Fitness Marketing Expert

Bedros is known for his marketing expertise; He is the best marketer in the fitness industry. He has many marketing materials available, both online and offline for purchase. He knows how to get clients to “know you, like you and trust you” and teaches you why this mantra is important. He holds marketing seminars with big name companies and he’s created many new sales techniques targeted towards the fitness industry.

2. Charles Poliquin

Strength Training Expert & Revolutionist

Charles is highly recognized by his development of Biosignatures, his books and his lectures at the Canfitpro conference. He provides courses such as Poliquins Instant Muscle Strengthening Techniques (PIMST) and his Poliquin International Certification Program (PICP). He is responsible for many of the muscle training techniques used in the fitness industry today. His book “Winning the Arms Race” retails for approx. $200 used and $300 new (expensive but well worth it).

3. David Patchell-Evans

#1 Canadian Fitness Club Owner

Goodlife is the biggest fitness chain in Canada, the fifth-largest in the world, and the largest worldwide with one single owner; being David Patchell-Evans. He wrote the book Living the Good Life: Your Guide to Health and Success. He currently owns over 275 clubs in Canada, and runs the Goodlife Kids Foundation and Goodlife Marathons.

4. Robert Foster

At-Home Personal Training Expert

Robert Foster is the owner of Trainers On Site Inc. Rob runs the number one at-home personal training service in Ontario. He makes sure all of his trainers are up to speed on the newest industry standards and provides world class personal training. His motto is “we show up, even when you don’t want to”.  For more information on Rob, visit: www.trainersonsite.com

Who are some people who you find influential or inspiring in the fitness industry?

They aren’t and Im here to tell you why. Ok, Hitler was a dictator, as was my Science teacher. Are they the same. Are they fcuk. My science teacher was much worse. Picture painted, lets move on.

Eating! It’s easy right? A man needs Roughly 2500, a woman 2000 calories a day. If you eat less than that and do your fucking zumba class you will be a skinny mini with perfect muscle definition. If you’re a guy, training 2 or 3 times a week it should leave the ‘The ROCK’ licking his lips at your physique, chizled from the hills of Sparta. But this isn’t right is it? Why if you are only eating 2 meals a day, with maybe half your RDA of calories are you not losing weight? .. Because it’s bollocks. This subject really frustrates me and I am going to tell you why you don’t have to count calories but take a more intelligent approach to what enters your mouth.

Ok, first thing. Everything that YOU put in your mouth YOU put there. If you ate shit don’t piss and whine, that is your choice. If you fancy eating rubbish dont feel guilty the least you could do is enjoy it. Accountability- you are accountable for your body, it belongs to you, it’s the only thing you have true ownership of- unless you’re married.

Secondly, are you telling me 900 kcals from fish chips peas and gravy would have the same impact on your body as 3 or 4 meals of lean beef steak, asparagus, kale and a scrambled egg side? The chippy would have a catastrophic effect on insulin, driving fat, also high in omega 6 fats would send your body into a more inflammatory state. Omega 3 are anti-inflammatory, Omega 6 Inflmamatory. Inflammation increases the occurance of almost every diesease known to man. In the fish and chips there is absolutley no vital micro or macronutrients.

Micronutrients are things like magnesium, zinc, Vit C etc. Believe it or not you do actually need these. They aren’t just produced in a factory packaged and then marketed to health freaks. These nutrients can, and should be arvested from your diet. Your body is a machine, the finest machine ever produced, to function and perform essential tasks we need these. Imagine filtering all the diesel out of the fuel you are about to stick in your car leaving you with water. You put the water in, but your car wont start? The water once had diesel, but it doesn’t now. You need the right fuel in the right amounts for your body to function.

Next, another reason not all calories are equal is the glycemic index. The amount by which a food causes your blood sugar to increase over a given time. Sugar was given a score of 100 and then everything else was measured against sugar… Well nothing is going to make your blood sugar go higher than sugar right? Wrong. A spud, a healthy little potatoe has a glycemic index of around 120, yep, a spud causes a greater increase in blood sugar than a tablespoon of sugar- do you consider that when you are counting your calories. Bread, has a glycemic index of around 100, the same as sugar- and yes, whole meal is still shit. Why do you think adding a few nutty things into your bread it transforms it into something healthy. I t’s like dressing Ted Bundy up as Barbie and saying he’s a nice guy now. In respsonse to a rise in blood sugar we produce insulin, a hormone produced in the pancreas. It has many a purpose but we will just say it sweeps up sugar for now. Eating a diet high in Glycemic Index foods can induce insulin resistance. A state were by the task force that absorbs sugar is no longer responsive to sugar. So rather than tucking away nicely into your insulin, sugar is more likeley to store as fat and cause damage to cells through Glycation. So now eating just 900 kcals a day from potatoes might help you get skinny, but it will still induce insulin resistance and lead to fat gain in the long term.

