This past week Chris received the following email from one of his clients:

“Just had my check-up.  As of last year I had osteoporosis in my lower spine.  Over the last year, my bone density has increased by 7%.  My doctor thinks it is amazing.  I no longer have osteoporosis – now it has improved to osteopenia.  You’re the best.  Keep up the good work and don’t let me off the hook.”

The timing of her email could not have been better. The March 2009 issue of the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research just had an article titled “Lean Body Mass and Weight-Bearing Activity in the Prediction of Bone Mineral Density in Physically Active Men“.

Bone is living tissue that reacts to exercise by becoming stronger.
Exercise that forces the body to work against gravity — like running, jumping and weight training — is most effective. In contrast, low-impact activities, such as cycling or swimming, put relatively little stress on the bones.

The results of the study appeared to confirm that both resistance training and high-impact endurance activities increase bone mineral density. However, high-impact sports, like running, appear to have a greater beneficial effect. It should also be pointed out that while the test subjects were all male, the benefits discussed are not gender specific.

In this study, cyclists generally had the lowest bone density at all body sites measured. The researchers recommended that athletes involved in low-impact sports like swimming, cycling and rowing add weight training or high-impact activities to their workouts. It is key, they noted, to target muscles throughout the body.

Exercise programs to increase bone strength should be designed using what is known about how bones respond to exercise. Only the skeletal sites that experience increased stress from exercise will become stronger.

What is particularly interesting is that the client who sent us the email loves to go cycling for some long rides, and the benefits of doing so are tremendous. However, it appears that much of her improved bone density could be attributed specifically to the strength training program she has been engaged in over the past year.

While I have talked about the positive benefits of strength training on bone strength in previous emails, it is great to see actual client proof of such benefits. So if you think a resistance-based, personal training program is just for weight loss, the research and client case study prove otherwise.

There are many other benefits associated with an exercise program that is custom-designed for each individual. Since clients have their own unique goals, it makes sense that they should each have their own program. That is what we do at FT; we spend time finding out what your health and fitness goals are, and design a program to help you achieve those goals. So the formula for success at FT is fairly straightforward:

well-designed program + your commitment + great trainer = SUCCESS!

To your health and happiness.

Paige Warner, who writes an exercise blog for About.com recently posted an article titled, “Do you know an annoying health freak? Or is it you?” Paige points out how it is sometimes hard for fitness professionals and enthusiasts to withhold offering health and fitness advice, and we may end up annoying people as opposed to helping them. So I realized that perhaps some of you may think of me as that “annoying health freak”, since every week I send you something that talks about what the latest news and research is with respect to health and fitness.

So this week, I will offer no advice, but I will share with you why I am so passionate about what we do at Fitness Together. In the past 3 days I have had 3 clients either email me or come up to me in the studio, and with a sense of pride and accomplishment, tell me about their successes.

“These hard workouts are starting to pay off. I have lost 18 pounds since the beginning of the year, and I feel great. I am wearing clothes I haven’t worn for years, and I have more energy than I’ve had in years. While I don’t always look forward to the workouts, once I am there I am so happy that I came and I feel so much better. I can’t wait to see what my future progress looks like.” – Bridget

Two weeks ago, Joe sent me the following email: “Hi Jim,  I have completed 6 sessions and although I get sore I have no pain and already feel stronger. I just finished my 5 mile run and for the first time in a long time I was able to do speed intervals ( and feel great doing them). I have had to run less because of the workouts but I feel better. Also the Vitabot meal planner is a big help. I have not had junk, and a few less drinks since I now monitor my intake. This is not easy but I love it.”

Let me start by saying that I am not a dietitian or a registered nutritionist. I have taken a few nutrition courses, but that does not give me the right to fool you into believing that I know everything about nutrition. My blog is going to be a personal reflection on what has and has not worked for me in terms of eating for weight management and athletic performance. I will do my best to reference sources in case you are interested in reading more about a specific topic or idea.

I have some very useful information to help you take your fitness program to the next level. (Fitness Level does include weight loss, I know that’s what most of you are after.) My education and personal experience has provided me with a tremendous amount of knowledge on everything from weight loss, strength and recovery, and disease prevention.  Amazingly, all three of these things are TIED BY THE NECK to your diet!

