Australia Surpasses the U.S. in Obesity!

"I have great confidence in you; I have great pride in you. I am filled with encouragement; I am overcome with joy in all our afflictions." - 2 Corinthians 7:4

I was listening to a conference call with Craig Ballantyne of Turbulence Training last night. He mentioned that he sells many of his programs to people in Australia. Originally, he thought Australia was a very fit country even though he sold many of his training products to their citizens.

After speaking with a trainer in Australia, he found out that most Australians are actually overweight and many are even obese. I would have been surprised hearing this last night, however, my friend (Dan) in D.C. sent me a link to this article a couple days ago - CLICK ME!

I was a bit shocked when I read the article because, just like Craig Ballantyne, I thought Australians were much more fit than Americans. However, we now see that the obesity epidemic is spreading across the entire world.

As I mentioned in my previous blog, even the Japanese (a culture known to be fit and live long lives) are now trying to combat obesity.

This has become a world-wide epidemic. We need to do something about this sooner rather than later. It's affecting the quality of life for every man, woman and child in the world in which we live, and it's terribly expensive on the healthcare system.

Even with the amount of information available on the internet about nutrition and training, many people don't know where to begin or what to do.

Here are a few simple ideas everyone can implement today:

1. Eat more fruits, veggies, lean meats and healthy fats from fish, fish oil, nuts, seeds, avocados, peanut butter and olive oil.
2. Eliminate processed foods from your diet - If it comes in a box or is man-made, don't eat it!
3. Avoid soda (diet and regular), candy and anything made with high fructose corn syrup.
4. Avoid fast food and fried foods.
5. Read labels more carefully!
6. Drink more water each day.
7. Eat 4-6 small meals per day.
8. Move more! Take a walk each day for 20-30 minutes. Park at the back of a parking lot and walk to the store. Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
9. Hire a trainer or buy results-proven training programs that you can do at home or in your garage and backyard (see some of the links on my blog!).
10. Get 7-9 hours of sleep each night. Keep your room dark, quiet and cool. Try to keep electronics (phones, TVs, computers) out of your bedroom (they disrupt sleep)

By incorporating a few suggestions from the list above, you will help reverse some of the damage caused by poor nutrition and lack of exercise that can lead to obesity and a variety of health problems including diabetes, heart disease, cancer and more!

For some excellent training programs, DVD's and more that you can do at home, be sure to check out Art of Strength.

For a jump start on your fat loss, you can also check out the Warp Speed Fat Loss program.

Art of Strength and Punch Gym - kettlebell training and more with Anthony DiLuglio

"Always rejoice, constantly pray, in everything give thanks. For this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

- 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

When I attended the Perform Better Seminar in Rhode Island last month, I had the good fortune of meeting Anthony DiLuglio of Punch Gym and Art of Strength.

I attended Anthony's hands-on session that included kettlebell training and also spent much time talking to him and asking him questions about Art of Strength and Punch Gym at the social and throughout the weekend.

I've used kettlebells on and off in my training since 2001. I learned how to perform the movements first from Pavel Tsatsouline, whom made them popular right around 2000-2001 through his video, book, web site and sale of official "Russian" kettlebells. There have been others who have used kettlebells in their training and become "Russian Kettlebell Certified" (RKC) since that time including Mike Mahler, Steve Cotter, John Davies and others.

However, it's been Anthony that has brought kettlebell training into the general public through the use of his web site, Punch Gym locations, DVD's, books and other training aids. I am thoroughly impressed with Anthony's materials and his teaching methods. I learned quite a bit in his hands-on session that I had not seen before. I also picked up one of his DVD's and have really enjoyed the quality of the production and how it is set up so you can train while watching the DVD.

If you are interested in kettlebell training, rope training and more, definitely take some time to check out Anthony's web site: Art of Strength.

His materials are high quality, and I highly recommend them. In fact, I recently purchased one of his Bulldog kettlebells for my own training and those I train in my garage. The advantage of the Bulldog kettlebells is that they can be loaded from 8.8lbs - 60lbs. This makes it much more affordable than buying a full set of kettlebells that could easily cost hundreds of dollars (even thousands depending on the brand and how many you buy).

The other advantage of the Bulldog kettlebells is that loading them with steel or lead shot or even sand acts as a "corrective" tool to make sure you are performing the movements correctly. For example, when performing a swing, there should be no sound or shifting of the weight. The movement generates from the hips, and if you hear the loaded material making noise, it means you are not performing the movement correctly. This is a quick and easy way to correct your own form without having to find a certified kettlebell instructor.

Once I recieve the Bulldog kettlebell and the other materials as part of the package I purchased, I'll post my feedback on my blog and include some photos as well.

