Health and Fitness Blog

Are You Chasing A Mythical Body?

admin@UltraFitSystems.com — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:10:52 GMT

Just a quick note about how hard we work to get our bodies into shape and how quickly we get frustrated if we are not able to achieve the mythical proportions and looks of the fitness models in the magazines and advertisements we read.

We have been duped for years by 1-2 hour long training regimens and magazine articles about the routines many of the bodybuilders do, but in reality if you eat natural and don't take any steroids (which you shouldn't) you cannot achieve the same results. These are human freaks and drug addicts that synthetically achieve their results. Don't get me wrong they work hard, too hard, but it is not healthy. They do this for sport, or work but not for health.

Watch this short video clip and see what I mean:

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What Does "Organic" Mean?

admin@UltraFitSystems.com — Thu, 28 May 2009 13:44:00 GMT

Most of you know that in our Personal Training sessions we recommend that you eat lean meats, fruits and vegetables. And if possible you want to try and get all organic products. The only problem is that like many things in consumer products, the term is used in many forms due to weak law enforcement on its use and the different variations within the law that allow you to use the term "organic" under different circumstances.

Organic foods are grown without the use of chemical fertilizer or pesticides and have not been processed using irradiation or added hormones. Ideally this is the type of organic products you want to buy.

The law allows a wide dispersion on the use of the term as it applies to food products. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, products that are labeled “100 percent organic” must contain only organic ingredients. The only exception to this rule is water and salt. Products that are labeled “organic” must contain at least 95 percent organic ingredients. Lastly any products that are made with at least 70 percent organic ingredients are allowed to be labeled “made with organic ingredients".

Given the fact that organic foods can cost 2-3 times more than other similar food products you may want to focus on certain foods that would be much healthier and safer if consumed as organic products. According to the Environmental Working Group, a non-profit that advocates for cleaner safer foods, the worst offenders for toxic practices such as pesticides and fertilizers that you should seek organic options for are:

Apples
Celery
Cherries
Grapes (imported)
Lettuce
Nectarines
Peaches
Pears
Strawberries
Sweet bell peppers

FDA Warns Consumers to Stop Using Hydroxycut Weight-Loss Products

admin@UltraFitSystems.com — Mon, 04 May 2009 14:36:57 GMT

From ConsumerAffairs.com

Dietary supplements linked to one death; risk of liver injury

May 1, 2009
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers to immediately stop using Hydroxycut products after learning of a number of serious liver injuries. Iovate Health Sciences, the manufacturer, has agreed to recall Hydroxycut products from the market.

The FDA has received 23 reports of serious health problems ranging from jaundice and elevated liver enzymes, an indicator of potential liver injury, to liver damage requiring liver transplant. One death due to liver failure has been reported to the FDA. Other health problems reported include seizures; cardiovascular disorders; and rhabdomyolysis, a type of muscle damage that can lead to other serious health problems such as kidney failure.

Liver injury, although rare, was reported by patients at the doses of Hydroxycut recommended on the bottle. Symptoms of liver injury include jaundice (yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes) and brown urine. Other symptoms include nausea, vomiting, light-colored stools, excessive fatigue, weakness, stomach or abdominal pain, itching, and loss of appetite.

“The FDA urges consumers to discontinue use of Hydroxycut products in order to avoid any undue risk. Adverse events are rare, but exist. Consumers should consult a physician or other health care professional if they are experiencing symptoms possibly associated with these products,” said Linda Katz, M.D., interim chief medical officer of the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

Hydroxycut products are dietary supplements that are marketed for weight-loss, as fat burners, as energy-enhancers, as low carb diet aids, and for water loss under the Iovate and MuscleTech brand names. The list of products being recalled by Iovate currently includes:
• Hydroxycut Regular Rapid Release Caplets
• Hydroxycut Caffeine-Free Rapid Release Caplets
• Hydroxycut Hardcore Liquid Caplets
• Hydroxycut Max Liquid Caplets
• Hydroxycut Regular Drink Packets
• Hydroxycut Caffeine-Free Drink Packets
• Hydroxycut Hardcore Drink Packets (Ignition Stix)
• Hydroxycut Max Drink Packets
• Hydroxycut Liquid Shots
• Hydroxycut Hardcore RTDs (Ready-to-Drink)
• Hydroxycut Max Aqua Shed
• Hydroxycut 24
• Hydroxycut Carb Control
• Hydroxycut Natural

Although the FDA has not received reports of serious liver-related adverse reactions for all Hydroxycut products, Iovate has agreed to recall all the products listed above. Hydroxycut Cleanse and Hoodia products are not affected by the recall. Consumers who have any of the products involved in the recall are advised to stop using them and to return them to the place of purchase.

