Tuesday

Funny Fitness - "2 carbs since 1998" & "Whalin on the Glutes"

Fitness usually doesn't involve much comedy... except when you see those jokers at the gym talking on their cell phone while doing situps! Now that's funny!

First of all, to these people that do ab exercises while talking on a cell phone... leave the frickin cell phone in the car and concentrate on what you're doing!

And 2nd of all, why the heck is anybody doing situps?!? What a waste of time! At the bottom of this post, I have an article with 3 MUCH better ab exercises than situps.

Anyway, I saw a couple funny quotes on movies lately that were actually fitness related, and cracked me up...

The first one... can't remember what movie it was... but this "Mr Perfection" pulls up his shirt in a casual setting, and shows off his oiled-up 6-pack abs, and says...

"I've only eaten 2 carbs since 1998"

Nothing like a little 'carb-comedy'... good stuff.

The second classic movie line (that's fitness related) I love is from Dodgeball. The overweight guy in the cheesy 80's headband and gym outfit walks in to the gym, and Ben Stiller asks him what he's working today, and he says,

"I'm just whalin on my glutes"

Classic line! And a hilarious movie by the way.

Speaking of "whalin on your glutes"... my colleague Joey Atlas actually has a real program that he designed just for this purpose (which he geared for women):

http://sexybuttexercises.com/

And here's the article I mentioned:

The 3 best ab exercises that aren't thought of as ab exercises

Til next newsletter,
Don't be lazy... be lean.

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Founder - TruthAboutAbs.com & http://busymanfitness.com/

Monday

My healthy delicious (or nasty?) "swamp yogurt"

I heading out in a few minutes to get some fresh air and a great workout with my new found hobby of late -- snowshoeing!

I've been a skier for years, and just recently started taking up snowshoeing and I love it! Not as exciting as skiing... but certainly stress-relieving climbing up a snow covered mountain in the fresh air, just letting all the daily stresses out of your mind for a while.

Now what the heck was I talking about in the subject line with "swamp yogurt"???

Well, this was yet another one of my healthy (but delicious) concoctions that I put together for lunch recently.

A couple of my friends saw the green concoction I was eating and called it "swamp yogurt", which I thought was hilarious.

My recipe is a little weird for sure, but pretty damn tasty! Give it a try before you automatically think you won't like it.

Anyway, here's what I mixed together:
  • 1 cup plain full-fat yogurt (grass-fed, organic of course...as long as it's grass-fed don't worry about the full-fat)
  • 1/4 cup cottage cheese (for extra protein)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
  • 1/4 cup frozen sweet cherries
  • 1/4 cup raw pecans chopped
  • 1/2 to 1 teaspoon powdered spirulina (hence the green "swamp yogurt" look)* a little natural stevia to sweeten (I get mine at http://NaturallySweetStevia.com)
By the time you mix this all together, the blueberries and cherries have started to soften enough and I really think this is a delicious mixture...plus it's simply a super-food concoction that you can't beat for nutrition!

If you don't know about Spirulina, it's a blue green algae that's absolutely loaded with vitamins, trace minerals, carotenoids, tons of antioxidants, and more.

One great "green mixture" I found that you can try is called "Green Food Feast" and can be found at the following site (it's dried without heat to preserve the nutrients):
http://nature.wildfamilynaturals.com (look under the left tab for this)

They've also got a ton of great products including virgin coconut oils (the undisputed healthiest cooking oil by far).

Enjoy! This yogurt mix ends up delicious despite the deep green color.

Feel free to email this link on to any friends, family, or co-workers you know that might enjoy it.

Here's another recent article I did to give you healthy food ideas:

My Top 5 Picks for the Healthiest Fat-Burning Foods


Til next newsletter,
Don't be lazy... be lean.

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal TrainerFounder - TruthAboutAbs.com & http://BusyManFitness.com
http://AvalancheSkiTraining.com

Healthier high fiber & protein breads

I know most of us tend to like really quick and simple tips to eat healthier or exercise more effectively. Stuff that you can take action on immediately, and by using more and more tips over time, can really improve your body and health.

So I'm going to try to start mixing in some short newsletters that are just quicker little tips here and there... quicker than normal length newsletters. I think you'll enjoy them!

For today, I just wanted to let you know about some of the great breads that I use that are much healthier than your normal breads (even the so-called whole wheat breads).

First of all, I believe it's best to limit breads and grains in our diets as much as possible.

Grains in high quantities are fairly new to the human diet (in the last 5,000 years or so)... compared to the historical diet of humans, which was mostly hunter/gatherer based for much longer periods of time (meats, fruits, vegetables, berries, nuts, seeds). Therefore, our genes are still programmed for mostly a hunter/gatherer type diet, even though the modern diet that most people eat (high in grains and sugar) is drastically different.

