Wednesday, February 25, 2009

15% of the year GONE on my birthdya...

Just a quick update to let you know that 15% of the year is gone TODAY (25/2/09), that's right 15% is out the door never to be seen again except in your memory that you have stored away for safe keeping!

Interesting isn't it when you look at 2009 as 15% gone or 55days out of 365 you will never see again EVER!

So tell me please, How are you going with the goals you have for this year?

If you wanted to lose body fat and or weight, are you on track?
Let me put it to you this way; "how" much have you lost and "how" much have you got to go to hit your target?

If your goal was more money.
Are you on track? Again let's put it in "black" or "white" terms of, How much have you got so far and how much to go before you hit your target?

Maybe your goal is more peace & happiness in times where every one is doom and gloom?
You get the picture; How much happier and peaceful are you & how far to go before you hit your target?

Be truthful with yourself and do your best to answer them. For me I can honestly answer from the above 2 out of 3 I'm on track! However to provide more details I would have to sit down and measure against the 'start' to 'now'!

Regardless of where you are at i.e. "on" track or "off" track with your goals. I would love for you to just reflect on the last 15% of the year and see where you "were" and where you are "now".

Some things are Measurable and some things are NOT! Measure the things that society measures i.e body fat, $$ in account, materialistic things for peace and happiness, because while I don't agree with it entirely (does has it's place though!), without a doubt it is MEASURABLE!

Once you have done the "surface" measuring, then look deeper to the "journey" of the last 15% of the year to things like;
  • What have you learn't about trying to achieve _____ so far and has it impacted on your life positively or negatively?
  • What has losing more body fat taught you about you as a human being?
  • What has having (or losing) more money taught you about yourself so far?
  • How has being more peaceful and happy (or not) taught you about your life so far?
This is deep stuff, however it's truthful stuff that people don't talk about enough or if they do, it's a bit "fluffy" and tends to have no foundation.

The take home message today is 15% of the year is gone, some day so will you!! What will you leave behind, both in terms of external/possessional things and the words people use to express "who" you are to them.

Make it happen with what ever you choose to do, Go visit one of the things that I'm going to do on my bucket list! This particular 'goal' some days feels like I can reach it tomorrow with so much ease that it feels like I'm floating and other days I think, oh my friggin god this is just stupid, why, why, why!!

Today (25/2/09) is my birthday, I'm 31 and still rocking! My mum left a message on my phone singing me happy birthday, kool ahe. Yeah I thought so too, it made me laugh when I was a bit peeed off :-)


Friday, February 20, 2009

What it takes to lose Body Fat Now...

Here is a question I received that I thought I would share with everyone! After most people "think" questions but don't ask! Hope this helps with your fat loss journey of being shredded to the max :-)

Hey Bro

I bet you get it all the time BUT one thing for me is without being vain I think im in good shape, always have been. Ive done some crazy training but never even when competing had 6 pack abs, then I have mates who have em naturally.

Im a big believer in you gotta work with what you got, some people have it natural some don't, yes you can develop skill but if you have some of it naturally its gonna come a lot easier.

From what you know, what are the best ways to get shredded, as in get rid of overall body fat ?

cheers mate

Ice
My response to his question;

Good question Isaac;

To keep it simple, you are both correct with some people have it "naturally" therefore don't have to 'work' as hard as someone who doesn't have it naturally.

HOWEVER;

When we are talking about getting shredded to bits, we must look at NUTRITION & RESISTANCE Training combined (although, I would put nutrition ahead but we are keeping it simple). Most people will say, "I've done everything and still NO abs, what the %$#@?!"

It is my belief that 97% of people don't look at nutrition GOOD enough in order to get the shredded look they desire because let's face it, getting shredded to bits takes a lot of DISCIPLINE andCOMMITMENT which most people don't have.

Here's where to start for the body fat to blow torch off your body;

  1. Eat every 2.5 to 3.5hrs upon waking
  2. Eat protein with EVERY meal
  3. Eat veggies with EVERY meal
  4. Eat starchy carbs i.e. potatoes/rice/bread/pasta ONLY AFTER you have trained
  5. Drink 2-3ltrs of H20 per day (NO fizzy drinks!)
  6. Do this 90% of the time in a 7day week i.e. if you have 6meals per day x 7days per week, that's 42meals per week.

    90% of that is 38 feeding opportunities that NEED to align with #1-6. Once you have this sorted for 3wks we can look at portion control or other ways to continue to shred! If the above does not match 90% behavior then people don't have the right to pi$$ and moan about being FAT!
Does that make sense?
There you have it, the "truth" behind how to lose fat, NO FLUFF here I may have the PC police at my inbox tomorrow but that is okay with me :-)
If you have any comments about this then let me know, my PASSION in life is to teach/coach people to get what they want. I love that side of my occupation!

This pic below is from Mike Roussell after I sent the response I found his graph which illustrates perfectly what I'm talking about! Mike has got it going on when it comes to Nutrition people, after all that is his living!!!!


Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Black Out Begins...


Have you heard about Black Out?

Join The New Zealand Internet Blackout to protest against the Guilt Upon Accusation law 'Section 92A' that calls for internet disconnection based on accusations of copyright infringement without a trial and without any evidence held up to court scrutiny. This is due to come into effect on February 28th unless immediate action is taken by the National Party.

