not to find a match to anyone’s lifestyle and preferences!

Where most diets and nutrition plans tell you to eliminate all the things you like and enjoy eating, EODD works these into the plan, you can still enjoy … I don’t know, grandma’s brownies, dad’s cheese steak, a pizza from the Italian guy down the street, even a burger from you-know-who! Now, if that’s not a cool nutrition plan, I don’t know what is! Cool, and it works!

So no, I “don’t care” about the scales anymore. Or at least I don’t obsess or get depressed if it goes up. And I know that when I do do the 3-week plan again in July, it’s going to reveal a lot of new, lean muscle! So I may never see 130 lbs (59 kilos) on the scales, so what? 14-15% bodyfat is a much more gratifying goal, and healthier!

Check your goals, check your tools and “maps” for getting there, set out to conquer and don’t let anyone deter or stop you.

To your success!

OK, this is not from me. I’ll admit to borrowing this idea from a great abs-expert, David Grisaffi (www.flattenyourownabs.com). He wrote a few years ago (not exact quote): “tie a string around your waist so you can feel when you eat a little too much, clothes may stretch, a string won’t”.

He’s right of course, but being a girl, the idea of a string around my waist just didn’t sit right. I headed for the nearest “bling-store” and looked for a waist-chain. Sure, there were some, and some were cute too, but at the time … they were all too short for me! I guess that at 205 lbs you’re not expected to wear a waist chain … so what to do? I did not want that string!

Next stop, after having measured my then voluminous waist, was the hardware store. You read that right. They have sections of the store with different styles, types and thicknesses of chains. I chose one I found nice enough, rounded links, not too large but enough to hook something into to close it around me, and a little piece of hardware to do just that (there was a guy showing me different options, don’t remember what he called the things J but it kept the chain closed). Of course, I didn’t say what I was going to use it for!

My goal was to “get into” the nice bling-chain I bought instead of the hardware one, and I did. However, being fancy it broke very quickly. Those things just aren’t made to wear when you squat and lift, just to show off at the beach in a bikini, or with hip hugger jeans while strolling somewhere doing nothing. I was in the garden lifting some rocks and roots, and snap … no more bling.

Solution: hardware store chain again, but I added a small ring to it at a distance from the end to hook into, leaving the rest dangling. After a while I also found a metal bead to hang at the dangling end to make it look nicer if I wore something showing a bit of bare waist (since now I could!).

My main tools for achieving this “showable” waist, were BFFM (Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle) for about 6-8 months, but I switched to a winning combination of EODD (Every Other Day Diet) and 7MM (7 Minute Muscle) that I’ve been following for the past year and a half and I don’t see any need to ever change to anything else as far as nutrition plan, and the workouts I’ll change a little just for variety’s sake.

You can get your own copies right here:

EODD   http://tinyurl.com/myEODD

7MM     http://tinyurl.com/7MinMuscl

BFFM    http://tinyurl.com.4ez2ga    

I still use the chain-trick too. When I know we’re going to a “do” where I suspect the presence of a lot of foods, I strap on my chain under my clothes and make sure it’s hooked up snugly. As soon as I feel it dig into me, I slow down on the consumption of the foods presented. And it works.

Believe you me, I’ve tried the

Detailed eating and drinking plan written down before I go

Note on my cell-phone set to go off during the meal to remind me to watch out

Writing my goal weight/ bodyfat percentage in my hand like a school girl’s cheat-note

Hubby telling me the goal-weight number during the meal if I reach for something I shouldn’t

Kicks under the table for the same things

The chain works better, because it’s a physical reminder which is there all the time.  I often didn’t hear the cell; hubby wouldn’t notice and warn me because he was caught up in a conversation and didn’t see I was having my third of something one would have been plenty of; the detailed plan, even well rehearsed, evaporated from my mind at the sight of a freshly made lemon pie; and the note in my hand? Heck, there was a fork in that hand people!

