inerTRAIN Blog

July 30, 2012

Fitness in Paradise

My husband and I recently returned from the Greek Islands, where we were vacationing for our honeymoon. Our trip took us from the romantic island of Santorini, to historic and picturesque Crete, to the charming island of Poros. Our favorite thing about the trip? We were enjoying some of the healthiest, most nourishing, and delicious local foods in the entire world!

While relaxation was, of course, a big part of our vacation, we really felt inspired to keep up with our exercise habits. Throughout the two-week stay, we did quite a bit of hiking through hilly areas and walking on the beach but, as two inerTRAIN clients, we wanted to keep up with our inerTRAIN workouts. You didn’t think we’d skip the baklava on this trip, did you?

We simply contacted our trainer before we left and told him that we needed workouts that we could do on the beach. Just because you can’t get to a gym, doesn’t mean you can’t squeeze in fitness here and there. Check out this video to see how easy it was!

Keeping up with our inerTRAIN workouts during our honeymoon allowed us to indulge in all of those Greek delicacies guilt-free while also energizing ourselves for the many hours we spent enjoying a romantic evening in the hotel room. Um…I meant sightseeing.

In Health,

July 2, 2012

It’s Good to Be on the Rebound

One of our interns, Alex Minch, came into my office and asked me why we have a trampoline in our workout area. First, I said it wasn’t a trampoline…it’s a rebounder. And, second, I told him it is one of the best forms of exercise that anyone could do. Giving me the doubtful eye earned him the opportunity to do a mini-research project and he shares his findings in the blog post below.

In Health,

Given the choice between running on a treadmill and jumping on a mini-trampoline for an extended period of time, I’m willing to bet that most people would think the treadmill is a much better way to get in shape. If you agree with the previous notion then, you are absolutely, 100%…..wrong.

As it turns out, jumping on a trampoline, also referred to as “rebounding,” is more efficient than traditional running. Don’t believe me? What if a reputable organization like NASA confirmed it?

After close observation of their astronauts some years ago, the folks at NASA realized that their male and female crew lost up to 15% of their bone and muscle mass because their cells didn’t have to work against gravity. Naturally, NASA had to come up with a program to combat these effects before and after their crews spent time in outer space.

So far, NASA has yet to find any exercise that produces better results than rebounding. The up-and-down motion exposes you to the always-present force of gravity, which makes your entire body stronger!

Here’s another statistic to wrap your head around: according to NASA, rebounding is 68% more efficient than treadmills or other forms of exercise. So, to analogize this situation, let’s say you are choosing between two pretty evenly-matched cars, except that one of them is nearly 70% more fuel efficient. Considering the price of gas, I’m going to assume that 10 out of 10 people would choose to save money. Why not choose to save time and be more efficient when it comes to your physical fitness?

Perhaps the most widely known advantage of rebounding is the stimulation of the lymph system, which is the body’s primary way of cleansing and purifying itself. The lymph system cleans out toxins, poisons, and metabolic waste products in the body and can destroy bacteria, viruses, germs, dead cells, and other unhealthy material that doesn’t belong there. Exercise, in general, is the only way to move lymph fluid around the body. Rebounding, however, will do it in the most efficient way possible.

Furthermore, the improved efficiency of your cell-cleansing process will actually help dissipate pockets of cellulite, even if they were previously impervious to other forms of exercise like traditional weight-training. Aha, results!

The bottom line is this: for the small price of a rebounder, you can start feeling healthier, looking healthier, and actually being healthier. You can lower your risk for lymphoma and many other health risks because your lymph system will be working to the max.

Oh, and did I forget to mention that it is also considered to be an anti-aging exercise? As a result of all your body’s cells being stimulated, they are filled with nutrients and spread from head to toe, making your skin tighten and glow.

So, the next time you feel like going for a jog and burning a few calories, do your health a favor and bounce on a rebounder and revert back to the childhood days when you would jump on the furniture. Your body will thank you!

In Health,

June 3, 2012

45 Ways Sugar Can Ruin Your Health

Why do we eat so much sugar?

Obviously, sugar tastes good. We crave it. We enjoy treats to reward ourselves or celebrate special occasions. Foods high in sugar are easy and convenient (they are everywhere). The list goes on and on . . .