The agency has not yet determined which ingredients, dosages, or other health-related factors may be associated with risks related to these Hydroxycut products. The products contain a variety of ingredients and herbal extracts.

Do you have what it takes?

admin@UltraFitClinic.com — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 01:42:32 GMT

This is just a reminder to step up your game to meet your expectations. We try so hard to to make ourselves believe we are putting forth the effort needed to get the job done but truth be told we often fool ourselves into thinking we are working hard towards our goals when we are painfully missing our mark.

All of our clients reach their goals when they put everything they have into getting there. Your goal does not have to be unrealistic. If your goal is to promote healthy habits, stay active and live a disease free lifestyle then your training and nutrition may be different from someone who is trying to optimize their performance for sport. As such, only you know what you want and what you are willing to do to get there. But don't fool yourself into thinking you are doing something if you are not. Accept who you are or develop the discipline to change into what you want to be. And remember, health and fitness is a lifelong journey not a race.

When I was young, I joined one of the first health clubs chains in Chicago back in 1976. I had watched the guys who trained there since the 60's and 70's. I used to pass the gym on my way to the ice cream parlor and think that I wanted to do what they do. We all look at others and say we want what they have but are we willing to do what they did to get there? I started my health and fitness journey at age 13 and have changed paths along the way many times and always found a way to progress and to become energized in everything I do. I saw what others had achieved and was willing to put in the time and sacrifice to get there. When I don't prioritize my goals, I don't achieve them. It's that simple. We can lead you but you have to decide what your level of energy and desire is. You will get what you put in to your training, nutrition and overall health.

One of the ways we can energize ourselves is to observe others and to watch things that make us feel good about what we are doing. I used to like to watch many of the Rocky movies and still do. There was something in the intensity of the training that I always liked. Now when I watch it I know what it was, Rocky did CrossFit style routines. He used old school tools to get fit and made whole body workouts his main training. Beating on large sides of beef, lifting heavy barbells overhead, running fast and sprinting through the city, chopping down trees and lifting large barrels... He was a CrossFitter at heart. This has been the way I trained for many years before I new what CrossFit was. So get energized, recommit and focus on your goals. Here is a little old school incentive to get you there:

Diet Pills

admin@UltraFitSystems.com — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 00:24:53 GMT

What works and what doesn't work

Just a quick comment here for all of you that are constantly asking me about what diet pills work and which ones don't. The reality is that almost all diet pills don't work for one main reason:

When they do work it means that it is taking the body out of homeostasis which means that it is changing the chemistry of the body. When you change the chemistry of the body you are classified as a drug. The big drug companies spend 10 years and billions of dollars testing drugs just to pass the FDA requirements for human use through medical prescriptions. This costs them a ton of money and they are not going to let any old Joe to come up with a product that really works and not force them through the same hoops they go through. So they act as the FDA's police force reporting those over the counter miracle cures that are changing the body.

This is not such a bad thing as often these drugs can cause all kinds of problems such as irregular heartbeats, fainting and organ damage. Ephedra, Herbal Phen-Fen and St. Johns Wort are the prime examples of weight loss drugs sold over the counter in the past that actually help in weight loss. The FDA banned the sale of ephedra-containing supplements on April 12, 2004 and all the miracle weight loss products on the market that used it scrambled and most settled on plain old caffeine as their active ingredient. Caffeine is the active ingredient in many weight loss products such as Hydroxycut. I can't tell you how many people I know that took Hydroxycut that had heart problems, fainting, and a host of other issues. I know the drug companies have been known to tell a tale or two about their testing results, but the over the counter market does no testing to speak of and represents the wild wild west in snake oil potions and miracle cures. As of May 1st many of the Hydroxycut products have been recalled by the FDA:

FDA Warns Consumers to Stop Using Hydroxycut Weight-Loss Products

There are currently 32 known species of ephedra, ephedra sinica (Ma Huang) and ephedra viridis (Mormon Tea) being the two most commonly used varieties. Ephedrine is the the active ingredient in ephedra. Not all varieties of ephedra contain Ephedrine. Ephedra sinica has strongest concentration of ephedrine while ephedra viridis usually contains no ephedrine alkaloid.

