Welcome to Volume 10 of the Fitness Destinations Journal!
This week we have 2 more contributions from Joey Atlas of Personal Trainer Brand. Joey was kind enough to not only give us a super article on training and fitness, but we are also introducing his breakthrough new product, Controversial Secrets of a Personal Trainer.
To use Joey's own words, Controversial Secrets is "The no BS audio CD that is making health & fitness product marketers madder than hell!"
Controversial Secrets is a product that can benefit consumers as well as other Fitness Professionals, so visit the site right now to learn more, and to sign up for Joey's free content-filled newsletter!
Back here at Fitness Destinations, we have finally gotten the ball rolling with a listing of the cutting edge fitness products that we offer, as well as those offered by our quality partners.
We are keeping a running list of the "Best of the Best" on our Living on the Edge page! Check back to that page often, as we expect new products and services to be added on a very regular basis!
Have a great weekend everyone! Be sure to check out Joey's new article below, as well as another quality piece by Richard Dafter on how to get the most out of your training heart rate!
Fitness Article - Get Stronger, Faster and Better by Training Right, Eating Well and Resting Up
By Joey Atlas, MS - Exercise Physiology
I rarely start an article with the conclusion at the beginning. But, for this specific topic I couldn't write it any other way. So, here it is.
No magic pill, patented drink mix, sublingual tincture, trans-dermal patch, man made food bar, proprietary mineral blend, or secret capsule is capable of producing the results, or anything remotely close, that can be achieved through the proper strength and conditioning program combined with a smart, a realistic nutrition program and adequate rest.
As the father of an eight year old baseball, soccer and football player, I am often asked by other parents, "What products would you recommend for my son/daughter to help improve their sports performance?" The statement above is my answer, always.
It is no wonder why so many people believe that enhanced sports performance can come from a bottle at your local nutrition store. The advertising freedom that nutritional supplement marketers are given is an absolute joke. The flexibility they have allows them to prey on people's weaknesses and exploit the fact that most people want to believe what they see and hear through advertisements.
The problem lies within the fact that even when following "the rules" nutritional supplement marketers can still cleverly craft unbelievably deceptive advertising campaigns and get away with it.
Some supplement companies have attorneys on staff that specialize in making sure that the company they represent is not breaking any laws in its advertising campaigns. Some companies who cannot afford full time attorneys hire them as outside consultants to perform the same function. Their main job is to compare the proposed advertising campaign, whether it is a radio ad, a television ad, internet ad or print ad and make sure it complies with all rules and regulations put forth by the Federal Trade Commission and/or the Federal Communications Commission. Keep in mind these hired pros work for the company who pays them and not for you, the consumer.
Ponder this, the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act does not require manufacturers to report adverse reactions or side effects. Additionally, the sale of any supplement can only be prevented if the Food and Drug Administration can prove that the supplement is harmful. Amazing, isn't it?
Despite the fact that supplement companies are restricted from making unproven or exaggerated claims, many are still able to get away with extremely deceptive advertising campaigns. Some companies are even so greedy that they completely disregard any of the industry rules and use outright lies in their marketing campaigns knowing that the regulatory agencies are overloaded and cannot catch every unscrupulous company. Even when caught, some of these companies have to pay a fine which usually only amounts to a small percentage of the profits it has taken in from its fraudulent marketing techniques. They are then ordered to clean up their marketing campaigns so they are in compliance with industry rules and are then allowed to continue selling their products.
So, what are a young athlete and/or parent to do, knowing that that all of the outrageous claims by supplement companies are either false or grossly exaggerated?
Well, the answer is quite simple. Focus on what is proven, safe, realistic, and effective. Improving athletic performance boils down to three components:
- A sound nutrition program constructed from whole, nutrient dense, readily available, preferably organic foods. For your specific needs it is best to consult with a sports conditioning specialist or a sports nutrition consultant.
- A carefully designed and administered athletic strength & conditioning program. Several key factors will determine what the ideal training regimen for you should be. Again, it is best to consult with a sports conditioning specialist to determine your needs.
- Adequate rest. Your body can only get stronger, faster, and better if you give it the proper amount of rest. During rest time your body releases hormones and chemicals to help you rebuild and recharge. Some of these substances interact with certain components of the healthy foods you eat to achieve this.
For the record, I am not adverse to all nutritional supplements. There are some fantastic multi-vitamin & mineral products, nutritional shakes, nutrition bars and a few other basic products on the market which can be helpful as supplements to a well rounded, whole food, nutrition program.
Two websites to help you make better informed decisions about some of these helpful supplements are consumerlab.com and supplementwatch.com.
Remember the old adage, "If it sounds too good to be true, it most likely is.", when you see or hear these crazy advertisements because in reality, all you are seeing is a modern day snake oil presentation.
About the Author
Joey Atlas is the author of Controversial Secrets of a Personal Trainer and owner of GAC Personal Training in Ponte Vedra, FL.
