Friday, October 23, 2009

Statistics Show More Obese Than Overweight Americans

At the beginning of the this video from Beachbody, they mention that 200M Americans are overweight or obese. I woke up this morning at 5:30AM thinking about that number and that it just couldn't be right, I mean, that's an unbelievable number! So I grabbed my iPhone and did a Google search. Unfortunately the numbers from the video don't lie!

Make a change people. Get in the game people!!!

Statistics Show More Obese Than Overweight Americans - Health News | Current Health News | Medical News - FOXNews.com

Posted using ShareThis

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

New Coach Website!

Making it so much easier to find out information about the Beachbody products we've got a new website just launched today! Check it out!

Brad's Coach Website



Bookmark and Share

Monday, October 19, 2009

The Game Plan: Part 1

Overview of the Game Plan The Blueprint for the Future! Check it OUT!!!


http://teambeachbody.com/showcase/-/bcp/45064842001/2779?referringRepId=2779

DECIDE!!!!!

It's time to decide to make a difference in your life!

Invitation from Beachbody founder, Carl Daikeler

I'm telling you, if you ever wanted to get in on the ground floor of something amazing you have to get in now!!! Don't wait, the tools are here, the system is in place, the team support is available. This is REAL folks! No BS!!! What do you have to lose except your debt! Lets get started together!!! www.bradeickman.com.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Doing the right thing...

I don't get a chance to always check in on Tony Horton's blog, here's one I missed from a couple weeks ago. As a Team Beachbody Coach I can say I've had more then my share of "customers" tell me they got their Beachbody program from a "friend", which is code for pirated copies.

My take on this sort of thing is that if you're not willing to make a small investment in your health and fitness you're really not serious about becoming healthy and fit. With no skin in the game, what's to keep you from just turning that pirated program into another DVD on the shelf? Legally buying any fitness program doesn't guarantee you 6 pack abs but it does show your friends, family, & COACH that you're at least serious.

Thanks for the post Tony!

--------------------------------------

Monday, August 31, 2009
Thanks Ryan
While I was away last week I received a letter and check in the mail from a Mr. Ryan Windeler from Ontario Canada. Ryan wrote about how excited he is that P90X got him in the best shape of his life at the age 37. He also wrote that P90X is becoming as popular as hockey up in Canada.

The second half of the letter was an apology for pirating his copy of P90X off the Internet. He writes, "I can't in good conscience continue to push play knowing that I didn't come by my P90X discs honestly. Honor is a man's gift to himself and today I hope to restore a little of mine by enclosing a money order to you in the amount of USD $120.00." He concludes by saying, "I wanted you to know that P90X has the power to transform more than just a person's body."

I was floored by this letter and check. I know sometimes we might buy movies or workout DVDs that aren't originals (manufactured by the companies that worked hard to create, market and distribute them) and think, "What's the big deal?" The "big deal" is that purchasing these products can and have ruined the legitimate companies that make them. When you buy counterfeit and/or pirated copies of anything you're doing much more than chipping away at a company's profit margin.

First of all you're stealing. You're also hurting a company's ability to develop new products, spend money on media to advertise, preventing companies from hiring new people, and forcing companies to cut corners (that hurts you) to make up for the loses.

Ryan Windeler is a hero because he admitted doing wrong and apologized for it. Sending the check was just a bonus.

Thank You Ryan
Posted by Tony Horton at 5:14 P
-------------------------------



Bookmark and Share

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

RevAbs Available NOW!!

Is NOW AVAILABLE!

Get it at www.bradeickman.com

Friday, October 9, 2009

Fitness, the "Big Picture"

As most know I've been a fitness junkie for many years and a Beachbody P90Xer for going on 2 1/2 years. With the current P90X infomercial and P90X print advertisements as part of the personal validation that hard work, good nutrition and P90X WORKS, I've looked at how my personal fitness journey has effected others most wouldn't consider to be part of the fitness demographic.

In considring this post, I thought about all the people in the last two plus years I've pointed toward a healthier lifestyle. Many who are like me, 30-50 years old and looking to make a change etc. I'm so very proud of all the people I've helped inspire, I can't tell you how happy I am for each and every one of you out there!!!

The other day I got a message from a client who said she went from 175lbs to 145lbs because I helped her understand what "clean" eating was. She said that after evaluating how she had been eating she was convinced she wouldn't live to see 50. "You're my hero", she said. While that's very flattering, I quickly let her know that she was the hero because she was the one who had to eat properly and make time in her busy life to exercise.

This brings me to the "Big Picture". Back in July I was asked if I would be the conditioning coach for my son's soccer team. Never having actually applied my knowledge to 10-12 year old boys and girls I was a bit apprehensive as to what to expect.

