Expectations

Do life a big favor and refuse to accept anything less than the best from it. Give respect to those around you by relating to them with the highest of expectations.

It is not naive, cruel or arrogant to sincerely expect the best of yourself, of every other person and of every situation. In fact, it is highly empowering and enriching for all concerned.

Genuine, deeply-held expectations serve to powerfully guide thoughts and behavior. And by so doing those expectations create results.

Expect the best of yourself, and when you start veering off course your high expectations will push you to get back on track. Expect the best of others, and you will instill a sense of confidence that can substantially boost performance.

If you do not truly expect to reach them, your dreams and goals will only tease and taunt you into a sense of bitter frustration. Yet when you give those dreams the power of positive expectation, you have what it takes to make them real.

Your expectations can influence every thought, every perception, every action, every interaction, and every situation. So choose to make those expectations the very highest and best they can be.

This was passed to be my girl V, who received it from the people who make it possible and easier for her to do what she loves to do…her trainers. I thought I would take a minute to pass it on to those who are in the midst of training, competing and achieving their goals; I hope it inspires everyone I pass it on to as much as it has inspired me.

Danielle can do more then just get you in shape; she can inspire you to lead a better life. She’s one of our best professionals, and you can only find professionals of her caliber on Fittron.com

 

http://fittron.com/danielle_hollenshade

Fittron Professional- Karla Podewils Venazio

 

Karla Podewils is quickly making her mark on the fitness landscape in Florida and beyond. A voracious learner always looking to improve herself, Karla has been drawn to fitness and education since she was a young girl growing up in Wisconsin. Realizing the inherent benefits of a healthy life and body, Karla gravitated towards a life of fitness.

Possessing not only a striking physique and warm personality, Karla is an astute learner and gifted student, who graduated from High School at 16. She also has an associates degree in Art.

Displaying an early flair for success, Karla translated her talents in the classroom into fitness and began competing in the Florida area. She is currently an NPC (national physique committee) figure competitor in her second season as an Amateur. Like everything else she had done in her life, Karla has had great success on the figure circuit and will surely make her mark on the fitness world as she continues to compete throughout Florida and the Country.

An avid reader who always believes you can learn more, Karla is going back to school to get her RD (Registered Dietician) degree and study Food Science. Already holding a personal training certification, Karla will be adding to her impressive resume with an advanced degree. Soon she will be able to provide you with not only personal training, but diet plans and nutritional advice as well.

Karla’s look has caught the eyes of many advertisers and she is a spokeswoman for numerous companies and products throughout the country. She is available for contract work and is a tremendous advocate for her sponsors. She does trade show work, commercial, print and television, and always leaves her mark. Anyone looking for a professional spokeswoman should contact Karla. She will grow your business, and work in a professional manner.

Karla is indicative of the type of professional that you will find on Fittron; a fitness star who you won’t find at your local gym. Nowhere else do you have the ability to interact with fitness professionals of her caliber. Nowhere else but Fittron.com

Come visit Karla’s profile to learn a little more about her. You’ll be glad that you did.

http://fittron.com/karla_venazio

The Best Personal Trainers in North Jersey

If you’re a regular visitor to our site you know that our professionals are spread out throughout the country. We’re in 20 different states now, and growing everyday. Still, you’ve probably noticed that we have more professionals in the New York/New Jersey area, then anywhere else. And it’s true. Our biggest concentration of professionals is in the North Jersey and New York area.

The North Jersey area is the most densely populated region in the country. Attempting to wade your way through the legions of fitness professionals in this area can be daunting; that’s why you have Fittron.com. We list the best professionals in the area. Ones that you can be sure can help you accomplish your fitness goals.