Just a little trick; but it’s often the little things, the details, which keep you on track. If you can, get a bling-chain (remember, no lifting while you wear it) or a sturdier hardware chain; or if you can afford it a length of gold or silver chain, why not!? I’ve made a silver one out of two necklaces and one bracelet (I had a set and mom had just the necklace but gave it to me years ago) for dressier occasions like a pool party in a bikini

Battles are won, battles are lost; what counts is to win the war – the declared war on excess bodyfat. This little trick is tool to help win one type of battle: the eating-party battle.

Until next time, train with purpose and eat clean!

Sarah, CPT

www.trainwithsarah.com

This weekend we have 3 days off here in Canada – Victoria Day on Monday.  Apparently this is the traditional plant-your-annuals weekend J I’ve always found that t6o be a waste of time, effort and money, since the darned plants don’t bloom again the following year but have to dug up and replaced. I may succumb this spring though, and get bulbs in the fall for spring flowers next spring and the years after as well!

What I will do this weekend, is have a kitchen spring cleaning. Even the most fitness minded of us somehow end up with some not-so-fit ingredients in the cabinets, especially after a long, cold winter. When these things are there, they tend to get eaten. Therefore, a razzia is in order (Italian for clean-it-all-out, be that crap food or human enemies J unfortunately, but in this case it’s not the humans I’m after, lol).

I’ll take the opportunity to wash the cabinets inside while everything is out on the counter too.

Same goes for the fridge. Nothing bad in there, but I had an “illumination” last week: seeing how the two little fruit/vegetable drawers are overflowing so that the next two shelves above them are full of produce falling over each other, and having a fairly good-sized plastic, lidded container in which smaller food containers were packed, I thought “hey, clean that thing out and see if it fits on the shelf, I can use it for the “floating” produce to keep it from falling all over the place” and yes, wash out the fridge too. Once in a while, it’s necessary.

I still wonder how come. Foods are wrapped or placed in containers, nothing leaks, yet the fridge gets stained and dirty inside. Cabinets too. I don’t have foods boiling over on the stove, yet the burners look like crap after a while. Why is that? Just a reminder for us to wash things down once a week (or more often if we have young kids)? I don’t know, but it does feel and look good when the kitchen is clean.

It also feels and looks good when we’re clean – on the inside that is. No sludge in the intestines and liver, no visceral or sub-cutaneous fat; just a lean, clean, healthy person living in a lean, clean, healthy house and leading a lean, clean, healthy life – sound like brainwashing? It is! It’s the technique used in commercials do to make you buy crap; us it (on) yourself to get lean, clean and healthy =D

I read an article on the N1H1 (or is it H1N1? Who cares) vs Franken Foods by Tom Venuto this morning, a little long, but good; and so true!  There’s a media scare about a flu virus which is milder than most “regular” flues, but not much said about trans fats; nothing mentioned about how “No TFA” (trans fatty acids) in red and bold on the front label is a blatant lie when you can read “Hydrogenated oils” in the ingredients list on the back! And not a word on all the diseases caused by the TFAs, a lot worse than a little flu!

To quote the list of diseases from Tom’s article:

TFA’s are not new news, but there have been new studies published this year on the dangers of TFA’s, two of them just in the last month. If you think swine flu is scary, consider the following facts from the latest research:

·         Four recent studies indicated 24, 20, 27 and 32% higher risk of myocardial infarction (MI) or CHD death for every 2% energy of TFA consumption isocalorically replacing carbohydrate, SFA, cis monounsaturated fatty acids and cis polyunsaturated fatty acids, respectively.

·         Even consumption of small amounts of TFA’s (2% of total energy intake) is consistently linked to coronary heart disease.

If heart disease isn’t enough, the research says that TFA’s will:

·         Increase belly fat (visceral fat) and body fat

·         Contribute to insulin resistance

·         Increase risk of type 2 diabetes

·         Adversely affect circulating lipid levels (increase bad LDL cholesterol)

·         trigger systemic inflammation

·         disrupt glucose-insulin homeostasis

·         cause metabolic dysfunction

·         Induce endothelial dysfunction

·         Adversely affect almost every cell in your body, including hepatocytes, adipocytes, macrophages and endothelial cells.

