Recipe of The Week

Beef Hash

This is a quick, easy recipe. Great for a cold night!

Ingredients

* 1 pound ground beef
* 1/2 large red onion, chopped
* 1 pound potatoes, cut into small chunks
* 1 Can Low Sodium Beef Broth
* 1 Can Corn
* 4 Medium Carrots Chopped

Directions

1. Brown beef and onion in a large saucepan until meat is no longer pink. Add potatoes, carrots, corn, and broth.
2. Cover saucepan, lower heat and let simmer for 30 minutes, until potatoes are tender and water has reduced/evaporated.

Fuel Your Body Like a Rolls Royce

If I were Bill Gates rich I would probably purchase a Rolls Royce Phantom. If your not familiar with that car do a quick google search and check it out because to me it's about the most luxurious car you can purchase. And it should be considering a price tag of $380,000. Now when you own a luxury vehicle most people probably use a premium gasoline to fuel it right? So why not fuel your body with premium fuel as well?

Your body is very much like that expensive car in that when you don't give it premium fuel it doesn't run as well. The best premium foods you can feed your body are lean protein sources, healthy unprocessed grains, and healthy fats. By using these foods as fuel sources your body will run efficiently and be more likely to ward off disease and sickness. Not only does healthy food strengthen your immune system it will help you perform better in the gym. If you have 2 athletes with similar skills and abilities I guarantee you can make one athlete superior by feeding him a healthy diet so why not do that for yourself. A few tips on food and nutrition to help you along in your fitness journey!

1) Calories Do Matter- It's not the only part of the equation but you must be calorie conscious when trying to lose weight.

2) Stay On The Perimeter at the Grocery- The perimeter of any grocery store is where you should spend the majority of your money. Think about it all the fresh produce, meat, and dairy is kept on the perimeter. The unhealthy processed foods are in the aisles.

3) Don't Go To The Grocery Hungry- This is a gimme but everyone needs a reminder sometimes. Going to the grocery hungry usually results in bad food decisions.

4) Think High Volume, Low Calories- Vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower take up a lot of space for the amount of calories they provide. 1 cup of cooked broccoli is ~20 calories while another healthy choice is brown rice weighing in at ~200 for the same amount. Both great choices but a big difference in calories.

Merry Ugly Christmas Sweater Party!

This past weekend I attended our 4th Annual Ugly Christmas Sweater Party. My friends and I have thrown this party around Christmas the past few years and I am still amazed the sweaters some people come up with! Here is a pic of from the party.

Recipe of The Week

Guacamole


Now I know everyone has holiday parties to attend and if you have to bring an appetizer you can't go wrong with Guacamole. Avocado's are a great source of healthy fat and not too mention you've got Christmas colors when you add the tomatoes. You ask me it's perfect. Enjoy!


Ingredients

* 3 avocados - peeled, pitted, and mashed
* 1 lime, juiced
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup diced onion
* 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
* 2 roma (plum) tomatoes, diced
* 1 teaspoon minced garlic
* 1 pinch ground cayenne pepper (optional)

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, mash together the avocados, lime juice, and salt. Mix in onion, cilantro, tomatoes, and garlic. Stir in cayenne pepper. Refrigerate 1 hour for best flavor, or serve immediately.

5 Ways To Guarantee Holiday Weight Gain!

I love sarcasm and hopefully you do too. If not these surefire ways to gain weight over the holidays probably isn't for you. Enjoy.

1.Bill from accountings wife bakes those delicious cupcakes so be sure and devour one every time you pass the breakroom on the way to the restroom or watercooler. I'm sure they are fat and sugar free and will help keep your weight down during the holiday season. Realistically: Totally avoid the breakroom that way you won't see them. Out of sight out of mind.

2.Be sure to always opt for that extra glass of wine at each and every holiday party you attend. Not only is alcohol low in calories, but I'm sure it will give you that extra pep in your step to get to the gym early the next morning. Realistically: You'll have plenty of other opportunities to drown your holiday sorrows at the family dinner so maybe only limit yourself to one glass of wine.

3.Ask your boss if there is any extra work to do before the year ends. Since stress really doesn't affect you, especially when you have your in-laws in town, the extra work and stress won't sabotage your efforts to get to the gym or eat healthy. Realistically: Be careful what you commit to holidays always bring extra time restraints, so be sure to balance your schedule.

4.When your shopping for holiday snacks always choose the jumbo pack of holiday cookies. Your certain all your guests will eat them anyway leaving you to eat the healthy stuff in the house. Realistically: Don't buy the jumbo pack at all instead buy the smaller pack that way there aren't as many leftovers to tempt you later.