 

Just enter a North Jersey zip code, 07631, 08901, or 08610, and check out the professionals that you pull up: Ken Herishen, Christopher Williams, Rick Stype, and Michael Hurley, just to name a few. Click on their profiles and read about their plethora of accomplishments. Chris is not only a personal trainer, but a trained airline pilot. Kenny specializes in youth fitness and helping young athletes achieve their fitness goals. Rick runs his own personal training business and is active in the Rutgers athletic community. Mike Hurley has been a trainer for over 25 years. This isn’t a Craigs List of professionals. These professionals make up the most accomplished fitness directory on the web. Every single one of these professionals is available to come to your home or apartment and do in-home training with you. You don’t have to go through a gym, you don’t have to sign membership fees or long term contracts; you just have to go onto Fittron.com and contact them.

 

North Jersey is a tough place; you have to work hard to make it here. The professionals in North Jersey who list their services on Fittron fit that mold. They’re not your average personal trainer who works on weekends for some extra cash. Personal training is a full time job for all of these gentlemen.

No more walking into your local gym and asking for some fitness professional you’ve never met. You have a choice now New Jersey. Our professionals are the best you’ll find anywhere. Come see for yourself.

http://fittron.com

All-Natural, Gluten-Free Date Soy Cups

Elemental Nutrtition Vanilla Soy Protein
3 Tbsp unsweetened soy milk
2 ½ Tbsp regular Molasses
1 large egg
¼ tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp cloves
½ tsp ginger
1 tsp natural vanilla flavor
juice from 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 350 F

Instructions
1. Toast pumpkin seeds for 3-5 minutes, until light golden brown (if raw)
2. Process next ten ingredients in a food processor
3. Pour batter into equal parts into 8 muffin container* spaces
4. Top each with one Tbsp of toasted pumpkin seeds
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes until completely set

Nutrition
235 Calories, 11 g protein, 7 g fat, 1.5 g sat fat, 36 g carbs, 5 g fiber

*I used silicone containers because they do not have to be greased. If using a aluminum container, spray with cooking spray or use paper holders.

Jean is available to supply meal plans, nutritional information and more.

Come enlist her services at fittron.com

http://fittron.com/jean_jitomir_ms_rd

Healthy Eating to Support Strength Training

 

I promised a simple menu for a client that continues to work hard taking two steps forward at training but falls back three steps – thru her eating habits – and finds no gain is accomplished.

In fact, most of us struggle with the same issue. I encourage people to make a selection and commit to a nutritional support program that you can live with – daily – for at least two months and then stand back and see the results of your work. For example, my website provides a link to eDiets which provides an array of diet and nutrition choices. Pick one, sign up and work with it.

Alternatively, you can use my simple menu below. Simple, because it is void of a lot of choices; easy to remember and very basic.

Weigh yourself and mark the calendar. Follow this menu every day for two months. Email me and let me know how many pounds you lost as a result by sticking to the plan. If you incorporate a strength training and cardio/interval circuit workout, I will guarantee you will see a change in your body weight, a gain of muscle tone and loss of body fat.

Remember! This is an EVERY DAY Plan

Morning Meal -Small Bowl of Oatmeal - use cinnamon, cloves, raisins, etc to spice it up and keep it interesting. Do not use the instant pre-sweetened, sugary packets. Make it yourself from scratch! Coffee, Tea or Juice or your choice.

Yes, its a carb. Yes, you need the energy. Yes, it has fiber and will help keep your body regular and remove the cholesterol. My favorite is Quaker Oats 1-Minute Quick Oats with 4-5 slices of Turkey Bacon and a large cup of coffee.

Mid-Morning Meal – Egg Whites - whether scrambled, an omelet or boiled. Plan to eat 3-4 egg whites before 10am every morning. Whole wheat or grain toast or muffin is great. Make it interesting with peppers, onions, spinach, broccoli, feta cheese, whatever will help you to eat the clean protein. If you miss the oatmeal you better not miss this one. I eat some sort of Egg White Omelet every morning. An alternative would be an egg white smoothie! Yeech you say? Ok, then use a Ready-to-Drink Meal like, Muscle Milk Ready-to-Drink Meals (11 ounces = 220 caloriesp; 9g carb, 11g fat, 21g protein packed) . These can be found at TheVitaminShoppe.