Ephedra (also known as Ma huang, Chinese Ephedra and epitonin) is one of the oldest medicines known to man. It was discovered in China more than 5000 years ago. Ephedra has been shown to increase metabolism and help promote weight loss. In addition, it relaxes the air passages in the lungs to help treat asthma and the common cough, promotes perspiration which assists the body in recovery from minor colds and it promotes urination to help relieve fluid retention.

Ephedra has been widely researched for its thermogenic (fat burning) qualities. Research has shown that ephedra promotes fat loss while sparing lean muscle tissue a problem in most diets and weight loss products.

Herbal Phen-Fen, a popular herbal formulation used for dieting, is a combination of ephedra and St. Johns Wort. Phen-Phen was taken off the market but St. John's Wort is still available but is more effective in the treatment of depression than weight loss. Additionally the manufacturers of these products are learning not to put very much active ingredient in the pills so as not to reach a point that the pill is really doing anything for fear they get taken of the shelf as well.

A popular stack called ECA (ephedra, caffeine, aspirin) had been used by bodybuilders to burn fat, and increase energy.

It is believed that the alkaloids in ephedra are the main active ingredient that gives ephedra its fat burning abilities. Alkaloids are a stimulant that speeds up the metabolism. The FDA banned alkaloid containing natural ephedra for use in dietary supplements but it didn't ban ephedra varities which have less effectiveness. (In other words alkaloid containing natural ephedra cannot be used as tea, in Oriental medicine or produced by the pharmaceutical industry.)

So if they do not work then nobody cares. The FDA does not care as long as the manufacturers or retailers are not making crazy claims about curing diseases and the big drug companies do not care because they have no scientific proof that it is doing anything to the body to report you for to get you removed from the shelves. And most of the time if it does not work it will not sell very well as they won't be able to afford the ad dollars to promote the commercials or Internet ads.

So to recap, if it works it will probably be dangerous to your health as it is untested and it will get removed from the shelf because people will be reporting massive success with the product or lots of complaints about side effects. If it does not work the product will probably remain on the shelf as long as the manufacturer can make a profit.

So don't be stupid, save your money and go with things that are known to be safe, natural and effective. Increasing meal frequency, higher fiber content and low glycemic index foods are examples of low hanging fruit that will pay off in weight loss and better overall health. The most safe and natural way that science has proven to raise your metabolism is with natural herbs and spices found in our everyday foods which is a whole article in itself. That being said, one of the most effective ways to naturally speed up the metabolism is with Green Tea. It has been proven to raise the caloric burn rate and protect the body from many diseases. So forget the snake oil and go natural!

Where Do You Get Your Nutritional Information? Why Doctors Aren't Always the Best Nutrition Advisors

admin@UltraFitSystems.com — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 20:49:45 GMT

If you are like most people;

You pick up your information off the street from friends and colleagues who have never studied or trained in the human biological sciences
If you are really concerned about getting good information you might check the Internet
And if you are in need of 100% correct information you go to your doctor.

I won’t comment on 1. or 2. But by commenting on 3. You can decide about the information you get in 1. and 2.

The following is an abstract and summary from a study by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition:

Background: Numerous entreaties have been made over the past2 decades to improve the nutrition knowledge and skills of medicalstudents and physicians. However, most graduating medical studentscontinue to rate their nutrition preparation as inadequate.

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The Poisoning Of Our Food System

admin@UltraFitSystems.com — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 20:36:36 GMT

Many of you know that I have several rules that I use as a basic foundation for my eating habits. If you have not seen them, I will display them at the end of this post. The main goal of those rules is to try and keep your foods as unprocessed and as natural as possible. I understand in a fast paced world this is not always possible, but we should try and eat healthy at least 90% of the time. That means if you eat 6 meals and snacks a day or 42 per week, you could eat less healthy about 6 times that week.