So whats the answer? The answer is to be sensible, do some research, be aware of what you’re sticking in your mouth- BE ACCOUNTABLE.. Avoid refined carbohydrates like bread, pasta, rice, they have huge Glycemic Index’ and Insulin Loads and will drive insulin resistance making you fat. Stay clear of sugars and energy drinks unless you want diabetes and to be shaped like a fluid blob of body fat. Cereals are the worst possible way to start your day.

Do stay Hydrated. Do Eat Plent of clean meats and small oily fish- rich source of anti inflammatory omega 3′s. Do eat a broad variety of vegetables with EVERY meal. Do try Green Tea. Do eat a broad selection of fruit, but try and steer towards the small dark type as they contain less sugar and more anti oxidants.

Be Smart, I think deep down we all know that that the calorie model of living is bollocks. If it wasn’t we would all be shredded. Rather than eating juts to satisfy your hunger. Eat to nourish, see every meal as a reward, adding to this wonderful machine that is your body. Eating a broad diet can be very rewarding and reap rewards not only in the asthetic but also reduce the incidence of auto-immune dieasease, improve brain health and improve sleep. Eating and living clean is the greatest reward you can give your body. Start Today!

This blog is focused on young women’s health!

Our guest is Leila Hurst, a junior world champion surfer

It’s our opinion that getting skinny is killing young women, so we’re going to discuss how WE get girls healthy and fit. Leila is a validation of what we do!

Today, we’re going to focus on her training.

She works out 3 times a week, eats very well, surfs every day and goes to yoga. At Stark, she trains with weights and does non-traditional cardio.

We believe that caloric restriction along with long drawn out cardio is killing women, and it certainly doesn’t help them get leaner and healthier. As a result, we focus on growth hormone production by enhancing sleep, nutrition, and proper weight training. The reasoning is that growth hormone regulates body fat. So, if you want to lose body fat, you’ll need to increase growth hormone production.

From a training perspective, for Leila, we have her do exercises like the heavy prowler run which creates lots of lactic acid!

Next week we will focus on diet.

I will give an overview for those of you that are unfamilliar with Biosignature modulation.

What is it?

Biosignature is a method developed by the World renowned strength coach Charles Poliquin, it is a way of analysing your biological profile and determining what hormones are over or under working in your body. Through years of testing many of his athletes Poliquin has discovered that where we store body fat is directly related to our hormone balance.

How it effects you?

Our hormones play a major role in how our bodies function, how our moods change, how our body reacts to stress and where we store stubborn body fat.

How does it work?

By measuring body fat readings from 12 different sites on the body we are able to determine what hormones you are over or under producing. For example a high reading in the umbilical (belly) region is a sign of high cortisol which is caused by high levels of stress. By analysing the results we are able to devise a training, nutrition and supplementation protocol specifically suited to your body in order to:

• Reduce body fat
• Increase energy levels
• Improve sleep patterns
• Improve overall well being

In the coming days i will post more information on what certain body fat sites relate to and they could be effecting your health and body composition.

So as cheat meal day came closer, I had visions ranging from mounds of pasta and pizza, to burgers, fish and chips. Followed by the king of deserts; the simple but very tasty cheesecake. What I actually ended up with was another bloody steak with roasted veg. Yes the place we chose had so little gluten free food, it wasn’t worth ordering. The steak was placed on a bed of carbs, mashed potato, but it defiantly wasn’t the meal I’d so craved. The 2 glasses of red wine however did hit the spot, with takeaway cheesecake on the way home, finished off the first 2 weeks perfectly.