Still want to eat this crap?

My brother-in-law tried to give me some Cool Whip last night … last time he managed that – before I had a chance to see the ingredients! – I ended up with such a hangover from the trans crap in there that never again will I touch that or anything else with TFA or MSG for that matter – same reaction. Dehydration, head aches (as a result), feeling out of it and bloated for days while my body gets rid of the poisons …

This happens to everyone when they eat TFA and MSG, the trouble is, they’re so used to eating this stuff, they don’t realize that the crappy way they feel is due to the “food” they ate the day before. By cleaning up your diet, and then accidentally (or on purpose for the sake of the experiment) ingesting some TFA or MSG in a “normal” portion, you suddenly notice that feeling, notice the difference between the feeling after a clean meal and this.

Last time, I promised you I’d tell you about a few other books and things … and you know, it’s a perfect transition from the above. Knowing what to do is one thing, but how many of you (us) know why and how?

You’re wondering what I mean, right? Why? Of course you know why! Doesn’t everyone? Yes. And no. Most of us have never sat down and really thought about the real, deep why. I know, some say you can compare it to wanting to swim an ocean if it would save a family member – I find that a bit extreme, frankly there’s no one I’d take a bullet for or risk killing myself swimming an ocean for. But without going to such extremes, the idea of it will make you think.

What is your deepest reason why you want what you say you want? And, what is it you want exactly? Seriously, once you know the answers to these two questions, the “how” is a breeze! The answer to “how” will often present itself almost automatically without you even thinking about it or looking for it! No, really.

OK, but how do you go about finding this “why” thing? My favourite way, one I shook my head over and dismissed the first time but since have listened to several times and done the exercises of, is Jon Benson’s M-Power Series.  http://tinyurl.com/M-Powe-Series is a little pricy if you look at the $$, but if you think of what you get … a year of weekly audios that you of course can listen to as often as you like any time you like.

Some of the audios are “just” listening lessons; ideal for walks and driving in the car. Others – most – have exercises you need to do in order for the content to really sink in. All will benefit from a serious taking of notes; and listening to each audio twice is not as much a luxury as a necessity if you want to get as much information out of them as you can.

After three years of listening to these audios, I still come away with new knowledge, new “aha!” moments, new stuff I can apply to my everyday life.  I’m not pretending to “know it all”, far from it, but you can imagine how much I’ve read since I got into the Fitness Industry, and I can tell you that this audio series is if not the best, at least one of the top 3 best there is! (And I’m just saying that to cover my butt, to me it is the best, by far!)

You may be of those who think “I’m too old to bother, what’s the point at my age?” Right? Or you know someone who says this when you try to talk to them about getting healthy. I know I have a lot of them around me!

Two things – one, did they see this just-finished season of the Biggest Loser? The At-Home winner was 62 … so sick when he started that he collapsed in the gym! He beat everyone who had been eliminated – and if I’m not mistaken would have beaten the finalists too had he been one of them. The winning finalist was a 48-year old woman, a mom who was obese at the start of the season. Honestly, to me she looked too skinny at the finale, but I’m sure she’ll put a little muscle and even a little fat back on to look better, just dropped as low as she could for the victory.

My point is, age has nothing to do with anything! Check out http://tinyurl.com/Fit-O-40 and look at the photos of the role models, read their stories, take heart. If they could turn their lives around, so can you! Dammit, I feel like kicking some butts sometimes! When I hear ridiculous statements like “our metabolism slows with age” or “we lose muscle mass as we age so it turns to fat” or any other stupidity along the same lines … I see red!

Age does not make you weak or fat! You do!

You read that right. Train for crying out loud. Use your body. Fuel it right. Read Fit Over 40, listen to M-Power, check the links from last week on 7 Minute Muscle and Every Other Day Diet. There is nothing about these books that suggests any hocus-pocus or sorcerer had anything to do with the making of these books and audios, in fact they are all made by a “former fatty” as he calls himself. Who better to guide you to a leaner body than a guy who’s done it himself and made all the trial-and-errors for you?