I have to say I've been very pleased with not only the kids response but also how it's effected their play in games and practice. The kids and coaches call my conditioning workouts during practice, "Torture and Pain". While some may HATE them many of the kids look forward to the challenge. My philosophy is to push the kids beyond what they "think" they can do. So many people out there just don't know how far they can push themselves because the quit way before they should...where have we heard that before? :)

Stressing proper nutrition PRIOR to coming to practice so they're ready to give 100% is a constant theme. Eating ice cream or some sugar laden snack just isn't going to get it done. Far to many of the kids have had to stop during the drills because they had an upset stomach. After investigating further the answer I get to the question; "What did you eat before you came to practice"? is "you don't want to know coach"... Needless to say, the point is made not only to the kids but to their parents, sitting on the sideline, that it really does matter what their child eats before a game or practice!

At this point in the season both the U10 boys and the U12 girls teams are undefeated! The girls have yet to be scored on while the boys have had a couple close games however they're fitness level is such that by the end of the games they're running circles around the other teams! I'm not taking 100% credit for their success, don't get me wrong, however I think you'll get no argument from the other coaches and parents that the kids are in far better shape then ever before and that it has had an effect on the teams success.

So while P90X has been a life changing program for me, it's done so much more for so many other people near and dear to me. Some of the girls from the soccer team are telling me they've cut two minutes off their time in the mile runs they do at their school PE class. I've had parents ask me for fitness and nutrition advice.

All because I watched a P90X infomercial late one night and wanted to make a change in MY life.

I have become as the kids call me, "Coach Brad"! :) Thank you Coach Scott for taking the gamble on introducing a "conditioning coach" for U10 and U12 soccer!



Bookmark and Share

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Metabolic Syndrome and Diabetes

More great information on Metabolic Syndrome & Diabetes

Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine
October 11, 2009

Metabolic Syndrome and Diabetes

As the standard of living in a country increases, so does the incidence of Metabolic Syndrome. Today, one of three North Americans will suffer premature death from the consequences of Metabolic Syndrome, which is caused too little activity and too
much food (The Journal of Clinical Hypertension, September 2009). Warning signs include: abdominal obesity, high triglycerides, low good HDL cholesterol, overweight, high blood sugar and high HBA1C. (HBA1C is a blood test that measures
sugar stuck on cells. An HBA1C greater than 5.7 shows that you have Metabolic Syndrome).

Metabolic Syndrome means that you are in the early stages of diabetes. If you store fat primarily in your belly, you probably have high blood insulin levels, a sign that your body cannot respond adequately to insulin. High insulin levels are
caused by high blood sugar levels that cause blood sugar to stick to the surface of cell membranes. Once there, sugar can never get off. It is eventually converted to sorbitol which destroys the cell to cause all the side effects of diabetes. As long as your pancreas still makes insulin, you can reverse metabolic syndrome and diabetes. However, once your pancreas dies you cannot make insulin and your diabetes is not curable.

For my recommendations on preventing diabetes, and for treating it if you have already been diagnosed, see http://www.drmirkin.com/public/ezine051009.html In summary:
-Exercise
-Don't be overweight
-Avoid refined carbohydrates except during exercise
-Make sure you have enough vitamin D
-Don't smoke
-Limit alcohol to no more than two drinks per day
-Eat a healthful diet with plenty of vegetables, beans,
whole grains, nuts and other seeds.





Bookmark and Share

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Shakeology new single serving packs!

Shakeology now available in convenient single serving packs!





Bookmark and Share

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

P90X Workout event!!!

Join Coaches Mark Briggs and Duane Deters in Mattoon, Illinois, for a FREE workout! This will be an advanced-level hybrid workout (modifications are available), led by Mark, and all are welcome to attend. Contact Duane for additional information and to RSVP.

Duane Deters: scales5@beachbodycoach.com

TIME:
2:00 PM

EVENT LOCATION:
Mattoon YMCA
221 North 16th Street
Mattoon, Illinois 61938



Bookmark and Share

Monday, August 24, 2009

RevAbs & Core Ball Sandwich review

I received the latest One on One workout, "Core Ball Sandwich" last week and with that deliver was the preview workout for the soon to be released Beachbody program called, RevAbs. I did both workouts over the weeknd, here's my take;

Saturday:
"RevAbs, Fire up your Abs" 40 min of solid core & Ab moves to include one move with a dumbell and moderate cardio. I really enjoyed the mix and flavor of the workout and look forward to the entire program being available this Fall.

Sunday:
"One on One, Core Ball Sandwich; C.B.S." Approx. 40 min. I wasn't expecting this one, if figured it would be more like Tony's other Core/Cardio workouts but was pleasantly surprised to discover it was a great core upper body workout that included L chinups and Stability Ball Pushups. There are 10 moves, you go through them twice. Another great One on One workout that's a must have for the fitness library.

I'm a bit sore today of these two workouts, which is a good thing! Adding these two programs to the rotation is what I call keeping the body off balance and preventing plateau.

The next time through with these two will be even better now that I know what to expect!