Fitness Article: Are You Walking to the Right Beat?
By Richard Dafter – President, Howtobefit.com
Improving your quality of life, one heartbeat at a time
Have you ever heard someone say, "I have been walking almost every day and I still haven't lost the weight that I wanted to." Although there are many reasons to walk, I think that it would be fair to assume that in a society where two thirds of the population is either overweight or obese, weight management is surely one of the primary reasons.
Whether you walk to manage your weight, improve your fitness or you are using it as a conditioning activity for a sport or as a stepping stone to running, walking is as close as you can get to the perfect aerobic exercise. There are no lessons involved, no membership fees to pay, no facility to drive to, you don't need another player, it’s not seasonal and so forth and so on. At any time of day, virtually anywhere that you are, you can get in a walk.
Walking is also a very inexpensive activity. Except for making sure that you are wearing the right clothing for the conditions on any particular day, I would suggest that the only things that you need are a good pair of walking or running shoes and a heart rate monitor. And why a heart rate monitor you ask? For the very reason for which this article is entitled – to know whether you are walking to the right beat. Yes, heart rate is the determining factor in knowing whether you are maximizing your time and effort during your walks. If you are taking a casual stroll, no, you don't need to monitor your heart rate, but if, as I stated above, you have a specific intent for your walk – weight management, improving fitness and so forth – then you do indeed need to know what your heart is doing during these walks.
Let’s get back to our original question, which is whether you have ever heard someone say that they just weren't getting the results that they had expected from walking. Our response to the question would be that he or she isn't walking to the right beat and now I will explain why, by analyzing the good intentions of our imaginary friend, Wanda the Walker!
Wanda has managed to put on about 30 pounds and just isn't happy about it. She has finally made the commitment to bring her weight back down to where it should be and felt that walking would be a great way to do it. In Wanda’s case, she simply enjoys being outside and seeing and hearing the sights and sounds and getting fresh air. She also has a job with a company that understands the value of having employees that are fit and healthy and thereby happier and more productive. She has flexibility as to when she can walk, so she chose to use most of her lunch hour to walk and then to return to a healthy, light lunch so that she is more alert in the afternoon.
Wanda’s enthusiasm was as high as her intentions were good and she maintained her schedule and started seeing results. She walked the same two miles every day and returned to her office at the same time. But after a couple of weeks, Wanda didn't feel like she was getting the same benefit from her walk and wondered what was happening. Well, Wanda was walking alright, but not being mindful of her heart rate. You see, the heart is a muscle, just like any other muscle (okay, its not like just any other muscle, but you know what I mean) and Wanda’s heart muscle had adapted to what she was doing and now was not giving back the same results that it had been.
I often use the example of someone who lifts weights, in addition to aerobic exercise and good nutrition, to lose weight. For the same reason that you wouldn't choose to go out and walk ten miles on your first walk, you also wouldn't start doing biceps curls with a weight that you couldn't lift. You would start by lifting dumbbells that you could lift for a given number of repetitions and as you got stronger, you would go up to a higher weight that still allowed you to do the same number of repetitions. You accomplished this because your biceps got stronger and were no longer challenged by the lower weight.
And so it is with your heart. Within a short time, depending on the individual and how often you walk, among other factors, your heart will adapt to walking two miles in say, thirty minutes, and you will either have to start walking faster or walking farther to get the same benefit. Your heart rate average may have been, for example, 135 beats per minute for thirty minutes and now it is 120 bpm (beats per minute) for thirty minutes and potentially dropping you into a lower, less effective heart rate zone. For more information, see the article on our site about the Five Heart Rate Zones - www.howtobefit.com/five-heart-rate-zones.htm
But Wanda the Walker is a smart walker and once she started using a Polar heart rate monitor, she was accurately able to not only see her heart rate as she walked, but to also know her average heart rate at the end of her walk. By increasing her pace on the walk, she was able to again average 135 bpm and be in a more effective heart rate zone for her, but of course, for a shorter duration. Knowing that duration was important, Wanda decided to walk for 30:00 on some days at her effective 135 bpm average (this number is different for everyone and should be roughly 65% to 75% of your maximum heart rate, which can be determined by using the simple formula 220 – your age.) In time, Wanda’s heart again adapted and she able to walk even farther in 30:00 and seeing the potential for increased value from her walks, decided to extend them even further on her days off and on weekends.
It all really boils down to not whether you have rhythm, but rather, whether you have the right beat. If you walk, run, swim, do aerobics or engage in other cardiovascular activities to burn calories, you need to constantly monitor your heart with a heart rate monitor so that you can maximize your fat burning and the effectiveness of each and every workout that you do.
Howtobefit.com is a leading retailer of heart rate monitors from Polar. We have unbeatable prices on Polar heart rate monitors and the widest selection of Polar heart monitors on the Web. HUGE inventory of Polar heart rate monitor products including every Polar monitor and accessory manufactured by Polar.
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