OK, you don’t have to switch screens to last week’s post, I’ll give you the links right here, ok?

http://tinyurl.com/7MinMuscl     

http://tinyurl.com/myEODD  

http://tinyurl.com/Fit-O-40         

http://tinyurl.com/M-Power-Series

And I’ll add for good measure:

http://tinyurl.com/low-pressr-sex

http://tinyurl.com/natu-pause   

 http://tinyurl.com/1-RepFitness

On blood pressure management  and hormonal balance, as well as an alternative training protocol to the 7 Minute Muscle one.

As a final message today:

To all Norwegian readers – Happy 17^th of May tomorrow!!

Yesterday was May 8^th … does anyone remember that date anymore? To me, “May 8^th ’45” is just something you should know, something I have trouble believing is already forgotten. Already, it was 64 years ago for sure, but in the big time-specter of history that’s just a blink of an eye.

May 8^th 1945. The official end of World War II, almost to the day 11 months after the invasion in Normandie by the allied troops (and I wrote Normandy the French way on purpose) on June 6^th 1944.

Yet, the world is still at war. On all kinds of fronts. Military fronts, religious, terrorist, illness, famine, obesity … any newspaper you open, any newscast you catch on TV or radio, there’s some talk of one of these wars; go to the Malls, shopping centers and supermarkets, and you’ll find “organized begging” for more funds for disease research (on top of what tax money should cover) – for many of these I feel like telling them that prevention is a lot easier and I could even tell them how for many things.

It’s crazy though, many of those battling their personal war on obesity (or just some overweight) are often under nourished. That’s actually one reason why they are overweight. Seriously, think about it: you give your body a certain amount (volume) of something sold as edible and identified by you as being food. It tastes good, your taste buds are happy as a pig in … you know what J your belly feels full, often to the point of bursting – yet the body, the brain the renewable cells, the 90% of you not made up by the belly and taste buds (rough estimate of percentage here by the way) you, are not nourished.

Result, your brain tells your stomach to cry for more food. Ever notice how you feel hungry about an hour after leaving a fast-food place? It’s your brain talking, because let’s face it, those two burgers (or giant one), large fries, large soda (even diet) and maybe even a shake … they’re not digested and out of your stomach yet. That will take a good 6-8 hours, if the stomach was empty when you put this into it.

So why are you feeling hungry? One thing is highly likely to be dehydration. There’s precious little water in the above meal and often the dehydrated state is perceived as hunger. In addition, there’s so little actual nutrition in what you just ingested, that the majority of your body is not satisfied.

Most people will head to the next fast-food place and have something else along  the same lines of denutritionized “food” (that word is not in the dictionary, I just made it up and got a red squiggly line under it from my spell-checker, but it should be a word!) and …

Obesity lurks. Because you’re adding calories, you’re adding fats and sugars. There are chemicals in the “food”. These will be processed by the liver first, to get the poison out of your system as fast as possible.  While your body is busy with that (and the same goes if you drink alcohol with a meal by the way), the digesting food is being stored in the reserves until it can be dealt with – after the toxins. Stored? Reserves? Oops, that’s bodyfat people! More toxins ingested, more fat stored while these are being processed and eliminated.

We were at a Greek restaurant last night, not far from our home. They’re great, really nice waiters, owners, cooks (open kitchen to the restaurant), the food is fabulous, the prices affordable … and best of all, I can have any one of their dishes with just the house salad (and dressing on it) and not gain an ounce! Most other places, even having grilled chicken and salad I’d go up te next day. Anyway, I digress J

What struck me last night, was a couple of women at a neighbouring table. Both were overweight, on the verge of being called obese actually depending on where you set the visual limit between the two; and I couldn’t help but notice the difference in their way of feeding and ours.