With that said, most of us still like our breads and don't want to give them up altogether. So, I choose breads that are super high fiber and also higher in protein. I also try to choose sprouted grain breads as much as possible (the sprouting of the grains helps to reduce the anti-nutrients in normal bread such as phytates).

One of the breads that I choose most often is Ezekial Sprouted Grain bread, which is becoming more available, not just in health food stores anymore.

My other favorite healthier bread is from a brand called French Meadow Bakery. I realize this one may be hard to find at anything other than a Whole Foods or other health food store, but here's some of what it contains in case you find something similar:

per slice: 7 gms protein, 9 gms total carbs, 4 gms fiber (wow, almost 50% fiber to total carbs ratio), 2.5 gms healthy fats.

Compare that to normal bread (even whole wheat bread), which has a lot less protein and fiber, and a lot more processed starch.

some of the healthy ingredients: various mixed sprouted grains, sesame seeds, flaxseed, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, kamut, spelt, oat fiber, etc.

I like these breads best with some almond butter and topped with fresh berries for an extremely healthy snack mid-day.

If you liked these ideas today, please feel free to email this link to your friends, family, or co-workers.

My favorite nutrition program:

http://the-non-diet.com

Have a great day! I'll be back soon with more Lean-Body Tips.

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Founder - TruthAboutAbs.com & http://BusyManFitness.com
http://AvalancheSkiTraining.com

Wednesday

Shorter workouts - balls, kettlebells, circuits, and more

Before I get to today's article, let me tell you about my butt kicking workout today.

As you may know, I'm a die hard skier in the winter, and we got almost 2 FEET of fresh powder today in Colorado... a powder day to me is like a day at an amusement park for a kid.

If you don't ski, you may not understand the natural high that comes to us skiers on a powder day...

It's almost a euphoric feeling to be floating around on the powder all day long...and you hear nothing but whoops, yells, and "woo-hoo's" of sheer joy all around you...

but it's also an incredible workout. Each run is like a 10 minute high intensity "mini" interval training workout... followed by a 15 minute rest up the lifts, and repeated all day long.

If I got in 15 runs today, that's like 15 mini interval training workouts spread throughout the day! Now you know why overweight skiers basically don't exist (at least the skiers that are good, and do it frequently).

Just another example of getting your exercise with something fun that you enjoy. For me, skiing, mountain biking, hiking, and lifting weights are all part of my lifestyle. Find what you enjoy, and you've found lifelong fitness.

If you're a skier and want rock hard legs that last all day long on your next ski trip, make sure to use my new training program: http://avalancheskitraining.com/

Or even if you're not a skier, and just want some crazy effective leg workouts!

Today's workout article:

Here's more great ideas to kick up your workouts a notch in 2009. Also, to really give you the motivation you need to succeed long term, consider joining the transformation contest mentioned in the article.

http://www.stomachfatisugly.net/fat-loss-workouts-cardio-exercise-interval.html

Be back soon with more lean-body recipes, workout tips, and more.
Til next ezine,
Don't be lazy... be lean.

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Founder - http://truthaboutabs.com/ & http://busymanfitness.com/

Tuesday

7 Hot Fat Burning Trends this Year

Just got back from the gym... did a killer workout mixing in high intensity jump roping (super-fast skipping) in between sets of various full body weight training exercises. What a workout! It felt great.

I don't understand how anybody doesn't enjoy working out... it just makes you feel so good.

Well, it's officially the busiest week of the year in gyms... everybody has made their resolutions (and most will fail, because they don't set firm GOALS, with a real time frame)... and the gyms are packed to the gills with every single cardio machine being crowded.

As I've talked about many times before, I think traditional cardio is the most overrated type of workout anyone can do. There are definitely more effective ways to lose fat faster and change your metabolism more permanently.

Here's an article below to help give you some ideas to kick up your fitness a notch this year...

The 7 hottest fat loss workout trends this year (Part 1)

I'll be back with part 2 tomorrow.

Have a great day!

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Founder - TruthAboutAbs.com & BusyManFitness.com
http://AvalancheSkiTraining.com

Thursday

A powerful fat loss technique you need to know...

Happy New Year! I hope you have the healthiest and happiest year yet in 2009.

In today's ezine, I'm going to show you an extremely powerful technique that can help you break through your barriers and lose more body fat than you thought was possible.

Between working as a personal trainer and nutrition counselor for almost a decade, and authoring my best selling fitness book, Truth About Abs, over 200,000 people have used my fitness programs. However, does every single person get results? Some get great results, some don't get any results... Only those that actually TAKE ACTION on the advice get results.