That being said, there are some things you just should steer clear of such as chemicals that don't belong in foods, such as the ones you can't even pronounce or items such as dyes and coloring. The body can't use this stuff and eventually the liver and kidneys will have to filter it out and it may even do cellular damage in the meantime.

In addition, a study posted in The New England Journal of Medicine a couple of years ago declared trans-fats as toxic in very low quantities to our system. Low is defined as 1-3 grams. You can get over 10 grams in a small french fries! That is why they have called for the outlaw of this substance. Many European nations have already banned trans-fats from their food system.

Many of you know that I recommend staying away from High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS). I know what you are saying, it is in everything and the medical community including the dieticians keep saying they can't find much wrong with it other than it is another empty calorie that we don't need. Well, this past week they found something wrong with it. The report, published on the web site of the Minneapolis-based nonprofit Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), shows detectable levels of mercury in 17 out of 55 tested products rich in high-fructose corn syrup. I don't have to tell you of the toxic dangers of mercury do I? Do you remember the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland? The term was coined due to mercury that was once used in the lining of certain hats like top hats which leached into the body through the skin causing people to go crazy as mercury damages the brain.

Well, guess what? We have been eating this stuff in a lot of our food for years, and although the process that produces mercury induced HFCS is all but gone in 90% of the US manufacturers, much of our food ingredients are globally sourced and it is still being used in other parts of the world as well as in the United States.

The research group purchased 55 products that list high-fructose corn syrup first or second on their list of ingredients, which means high-fructose corn syrup was a leading ingredient in those products.

They found detectable mercury in 17 of 55 samples, or around 31% of the products tested. These were products on the shelf during the fall of 2008.

Here is the list of those products:

Quaker Oatmeal to Go bars
Jack Daniel's Barbecue Sauce
Hershey's Chocolate Syrup
Kraft Original Barbecue Sauce
Nutri-Grain Strawberry Cereal Bars
Manwich Gold Sloppy Joe
Market Pantry Grape Jelly
Smucker's Strawberry Jelly
Pop-Tarts Frosted Blueberry
Hunt's Tomato Ketchup
Wish-Bone Western Sweet & Smooth Dressing
Coca-Cola Classic: no mercury found on a second test
Yoplait Strawberry Yogurt
Minute Maid Berry Punch
Yoo-hoo Chocolate Drink
Nesquik Chocolate Milk
Kemps Fat Free Chocolate Milk

Do not be fooled into thinking these are the only products that have this problem. They only tested 55 and there are on average thousands of products on our shelves that contain HFCS. This is a big problem which every food manufacturer will deny or admit that the levels are permissible by law and not dangerous. The problem is that HFCS is in everything, just check your ingredient labels. Our children get tons of it all day, especially in some ketchups which they tend to put on everything. As such as consumers we need to be aware of not just the one product but the total daily consumption as mercury accumulates in the system and is difficult to get rid of.

So what kind of Russian Roulette do you want to play with your health and the health of the innocent child that relies on you to keep them safe from harm? They need you to make good decisions for them until they are able to think and fend for themselves. A quick tip, Heinz makes an organic ketchup that does not have HFCS.

One last comment if you think that the food industry has your best interest at mind... Peanut Butter... the item all our kids eat has been tainted and evidence is mounting the the company that sold it may of known about it and let it go out. Their peanut plant in Texas was unlicensed for 3 years and has been shut down. The CEO was called in by a congressional committee and the CEO has pleaded the 5th, no comment...