Where they both grabbed their pita-and-meat (chicken or “gyro” I have no idea which) with both hands, gaped large to be able to bite into it and stuffing it (literally) into their mouths, we were eating with forks and knives, putting  just enough food into our mouths to be able to chew without leaving the mouth half open in the process, and enjoying the food. From their way of eating, it looked more like a feeding frenzy – get it in and down as fast as possible and never mind if it tastes good – plus of course they had both the rice and the fried potatoes as well. And the “funny” part? We overheard them mentioning “Weight Watchers” although we didn’t hear what they were saying about it, we did comment to each other that they sort of missed the point if this was their way of eating …

Go to a restaurant this weekend (or any time you want to), look at how people eat. I’m sure you’ll find the overweight ones shoveling food in large amounts into their mouths, and the thinner ones eating more slowly and with smaller fork-fulls (or bites). Just as an experiment J

Do yourself a favour, go to http://tinyurl.com/myEODD and have a close look at how you will not only drop that excess bodyfat and keep it off, but also enjoy some of your favourite not-so-healthy foods in the process. I “love” food (as in I enjoy eating good food, wouldn’t marry the stuff obviously, as the author of EODD says), and there is no way I’d go through life eating salads, steamed broccoli and grilled chicken, with the occasional tuna salad thrown in. I want to have some garlic mashed potatoes once in a while, but more than that I want to have some chocolate and the occasional lemon pie!  

Every Other Day Diet lets me do that – have my cake and drop the fat too J

You know, it’s true what they say, you cannot out-train a bad diet. In other words, all the hours of cardio and pilates and spinning and soft-weight-machines (not naming Curves … oops, just did)  will not help you burn fat and reshape your body, if your nutrition isn’t doing the ground work for you. In fact, you can out-eat a bad training plan much more easily.

Eat healthy and clean and sensibly (like with http://tinyurl.com/myEODD Every Other Day Diet) and skip almost all training, you will burn off excess fat. The only trouble is, you won’t add any new muscle tissue (which in turn helps burn even more fat) and you may even lose some of the existing muscle!

“But I don’t have time” … oh no? You sure of that? I didn’t have time either after I started working full time. I only have 30 minutes for lunch and that has to be spent at my desk in case someone comes to the door or calls … and 30 minutes, not enough to get to a gym and back anyway. I could train after work, that was my plan. Only … after work is when I have time for a dentist, a lawyer, the cleaners’, grocery top-up,  grabbing a quick coffee with a friend … not to mention preparing the meals for the next day as well as supper that day – for two. And I do like to relax with at least one hour of recorded TV before calling it a day, but I also have to get on the computer for some forum work and on-line training.

I ended up setting my alarm for 4:40, 20 minutes earlier than before, so that I could do my resistance and cardio workouts before the rest of the day took over. 20 minutes? Yup – and that includes getting my water bottle ready since I always forget to prepare it the day before; setting up the work station (Dbs); etc. Because I use 7 Minute Muscle (http://tinyurl.com/7MinMuscl) all I need are 16 minutes a day, 5 days a week. 7 minutes for the muscle work with weights, and 9 on some form of cardio, and that’s it!

For someone with time and gym membership, this is perfect for lunch-time training and still get your meal. Lewis is doing just that. He has an hour off for lunch, 30 minutes to get to the gym, train, and back; and 30 minutes to heat his lunch and eat it.

Sorry, long post today, but I haven’t even told you half of what I wanted to … next time! Promise. Everyone who thinks they’re too old because they’re 40 or more; all who find they struggle with motivation; I have news for you. Next time!

Sarah

4 weeks after I started RFLB … well, I did the 21 days of the plan, minus two for Passover so I added them back this week! Ran out of lemons on Tuesday and somehow never made it to the store to replenish my stock, oh well, never mind. I got 12 this morning as well as some limes to change a bit.

The results are amazing, and make me wonder at a statement in a local magazine a few weeks ago … this woman, apparently someone known in this country although I have no clue who she is, stated boldly that "after 50 you can’t expect to look and feel like you did when you were 20".

My challenge for this summer (always need to have something to strive for): getting back my bicycle confidence from last time I used to swish around on two wheels (38 years ago!). Without Sheba of course!