It’s funny really, whilst I’ve looked forward to this meal, my 2nd weighing and pinch test was booked for the following day, which meant the feeling of guilt weighed heavily on my mind. Both Tommy and Rawdon, told me to fill my boots and enjoy the food, however with every mouthful of delicious cheesecake, all I could think about was smashing that 10% body fat mark. It’s a funny feeling, depriving yourself of something, building up to it, but when the time comes, you don’t really enjoy it……?

I went to bed that night feeling fuller than I had done in weeks. With my weigh in and pinch test the following day, I knew I’d done as much as I could have; would I make it into the less than 10% body fat club, I’d have to sleep on it and await the results….

With Rawdon ready with the callipers, the pinch test begins. I’m nervous, but have already weighed myself, and know I’ve lost weight, as long as its fat and not muscle, I’ll be happy. The pinch readings are entered, and I’m eagerly waiting the results. I hit 10% bang on, thats a loss of nearly 1/3 of my body fat in 2 weeks! I’m buzzing. Rawdon isn’t though, he knows I’ve not been taking all the supplements recommended and feels I’d have smashed it with ease if I had. Part of me feels like I let him and Tommy down. Again the results show I’m carrying fat in areas which suggest I’m lacking in growth hormone; hamstrings and calves, zinc and magnesium supplements should aid with this. Even though my weight has dropped, muscle mass is up!

My results are:

Weight: 69.6kg, down from 71.9kg
Body fat: 10%, down from 14.4%
Lean muscle mass: 62.6, up from 61.6kg

Photo taken the night of these results.

All the numbers seems to be heading in the right direction at last. Hopefully my days of hard work and little results are finally behind me.

Overall it’s been a hard induction into the CleanHealth 12 week program, but with these results, the pain, sweat and tears, along with the lack of satisfying tasty food and alcohol seems to be forgotten…….. for the time being anyway!

Next blog I’ll share parts of my new program, recommended supplements and new diet; apparently I’ll be eating carbs!!!!!

For those of you that don’t know me, I am not a big advocate of aerobic (cardio) exercise. Why do so many doctors and health professionals recommend it for fat loss and health gains then? Whilst for certain populations – such as the obese, sedentary, those with high blood pressure and high visceral fat, and of course athletes or those training for a specific event – aerobic exercise is beneficial, it carries with it several negatives for those of us that don’t fall in to these categories. For example, those people slogging away for 45 minutes on the cross-trainer every day of the week to lose the fat around their stomach are actually doing something that is counter-productive. I would love to walk into the gym and (nicely) grab each and every one of these individuals and give them some dumbbells or a kettlebell and (nicely) inform them that with half the time, they could burn double the fat.

Before I get too carried away, I would like to clarify the major difference between aerobic and anaerobic (often in interval format) exercise. There are two methods of cardio (cardiovascular) training. Aerobic and anaerobic exercise utilise different metabolic processes and energy pathways in the body and accomplish different goals. The main difference is the presence of oxygen. Aerobic exercise requires the presence of oxygen constantly to generate energy. When you jog or walk for example at a low to medium intensity your body uses oxygen to burn carbohydrates and fats to produce energy.  This can be performed for long periods of time due to it’s constant energy supply. Anaerobic exercise involves working your muscles at a higher intensity, whereby the need for oxygen exceeds available supply. When we lift weights or sprint for example, because the intensity is very high, you can not sustain it for very long. This type of exercise burns only carbohydrates for energy. This last fact alone is the reason many of us have been mis-informed as to the ‘benefits’ of aerobic exercise (“cardio”) by the talk of fat-burning heart-rate zones and burning more fat at lower intensities. This is true. Anaerobic exercise doesn’t burn as many calories from fat, as an equivalent bout of aerobic work. However, it is not this that truly counts.

Anaerobic exercise in the form of intervals (whereby we schedule rest with high-intensity bouts), is critical and far more beneficial for fat-burning purposes for the following three reasons:

1. It encourages the development of lean muscle mass, by creating a favourable hormone environment of increased testosterone levels, helping to increase lean muscle mass.

2. It causes an increase in lactic acid levels, by signaling the release of growth hormone, which in turn signals to the body to release fatty acids in to the blood stream, which can then be utilised or ‘burned off’. If you are not feeling a touch dizzy or sick from an interval workout at least once or twice a week, you will not be triggering that release of lactic acid required for optimal fat-burning.