Lunch – Healthy Protein (fish, chicken or beef) grilled or broiled (never fried) with colorful vegetables (green, orange, yellow, red, purple, get the picture, salad, broccoli, yams, carrots, corn, beets, squash, eggplant, etc.) No pasta, no rice, no potatoe, no bread. Have the veggies cooked, steamed, broiled or raw. Just eat them with the protein before 1:00pm.

Mid-Afternoon Meal – Protein Snack – No not a candy bar or cake or a cookie. Celery with Peanut Butter, Tuna with Celery, Apple with Peanut Butter, a Muscle Milk RTD, handful of nuts with a piece of fruit. Combine a Complex Carb with a protein and fat for a small snack. Because I am on the go, I tend to use the Muscle Milk drink or I grab an apple with a couple of spoons of peanut butter. Try it for 2 months and watch what happens. Let me hear from you!

Dinner – Healthy Protein with colorful vegetables. Same as lunch, just pick something different. No wine, no beer and no soda. Try Crystal Light or Green Tea flavored water. Dinner is best if it can happen between 5-7:00pm.

Evening Snack – Protein Snack – You guessed it, and RTD or a smoothie, a piece of cheese and a pear or apple. Keep it light and simple. You do not want a lot on your stomach while you are trying to let the body rest and recover for the evening. This shouldn’t be any later than 10:00pm.

Then get up in the morning and start all over again!

Come visit Gina at Fittron.com and enlist her services to help you on your journey towards a healthier and happier lifestyle.

http://fittron.com/gina_jackson_personal_fitness

Muscle Inferno: How many Calories is your Lean Mass Actually Burning?

If your answer is 30-50 extra Calories per pound of added muscle, you are … dead wrong! This muscle myth is a wide-spread and detrimental piece of misinformation; extra muscle mass will improve health, improve functional strength, and make you sizzle, but the amount of muscle gained through resistance training in the short term will not send the metabolism soaring.

A top notch article (1:Best Pract Res Clin Gastroenterol. 2004 Dec;18(6):1009-29) reviewed the impact of various kinds of exercise on weight loss and metabolism, which was compiled for the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). To write this kind of paper, the authors searched extensively for the relevant scientific research about a topic and then combine all the results statistically to draw a conclusion.

The article states that 1 kg of muscle mass burns an additional 25-50 calories; the high estimate would tranlate to an additional 11.4 Calories per pound of lean muscle mass added. Consequently, this value is very similar to a value of 13 Calories/pound that I determined by statistically analyzing the data from my lab at Baylor University. The most conservative estimate predicts that an extra pound of muscle burns only about 7 Calories/pound.

A value of 30-50 kcal/lb of lean muscle is unrealistic and untrue, though it is published a lot in popular media. Numbers this high do not make practical sense. For instance, suppose a typical male bobybuilder has 100 lbs of muscle mass (not including the bone, organs and other components of fat-free mass), the mythical numbers would suggest that his muscle alone is burning between 3000-5000 Calories a day. On top of that, organs burn far more Calories per pound than muscle, so based on popular dogma, the man above maybe about 6000 Calories/day. I’ve measure the metabolism of countless athetic men, and roughly 3000 total Calories per day would be high for an athletic man of this size.

When high values are provided in articles, they are not supported by scientific literature; however, articles that reference research always suggest lower number, which generally range between 5-15 Calories per pound of muscle. Another good article that addresses this topic is below:

http://www.optimalhealthpartner.com/Media/Myth%20of%20muscle%20as%20calorie%20burner.htm

Jean has more knowledge to bestow upon you. Come visit her on Fittron.com and live the healthy you’ve always wanted.

http://fittron.com/jean_jitomir_ms_rd

Short on Time, Long on Results

If you’re like most New Yorkers, you’re time-starved. The CME model (Cardiovascular, Muscle, Endurance) is great when you have less than an hour to get in a total body workout that builds strength and endurance while burning body fat.

