Back to School, Back to Fitness..

TUNE IN to “WHOLE LIVING” on Martha Stewart Radio (Sirius 112, XM 157) Wed 8/25 @ 10am East, 7a West to hear John live! Phone lines will be open. Tell us how YOU get motivated this time of year to get into shape. Call 866.675.6675.

Ah, summer is almost over.  You and the kids have been enjoying all the summer activities and summer foods together.  The pool, a relaxing vacation, BBQ’s and best of all, no alarm clock!

Snap out of it, soon your alarm clock will be going off at 5:30 AM and you will be frantic again.  The kids are late for school, your husband can’t find his briefcase, and the dog has to go outside before everyone crams into your car to be shuttled to their respective locations.  School has just begun, and your daily routine is already bursting with homework, projects, Girl Scout meetings and soccer practice.  The last thing you want to think about is how to keep up with your fitness routine!

Well, throw that “I just don’t have the time” excuse out the window.  We’ve got your Back to School-Back to Fitness guidelines to help make it easy to  get fit even if you have a jam packed fall schedule.

Back to School – Back to Fitness

The key to making fitness a priority is to simply make it part of your lifestyle.  Here are some tips:

-    Move and burn calories. Yes, you may look a little crazy jogging in place while you make the kids lunch and feed the dog, but the good news is you’re burning calories doing it!  Need some milk for breakfast, walk to the store if possible.  Turn daily activites into exercise.

-    Be realistic. Ok, so you don’t have hours on end to spend in the gym working out, so what?   You can get into fantastic shape working out just 30 minutes a day.  If  you skip a day that is ok just pick up where you left off.  Consistency is the key to being fit.

-    Brown bag it. This isn’t just for the kids! Running around all day?  Pack a healthy brown bag lunch to eat.  By keeping your blood sugar levels steady you will be lest apt to eat fast food and you will have more energy for the rest of the day.

-    Schedule your day. Get everyone off to school on time and you can probably find some “me time”.  In fact if you are dressed and ready for the gym once you get everyone off for the day, you can head straight to the gym and take care of yourself before the day gets away from you.  This will also give you more energy and make you more productive the rest of the day.

This is an exciting time of year, a time of new beginnings.  So why not use this enthusiasm to help get you back into shape?  Who knows, these simple tips may even help you stay in bathing-suit shape year round.

John Rowley is a lifestyle and fitness expert, author, speaker, and Wellness Director for the International Sports Science Association. He focuses on combining peak performance principles with physical and spiritual disciplines for complete and lasting success. Visit him at peakperformancelifestyle.com

This is going to be very brief.  If you want to get and stay fit you simply need to replace some bad habits with some good.

1. Lift weights. Muscle = Metabolism
2. Do cardiovascular exercise.  Burns fat and good for your health.
3. Eat protein.  At least 1 gram per lb of body weight.  Look at my protein made simple blog that has an easy chart
4. Eat all the green veggies you want.
5. Cut back on or eliminate starchy carbs, sweets, etc.  If it isn’t green don’t eat it.
6. The exception to eating the greens is fruit.  You can eat fruit but don’t over do it if you are trying to loose fat.
7. You can have one victory day or meal a week depending on your goals.  For this you can eat anything you want.
8. Eat at least 5 or 6 meals a day.
9. Drink 1/2 your bodyweight in ounces of water.
10. Be consistent.

Do this and you are well on your way to being lean, fit, vibrant and healthy.

How much protein?  Here is a simple chart to help.

The rule of thumb is at least 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. For example, a 100 pound person would take at least 100 grams of protein. This is a unisex rule. It doesn’t matter if you are a man or a woman. It is still 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. You are going to use your current weight, not your goal weight! It’s that simple. Don’t worry. I will give you an easy way to measure your protein out in a minute.

If you are trying to add muscle and/or lose fat, you need more protein. Let me explain. One gram of protein per pound of body weight is the bare minimum. I suggest that most people start off with this amount for the first month or two and then increase it from there. If, however, you are trying to put on muscle or burn fat, you’ll need to up it to 1.25 – 1.5 grams. Once you are doing this for a while, you’ll begin to “know” your body. You’ll know how much you need and can adjust up or down to meet your goals.

A 100 pound person would need at least 5 portions of protein during the day. 100 pounds = 100 grams of protein, divided by 20 grams of protein = 5 portions. Now just divide these serving among the meals you are eating. This 100 lb person would have one serving of protein with every meal if she was eating 5 meals a day and you should be eating a minimum of 5 meals a day.