For more information, check out Anthony's web site: Art of Strength!

Warp Speed Fat Loss - Days 18 through 22 and the Perform Better Seminar!

I apologize for the long delay in posting updates about the Warp Speed Fat Loss program. As I wrote in my previous blog, I left town on Thursday and headed to Rhode Island for the Perform Better Seminar. Ever since I returned on Monday, I have been slammed with work and playing catch up around the house.

Before catching my flight on Thursday, I performed the interval workouts early in the morning. It wasn't easy to perform the intervals and the steady-state cardio at 7am, but I knew I had to get it done since I was going to be traveling. I also packed my snacks for the day to take with me.

My flight to Rhode Island went quite well, and I even arrived 20 minutes early (a first!). I flew with Continental Airlines on the way there, and I was quite surprised when I received a small boxed lunch that included a turkey sandwich, carrots and a Kit-Kat. Although I didn't eat the bread from the turkey sandwich or the Kit-Kat, the meat and carrots were a nice snack. I would highly recommend flying Continental Airlines, as I believe they may be the last airline that still provides meal service and snacks to coach passengers (as I didn't get anything more than a drink flying with US Airways on the way back despite flying at almost exactly the same time).

I have family in Rhode Island, so I stayed with my uncle, aunt and their two kids for the weekend and visited the rest of my family after the seminar on Sunday afternoon. I even stopped by the grocery store to pick up a few essential snacks and other food that I would need to stay on track with the meal plans all weekend.

Although I had trouble sleeping the entire time (I was hot and uncomfortable trying to sleep on the couch or mattress and didn't get much sleep each night), I did my best to stay healthy, get in all my meals, stay hydrated and keep clean (I kept a small bottle of GermX sanitizing lotion in my pocket since I was shaking hands with people during the seminar and working out with various equipment).

Each day, I packed snacks as close as possible to what was required in the Warp Speed Fat Loss program. The only thing I had trouble with each day was the correct meal and portion size for my lunch. I ended up getting a salad from a place called Salad Creations in the Providence mall each day. I created my own salad and added all sorts of healthy toppings including 4oz of grilled chicken. I also ate with my uncle and his family for dinner each night, but we ate chicken or steak with veggies while I was there and just a burger on Sunday as part of my no-carb day.

The Perform Better seminar was incredible! I've attended several seminars and bootcamps in the past three years, but this seminar was the most professional seminar I've attended while also hosting more speakers and sessions than I could possibly attend in the 2 1/2 days. The Perform Better staff did an excellent job preparing for this event and making it memorable. I was excited that attendees also received a very nice backpack, T-shirt, towel, shaker cup and a thick binder of all the presenters' Powerpoint presentations.

Although I never had time to perform the Warp Speed workouts on Friday and Saturday, I did attend several hands-on presentations each day. The first day included an awesome hands-on workout with Rachel Cosgrove (Alwyn's wife) of Results Fitness. The workout we performed was one of the workouts one of her female clients used to drop 35lbs of fat in 12 weeks. And it was tough! I'm used to the Warp Speed Fat Loss workouts, so I thought this workout would be easy. But I was wiped out by the time we were finished. I also attended Anthony DiLuglio's (Art of Strength) kettlebell class on Friday.

On Saturday, I attended Alwyn Cosgrove's hands-on class (another brutal workout) as well as a hands-on bootcamp session. Sunday was another tough day as I attended three hands-on classes (one after another!) including Don Chu's strength and speed session, Juan Carlos Santana's metabolic session and Jeremy Boone's speed session.

The social on Friday evening gave me a chance to speak to many of the presenters and ask questions about the fitness industry and gain some good advice that will help me in the future. I was fortunate to be able to speak with Alwyn and Rachel Cosgrove quite a few times during the weekend. There was also a panel of presenters on Saturday evening that spent more than an hour answering questions from the audience. I was fortunate to be able to ask the last question to each of the panel members: "What one piece of advice would you give someone who is not currently in the fitness industry but would like to become involved (with a business)?" I received numerous excellent answers that I wrote down in my seminar manual to refer to often.

Overall, I had an incredible time. I will definitely attend future Perform Better Seminars, and I may even go to Long Beach next year and make a mini-vacation out of the trip since it's held in June and would be a good time to enjoy the Southern California weather and possibly even go to Alwyn and Rachel's gym, Results Fitness, for a personal visit.

Despite not being able to follow the Warp Speed Fat Loss meal plans and training exactly as written, I did my best to stay on track. When I arrived home on Monday evening, I even trained as scheduled even though I was extremely tired and still sore from the hands-on training sessions I participated in all weekend.

I'll give an update tomorrow to help get caught up for the rest of the week!