Let me give you a brief history. Contrary to what some of you may believe, I was not always a health nut. I’ve always been very active, but a healthy, balanced diet and eating more frequently throughout the day is new to me. People always ask me, “What’s the best or easiest way to lose weight?” Seeking the answer to that question, I myself started a personal experiment that is going on 10 months now. Using myself as a subject, I’ve been able to create a controlled environment that has helped me get outstanding results. Hold that thought…

Lately, I’ve been thinking about eating patterns and how they affect our lives. For instance, our first concept of eating comes directly from our parents. Does our upbringing affect how we eat today? I’m sure it does. When I was 16 years old, I left home and went to boarding school, then to college. All of a sudden, I was on my own and had to choose what to eat. I still considered myself to be a generally healthy eater, but my stomach and taste buds ruled the dining hall. I didn’t gain a tremendous amount of weight because I was so active, but I was up 10-15 unwanted pounds. I’ve always been comfortable around 190. Now I was tipping the scales at 207! As I mentioned before, I was active. Playing lacrosse helped me lose some of that weight, and I finished my collegiate career between 195 – 200 lbs. After college, I moved to Philadelphia to play with the Wings. Even though I was on my own with grocery shopping, my activity level enabled me to stay the same weight.

After almost a 4 month hiatus from physical activity, I began working at Fitness Together. I decided to immerse myself in the business and make some drastic changes. My starting weight was about 197 lbs. and I was pushing 17% body fat. I started anew. A brand new workout regime, as well as, a brand new diet. I really wanted to find a way to continue to increase strength, recover faster, and drop my body fat. The answer was ALL IN MY DIET. After, a couple months I was down to 193 and 15% body fat. Now it was time for a complete overhaul! I started doing research and came across the Paleo diet; it is made up of lean meats, vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch, little grains, and NO sugar. This was perfect and it made a lot of sense. I needed to cut out processed food and add more plant based foods. My diet suddenly morphed in vegetarian, and soon enough I was close to Veganism. BUT,  I kept making gains in my workout and kept dropping body fat. A couple months later, i was 187 lbs and 14 % body fat.

By the time the weather got cold I was down to 183 and around 13% body fat.  I kept critiquing my diet, which meant no more refined white flour foods ever! I made the decision my body and results were more important than 2 minutes of taste. I was eating every 3 hours, and felt better physically. At the beginning of January, I started using Vitabot. (the software you aren’t using!!) This thing is amazing. It has allowed to me to see exactly what I am putting in my body, what I am missing, and most importantly, I can control meal sizes throughout the day. After weeks of Vitabot usage, I am down to 178 and 12% body fat. I’ve now started to increase my calorie intake to maintain my weight.  As you can see my weight loss wasn’t overnight, but this is the kind of weight loss that will last because it was done gradually and through permanent change.

My diet and fitness has never been about weight loss, but I feel better at my current weight than I did before. Originally, my goal was to get down to 12% body fat and increase my workout capacity. I’ve done both. Why not pursue it even further. I am still going to tweak my diet and see if I can get down to 11% body fat. I will let you know how this works over the next few months.

I will also be posting a food guide in the next week. This is to help you pick better food options; use it as a shopping list if you want. My goal over the next few months is to post information on each of the food items listed on the guide. I will also go into more detail on specifically how I changed my diet and things you can do to make your life a little easier if your changing yours as well. I’ll post some recipes as well as tips to give you any advantage you can get!

Your first step to a healthier lifestyle is CUTTING BACK ON SUGAR. Start with eliminating juices, sodas, or any other sugary drinks. Please be careful with artificial sweeteners, even though there has been no conclusive evidence linking them to disease such as cancer, there are studies showing that they slow metabolism and increase weight gain. My rule of thumb is that if it has more than 5 grams of sugar per serving forget about it! Take it one week at a time and start making changes

If you take anything from my story, please understand that in order to reach your goals you must have a clean, healthy diet. If you are dedicated to CHANGE…. clean diet, hardwork in the gym, active lifestyle… YOU CANNOT LOSE!

As many of you are aware, Fitness Together is a franchise, with each studio independently owned and operated. There are over 500 studios in operation around the world. One of the most successful FT owners is Pete Piranio. Pete owns 4 studios in the Midwest, and they are consistently rated among the top studios in our franchise system. Pete recently posted an article to his blog that echoes my thoughts exactly, but I knew I would never be able to put those thoughts into words as eloquently as Pete has. So Pete gave me permission to share his blog posting with you. That posting can be found following this brief studio announcement.
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MARCH MADNESS!