Below is a simple chart that will help you. You don’t need to go crazy counting your protein intake, just use this as a guide and do the best you can. Making this easy for you will allow you to focus more time on the passions that God has put in your life.

The above portions are based on your current body-weight.

Let me know if this was useful!

Ok now that you are here, there are no secrets to getting and keeping a six pack! I know Sly Stallone would be the first one to tell you that.   I don’t care what the infomercial says or the new book of the week.  Getting a six pack is simple.  Not easy but simple.

This is what Sylvester Stallone had to say in his book, “Sly Moves”;  “Maybe it’s just me, but in the first Rocky, I took supplements and worked out for six months, five hours a day, six days a week, and I never got a body like the one featured at the front of books – and I was under the watchful eye of boxing trainers and anxious studio executives.  It took me from Rocky in 1975 until Rocky III in 1981 to get my “after” body.” No, it’s not just you Sly, my experience has been the same.  It takes time.  Period!   I think you can make incredible gains in 12 weeks especially if you have an all consuming goal but the key is to make fitness part of your lifestyle not just a short term goal.  In addition we know so much more today about getting in shape then back in the 70′s.  I know many of the authors that promote these 12 week challenges and I know for a fact they do them to help inspire and jump start the process for people.  Everyone knows it takes time but focusing for 12 weeks will certainly start the habit of living a healthy lifestyle.

Here are the 5 simple steps to getting a six pack:

1. Eat in such a way that your body sheds fat
2. Lift weights to build muscle, this ignites your metabolism so it burns fat all day long.
3. Do the amount of cardio you need to burn more fat but still recover from your weight training work outs.
4. I put this last for a reason.  It is the least important factor to getting a six pack.  Do ab exercises, along with your exercise routine.
5. Be consistent!

The electric belt, that fancy ab machine, the workout that has you standing on a ball while touching your nose with your foot will not get you the elusive six pack.  You don’t need to exercise like a circus performer to get it, all you have to do is eat right, exercise right and be consistent.

End of story.  Want a simple plan to follow, get my my book, it even comes with 6 online videos to walk you through to success!

Let me know what you think.  Does this sound too simple?

How much protein?
The rule of thumb is at least 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. For example, a 100 pound person would take at least 100 grams of protein. This is a unisex rule. It doesn’t matter if you are a man or a woman. It is still 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. You are going to use your current weight, not your goal weight! It’s that simple. Don’t worry. I will give you an easy way to measure your protein out in a minute.

If you are trying to add muscle and/or lose fat, you need more protein. Let me explain. One gram of protein per pound of body weight is the bare minimum. I suggest that most people start off with this amount for the first month or two and then increase it from there. If, however, you are trying to put on muscle or burn fat, you’ll need to up it to 1.25 – 1.5 grams. Once you are doing this for a while, you’ll begin to “know” your body. You’ll know how much you need and can adjust up or down to meet your goals.

Okay I can hear you now. I don’t know how nor do I want to go around measuring my protein every time I eat. Don’t worry, you don’t have to be meticulously exact. It is very easy, in fact I will show you an old bodybuilding trick and give you a chart to make it simple. 20 grams of protein is a serving. A 20 gram serving of meat is approximately the size of a deck of cards. Usually one scoop of protein powder will be approximately 20 grams of protein, but read the label. You can get that information from the protein container. In fact I use a good bit of protein powder to supplement my protein intake and I am a big fan of Labrada Nutrition.  I have known Lee for years and he has a deep commitment to supplying the best products on the market.  In addition I make sure I always have Chobani Greek Yogurt in the house which is very high in protein & probiotics.  We will get into some tips on how to make eating interesting in a future blog.

So let’s go back to our examples. A 100 pound person would need at least 5 portions of protein during the day. 100 pounds = 100 grams of protein, divided by 20 grams of protein = 5 portions. Now just divide these serving among the meals you are eating. This 100 lb person would have one serving of protein with every meal if she was eating 5 meals a day.

Below is a simple chart that will help you. You don’t need to go crazy counting your protein intake, just use this as a guide and do the best you can. Making this easy for you will allow you to focus more time on the passions that God has put in your life.

The above portions are based on body-weight. For many years, I told people to throw their scales away because body weight is not an accurate portrayal of your fitness level. Since muscle is heavier than fat, you could be getting in better shape, but be heavier. Now, I tell them to get out their scales but to use it as a tool. A scale is necessary to help figure out your protein requirements and to help in the measuring of progress.