3. It raises resting metabolism. For up to 24-48 hours after exercise, the effects of a tough interval workout can still be benefited from. Therefore, rather than just burning calories during a cardio workout and then literally stopping once you jump off the exercise bike, you will be burning calories at rest, long after you have finished an anaerobic interval session (King, 2001).

After we have considered the basic above advantages of anaerobic versus aerobic exercise, there are other downsides to aerobic exercise, many of which are reasons why I will very rarely advocate it’s use in a training programme. Whilst the potential for tonight’s blog is colossal, I will stick to the top three negatives of aerobic-training that I deem to be the most important.

1. Aerobic exercise causes androgen levels (namely testosterone) to drop. Relative to anaerobic exercise, aerobic exercise does not cause testosterone levels to increase. For many females reading this who think “so what”; testosterone is essential for fat loss whether you are a man or a woman. Whenever I have performed a Biosignature on a lean female client (let’s say sub-14% body fat), I have never seen a tricep caliper reading (the androgen site) of more than 10mm. Whether male or female you will struggle to become truly lean, unless your androgen levels (testosterone and DHEA-sulphate) are adequate. This can only be achieved through resistance-based exercise (i.e. weight training) and anaerobic sprint work. The more you train aerobically, the more your androgen levels will plummet and your relative ratio of oestrogens to testosterone will increase (causing fat to accumulate in the upper thigh and bum region as well as the tricep, or ‘bingo wing’ site).

Worryingly for the men, studies (although limited in this area and almost exclusively performed on animals) have pointed to a significant relationship between aerobic exercise and reproductive dysfunction and decreased size of reproductive organs (Manna et al., 2004). Scary huh?!

How To Accomplish Your New Year’s Resolutions

“Willpower”
Have you given up on your New Year’s resolutions yet? Is your willpower weak or MIA? I have good news- your will has no power of its own! How many times have you decided to make a change in your life, muster up your “willpower” only to find that your willpower is weak or missing? Your will actually has no power of its own, so it doesn’t just disappear when you are tempted to eat the bread from the bread basket or to stay in bed instead of going to the gym.

Failure to change is not a result of a weak will. According to James Bryan Smith, the will is the human capacity to choose, to make decisions (1). Should I go to the movies or should I stay home? Should I eat pancakes or eggs for breakfast? Ultimately we choose to go to the movies or eat eggs and our will is the hinge on which the decision hangs. A horse does not choose which direction to go, but goes wherever the rider directs it. The will does not actually do anything but respond to impulses just like the horse.

So how do we make changes if our will has no power? The three primary influences on the will, according to James Bryan Smith, are the mind, the body, and social context1. Change happens when the things that influence the will (the mind, the body, and social context) are modified. Are you ready for change, but can’t muster the “willpower” to do it? Don’t worry- your will can be influenced.

The Mind
The first step to change is to examine our beliefs. Do you believe that change is possible? If not, what are the narratives that you believe that are holding you back? Maybe you believe that “I will always be overweight,” or “I will never be able to change my eating habits,” or “I’m not a disciplined person, therefore I can’t change.” What is it that you believe about yourself that keeps you from changing? To change your beliefs, first eliminate the words “always” and “never” from your vocabulary (Kristina’s false narrative: I will always be a carboholic and therefore will never get below 10% body fat) . Secondly, replace your “always” and “never” narratives with a true statement about what is: “My eating habits are unhealthy,” or “I am not at a healthy weight.” (Kristina’s true statement: I LOVE carbohydrates!). Lastly, replace your “always” and “never” narratives with new narratives: “I can make healthy choices, or I can take one step today towards a healthier life.” (Kristina’s new narrative: I can modify my carbohydrate intake according to STARK nutrition protocols in order to reach my goal.)

The Body
Once you have replaced your false narratives you can start practicing your new beliefs. You are in charge of your body. It only goes where you will it to go, so will it to go to the gym, to the fresh food sections of your grocery store, to bed before 11 p.m.! Practice your new beliefs by getting on a regular exercise routine, stock your refrigerator with fresh, organic fruits and vegetables, grass fed meats, and organic chicken, ask for a supplement tray to increase your supplement intake, and trying to get at least 7 hours of sleep a night. Choose 1 thing you need to work on and practice, practice practice. Don’t be hard on yourself if you don’t do it perfectly. Remember, you don’t use the word “always” anymore!