In addition to throwing off the body’s homeostasis, excess sugar may result in a number of other significant consequences. The following list reveals some of sugar’s metabolic consequences from a variety of medical journals and other scientific publications.

1. Sugar can suppress your immune system and impair your defenses against infectious disease.

2. Sugar upsets the mineral relationships in your body, causing chromium and copper deficiencies and interfering with absorption of calcium and magnesium.

3. Sugar can cause can cause a rapid rise of adrenaline, hyperactivity, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and crankiness in children.

4. Sugar can produce a significant rise in total cholesterol, triglycerides, and bad cholesterol and a decrease in good cholesterol.

5. Sugar causes a loss of tissue elasticity and function.

6. Sugar feeds cancer cells and has been connected with the development of cancer of the breast, ovaries, prostate, rectum, pancreas, biliary tract, lung, gallbladder and stomach.

7. Sugar can increase fasting levels of glucose and can cause reactive hypoglycemia.

8. Sugar can cause many problems with the gastrointestinal tract including: an acidic digestive tract, indigestion, malabsorption in patients with functional bowel disease, increased risk of Crohn’s disease, and ulcerative colitis.

9. Sugar can cause premature aging.

10. Sugar can lead to alcoholism.

11. Sugar can cause your saliva to become acidic, tooth decay, and periodontal disease.

12. Sugar contributes to obesity.

13. Sugar can cause autoimmune diseases such as: arthritis, asthma, multiple sclerosis.

14. Sugar greatly assists the uncontrolled growth of Candida Albicans (yeast infections).

15. Sugar can cause gallstones.

16. Sugar can cause appendicitis.

17. Sugar can cause hemorrhoids.

18. Sugar can cause varicose veins.

19. Sugar can contribute to osteoporosis.

20. Sugar can cause a decrease in your insulin sensitivity thereby causing an abnormally high insulin levels and, eventually, diabetes.

21. Sugar can increase your systolic blood pressure.

22. High sugar intake increases advanced glycation end products (AGEs) (Sugar molecules attaching to and, thereby, damaging proteins in the body).

23. Sugar causes food allergies.

24. Sugar can cause toxemia during pregnancy.

25. Sugar can contribute to eczema in children.

26. Sugar can cause atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease.

27. Sugar can make your skin age by changing the structure of collagen.

28. Sugar can cause cataracts and nearsightedness.

29. Sugar can increase the size of your liver by making your liver cells divide and it can increase the amount of liver fat.

30. Sugar can increase kidney size and produce pathological changes in the kidney such as the formation of kidney stones.

31. Sugar can damage your pancreas.

32. Sugar can increase your body’s fluid retention.

33. Sugar can compromise the lining of your capillaries.

34. Sugar can make your tendons more brittle.

35. Sugar can cause headaches, including migraines.

36. Sugar can cause depression.

37. Sugar can increase your risk of gout.

38. Sugar can increase your risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

39. Sugar can cause hormonal imbalances such as increased estrogen in men, exacerbated PMS symptoms, and decreased growth hormone.

40. Diets high in sugar will increase free radicals and oxidative stress.

41. Your body changes sugar into 2 to 5 times more fat in the bloodstream than it does starch.

42. Sugar adversely affects urinary electrolyte composition.

43. Sugar can slow down the ability of your adrenal glands to function.

44. Sugar has the potential to induce abnormal metabolic processes in a normal healthy individual and promote chronic degenerative diseases.

45. High sugar intake can cause epileptic seizures.

So, the next time you want to reach for a soda or candy bar to fulfill a craving, think about what it might be doing to your body in the long term. You can reduce sugar cravings by nourishing your body with the natural vitamins and minerals it needs.

In Health,

April 22, 2012

Needs and Numbers

When it comes to training, we often say, “I don't have enough time. I can't fit it in. There are not enough hours in the day.”

So, let’s look at some key facts:

Some of us make better use of these hours than others. How do these numbers correspond to your life? Are you happy and fulfilled? Only you can truly attest to what makes you happy.

One of my mentors, four-time Olympian Lyle Nelson, makes an exceptionally strong argument. He says, “Your health is the most important thing in your life.” Everything else depends on the state of your health.