I hope this clears up the confusion on how much protein you need and has given you a simply way to figure it out how much protein you are eating.  Let me know if this was useful!

Eating while traveling doesn’t have to short circuit your fitness goals!

Here’s what you need to do:

• Bring food with you
• Bring protein drinks with you
• Eat at the airport or on the road just eat smart
• Bring your vitamins and supplements with you
• Drink plenty of water
• Be prepared

I was at a luncheon with Donald Trump yesterday in New York. We had Filet Mignon and it was fantastic! I flew in for the day and should have been home for dinner but it snowed.  I got delayed at Kennedy Airport for a few unexpected hours.  I was hungry and I know the longer I wait to eat the worse I will eat.  Here are a few keys to eating on the road.

• You can bring pre-made protein shots with you that are less then 3 oz so you can bring on the plane.  Several companies now make them.
• If you have to eat fast food, get the burger, chicken, etc but toss the bun.  Better yet tell them to leave the bun off this way you are not tempted.
• Bring protein cookies with you.  I make my own buy you can buy as well.  This will ease your sweet tooth and keep you satisfied.
• Traveling can make you forget to eat.  Set the timer on your phone to go off every two or three hours to remind you to eat.

Remember you have to eat and eat often to be fit, lean and vibrant.  Now you have some tips to help you to eat well while traveling.

I am starting a new series on this blog called The Brooklyn Body Plan.  I hope this feature is going to be very helpful to you in your quest to live a Peak Performance Lifestyle!

Also I would love your feedback on which name you like best!  Brooklyn Body Plan or Fuhgeddaboutit Fitness?

I want to take a moment to explain the reasoning behind this post.

The main reason I want to do this is to get very straight forward, truthful information into your hands with no hype or BS.

Just like people from Brooklyn, what you see is what you will get on this blog.  Much of my background in bodybuilding and fitness originates out of a little dungeon of a gym that produced some of the best physiques in the world including that of the incredible Lou Ferrigno.  R&J Health Studio holds a place in bodybuilding and fitness history for many reasons and became  famous out side of the bodybuilding world when parts of the movie Pumping Iron where filmed there staring Louie Ferrigno and Arnold Schwarzenegger.  I also had the great honor of owning this gym for a period of time.

I have been in many gyms around the world and have met a ton of people but Brooklyn has a way of boiling things down to the basic truths.  No one has the time or the patients for a bunch of fancy talk and this no non sense attitude carries over into the gym.  Lets find what works, do it and get on with it.

I don’t know about you, but I am sick and tired of all the new fitness gimmicks, weight loss secrets and diets  out there that are a big fat waste of time and money.  Most of the time the physique models that are demonstrating the new diet or piece of exercise equipment don’t even use it.

This blog will be short pieces of useful information that will work and that will be easy to implement into your life.

How do you like that?  Sound like a deal?

If not then don’t worry about it or as We Say in Brooklyn, Fuhgeddaboutit!

I wrote this article a few weeks ago and it has been published all over the world.  I thought I would share it with you!

Are you after the elusive 6-pack or just looking to tighten up your tummy?  There are three key areas you need to focus on to achieve the results you are after.  Read on for a terrific tummy!

1. Proper Cardiovascular Exercise
You can have the best abs in the world, but if they’re covered by fat, you won’t see them.  You must burn off the body fat through proper cardio so you can see your abs.
Cardio needs to be consistent and hard enough to get your heart into the fat burning zone.  At AIHF Wellness, we teach everyone to start right where they are!  Walking for 20 minutes is a good start and then work your way up to at least three to four sessions a week of fast walking, running, the stair master, the elliptical, swimming or biking.  The key is to find something you will do on a consistent basis.  You need to burn more calories then you are consuming so you can get rid of the fat that covers your abs.

2. Proper Resistance Training
The abdominal muscles are a muscle just like your biceps and they need to be worked.  Some great exercises are crunches, leg raises and twists.  Once you get more advanced you can get fancy but for now work on those core exercises and they will strengthen your abs.  This will result in better posture, help elevate back pain and give you nice ab development once you strip away the body fat.

They key to doing any exercise properly is to make sure you are using the desired muscles.  This is even more important when doing abs.  If you rock, sway and use bad form you could injure your lower back.  Make sure you are concentrating on the muscle and not just going through the motion.