Rules for healthy food consumption:

No trans fats (hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils)
No artificial sugars
No high fructose corn syrup
Reduce or eliminate caffeine - Drink Green or White tea
Consume 35 grams of fiber daily
Consume low glycemic load carbohydrates
Sleep at least 7 (adults) - 9 (children) hours per night
Consume a multivitamin daily
Get at least 500-1000 mg of vitamin C daily
Get at least 1200-1500 mg of Calcium daily
Consume foods high in Omega 3's
Reduce consumption of Red meats - lean meats only
Reduce refined sugars and carbohydrates
Increase whole grain foods instead of white processed flour
Consume 5-6 meals per day (3 meals and 2 snacks)
Consume organic meats and produce, eliminate chemicals and hormones
Avoid artificial food dyes
Drink approximately 1/2 your body weight in ounces of water daily
Reduce saturated fats to 10% or less of caloric intake
Do not skip meals and do not fast
Always eat breakfast and make it your largest meal of the day
Eat as soon as possible after exercise to expedite muscular recovery

Bonking - Running Out Of Juice

admin@UltraFitSystems.com — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 15:52:04 GMT

Many clients don not understand the term "bonking" when I first use it with them. It was originally a term coined by runners to describe what happens to them after a long run where the body runs out of fuel and is no longer capable of movement. Much like a car that runs out of gasoline, the body has depleted its ready sources of glucose and is unable to adequately create energy from fats or glucose at that point and begins to shut down.

This phenomenon normally happens to marathon runners but it most commonly happens to 90% of the population in a much more mild form when they begin any new exercise regimen. That shakiness you get 5, 10 or 15 minutes into your new exercise program that makes you feel unstable on your feet and unable to finish your routine comes from a lack of glucose or more properly in this case an inability to convert glucose or fat into energy fast enough to fuel the demand being made on the muscle tissue.

Sadly, this is a result of a severe deconditioned state and indeed affects as much as 90% of the population if we were to get them all started in an exercise program today. The reason for this is why we have such an increase in Type II diabetes today. We use our muscles so little in our sedentary lifestyles, that they have no reason to store glucose for ready energy in the muscle tissues (commonly called glycogen storage). The tissue becomes insulin resistant meaning it will no longer allow insulin to feed glucose up to the tissue since it does not need it. As such all the energy you eat (fats and carbs) are then just stored as fat in your body rather than being stored in the muscle tissue for energy. In addition the body becomes very inefficient in converting these fat stores back to readily usable energy and therefor the body is incapable of completing its physical task.

In a marathon runner, they totally deplete the body of this energy even though they are highly trained and have very efficient storage and burning mechanisms. The end result is the same, bonking. They are unable to create movement due to a lack of fuel in the body. In the case of the rest of the population, they are cut short in the early stages of their exercise routines as they don't have efficient storage mechanisms and they are unable to convert fat to energy fast enough to fuel their bodies. The result again is bonking. This is what causes many people to try an exercise program once and then just stop because they believe it is too hard.

The reality is if you just accept your short-term limitations and don't push past that point initially you will quickly begin to overcome this problem starting with your very next workout. After the first workout your muscle tissue immediately begins adaptation by taking in more fuel (glucose) than they normally would for the new increased challenge demanded of them. Although slight at first, the muscle tissue rapidly becomes better at storing energy and at converting fat to fuel its movements within even a few short workouts.

In our gym, this problem normally happens in the first few days while performing our warm-ups. The client quickly runs out of fuel and is unable to complete the warm-up routines but this is designed to be this way. The initial days of new training are meant to reeducate the muscle tissue to begin to store more glucose, burn fats better and develop neuromuscular pathways from the brain to improve form and technique. So don't let what is normal distract you from your goals. Take it one step at a time as you quickly begin to move through your entire workout routines with no problem. When you reach this point you will be storing more energy in the muscles and less as fat causing you to be leaner and more energetic.

See Pre-Workout Nutrition

See Post-Workout Nutrition

Bean Salad

admin@UltraFitSystems.com — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 04:43:57 GMT

Folks, how hard is this? I got home at 7:30 PM after a long day at work that started at 6:00 AM. I am hungry and I need something fast and healthy...