Beginning on March 9, we will be having a contest at both studios in honor of the upcoming March Madness, truly one of the great events to watch on TV! To find out about the contest, please click here. There will also be signs at the studios about the contest, and you can ask your trainer for more details. This is a great time to run such a contest, as our studios have been at their busiest ever, a sign that our clients are taking their training seriously. I wish all of you the best in our MARCH MADNESS CONTEST.
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And now for Pete’s blog posting:

“Would you like to make a few changes to your life-lose a few pounds…get in better shape…live the life you’ve always dreamed of?

In this blog entry I would like to share the “secret” or the most important factor in achieving your health and fitness goals. In fact, I believe it is the key to success in any of your life goals.

Probably the most difficult part of starting an exercise program for most is fear. The fear of the unknown, the fear of failure or the fear of not staying motivated long enough to get results. I have done hundreds of consultations with clients and the number one reason they choose personal training with us over a health club or gym is motivation. They need the accountability of a scheduled appointment with a trainer to exercise. And that is fine, but it is still not enough. We can’t be with a client 24 hours a day. The people that get the greatest results unleash the power within.

Don’t worry, it is not just a matter of having motivation or not having motivation. You can find the motivation or drive by simply understanding what motivation really is and knowing how to find yours. Simply put, you can master the science of achievement, which will lead you to extraordinary physical transformation.

The bottom line is that people have within them a force that is so powerful that once they unleash or tap into it, there is nothing that can keep them from accomplishing their goals. The force that makes successful people more successful, and happy people even happier, is the same force that makes unhappy people more unhappy. It’s what causes the rich to get richer and the poor to get poorer. This force is the force of emotion. Learn the science behind emotion and you will find the secret to making a health and fitness lifestyle change.

Whenever people fail to achieve their goals-more money, a better career, a healthier, more fit body — most of the time those people will tell you it’s because of a lack of resources. They didn’t have the time, the energy, the money, etc. They believed that they were missing something and that belief structure is what kept them from being able to succeed.

Think about it, if you really needed the money, if you were creative enough, could you find a way? You bet. Emotions of creativity, determination, commitment, love and vision are all examples of your ultimate force. If you want to know one of the differences between someone who achieves fat loss or improved fitness and someone who doesn’t, it is emotional fitness, your internal force.

In some cases, the emotion finds them. For example, a new disciple of exercise and healthy nutrition may have been created out of a sudden heart attack or learning that they are diabetic. Unfortunately, for some it takes a life changing event or scare to give them the force to make a change in their life.

However, let’s not wait for emotion to find us. Let me share with you a science to finding your emotional force, three steps to developing your “motivation” and making a health change in your life.

First, you must raise your standards and expect more of yourself. The most important step you take is expecting more of yourself. You can’t accept that the way you are is the way you will always be. I suggest making a list of all the things you will no longer accept or tolerate. Write it down, you need to see it on paper and review it on a regular basis. Seeing this list will be a foundation in building your emotional juice.

I would also suggest creating a personal vision statement. Just as a company creates a vision for what it will achieve, you must know what your objective is, or how can you make the right decisions? All your decisions (exercising or not exercising) must be in line with your objective. These exercises are now your standards, but these exercises will do you no good unless you consistently review your standards to give you the emotional force you need to succeed.

Secondly, if you raise your standards but don’t really believe you can meet them, you’ve already sabotaged yourself. You won’t even try. You’ll be lacking that sense of certainty that allows you to find the deepest of internal drive.

Our beliefs are commands, telling us how things are, what’s possible and what’s impossible, and what we can and cannot do. All of this occurs at an unconscious level and most of our actions and decisions are made at an unconscious level only to be supported later by our conscious thoughts. In other words, logic comes in after you have probably already made up your mind with unconscious thoughts.

Beliefs shape our actions, thoughts and feelings. Disbeliefs are ingredients for certain failure. Changing our limiting beliefs is central to making any real and lasting change in our lives.

The final step after changing your standards and beliefs is making a strong commitment. You must find a way to make a commitment that binds you to achieving your goal. Tell a friend, spouse, co-worker what you plan on doing. Tell someone who you wouldn’t want to disappoint. This emotional pressure can help you find the resources (time, money, education) that you need to accomplish your objective because many times it is not a lack of resources, it is a lack of emotional force.

Don’t rely on luck or chance. Get the right education and direction (Technology) you need to make a positive health and fitness change in your life, but don’t stop there. Just as playing the piano is a skill and needs practice, so does developing your emotional force for success. Utilize these three steps to develop your skills, live life and be fit!”
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To your health and happiness.

P.S. Don’t forget to check out our March Madness contest!

P.P.S. Thank you Pete for allowing me to share this inspiring article with my clients. I couldn’t have said it better myself!