3. Proper Nutrition
I am putting this last so you remember it!  Do not sabotage your results in the gym by pigging out at the table.  80% of getting rid of unwanted body-fat is done through proper nutrition.  You can do all the cardio in the world and eat poorly and never see the results you are after.  If you consume more calories than you have expended, you add body fat. Period!
Eat five to six small, well-balanced meals every three hours or so, dividing your protein, carbohydrates and fats among them.  The key to fat loss, is to find the amount of carbohydrates that your body operates best on and don’t exceed that “carbohydrate threshold” by eating too many carbohydrates.
Drink at least a gallon of water each day as well. It will help in nutrient absorption and digestion and with flushing toxins from the body.

Bottom line, make sure you are supplying your body with well-balanced, healthy food every three to four hours, exercise consistently and you will get the terrific tummy you are after!

You don’t have to spend your life in the gym, starve yourself or follow some wacky exercise or diet routine.  You just need to have an effective plan,consistently follow it and you will have the body of your dreams!

Most gyms today have a circuit or equipment grouped in such a way that you can work your whole body just by going down the line of equipment.  In most gyms across the country this is for the novice and is a complete waste of time because it isn’t done properly.  Done properly you can make fantastic gains in a very short period of time.  So if this is the way you have been training or want to start training this way… read on!

This type of training was made very popular back in the 70’s by Arthur Jones the inventor of Nautilus equipment.  Jones would put someone on the first machine, have them go to muscular failure and then with little rest move onto the next piece of equipment that worked a fresh muscle group.  This was done so hard they would have buckets at each station in the event someone got sick.  This is a far cry from what people do on circuits today. HIT (High Intensity Training) circuit training is very effective both in getting you into shape and on the amount of time it takes to complete.

OK lets get started.  First warm up for five minutes on the stationary bike or treadmill.  Then go to the first machine in the circuit and do a couple of light warm up sets.  Once you are warmed up do the first exercise for 12 to 15 reps.  Make sure the weight is heavy enough that you couldn’t do the 16th rep, if you can use more weight.   As soon as you are done move onto the next exercise doing the same thing, 12 to 15 reps to failure then onto the next exercise.  Do this until you finish the circuit.

Most circuits have 12 to 15 machines, so this workout should not take no more then 20 minutes. It will work your muscles, your heart and make you burn fat all at the same time.    If you want to make this more intense you can do an exercise, then skip rope for a minute, then go onto the next exercise and do this all the way down the circuit.  The key is intensity, you have to work this hard in order to see the results but you will see results!

Some points of safety. The reason machines are good for this type of training is because of the safety concerns.  Since you don’t have to balance of the weights you can just focus on working your muscles without getting hurt.   Do not skip the warm up, and when moving the weight you should do the negative part of the exercise twice as slow as the positive.  If it takes 2 seconds to raise the weight then take 4 seconds to lower it.  The purpose of doing this is to make sure your muscles are doing the work and not your joints.  This will allow you to get the best results in the least amount of time without getting hurt.

Now I know you want to get into shape quick but you must realize that diet is 80% of the battle.  The best way to eat is to eat your protein, green veggies and some fruit and to stay away from all the complex starchy carbohydrates.  You need at least one gram of protein per pound of body weight and you should be getting it from good sources like chicken and turkey breast, fish, eggs and egg whites, cottage cheese, etc.  Eat all the green veggies you want, eat 2 pieces of fruit a day, one of which should be after your work out and drink at least 1/2 your body weight in ounces of water a day.

If all of this sounds simple, that is because it is.  It is simple but it takes discipline to do it.  Oh no, I can hear you now… the “D” word!  The most important key to getting in shape is consistency and it takes discipline to be consistent.  The good news is once you are doing this for a few weeks it turns into a habit and then it becomes easy. Just like tying your shoes, after a while it is second nature and you do it automatically.  Just be disciplined long enough to form this healthy habit.

Oh and one more thing!  You don’t need to do those crazy exercise you see people doing on TV in order to get into fantastic shape.  In fact many of these exercises are very dangerous and very irresponsible to be putting on TV.  I saw a celebrity trainer on the Biggest Looser TV show, recently showing how to do a stiff leg dead lift standing on one leg.  I know she was doing this with good intent but this exercise is dangerous enough if you don’t know how to do it on two legs on one leg it is ridiculous and irresponsible.  Sometimes the best advise is to watch what some of these people are doing…and do just the opposite and you will get into great shape.    Only half joking.  It is your body, if something looks wrong it probably is, use your best judgement.

Do a good circuit training routine.  Learn how to do the exercises properly.  Do the basics with intensity and eat properly and you will get in fantastic shape just in time for the holidays!Get