5.Starve yourself all day leading up to the big family feast that way you can pig out and other than feeling like a beached whale you'll feel a sense of accomplishment by not going over your caloric limit. Realistically: Don't plan on eating any differently than you do on any other day that way when the holiday meal comes you aren't in the mindset of “I already blew it with the 24 cookies at work may as well keep it going”

HIIT

HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING

I get asked all the time “What is the most effective fat burning cardio workout I can do?” And the answer is pretty simple HIIT or high intensity interval training. If you've never heard of it or never tried it I'll give you a brief overview as well as a sample program you can try on your own.

So what is HIIT exactly you ask. HIIT is bouts of high intensity exercise for a specified period of time followed by bouts of low-medium intensity exercise. I usually do a work to rest ratio of 1:2 so if 1 minute is my work period my rest period would be 2 minutes. For this particular example let's say I'm planning on doing 7 work periods. That means 7 minutes of high intensity exercise with approximately 12 minutes of low-medium intensity exercise between those work periods. Add on a few minutes of warm-up and cool down time and you have a wicked effective fat burning workout in under 30 minutes.

Now the times and number of work periods are the variable you can play with. There is no magic number to plug in, but I would recommend shooting for at least 15 minutes of total work. The mode of exercise can be changed as well. You can use the same basic system and change the mode(bike, treadmill, or elliptical) to avoid boredom. Also changing the times and number of work periods provides yet another variable that can help fight boredom. I know when I'm doing intervals my cardio workouts go by rather quickly.

Now this method of cardio is not suited for everyone, but if your looking for a change give it shot. Also if you are a beginner be sure and keep your times and work periods relatively short until you build up enough of a cardiovascular base to handle longer duration workouts.

Sample HIIT Workout

Mode: Treadmill

Working Period: 20 Seconds at 7.5 Treadmill Speed
Rest Period: 40 Seconds at 3.0 Treadmill Speed
Total Repetitions: 15

3 Minute Warm-Up
Minute 1 :20 Seconds at 7.5 :40 Seconds at 3.0
Minute 2 :20 Seconds at 7.5 :40 Seconds at 3.0
Minute 3 :20 Seconds at 7.5 :40 Seconds at 3.0
Minute 4 :20 Seconds at 7.5 :40 Seconds at 3.0
Minute 5 :20 Seconds at 7.5 :40 Seconds at 3.0
And so on for 15 minutes
3 Minute Cool Down

If you have any questions or want more information on HIIT shoot me an email at ian@essentialfitnessSTL.com

Recipe of The Week

It's that time of year and I can't help but put up another chilli recipe. This is most definitely Essential Fitness approved seeing as it has tons of veggies in it, but can certainly be spiced up with some meat or would be fine just the way it is.

Rainbow Veggie Chilli

Ingredients

* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 zucchini, sliced
* 1 yellow squash, sliced
* 1 red bell pepper, diced
* 1 green bell pepper, diced
* 1 fresh jalapeno pepper, diced
* 4 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 onion, chopped
* 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes, with liquid
* 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
* 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
* 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
* 1 (15 ounce) can chili beans in spicy sauce, undrained
* 1 tablespoon chili powder
* 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
* 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Stir in zucchini, yellow squash, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, jalapeno, garlic, and onion. Cook 5 minutes, just until tender.

2. Mix tomatoes with liquid, tomato paste, black beans, corn, and chili beans in spicy sauce into the pot. Season with chili powder, oregano, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Recipe from allrecipes.com

PUMPKIN Workout For Charity!

Essential Fitness Presents…

HALLOWEEN BOOTCAMP 1.0

Featuring The Freaky Fat Loss Total Body PUMP-kin Workout!

Essential Fitness is happy to announce our first annual Halloween Charity Boot Camp. The workout will cost $15/attendee and all proceeds will go to the Missouri Humane Society. We’re looking to provide a killer workout before the holiday while supporting a good cause.

The event will be 2 hours consisting of a 60 minute group workout which ALL exercises will use your pumpkin! Followed by another 60 minutes of fun activites which include a raffle for tons of great prizes, protein shake samples, lots of great giveaways, and lots more.

We are proud to announce that we have also paired with 2 other St. Louis area based fitness boot camps. With our three boot camps partnering together, we will be able to raise more money for the Humane Society. Steve Long, owner of Complete Fitness Results, and Jared Woolover, owner of Edwardsville Better Body Boot Camps, has agreed to work with us in supporting a good cause. So if you know anyone in the Edwardsville Illinois area looking for a good workout, please send this info their way.