Well know you do know, check it out for yourself and make your own choice!! I've made mine on twitter and facebook!!

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Something fishy in Steelers' diet!?


Something fishy in Steelers' diet aids cardiovascular health


The Pittsburgh Steelers, a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, are the reigning National Football League champions, having won the Super Bowl XLIII on February 1, 2009.


One big advantage the Steelers have held over their opponents this year has involved a secret supplement - the Steelers have been taking fish oil.


Thirty-six Steelers, ages 23 to 41, participated in a two-year study to determine the cardiovascular advantages of moderately high doses of fish oil. Results conclude that the omega-3 oil raised their high-density lipoproteins (good cholesterol) and lowered very low-density lipoproteins (a form of bad cholesterol) and triglycerides.


The study appears in the new journal, Sports Health: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach. Randomly selected Steelers were placed on fish oil while others used a placebo as the control group.Highly purified fish oil supplements with mixed levels of EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) - the two healthful polyunsaturated fats in fish oil - were used for 60 days.


Good cholesterol, or HDL levels, rose on average by 26 percent in the treatment group compared with 14 percent in the control group. The treatment group also experienced an 8 percent decline in triglycerides, while the control group had a 44 percent increase. High triglyceride levels are a good predictor of coronary heart disease. Declines in the damaging particles in LDL or bad cholesterol - including very low-density and intermediate-density lipoproteins - were also noted in those using fish oil.


Fish oil also is an anti-inflammatory agent, which allows athletes to heal faster from injury while improving attention span, reaction time and cognitive processing.


"This is very simple and safe therapy that's inexpensive," said Dr. James Ehrlich, chief medical officer for Atherotech that developed the Vertical Auto Profile test used to analyze cholesterol levels. "Their numbers look very good."


Dr. Ehrlich noted that many retired National Football League players are obese and have the precursor to diabetes known as metabolic syndrome, along with high blood pressure and cholesterol. 82 percent of 233 retired National Football League players under age 50 were found to have abnormal narrowing and blockages of arteries. About 40 percent also suffer from sleep apnea. Football injuries often render them unable to exercise after retirement. Together, the factors are a formula for heart disease.


"The NFL athlete statistically is at higher risk for future cardiovascular disease and sudden heart attack," Dr. Ehrlich said. "The study demonstrated effectively and dramatically that fish oil improved good cholesterol and lowered damaging particles and triglycerides. It went in the right direction for all of them."


Despite the small number of participants, "rather dramatic improvements in blood lipid profiles were achieved using moderately high doses of omega-3 fish oil supplementation," the study states.

The results suggest that "the professional NFL player should consider continued use of omega-3 supplementation throughout his active years and in retirement."


If you are looking for the "best of the Best" in fish oil I've opened up a "special" I did last year for being interviewed about fish oils!! Click here

Saturday, February 07, 2009

Girl Power, Defined

Rachel Cosgrove is an awesome trainer who is a great example for other woman, she promotes lift the tin and give life a nudge! Check out the ladies age, go girls!!
(Side note: I do get the sh#ts when people use age as a reason not to push their personal boundaries of excellence. Don't ever stop living, sure your physical body maybe slowing up but your mind, spiritual, emotional parts of you are just maturing aren't they?)

Girl Power, Defined


On November 15th, 2008 five inspiring women challenged themselves by competing in their very first powerlifting competition, for which they had trained for the previous three months. They had all been lifting weights for a couple years, building up a base of strength, and took on this challenge to give them a focus for their training.

None of them had ever considered doing something like this before. After they made the commitment and had each other to keep motivated, the training began. They worked with Coach Craig Rasmussen, the powerlifting expert at my gym, Results Fitness, in Santa Clarita, California.

As the weeks of training went on, they were all lifting more and more weight. The numbers were going up and up. The thing that surprised them most was that they were all losing body fat, getting leaner, and even losing some weight while training for this event.

Joni, one of the competitors, had this to say: "This is so crazy! I lost another pound today, and I'm eating like crazy! Everyone keeps commenting on how my body is changing and how good I look, and all I've been doing is lifting more and more weight: dead lifting, squatting and bench pressing!"

The day of the competition, the girls were extremely excited to compete in what was for some of them their first athletic competition ever. They were less excited about the outfits.

In powerlifting, you're required to wear a singlet and knee high socks, which isn't the most flattering or feminine look. Karen made the best of it, however, making the outfit as feminine as possible with a pair of pretty pink knee socks, pictured below.


Meet the Girls: Feminine and Powerful!

Down With Dumb Dieting!

From left to right: Joni, Janelle, Cindy, Karen, and Jan.

Let's get to know three of the girls a little better.

Joni

Down With Dumb Dieting!

Please, God, let me make all of my lifts!

Joni recently celebrated her 50th birthday. About three months before the competition, she said to me, "Someday I'd like to try something like a powerlifting competition, maybe in a year or two when I'm ready."

"Why wait?" I asked her. "Do it now!" She was shocked. "Really?" she asked, "You think I could?" And the rest is history.

Click here to read these awesome examples of living life....