Bookmark and Share

Monday, August 17, 2009

Where have I been?

Where the heck have I been over the past few weeks? We just got back last week from a nice 9 day trip to Kauai. :) Great time was had by all, to top it all off I got great workouts in each day! Got to love it!

I strained a calf doing INSANITY Plyo Cardio Circuit at the resort gym so I've been on the mend as it pertains to cardio. I have been knocking out resistance workouts such as the P90X Chest & Back, Shoulders & Arms, Back and Biceps, & Chest, Shoulders, & Tris as well as One on One Thirty Fifteen. Ab workouts are also being mixed in with Ab RipperX, P90 Ab Ripper 200, & TurboJam AbsJam.

I've had to come to grips with the fact that my body just can't take the day after day of INSANITY's high impact workouts. I know I could modify them but that's just not in my makeup, I only know one way to workout and that's 110%. I will be doing INSANITY into my weekly workouts as the cardio option for my weekly workouts. I'll post my weekly rotation once I get it defined.

Another interesting development is that I've been asked to the conditioning coach for my son's soccer team. The head coach is also coaching his daughter's team so we've got a big group, lots of fun. Agility and foot speed has been the initial focus but we'll be getting into cardio endurance training in the next week, oh man are they going to have fun with a very modified Plyometric workout.



Bookmark and Share

Monday, July 27, 2009

Sugar during your workouts

Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine

Sugar During Exercise Increases Power and Endurance


July 26, 2009

A study from Copenhagen, Denmark shows that taking sugar while you exercise increases the amount of training you can do, and does not lessen the benefits of your increased training (Journal of Applied Physiology, June 2009). In this study, men trained one leg while ingesting a 6 percent sugar drink and the other leg while taking an artificially sweetened (sugarless) drink, two hours a day, on alternate days, five days a week. The legs trained with sugar had 14 percent more power and a 30 percent greater time to exhaustion.

Athletes in sports requiring endurance need to train in their sport many hours each day. They damage their muscles by taking a hard workout on one day, feel sore on the next, and then take less intense workouts for as many days as it takes for the muscles to heal and the soreness to go away. The more intense the training workout without injury, the more intensely they can compete. The longer they can go on their less intense recovery days, the tougher their muscles become to withstand the tremendous forces on them during their hard workouts and during competition.

Anything that can increase the intensity of their hard days or amount of work they can do on their recovery days will make them better in competition. Running out of muscle sugar makes you feel tired. So anything that preserves stored sugar in muscles during a workout will help you exercise longer. This study shows that taking sugar regularly during workouts allows you to extend the amount of training without lessening the benefits that you receive from the extra work.

The question had been asked whether restricting sugar during training could enhance performance by teaching the muscles to get along with less sugar. These authors showed that the enzymes used to convert sugar and fat to energy function just as well when sugar is taken continuously during exercise. The muscles trained on sugar had no loss in the amount of stored sugar or the ability to convert food to energy.

Another study showed that taking a drink containing both protein and sugar every three miles and at the finish of a 36-mile bicycle time trial was far more effective than a drink containing just sugar in 1) riding faster at the end of the time trial, 2) preventing next-day muscle soreness and 3) lessening muscle damage, as measured by a blood test called CPk (International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, April 2009). A protein-sugar drink taken immediately after intense exercise also hastens healing of the muscles damaged by hard exercise (Journal of Applied Physiology, April 2009).

Taking refined carbohydrates (sugar or flour) when you are not exercising can cause a high rise in blood sugar that increases risk for diabetes and heart attacks. Contracting muscles remove sugar so fast from the bloodstream that blood sugar usually does not rise too high during exercise and for up to half an hour after you finish exercising.


Bookmark and Share

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

No Longer Waiting!!!

Look what showed up at my door last night!!!!




In the shipment was Insanity Deluxe kit, two tubs of whey protein powder, Volume 2, Disc 1 of One on One, (2) Beachbody backpacks! I have to say it was like Christmas for me! The backpacks arrived just in time as we're headed to Hawaii for a family vacation in a couple weeks and those will come in handy for the day trips, etc.

Insanity is by far the nicest packaging of any Beachbody product, it's a hard bound book! The only thing it's missing was a spot for the Insanity Resistance DVD that comes in the Deluxe package.

It was late when I received the shipment and had a chance to go through it all so I decided to give Disc 1 of Vol. 2 a shot. Very different moves, for me a good medium/light cardio workout. Only 40 min long start to finish. There are some changes to the Vol. 2; wide angle camera, Mason has a mic so we can here him give Tony a hard time, workout timer in lower left corner of the screen, & chapter skip for those times when Tony get to be chatty or because "I'M 50"!! He takes breaks that some might not need...(tony is old).. :)

I'm looking to start the Insanity 60 Day rotation Sunday with the Fit Test...updates and commentary to follow.




Bookmark and Share