Here are some of the details you may need to know:

When: Saturday October 31st, 2009 at 11 AM.

Where: Christ Church Cathedral 1210 Locust Street St. Louis MO, 63103

What to Wear: Costumes are optional. You can be as simple or as elaborate as you want, but please remember you need to be able to move in it. Wear orange or black if you do not wear a costume.

What to Bring: Your own pumpkin! Females/smaller individuals should bring a medium sized pumpkin (about 10 lbs.) and men/larger individuals should bring a large one (about 20 lbs.). A water bottle is also a good idea.

If you would like to pay in cash, please send an email to ian@esssentialfitnessSTL.com and in the subject line put “Pumpkin Workout” and you will be contacted.

If you have any questions please send an email, or call 314.878.1348.

This will be a fun workout for a great cause! I look forward to seeing you there!

Recipe of The Week

Cajun Chicken Pasta

Yet another Essential Fitness approved recipe!

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)
4 ounces linguine whole wheat pasta
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, sliced into thin strips
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
4 fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 green onion, minced
1 1/2 cups evaporated milk
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon lemon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS
1.Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add linguini whole wheat pasta, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente; drain.
2.Meanwhile, place chicken and Cajun seasoning in a bowl, and toss to coat.
3.In a large skillet over medium heat, saute chicken in olive oil until no longer pink and juices run clear, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add green and red bell peppers, sliced mushrooms and green onions; cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce heat, and stir in evaporated milk. Season the sauce with basil, lemon pepper, salt, garlic powder and ground black pepper, and heat through.
4.In a large bowl, toss whole wheat linguini with sauce. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.

Modified from allrecipes.com

Working Hard to Get Nowhere!

I can't put a value on the importance of a healthy diet. With my most dedicated of clients I have only 3 maybe 4 hours of contact with them a week that leaves them with somewhere in the neighborhood of 164 unsupervised hours to undo everything they worked towards.

While your workouts are the tool to shape and sculpt your body the true progress is made outside of the gym. If you've ever known a competitive bodybuilder you'll hear them say at some point that abs are made in the kitchen not the gym and that rings just as true for significant weight loss. Understanding your eating habits and your triggers for unhealthy eating are just as important as getting in consistent workouts.

For most people I meet with the exercise part comes easier than supportive eating. So a couple of quick tips to help you eat supportively.

1) Small changes equal big results-By focusing your effort on one small change each week over the course of a few weeks you can make a big impact on your healthy eating plan. For example drinking more water. And don't just say "I'll drink more water." Make it quantifiable like I will drink 64 ounces of water each day for the next week.

2) There is no place for fast food in a healthy eating plan.- Plain and simple if you want to lose weight don't event think about setting foot in one of these establishments. Most of us struggle with the willpower to say no in these places so why even test yourself.

3)Don't Catastrophize When You Cheat.- So many people get in the mindset of "Oh I ate like crap Friday night I might as well just scrap the whole weekend and start fresh on Monday" Why not just start fresh the next morning. One bad meal is not going to blow your whole weight loss effort just get back in the saddle and refocus.

Dedicated to Your Health,

Ian

Exercise of The Week

Recipe of The Week

This sounds delicious to me but I am also a lover of anything pumpkin!

Pumpkin Turkey Chili

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
* 1 cup chopped onion
* 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
* 1/2 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 1 pound ground turkey
* 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
* 2 cups pumpkin puree
* 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
* 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1 dash salt
* 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
* 1/2 cup sour cream



1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and saute the onion, green bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, and garlic until tender. Stir in the turkey, and cook until evenly brown. Drain, and mix in tomatoes and pumpkin. Season with chili powder, pepper, and salt. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes. Serve topped with Cheddar cheese and sour cream.

This recipe is from www.allrecipes.com

Easy and Realistic Tips for Weight Loss

This week I'm featuring a guest blog post by my friend and colleague Steve Long. He is the owner of Complete Fitness Results in Brentwood, MO. Check out what he has to say on weight loss.



I’m going to be real blunt in this post about fat loss. Losing weight does not have to be a battle. There are so many different diets and weight loss plans out there that it can become confusing on what you are supposed to do. I would like to explain a few basic weight loss tips that can make your weight loss plan easy and less time consuming.

Don’t Eat Like Your Overweight

People ask me everyday what is the best advice I can give them for weight loss. I almost always say simply “don’t eat like a fat person”. You know exactly what I’m talking about. Don’t over eat. Don’t eat candy and sugar laden foods. Don’t eat deep fried things etc. You know what you can and can not eat. The key is to not eat these things often, you can still have fried chicken, just not everyday. You have to make 90% of your meals in a week healthy.