It doesn’t matter how well my fat loss techniques work... If you don’t follow them, you WON'T lose fat.

For my clients who have trouble sticking with a program, I give them a technique that has nothing to do with nutrition or exercise. It’s something called medical hypnosis.

As I've said a thousand times before, your fitness all starts in your mind... and that's where medical hypnosis can help to make it automatic for you to take the right types of action that create long term results.

Now before you start thinking, “Why on earth is Mike recommending hypnosis...” I want to clear up a common misconception. Medical hypnosis has NOTHING to do with staring at the pendulum-like swing of a gold pocket watch or falling into a suggestive trance. Don't worry, you won't hear any crap about "you're getting very sleepy".

Medical hypnosis is a proven technique endorsed by the American Medical Association and the British Medical Association. What’s more, it works. I’ve seen people use medical hypnosis to get focused on their diet and follow it with almost no effort at all.

Instead of fighting and resisting your diet, you’ll feel good about what you’re doing and stick with your program without even thinking about it.

If you’re skeptical, I understand. Many people are when they first hear about this. But I wouldn’t waste your time (or mine) with something that doesn’t work.

I’ve read many of the studies on medical hypnosis for wt loss and the results speak for themselves. In one, researchers split people following a diet into two groups. One used medical hypnosis, the other didn’t. The group who used medical hypnosis lost an average of 17 pounds. The group that didn’t lost an average of only 0.5 pounds.

That’s not surprising... Being committed to the program you’re following makes all the difference – especially over the long term. A study from the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology shows medical hypnosis does just that: Improves your results over the long term.

Their study found adding hypnosis increased wt loss by an average of 97% during treatment. More importantly, medical hypnosis increased effectiveness AFTER treatment by over 146%.
Clearly, this technique is even more effective over time. And as you know, long-term commitment to any fitness program is the key to lasting fat loss.

The best medical hypnosis program was designed by America’s lea
ding expert in the field, Dr. Roberta Temes. In fact, she “wrote the book” on the subject. She’s the editor of the first hypnosis textbook used in medical schools, Medical Hypnosis. (Psychiatrists in training are learning her techniques for medical hypnosis!)

Dr. Temes is also on the faculty of the Psychiatry Department in the Medical School of the SUNY Health Science Center. She’s also involved with research on the behavioral factors involved with long-term weight loss.

Best of all, her program takes only 20 minutes per day and, simply by listening to relaxing CDs, may help you automatically follow your fitness program and regain your health.
This may not work for everyone, but it is something you should consider if your previous attempts have been unsuccessful because you've resorted to previous BAD HABITS.

Here are some of the experiences you may uncover if you go through Dr. Temes seven session program:
  • Cravings can be reduced instantaneously, allowing you to stop binging before you start
  • New neural pathways will be created that empower you to replace unhealthy eating habits with healthy ones
  • Experience effortless motivation without relying on willpower
  • Your desire for sodas will be eliminated and replaced with a craving for WATER!
  • Pounds will melt away as you automatically eat the right foods and right portions, while making exercise a part of your every day routine.

Keeping an open mind allows you to grow in spirit and successfully overcome challenges that may have been haunting you your whole life.

By special arrangement, Dr. Temes is offering you an exclusive discount on her medical hypnosis for weight loss program. To find out how it can help you drop fat and keep it off, just click the link below...

http://www.hypnosisnetwork.com/hypnosis/ewl/special?hn=1921

Follow this and you should have your best body yet this year!
Til next newsletter,
Don't be lazy...be lean.

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Founder - http://TruthAboutAbs.com & http://BusyManFitness.com

P.S. Here are some good representations of the power of this weight loss program:

"I have used the program for just 10 days and have lost 6 lbs. What is most amazing after all my failed attempts at weight loss is the ease of sticking with my program since using the CD's! For the first time in my adult life I feel like I am in control of my response to food, and believe I am incorporating all those healthy eating habits that have eluded me in the past. It feels wonderful to go through the day without obsessing over food, and feeling fulfilled rather than deprived. I can definitely see these as lifetime, lifestyle changes. Thank you for the wonderful tool!"
Angela RobertsSomerville, New Jersey

"I am now down 20 pounds and still have not had any problems with stress eating (my lifetime habit is to overeat). I am also walking close to 5,000 steps per day now (a little over 2.5 miles) and into a size 16 from a 20/22 and people are finally beginning to notice. I personally thank you for your program even though I don't understand how it works. I am starting to like who I see in the mirror."

Syndi Ellison
Advertising & Finance Manager
Washington State Magazine

http://www.hypnosisnetwork.com/hypnosis/ewl/special?hn=1921


Fat loss trends for the new year