I have recently been taught a valuable lesson by my three and a half-year old son. He pulled me into a new game. He runs a few steps and stops at a break in the path or change of direction in the sidewalk and while pointing with both hands in varying directions says, “This way or that way?” I answer. He runs a little further, looks back at me and repeats, “This way or that way?” This goes on and on...

We are the result of the choices we make everyday regarding our needs and desires. What is your right path? This way or that way?

Reflect on your life. Ask yourself the big questions. What has been missing in the past that is now fulfilled? What is lacking now that you would like to have more of? What do you anticipate will be your needs in the future?

I argue that the critical choices you make around using time, maintaining your health, setting your discipline, and engaging the people in your life can make a huge difference in your quality of life. Think about what it means to put your health first.

In Health,

March 14, 2012

90 days vs. a lifetime

I’ve been asked several times about what I think of programs like P90X® (including some readers of the inerTRAIN blog). So I decided to put together my review of it.

The P90X fitness program is a sound workout program because it includes high-intensity interval training, full body resistance work, endurance development, and mobility. P90X promises a beach-ready body: defined upper body, ripped abs, and reduced body fat. For many people, it delivers on each.

If you're interested in building muscular endurance (not necessarily raw strength), or if you're a former athlete with a good amount of muscle underneath a couple years' worth of flab, P90X might be right for you.

If you want a butt-kicking workout that leaves you panting and heaving and sore all over the next day, P90X will provide it—you'll certainly be able to do more push-ups and pull-ups by the end of the program. As long as you get stronger, fitter, healthier, and better-looking by following the program, then do it.

While I admire the program, I think there are some limitations. First, a fitness program should be life-long, not just 90 days. Therefore, the biggest problem is sustainability...if you’re looking for a quick two- or three-month program, then go ahead; but, if you want something more long-term, then the program will probably need alteration.

As it's actually practiced, I think P90X is probably too much for a lifelong program. To the company’s credit, P90X isn't advertised as such. It's billed as a crash program designed to get you lean in 90 days (which it does well). A consistent physical fitness program is important for people of all ages. Honestly, do you expect to be repeating the cycles over an hour a day, six days a week into your twilight years?

I harp on avoiding overtraining all the time. Next to inadequate or nonexistent training, overtraining is the biggest issue plaguing most trainees. If you don't give your body enough downtime to recuperate, you'll find it very difficult to make consistent improvement. P90X prescribes near-daily high-intensity training, which is tough for almost everyone. Certain individuals, however, relish the workload and even thrive on it. Some people can bounce back from a day's workout and be ready to demolish their body all over again the next day.

The 6-days-a-week workout schedule has its place in a training regimen, but it can easily lead to overtraining—especially if you go at it 100%—and will lead to diminishing returns for many trainees. With regards to P90X, I would like you to read Natural Health & Weight Loss and The Primal Blueprint from my recommended reading list (Click here for the ”6 Fundamental Fitness Titles" blog post).

If you are looking for a longer term training solution, you might consider a personal trainer. There are innumerable benefits to an individualized, comprehensive, full-body fitness program that focuses on achieving your own personal fitness goals by utilizing total-body brief workouts without skimping on intensity. Your trainer will help you get results without the massive time commitment and with customized workouts tailored to your own goals and personal circumstances.

Best of all, you'll be able to follow this program for life, under any circumstance fortune throws at you. You get injured? You’ll have a real trainer that can design your workout with workarounds. Growing older? Your trainer can simply scale things down. Out of town and away from equipment? Your trainer will give you exercises that only use your bodyweight. Your trainer will ensure that your workout schedule is put together so that you get plenty of rest, coupled with plenty of intensity, for the best results with no overtraining.

I greatly admire P90X, and they've produced some excellent athletes. If you try it out and it's working for you, keep at it! I just think that a lot of people could benefit from a slightly different approach—a fitness program geared toward sustainability, functionality, and overall health—with a personal touch.

In Health,

inerTRAIN Blog

Fitness in Paradise

It’s Good to Be on the Rebound

45 Ways Sugar Can Ruin Your Health

Needs and Numbers

90 days vs. a lifetime

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