Realize Food Is Not God or Crack

So many of the population treat food as though it is god or a drug. It’s just food. It’s fuel for your body, or tool to make you look the way you want. You would not use a hammer to unscrew a screw, you would use a screwdriver. Don’t use the wrong tool for weight loss, and don’t glorify food as something more than it is.

Not every meal that you eat is going to be the best meal you have ever had. It is not your last meal. You will live to eat another delicious meal, so don’t be hung up on every single meal you eat being the best and most tasty meal you have ever had. Eat for results not happiness.

If you were a recovering crack user it would be best to stay away from a crack house right? So if you have problems saying no to bad foods stay away. Don’t buy junk at the grocery store, stay out of bars, and don’t even set foot inside a chinese buffet. Once you build up a little more willpower and realize that healthy food is what you really want, because it brings the results you really want, it will be much easier to be around it. Until then, stay away.

Structure Your Diet

Its best to have some sort of meal guideline to stick to so you can stay focused. The easiest way for me to make sure my meals are in check is my following a simple formula.

My specific formula is that all my meals must have 20 percent protein, have around 400 calories, should include at least one veggie, fruit, or nuts, and I must eat at 5-6 times per day. That is 2000 – 2400 calories per day which is exactly what I need for weight loss. If I follow that I know I’m going to be fine.

Plan Your Tomorrow Today

The most important thing you can do is to be prepared and plan. Every night before I go to bed I think about where I’m going to be the next day and what I’m going to eat. I plan my workout time and stick to it. If I’m going to be somewhere that I will not have a food option that sticks to my plan I’ll bring a small cooler or protein bar. I will not have an excuse to eat bad if I am prepared for the worst.

Exercise The Right Way For Weight Loss

I see a lot of people in the gym trying to lose weight by working out like a bodybuilder or barely working out at all.

If you are the doing a split routine or slowly walking on a treadmill to lose weight, you are wasting your time! Full body resistance training mixed with high intensity cardio is the way to go. I could talk for days on the benefits of resistance training and the benefits of cardio, but the point is that you have to do both. Just make sure your weights are challenging and you are pushing yourself with the cardio. If all that you can do at this point is walk, walk as fast as you can. Workout hard for 20-30 minutes instead of working out for hours. That way your workouts are not such a big deal. Its just a small part of your day.

These are just a few basic tips. Please leave any tips you have for weight loss in the comments section below.

Recipe of The Week

This is seriously one of my favorite recipes. My mom sent this to me quite a while back and I eat it about once a month! I usually pair it with some couscous and it makes for a rather delicious meal.


Chicken with Prosciutto and Mushrooms



8 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves 2 to 2 ½ lbs.

2 tbsp olive oil

8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced

2 tbsp thinly sliced fresh basil or ¾ tsp dried basil

1 glove garlic, minced

2 oz. prosciutto, coarsely chopped

2 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped

1/3 cup shredded asiago or parmesan cheese



1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Season chicken lightly with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken, half at a time; brown 2-3 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to 3-quart rectangular baking dish; bake, uncovered, 20 minutes or until done.



2. Meanwhile, in same skillet cook mushrooms, basil and garlic, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are tender; remove from heat. Stir in prosciutto and tomatoes.



3. Remove chicken from over; spoon mushroom mixture over each breast. Sprinkle with cheese. Return to oven; bake 5 minutes more.



4. Serves 4.



5. 211 calories, 2g carbohydrate, 29g protein, 9g fat (38% calories from fat), 1 g fiber, 81 mg cholesterol, 244 mg sodium.

An Experience in The Grocery.

I was getting ready to check out at my local grocery just the other day when I decided to analyze what the couple in front of me was purchasing. I think my initial curiosity was due to the fact that both the husband and wife were significantly overweight. The child they had in tow was probably not obese yet, but the years of bad eating had already taken a noticeable toll on the child's weight as well.

In looking over the conveyor belt full of food the first thing I noticed was the only legitimate source of protein was bacon. Now anyone who knows me well enough knows I love me some bacon from time to time, but seriously of all the choices of protein we all know bacon is not at the top of the list.

I was also compelled to look at the total cost of their grocery trip which was almost $300, mostly which consisted of muffins, white bread, pop tarts, and any other type of refined carbohydrate imaginable. The kicker was the so called diet foods I noticed like 100 calorie packs and light dressing, which usually just give people a false sense of healthy eating.

Now I don't have any idea if they were purchasing groceries for more than one child, or when exactly they would return to the grocery for another such trip. However, I do know that I shopped for a week's worth of food for myself and spent approximately $35.