My SLCC exercise (Squat, Lunge, Curl and Crunch) does all of this in 30 to 40 minutes.

Grab a pair of dumbbells. Hold them by your side, arms nice and straight. Feet, shoulder width apart.

1. Now, do a squat. As you come up, do a bicep curl with both arms. Hold those barbells at shoulder level.

2. Lunge back with one leg while lowering only your opposite arm. Raise that same arm back up to shoulder level as you lunge back up to starting position.

3. Now lunge back with your other leg, while lowering your opposite arm.

Raise that arm back up to shoulder level as you lunge back up to starting position.

Congratulations. You’ve just done one rep. Now, do four more to complete the set.

Do a set of pushups in between each set and end your workout with an abs burnout.

That’s it. In less than an hour you’ve worked your entire body and you’ve benefited your heart and lungs with some good cardiovascualar work. And – you’ve burned body fat.

Easy Day. Sidney Wilson.

Come check me out on Fittron.com and let’s get to work.

http://fittron.com/sidney_wilson

Worried About Wheat? Celiac and Giving up Gluten

Hi Jean,

I wanted to ask you if you had any experience with the “making” of food. I know that you are a nutritionist and are in a PhD program, but have you ever made specific food before?

I’m inquiring because I’m looking into “wheat and gluten free” products. My mother and sister cannot eat wheat, they have celiac disease, and are on a wheat free diet. They are doing fine, and there are a number of products available for them to eat.

I think that the whole “wheat free” diet could be a fast catching and healthy fad. It seems to me that it eliminates most carbs. Not sure where “wheat” stands on the healthy scale, or what the real health value of the food that they replace it with (rice based, gluten free products) is. But I wanted to ask if you knew anything about this.

-PJ

I actually worked as a healthy cooking instructor for a little over a year while I lived in Buffalo, NY. Though I didn’t have a lot of cooking experience when I started, the cooking school was required to have an RD (registered dietitian) to teach their general health and fitness cooking class. Since the manager already knew me, I got the job, though I floundered a lot in the beginning. Let me just say, it’s hard to cook four-five courses for 30 people in two hours! In any case, I’m certainly not a chef, but I do develop recipes that fit clear nutritional considerations– my recipes are generally low-processed, high-protein, low-fat, and rich in antioxidant vitamins and minerals.

Celiac disease (CD) is a autoimmune condition (the mounts and inflammatory response against itself); the disease may be “triggered” by stressful or traumatic event, including surgery, pregnancy, childbirth, or severe infections. A person dealing with CD has a body responds very badly to the gluten protein found in wheat and some other grains, specifically: rye barley, and oats (to some extent). Gluten is created in foods when two proteins, glutenin and gliadin, are processed together to make the gluten product. For example, when kneading homemade bread-the gluten forms gives the dough elasticity and allows the bread to rise and hold a shape. Thus, it is very hard to produce gluten-free breads, because it is difficult to find a good substitute with the same shape-holding ability of gluten. Furthermore, CD is distinct from a gluten allergy.

A food allergy generally results when a whole food protein or peptide is absorbed and the body mounts a immune response to protein, which the body see as an “invader.” The body’s response to the food is a lot more damaging the the actual food protein, but that’s how allergies work! Celiac disease, on the other hand, just completely screws up the small intestine and makes it nearly impossible for the person with CD to absorb nutrients, vitamins, or minerals. CD individuals also experience, bloating and other stomach problems, unexplained rashes, loss of energy, joint pain or may have no symptoms at all. If a CD patient continues to eat wheat, and other gluten containing foods, he or she will be at increased risk of malnutrition and other diseases over time.