*

Now, if you wonder where you can get a copy of RFLB (Radical Fat Loss Blueprint) you will have to first go through a 7-day e-mail certification course in nutrition, use of supplements, training and mind set. Yes, even I had to – and frankly, I did learn some really interesting things in the supplement mail! The supplement kit is not available otherwise, and RFLB is honestly not something to take lightly. It is strictly for 21 days at a stretch, with 2-3 months between each use! Not dangerous at all, if used properly, but you simply must follow the rules and not prolong the program.

I have no problem suggesting this program to people, but I prefer they first own a nutrition program they will be using after those 3 weeks. My first recommendation is Jon Benson’s Every Other Day Diet (EODD) because it’s easy to use and has 5-6 different plans so that anyone can find the one that’s best suited for their lifestyle. The smartest thing to do is to pick up the combo package of EODD + 7MM (7 minute Muscle) as you then have a complete nutrition and training program. Hey, who doesn’t have 7 minutes to spend doing resistance training 5 days a week!? Seriously! It takes longer to make that sandwich you don’t really need!

http://www.everyotherdaydiet.com/aff/FitnessFor    and  7minutemuscle.com/aff/FitnessFor  

Check them out, summer’s getting closer and closer but you still have time to get in beach/pool shape!

We all slip. We have in the past and we will again. Look, even the pros do, finding themselves in life situations that takes away (some of) their focus temporarily.

Here’s the key word: temporarily!

All too often, we non-pro athletes get discouraged, give up even; just because we slipped up for a given reason. I used to, and ended up at 205 lbs!

I don’t anymore. I react, switch gears, take the closest and shortest way back to the road leading to my goal.

That’s what happened in February. I had the road mapped out and was packed (1RF in hand) and ready to go. Almost immediately, I hit a bump in the road, actually more of a pot-hole! Flu. I didn’t have any significant fever for more than a day, but was weak and sluggish for 2-3 days.

A stuffy nose does nothing to give you any sensation of taste of you foods, which – stupidly – led me to seeking foods I remembered had taste (i.e. pizza, burgers, etc). The sad thing was that I couldn’t taste even that; but worse, this junk went directly to some fat cells I’d just cleaned out!

I trudged along on my pot-holed road, with 1RF doing its damndest to help, but finally decided it was time for something more drastic. A deviation. A 3-week Radical Fat Loss deviation, leading back to my 1RF road! 1repfitness.com/aff/FitnessFor 

1RF, just so it’s 100% clear, has not disappointed, not in the least. And I am not getting off, just taking a fat loss deviation for 3 weeks, then coming back to do phase 3 of 1RF in a better mind set and with less bodyfat to weigh me down (mentally as well as physically).

You will therefore get a double for the next 2 weeks: the result of my “deviation” and the final verdict on 1RF (but I’m sold on that, in fact I’ve already scheduled a re-run in September after spending the summer on 7MM).

A quick note on this Radical Fat Loss Blueprint deviation.

If anyone came to me with a wild plan promising a 21-pound fat loss in 21 days; I’d tell them where to take their plan. The thing was, the person with this plan isn’t “anyone”, it’s one of a select number of trainers I trust. Jon Benson is crazy yes, but not so crazy he’ll sell you a health risk.

In fact, he won’t even let you have Radical Fat Loss Blueprint unless you have a lifestyle plan to go to after the 3 weeks! That’s sane for a guy I just called crazy (smiling here, Jon) and you can basically only get a copy if you own (or get here and now) his Every Other Day Diet http://www.everyotherdaydiet.com/aff/FitnessFor   (which incidentally, I have been using for over a year and can’t see not using for the rest of my days, it’s that good!) or prove that you own another good, sound and life-long nutrition program.

I could use the 1RF nutrition plan for example, or any of the other ones we give you access to on www.atozfitness.com , but you must have a plan for the after Radical-weeks.

RFLB (Radical Fat Loss Blueprint) is limited in time and only to be used for a maximum of 4 times a year. OK, there should be a warning triangle on the front page of the pdf, J kidding, it’s safe when it’s done the proper way, for the prescribed time, and with the necessary supplements. Jon even decided that he wasn’t letting anyone do the program or buying the supplements without completing a Certification course on his web site!