Many people say that it's expensive to eat healthy and I'll agree to some extent that healthy foods can be a little more expensive, but if your smart, resourceful, and dedicated to improving your health you can make it work.

The bottom line is that if you're serious about getting healthy and losing weight you've got to be ready to commit 100% to the task at hand!

Leave me a comment if you've had a similar experience.

Exercise of The Week

Dumbbell Pullover

Recipe of The Week

This week's recipe is compliments of my good friend Steve Payne who runs the hottest boot camp in Houston Texas. Check out his blog here


Salmon Risotto Salad


2-1/2 c. risotto
3 Knorr fish cubes
6 c. water
4 cloves minced garlic
¼ c. white wine
2 T. olive oil

Sauté risotto and garlic in olive oil until nicely coated. Heat water; dissolve fish cubes in it; add white wine. Slowly add to risotto, ½ at a time, cooking and stirring until all is absorbed. Cool.

Add:

1 lb. cooked salmon (smoked is great
½ red onion, minced
3 celery stalks, minced
1 T. dry dill
3-4 T. drained capers
½ English cucumber, diced
3 T. whole-grain mustard
½ c. mayo
3 chopped fresh tomatoes

Gently blend; chill.

Recipe of The Week

Instead of featuring a recipe of the week this week I'm curious what some of your favorite healthy recipes consist of???

So I'd like for you to email me at ian@essentialfitnessstl.com with your favorite healthy recipe and I'll feature a new one each week on my blog.

Have a great rest of the week!

Fruit Smoothie(Recipe of The Week)

INGREDIENTS

* 2 cups frozen mixed berries
* 1 cup strawberry flavored yogurt
* 1 banana, sliced
* 1 cup milk
* 1 scoop strawberry protein powder

DIRECTIONS

1. Put all ingredients in a blender and cover. Blend until smooth and serve.

Bulgarian Split Squat(Exercise of The Week)

Delicious Tuna Salad(Recipe of The Week)

Here is another delicious Essential Fitness Approved Recipe!

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup Light Miracle Whip
1 tablespoon prepared Dijon-style mustard
1/4 teaspoon curry powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 (6 ounce) can water packed tuna
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 Granny Smith apple, cored and diced
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup diced celery
1 teaspoon sweet pickle relish
Whole Wheat Bread
Lettuce
Swiss cheese

DIRECTIONS
1.In a medium bowl, whisk together the miracle whip, mustard, curry powder, salt and pepper. Add tuna, shallot, apple, walnuts, celery and pickle relish and toss until all ingredients are coated with dressing.
2.Lightly toast the bread. Place a lettuce leaf on the bottom piece of bread and fill with tuna salad. Top with a slice of Swiss cheese and bread.

Tuna Salad Modified from Allrecipes.com

Single Leg RDL(Exercise of The Week)

Recipe of The Week

Chicken with Asparagus and Provolone
INGREDIENTS

* 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
* 5 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
* 1 (10 ounce) can asparagus, drained
* 4 slices provolone cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oil in a large 2-inch deep skillet. Brown in skillet on both sides.
2. When chicken is browned, add broth and place asparagus evenly over chicken. Lay a slice of cheese over each chicken piece.
3. Cover skillet and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and no longer pink inside.

Here's a quick chicken recipe from allrecipes.com that I've changed in order to make it Essential Fitness Diet Approved. It sounds delicious and nutritious.

Exercise of The Week!

Plank Contest Winner!

Check out Hashim. He was our plank contest winner in this morning's bootcamp with a killer 2 Minute Hold. I made him hit a victorious pose by showing off those guns he has worked so hard for over the last few months. Great Work Hashim!

Make Friday Your New Begining!

How many times have you heard from somebody "The Diet starts Monday!" or "I'm going to start working out Tomorrow!" The few people that actually start the diet or new workout program rarely stick with it for any length of time. Most people who start something new, especially when it's related to fitness, tend to go all out right at the begining and either workout way too hard making themselves too sore to walk, or they go on some crazy restriction diet like the grapefruit diet that no human can possibly survive on. Sound like anybody you know? Maybe you've even done it yourself. I know I have.

After my initial interview with a new client I always have them start with one simple goal adherence. Simply put just plan on getting to the gym a few times a week for 6 months. Don't be afraid to set smaller goals that are achievable that way when you achieve them you can build upon your successes. Goals don't have to be complex, but they need to be realistic and measurable. Now the talk of starting tomorrow that is a load of cow dung just suck it up and start today otherwise you run the risk of never starting.

Bachelor Party Fun In Chicago!