The Social Context
The most important component to lasting change is to be in community with others who are like minded, who can spur you on, and encourage you. Surrounding yourself with people who have similar goals encourages us to stay the course. Tell your friends and family about the choices your making. Get on a regular and pre-planned exercise schedule with your trainer so that you exercise regularly and consistently. Schedule a remeasure every 4 weeks for accountability. Invite your friends to be part of the STARK family. The more people you have with you on your journey, the greater success you will have accomplishing your 2012 New Year’s resolutions.

Your will might not have any power, but you have the power to modify the things that influence your will! Happy New Year!

1 I have borrowed and modified James Bryan Smith’s concept that change happens through indirection from The Good and Beautiful God (Downers Grove : Intervarsity Press, 2009), pp. 22. The model is the same but has been modified to fit the topic of this article.

Just another lifestyle meets fitness meets random thoughts, cooking, life and love blog here. Why now, why me, why to follow?

Number 1: I’m from Finland. Regardless of that, I blog in English. I want to reach a wider reader base than our teeny-tiny country could provide and like to express myself in English. We Finns have a wicked sense of humor, such lovely and cool people as Adele from Mila’s daydreams and Nobel Prize winner Martti Ahtisaari to mention two of the most sought after Finns online.

(please note the irony. At this time of the year, Finland is dark, wet and absolutely no one smiles. No one knows Adele, yet, and Martti Ahtisaari is not well appreciated regardless of the wonderful work he does. Thank God December 21st is around the corner. The days couldn’t be any shorter. To check out more about Finland, go to http://www.visitfinland.com/web/guest/finland-guide/home which will give you a much more positive and snowier image than we actually currently have. Thee-hee. )

Number 2: I use the Biosignature method to follow my progress. Regardless of the amazing support I have had from my trainers at Optimal Perfomance, I don’t seem to have the discipline to keep up with my exercize and diet routine as I should. Going public is my last resort, as you have read in hundreds and hundreds of blogs before. No, but seriously. I’m 25 and most people who meet me for the first time assume I’m at least five years older. I look old, act young and want to change that to feeling and looking my age. Thought I don’t absolutely agree with every single thing the creator Charles Poliquin suggest (there are some cultural differences, too), Biosignature and the wonderful team at Optimal Perfomance have given me all the tools I need to get my body and mind into shape. People don’t blog about Biosignature and I want to change that.

Number 3: I want to evolve: as a writer, as a person, as an athlete (wow, I’m not an athlete. But if I want to become sporty, I better start fixing my image of myself right now), as a wife-to-be. By putting myself under pressure has to have some effect. If I’m not content now, I have to change that.

So, now it’s your turn. If you stumbled upon me, leave a comment, send me all the links you could find about blogs writing about Biosignature telling me how wrong I am, and do come back. Now I’m off to the gym. For the first time in three weeks. I’ve been having a nasty, stickier-than-bubblegum, superslimy discusting cold for two weeks, but that’s no excuse for the extra week. Now I can finally breathe again, but why didn’t I go work out last week? God only knows.

Kisses!

(picture here)

Jenni

Hi Everyone! Here’s a very simple tip on how to enhance what everyone wants more of: Will Power!

Chn – 6
Chk – 9
Pec – 10
Tri – 7.5
Sic – 11.5
Ssc – 13
Ub – 13.5
Ma – 7.5
Th – 10.5
Ca – 10

BWT: 80kg (up from 76); finally! This has been an influencing my food choices lately. Happy to have hit this weight without too much change in my insulin sites (sic and ssc). Have had this an a personal objective for the last 4months. Has been an interesting journey tweaking food choices to induce greater mass. May need some more r&r if the umbilical is to come back down below 10 and some more androgentic training responses to even out the pec:tri ratios.

Food profile on week days:
1. Meat and nuts
2. Meat and coconut oil and flesh
3. Pwo (most of my cho is here up to 80gm)
4. Meat and sometimes root veg
5. Dark choc or cashews + goats milk (3 wks on 3wks off)
6. Meat and green veg + fat

Food profile on wkds:
Pretty much the same but with higher cho and lower protien. Mainly potato, root veg, banana plus gluten free cake here and there.

Mid arvo shake: max fibre and goats milk

Let me explain. . . .