No direct information on how the RFLB goes or even went until May, as there is an on-going competition and of course, I don’t want to have the other competitors know where I am so they can more easily beat me.

Conclusion: my 12-week 1RF-journey gets a 3-week RFLB deviation which will get me back to the “main road” which is the 1RF-track. Life is unpredictable. We just have to deal with it and adapt our strategy. Giving up is never an option! (The word is deleted from my vocabulary, as is the word “problem”).

Have a great week!

PS. Note that AtoZ Fitness’ Total Body Makeover is being liquidated this month – you can still grab a copy at half price with all the bonuses (and a few new ones thrown in as well) right here: www.atoztoptrainer.com

1repfitness.com/aff/FitnessFor 

I can choose from any of 5 meals per meal-time. The dinners are identical to those in Phase 1, so there’s nothing new to consider at the end of a long day at work. I mix and match as I want, keeping to the breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner menus – except I add a snack mid-morning as going from 6:30 to 12:15 is really too long for me. I’m on 1RF start of phase 2 1repfitness.com/aff/FitnessFor 

This is where I “cheat” and add the allotted nut-serving from my previous nutrition plan, the EODD SNAPP. http://www.everyotherdaydiet.com/aff/FitnessFor 

The workouts are going great again now that I’m totally over the last residues of the flu-bug. The coughing has all but subsided, which makes my life a lot more comfortable. 

Doing just one rep at a time is really a lot of fun. It’s totally different from anything I’ve done before, and you might think that 1 rep is easy, what’s the big deal, right? Well, the big deal is in the rests between these one reps at a time. By the end of the set, believe me, you feel it!

At this point, I’m almost half-way through the program, and my intentions are to well, yes, finish the next 7 weeks of course; but also to start over from week 1 in the fall. That’s how much I’m enjoying this program.  1repfitness.com/aff/FitnessFor 

In the mean time, between the end of the 1RF take 1 (now) and the start of 1RF take 2 in September, I’ll switch back to 7MM that I also enjoy doing. The difference between the two programs will totally throw my muscles off, keeping them guessing at what’s coming next.

Variety is the key here. Whether you’re thinking fat-elimination or muscle gain, you need to switch plans and programs from time to time. I guess you could compare it to a travel from say North America to Europe – at the start, it’s the plane, then you switch to trains, ferries, rental cars, keeping your mind wondering what’s happening next J

I’m travelling between Texas and France, flying from a 7-minute muscle training program to a 1 Rep at a time program and back; making sure one of them starts before and ends after that Holiday season everyone tells you is so hard to “survive”.

The nutrition programs associated with both is so similar, it’s not hard to organize cooking or outing wise at all and switching here is a synch.

These two programs may not both be the best for you, but at least one of them will hit home and become a staple workout/nutrition program for you too. I recommend finding at least one program you want to cycle once or even twice a year. It’ll be a little like coming home, you know where everything is, yet since your last passage there have been some changes – in your strength, from using another program.

I will probably end up with a third program as well, something a little more calm. Not saying easier, just more calm! As in something yoga-based maybe, I haven’t quite decided yet, and it’s too far from the end of my 1RF program to worry about it at this point.

Check out these two programs, the 1RF from France  1repfitness.com/aff/FitnessFor 

that I’m doing right now, and the 7MM + EODD from Texas that I’ve been doing before and will cycle back to. 7minutemuscle.com/aff/FitnessFor  and  http://www.everyotherdaydiet.com/aff/FitnessFor 

Have a great week, spring is in the air (although it’s still cold!)

[ Editor's Note:  Fitness author Jon Benson shared this letter with me and gave me permission to share it with you. ]

When I wrote 7 Minute Muscle (available here:  7minutemuscle.com/aff/FitnessFor  I exposed all the lies about training too long and why this is not the best way to achieve the results you want. Check it out if you want the facts.

You?

 7minutemuscle.com/aff/FitnessFor  <— Less Is More!