The View from Murphy's Bleachers Patio.

The whole group of us. The picture was taken by a cubs fan I'm surprised it came out as well as it did.

Waiting for the train before the game. We almost lost one here but luckily he made it just before the train left.

Don't Eat Yourself To Death!

Fatty Liver Disease is a condition usually indicative of alcohol abuse, but it is now being associated with obesity as well. It's alarming that people who are overweight could be at risk of liver disease simply from overeating. Your liver will actually start to harden resulting in less function and ultimately resulting in serious health risks.

I know I've referred to "Supersize Me" the documentary before, but Morgan Spurlock who went on an all McDonald's diet for 30 days started to see the birth of fatty liver disease before the end of his fast food experiment. Just 30 days and the results of an unhealthy diet can be realized.

So if your someone who could use an overhaul in the diet arena don't wait because luckily much of the damage can be reversed. Below are pictures of a healthy liver and a diseased one. I'll let you make the distinction!

Fitness Infomercials??

Have you ever been a victim of fitness infomercials??

Remember this great idea??-->
I honestly don't as it was a little before my time but there are plenty more ideas just like it out there that promise great results in little or no time.

Although I've never purchased one of the products on TV I find myself watching them when they come on out of pure amazement. Hopefully your not someone who honestly believes that doing the latest ab gadget for 10 minutes a day 3 times a week will get you ripped. However, if you do then please leave me a comment and I will obliterate any reasoning behind why they say their product works.

Most of these products play on your emotions and are appealing to the part of you that dreams about having the body you've always wanted. I'm sure I'm not the first to tell you this but there is no magic pill, diet, or contraption that will melt the fat away. The only way to reach ultimate health and fitness is exercise and eating right. Bottom line it's hard work and if anybody tells you anything else they are flat out lying to you.

Leave me a comment below or email me about the fitness gadget or fad that you want me to break down for you.

Super Baby!!

This is pretty incredible. Think about playing sports against this kid when he finally turns High School age.

http://www.foxnews.com/video-search/m/22051792/super-strength-baby.htm

Fitness Myths Debunked!

Don't Eat This at Night or Ever for that Matter!

I Don't Want to Get Too Bulky! She might be on steroids:)

Stretching Before is Crucial. Ouch that just looks painful.

Eating healthy means I don't have to watch my calorie intake

No Pain No Gain.

My Parents are Fat so I will be too

Profuse sweating=Great Workout

Unhealthiest Foods!

Just read an article on some of the unhealthiest restaurants to eat at. Wow let me tell you that you should avoid these places like the plague!

Most of theses restaurants serve you way too much food, not to mention they are laden with fat, trans fat, and sodium. Take a look at the article by clicking on the link below and see how often you dine at one of these places.

http://health.yahoo.com/experts/eatthis/26542/americas-unhealthiest-restaurants

Man Up!

Ian Thiermann is everything that is right with this world. Aside from having a great name(I couldn't help myself) he has a great outlook on life. Watch the video and read the rest of my thoughts.



Now how does that relate to fitness and weight loss you ask? Well his kind of thinking and the outlook he has on life is exactly the kind of outlook you need to be successful at losing weight. How easy would it have been for him to take on that victim's mindset. He very easily could've gone on blaming Bernie Madoff for robbing him of a time in life when most people are not obligated to work for a living, but instead he is just doing what needs to be done.

The same is true in weight loss. When your trying to lose weight many times people get in that self-destructive mindset of "I'm destined to be fat" or "I'll never succeed". So instead of being a victim or engaging in negative self talk just pick up and do what needs to be done!

What Fuels Your Fire!

My Freshman year in High School I weighed 122 pounds dripping wet. I was skinny, weak, and had little confidence in my ability to do anything. I at some point in my first year of undergrad decided I wanted to change that and hit the weight room. As I started lifting I found the results I got in terms of strength and size was a direct result of how hard I worked. I was determined to not be the skinny kid anymore and began to fall in love with the weight room and the ability it gave me to change my body.


Ever since my I started working out there probably hasn't been more than a few weeks where I haven't done at least some sort of physical activity each week. I now weigh around 190 pounds with approximately 15% body fat. Now I'm not the most fit trainer you'll ever meet but I work hard to keep myself fit and to be an example for those I train.

So I was determined to change my body and I used my insecurities to fuel the fire. To really change your life and your body I feel you need to find the true reason you want to lose body fat. For me I didn't feel comfortable in the skin that I was in, but for you it might be that your family history stinks and you want to be sure your doing everything you can to avoid the inevitable heart attack or cancer.