For people who do not have a wheat allergy, gluten allergy, or Celiac disease, wheat is NOT unhealthy. I think the primary problem with wheat is that is such a dominant grain in our diet that dietary “variety” for many is defined as: wheat bagel for breakfast, wheat crackers for a snack, whole wheat bread at lunch, and whole wheat pasta at dinner– catch my drift? It’s all wheat and your body is continually exposed to the same irritant over and over if you have an intolerance!

There are many other good sources of carbohydrates in the Americans diet that are wheat-free for instance: rice, corn, all fruits, starchy vegetables (potatoes, peas, sweet potatoes), and legumes (including lentils and beans). Carbohydrates are a NEEDED part of the diet and should not be considered unhealthy, especially by athletes. My own carbohydrate intake ranges typically from 40-50% of my total calorie intake and my body fat has not been above 17.5% on the DXA in the last three years, this is despite an “off-season” where I do limited cardio and eat a lot more overall calories. Carbs are not bad. The wrong carbs (added sugars, corn/rice syrups, white flour, including rice flour!), over-representation of wheat in the general diet, and high intake of highly processed foods are unhealthy.

There are many gluten-free processed products out there. Except for the case of CD, I would not consider gluten-free processed products inherently healthier than regular highly-processed wheat products. On the other hand, an individual can make a healthy and varied gluten-free diet by focusing on whole foods. In fact, eating too many processed products that claim to be gluten-free may place individuals who have the problem at greater risk, since many factories may manufacture both kind of products, which presents a risk of cross-contamination!

If someone wanted to make a fad out of wheat/gluten-free, I think it’s possible; however, it already been a fad for years in the bodybuilding world and in some health circles. It would also be unethical to manipulative advertising to convince the general population that they should be on a gluten-free diet. About 1% of the American population has CD; however, the number of people currently diagnosed with CD about 0.25%; so, for every person found to have CD, there are 3 to 10 more who are ignorantly living with the disease, symptoms, and chronic health risks. Personally, I would love to see population-wide Celiac testing– a number of serious genetic condition are tested for at birth in the US, which have much lower prevalence (though more immediate detrimental effects). Though CD cannot be tested for until the age of two, the implications are serious and the incidence, 1 in 100, is high enough that early screening could improve the health of Americans and reduce long-term health care costs resulting from CD-associated chronic diseases.

-Jean Jitomir

Come visit Jean on Fittron.com

http://fittron.com/jean_jitomir_ms_rd

The Hardest Part is Eating Right!

The hardest part of training the body for every client I work with on a daily basis is what and how to eat on a regular basis. I get more questions on this topic, see more puzzled faces, find more hidden secrets about what they are really doing from every good intentioned person on this topic. It is a puzzle for most people. The what, the how, the when and the nagging argument if the choices made were the right ones.

Most of us are actively in pursuit of the loss of a few pounds, the cinch of the waistline and the tightening of those legs and glutes. My clients work hard in their hours with me – on the floor in Pilates, in the gym or the park Strength Training, on the treadmill or the track running circles for miles of Cardio calorie burn. Consistency in the area of activity is key. But if you come home and chow down on the wrong foods because you “don’t have time,” “don’t know what to eat,” “get tired of the same old thing,” then you have probably given into failing the true lesson of living a fit and healthy lifestyle.

It is not about how much weight you can press, push or pull. It is not about how many reps you put into a set. It is not about how many perfect rollups or Teasers you can make happen. If you take the time and energy to spend hours a week sweating to burn the calories, you may as well take the time and energy to feed the muscle you are trying to shape, tone and build.

The work is the same for everybody. Fitness consultants, yoga or Pilates teachers, athletes, coaches and you! You need energy to fuel a good workout and you need to honestly and effectively replenish the fuel with the right food after the workout.

Here is an example of Summer Time eating that I have been using regularly to stay on point and ready to deliver all my energy for the next client session – while still maintaining my body in its shape and form.

My morning starts at 5:00am when I get up and make a great strong (french expresso roast) cup of coffee. I never seem to finish the oversized cup, but I keep making a large one anyway! I generally have 4-5 slices of Louis Rich Turkey Bacon (I don’t eat pork and the turkey is a leaner protein source).