2 Cans of Garbanzo Beans
2 Cans of Kidney Beans
2 Cans of White AlbacoreTuna
4 Scallions
2 Tomatoes
1/4 Cup of Olive Oil
1/8 Cup of Balsamic Vinegar
Oregano, Sea Salt, Fresh Ground Pepper and Garlic to taste

Toss and Serve - 10 minutes preparation time
4 Servings

Top Ten Reasons To Have A Personal Trainer

admin@UltraFitSystems.com — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 13:52:01 GMT

Alright, this topic is overdone. So why do we want to mention for the millionth time why you should have a personal trainer? Because you know what the right path is, but you have not made the move yet. How do we know? The odds are with us unfortunately, that you are not exercising regularly even though you may have joined lots of gyms. You seem to get bored with your personal training routines and decide to opt-out after 2-8 weeks on average. So let’s see if we can come up with some good reasons why you should be doing personal training in Tempe or at our Clarendon location utilizing our personal trainers to guide you through your efforts.

1.    Have you visited your local gym and been totally confused on where to start and how to use the machines? You likely just went to the treadmill where you felt comfortable and jogged or walked for 10-15 minutes, roamed around a little and left. You need a personal trainer

2.    Do you rise up on your toes when you squat? Go ahead, try it, I’ll wait… or do you push through the heels activating the entire posterior chain? Do you even know what the heck we are talking about? If not, you need a personal trainer.

3.    Are you working those biceps hard? Seeing some gains in arm size? Seeing no gains in shrinking your waist size? You need a personal trainer.

4.    You like to work the chest and arms, but you hate working the legs and core. The Chinese say, what you don’t like is what you need. You need a personal trainer.

5.    Have you ever done a pull-up? Can you do one now? Been using the Graviton at the gym and still can’t do a pull-up. Everyone can do a pull-up if you are trained properly. You need a personal trainer.

6.    You are squatting 300 pounds, but you never come down lower than 45 degrees. Then you are not squatting 300 pounds, you are moving 300 pounds very little distance. Let’s not even discuss this. You need a personal trainer.

7.    Have you been doing core training? Can you hang from a bar and bring your feet straight up so your toes touch the bar? If not your core training is not working. You need a personal trainer.

8.    Have you been doing functional training? When was the last time you did a heavy deadlift or push press overhead? Can you squat down so your butt hits your calves like you see the local tribes people do on all those documentaries you watch about indigenous people of the Amazon? When was the last time you did these exercises for moderately heavy reps of 21? If you are not picking things off of the floor, putting them overhead and squatting down then you are not doing functional training. It doesn’t get any more functional than that. You need a personal trainer.

9.    Do you know that your best window of opportunity to eat carbohydrates and protein is within 30-60 minutes post workout? Do you know why and if you miss this opportunity you will likely not comeback as fully charged in your next workout? Do you know why the calories on the label do not reflect the actual calories you digest and that some should not be counted? Do you know that just because the label says that it has no trans fats that it still may actually contain trans fats? The list just goes on and on… if you don’t know these things, you need a personal trainer.

10.    Alright there is all the other good stuff like accountability, guidance, support… yada, yada, yada… but we know that most people are not getting results. There are 40 million gym memberships in this country and obesity and disease just keeps rising. The system is broke and it just does not work. Our system works because we use science and experience and it is fun. We don’t expect you to have an expertise in either of these two areas and we know that very few people know how to create an addictive game out of their workouts. Well we do. You do what you do best and we do what we do best. We use CrossFit methodologies, which means we have one of the best systems on earth, but how do you start it? The www.CrossFit.com website has gotten so big that it is hard for a beginner to know where to begin. We can teach you a focused step by step approach to learning the CrossFit system and scale the program to your needs and abilities. But to do this, let’s say it again… you need a personal trainer.

Call us to inquire about your personal training program today. We have personal training packages in both Tempe and The Clarendon to fit you. Don’t wait because none of the reasons above are changing anytime soon and neither will you if you don’t call.

Health and Fitness Blog

Are You Chasing A Mythical Body?

What Does "Organic" Mean?

FDA Warns Consumers to Stop Using Hydroxycut Weight-Loss Products

Dietary supplements linked to one death; risk of liver injury

Do you have what it takes?

Diet Pills

What works and what doesn't work

Where Do You Get Your Nutritional Information? Why Doctors Aren't Always the Best Nutrition Advisors

The Poisoning Of Our Food System

Rules for healthy food consumption:

Bonking - Running Out Of Juice

Bean Salad

Top Ten Reasons To Have A Personal Trainer

Personal Training Tempe | Personal Training Midtown