So leave a comment and tell me what your goal is and the real reason behind reaching it! And remember don't let anything get in your way of achieving your goals.

The Immortal Cheesburger!

If you have only 5 minutes to spare today be sure you spend it watching this video! After you finish watching it leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Why Cardio Alone Doesn't Work.

Have you ever heard someone referred to as a skinny fat person? Maybe you've seen someone who fits that description. A skinny fat person is someone who is not fat in the typical sense of being large in size, instead this person is small framed yet has no muscle tone. These skinny fat people believe that pounding away on a treadmill, or doing the elliptical for hours a day will get them the dream body they've been searching for, but have probably never picked up a weight in their life. Cardio certainly has it's place in every fitness program but it should be a part of a balanced program including cardio, strength training, and a healthy diet.

The key to losing body fat and keeping it off is strength training. Lean muscle is the driving force behind your metabolism and the only way to increase your metabolism or burn more calories at rest, is to increase lean muscle through strength training. For the women that are afraid to get “too bulky” from strength training that is simply a myth. When most people think of strength training and the results it yields, they think of the heavily muscled bodybuilders that plaster the covers of magazines such as Muscle and Fitness. The models that grace the covers of those magazines are simply models who are hired to sell magazines and not a realistic result of someone who strength trains a few times a week to get healthy. So in order to truly rev up your metabolism and get rid of body fat once and for all, hit the weights!

Circuit Training The Workout!

The last post touched on the benefits and science behind how one particular circuit training workout called a peripheral heart action(PHA) circuit works. Here is an easy beginner's circuit.

Chest Press
DB Row
Pysioball Squat
Physioball Crunch

Lat Pull Down
Shoulder Lateral Raise
Stationary Lunge
Oblique Crunch

Perform each exercise in succession with a short rest in between circuits. For beginners start with 2 sets of 12-15 Repetitions of each cicuit. If your more advanced shoot for 3 sets.

Email me ian@essentialfitnessstl.com with free workout in the subject line for a free PHA circuit workout called the "9 Basic Movements" that comes with full color pictures and exercise descriptions.

Circuit Training Does It Work?

The Fat-Burning Secret
A lot of the woman-only fitness centers in operation work on the principles of circuit training. Have you ever thought to yourself why circuit training? And is it really effective? The short answer is yes it works, but in order to get the most out of your circuit training workout you need to understand why and how it works in order to get the most out of your workouts.
Circuit workouts typically consist of grouping 3 or 4 exercises together in order to get maximal work done in a short period of time. Depending on which muscle groups you work and the order you group them in can have a significant effect on the level of intensity of your workout. One particular circuit that is effective is called the peripheral heart action circuit(PHA). The basis of this circuit is to alternate exercises between four different muscle groups in order to force the heart to pump blood to each muscle group, therefore not being able to fall into a rhythm of pumping blood to the same working tissue. The idea is to keep the heart rate high throughout the workout in order to get cardiovascular benefits as well as the benefits of strength training. By keeping the heart rate elevated and doing resistance exercises you will turn your body into a fat burning machine.

Cardiac Rehab

Cardiac Rehabilitation is a very comprehensive program that can be found in many clinical hospital settings to help those who are at risk or may have already had a cardiac event. Most cardiac rehab programs will target control of cholesterol, blood pressure, diabetes, stress, nutrition, weight loss, stopping smoking, as well as integrating exercise. By focusing on theses lifestyle factors that can all contribute to many different diseases of the heart you can significantly reduce or reverse many of the signs and symptoms of heart disease.

For more information about cardiac rehab programs available in the St. Louis area check out the links below.

http://www.stanthonysmedcenter.com/healthcareServ/heart/cardiacRehab.asp

http://www.stjohnsmercy.org/healthinfo/adult/pmr/cardiac.asp

http://www.barnesjewish.org/cardio/default.asp?NavID=32

Fish oil is one supplement that has been researched extensively and provides some promising data that can help your cholesterol profile as well as reduce your risk for coronary heary disease(CHD). Check out our fish oil supplement at essentialfitnessstl.getprograde.com/icon. Read more about the positive effects of fish oil in this study published by the American Heart Association at http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/94/9/2337. While exercise and healthy eating are the most important factors to consider when reducing risk for CHD, by adding those extra Omega-3's to your diet via Icon you can expect to make some drastic changes in your health. Be sure to check out icon at essentialfitnessstl.getprograde.com/icon and also check out more of the science behind why and how fish oil can be used to improve your health in the scientific reference section.

Pure Genius!

9 Funny Fitness Ads!
I love clever marketing and these companies nailed it on the head. My brother sent me the link to this article in Men's Fitness. These are some seriously great ads! To check them out on the MF site click here.