Whether summer, winter, spring or fall, I always have a large bowl of Quaker Oats oatmeal; add teaspoon of Olivio olive oil for the good fat it provides and a half-teaspoon of maple syrup. I am out the door for a 6:00am client session.

Today I taught a 9:00am Pilates class of 12 men and women, following the two early morning client sessions. My breakfast held me until the end of the hour. But by 10:00am, on most days, I am hungry again! Before I start my own workout, I drank a whole container of a Muscle Milk Ready-to-Drink shake. I needed the extra fuel at that point, to support my 1.5 hour gym workout; cardio for 45 minutes, using the treadmill (15 minutes), recumbent bike (10 minutes), vertical bike (10 minutes), elliptical (10 minutes). Then a combo upper/lower body routine consisting of balance (single-leg) squats, deadlifts, cable abduction/adduction followed by frontal/lateral planks to pushups using the Bosu Trainer, followed by abdominals.

By 11:30, I left the gym and was famished. Now here is the good part. I got home at 12:00pm and I don’t want to sound at all like Martha Stewart (she is surely not my style) but the last thing I wanted to do was wait a long time in preparation of a meal. Just like you, I needed it to be quick, simple and easy!

Easy Healthy Meal – For Lunch or Dinner

So, I pulled out a bag of frozen vegetables (medley of broccolli, cauliflower, carrots, summer squash) poured a little olive oil (splurged on flavor by using White Truffle, Extra Virgin – so deliciously decadent!) in my wok, sliced up one clove of garlic and sauteed it with the veggies till the edges were brown. Added a little water to fully steam them. Simultaneously, I warmed a chicken breast (from the day before) in the microwave and by 12:20, I was eating the lunch of great protein and colorful vegetables and decided to blog about it as encouragement for you!

Any healthy protein (fish, chicken, beef or legumes) combined with brightly colored complex carbs (vegetables and low-sugar fruits) are the recommended ingredients to fuel your body and your workouts for the summer, winter, spring and fall.

The same quick preparation of veggies with a piece of salmon, halibut or even a grilled steak would be a great meal in the evening.

Hope this helps as another way to close the loop in the fitness puzzle for you.

http://fittron.com/

Something You Should Do Everyday. Push Ups.

It’s a simple exercise that doesn’t require a gym or much space and you can do them just about anywhere. The benefits are huge, and they accrue your entire life.

People like Jack LaLanne still do push ups everyday (and he’s in his 90s). Let’s start with the basic push up, which is one of the ultimate fitness barometers. Push ups support my CME theory (cardiovascular, muscle, endurance) because they engage your whole body, calling on muscle groups in the arms, chest, abdomen, hips and legs. A proper push up tightens the whole body with toes and palms on the floor. Even the very fit can be challenged by lifting their own body weight. Once you get in the habit of doing the basic push up everyday, switch it up.

Elevate your lower body on a workout bench while you do push ups. Once you’ve mastered this, lift one leg while you push out those three sets. Place your hands on a ball (while you keep the body elevated). Be sure you bring your chest to the ball each time. Put one hand on a ball while you push up, then roll the ball over to your other hand and repeat the motion.

Ready for something more advanced? Lay a 25 to 45 pound plate flat on the ground. Do a push up, hold your body with one arm up, and push the plate with your other arm, as far as you can. Push that plate across the gym floor. Be sure to engage your legs. If you’re pushing the plate with your left arm, engage your left leg. This is a great variation if you’re pressed for time, since it simultaneously builds strength and endurance.

Grab a buddy and face each other. At the top of the push up, clap opposing hands. Aim high – and don’t forget to do least 10-15 on each side. If you get bored, do your pushups with one arm. Or clap your hands at the top of the push up. Or come see me. We’ll think of something.

Easy Day. Sidney Wilson.

http://fittron.com