9.) Weight Watcher's Wide Door



8.) The Fitness Company's "Crack" Problem


7.) Silberman's Fitness Center's Tilting Sign


6.) OxyGo Gym's View From Above


5.) Metro Gym's Butt Print


4.) Slim Fast's Disappearing Act


3.) The Fitness Company's Subway Iron


2.) Powerhouse Gym's Billboard Man


1.) Weight Watcher's Bacon Boomerang

Prograde Nutrition Sale!

As you probably already know, Prograde Nutrition was started by a couple of fitness pros to be a resource for ethical trainers, such as myself. They created a company that I can have complete faith in recommending to you.

I think a lot of people in my industry were laughing behind their backs hoping they would fail. Well, not only have they silenced their critics, their products are so in demand they are now shipping to the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand! Plus, they will soon be able to ship to just about anywhere in the world.

Yes, the products are THAT good and they are that much in demand.

So to celebrate their new shipping destinations, and just to ring in the New Year, they are having a 10.9% off everything sale.

Yes, that's 10.9 as in January of 2009 ;-)

Here are some other details I want to make sure you know about:

- Again, you receive 10.9% off all Prograde products.

- It will run from Thursday, January 8th until Thursday, January 15th at 11:59pm EST.

- Yes, that 10.9% off will be applicable to SmartShip orders. But it only applies to that first purchase. Not ongoing.

- The coupon code you enter at checkout is:

012009

- The website is essentialfitnessstl.getprograde.com
Oh, and you should definitely check out the VGF 25+ For Men or Women - that's my favorite Prograde product. I've been using it with pretty amazing results.

Yours in health,

Ian Fagala

PS- Remember, this Celebration Sale ends next Thursday, so be sure to order right away and take advantage of these BIG savings. essentialfitnessstl.getprograde.com

Attention Fitness Pros and Enthusiasts!

After browsing some of the regular fitness websites I check out every week I was reading on IHRSA's website (International Health, Racquet, and Sportsclub Association) and found a link to change.gov. This is a link to the President Elects website and has a form to voice your opinion about our nations healthcare system and how you would like to see it changed.

As a Fitness Professional I felt it was my responsibility to let our new administration know my feelings on how best to help alleviate some of our nations health problems. Below is part of the diatribe I sent in. What do you think is the key to bringing down our health care cost? Leave me a comment about your thoughts on healthcare and then I dare you to send them to the President!

"I am a small business owner in the fitness industry and think that one way to combat rising health care costs is to focus on preventative strategies to manage disease and chronic conditions. Exercise is a very powerful prevention strategy that reduces the risk of many diseases such as diabetes that are incredibly costly. I have one client in particular who after suffering from 2 heart attacks and being diagnosed with diabetes started exercising and has now lost over 30 pounds, better manages his diabetes, and feels better than he has in 20 years! I think we should create programs that lower the barrier to exercise and promote healthy lifestyles. Also by making it easier and less expensive to run our businesses we can help the economy by providing more jobs in our communities."

What Is Cholesterol??

What is it? The molecule itself is actually a combination of protein and fat and the ratio of protein to fat will determine which type of cholesterol it is. A cholesterol molecule that is high in fat content and low in protein is called LDL or low-density lipoprotein, which can cause the blood vessels to narrow and eventually lead to a blockage when the levels are elevated. A cholesterol molecule with a higher protein content is called HDL or high-density lipoprotein, which will help transport LDL cholesterol back to the liver where it is broken down and cleared from the body. Triglycerides are free floating fat in the blood, that when elevated will be transported to the liver and turned into unhealthy cholesterols.

Where Does it Come From? Cholesterol comes from two sources the first being the body and is produced in the liver. The other source is from the foods that we eat. Your body produces most of the cholesterol you need so being conscious of the total cholesterol intake from your diet is recommended.

How Do I Manage It? Most people can manage or decrease their cholesterol profile with simple dietary changes and an increase in exercise. It is usually recommended to try diet and exercise modifications before trying drug therapy. There are many drugs out there that can help to reduce cholesterol and ultimately decrease your risk of heart disease. If you are looking to reduce your cholesterol numbers be sure and speak with your primary care physician first in order to figure out the most effective way for you.

Which Exercise is Most Beneficial? Cardiovascular exercise seems to help the most when one is looking to reduce the LDL cholesterol in the blood. By adding 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise 4-5 days a week you might expect to see benefits in as little as 4 weeks. While strength training doesn't necessarily effect LDL cholesterol it has been linked to increases in HDL cholesterol.