B R E A K I N G... S I X T Y

Getting What You Want

2011-12-18T12:01:00.001-05:00

Q. How do you reach a goal?

A. Never, never, never give up.

Those words – "Never, never, never give up" – declared by Winston Churchill to rally England during World War II can be found on inspirational greeting cards and T-shirts today. But his words out of context really don’t express the utter desperation of a country ready to surrender to an invading army.

His words worked. England prevailed. Ah, the magic of a powerful mantra and a single focus.

Kids have this mantra instinctively. Somewhere deep inside all of us exists this rhythmic beat. Maybe it’s more like go - go - go. Anyway, how would any of us be walking on two feet instead of crawling without that determination and obsession? Watch them, kids are up for a second and then ker-plunk… followed by weeping for the sheer joy of the experience.

The Ker-plunk Factor

You’ll be surprised to know that the ker-plunk factor is one of the most important training programs our brains can experience. To quote John Medina from his book – Brain Rules – on how the brain learns: “What we pay attention to is profoundly influenced by memory. “

Memory of a ker-plunk teaches us how not to do something. Our onboard computer kicks in and looks for new strategies. Achievement and success get logged in too. So look at one of our first ker-plunks and first brilliant victory – learning to walk. Take that determination right into your fitness quest and routine. Not getting what you want fast enough? Don’t give up. Learn what works and what doesn’t. Be vicious with anything that takes your determination away.

Double Memory Imprint

When I learned to walk, I also learned how to take off my clothes and for some odd reason, my parents didn’t make the effort to help me distinguish between the two. This resulted in me sneaking out of the one room apartment my parents had in downtown Portland, Oregon to visit all the neighbors – naked. Wow, what a memory imprint. I guess that’s what landed me on the cover of Playgirl a few years ago.

Cute little toddlers make you smile, don’t they? They don’t require a “gym body” to have total fearlessness that comes from belief in possibility. Not giving up is having belief in yourself – and belief is the mind’s most powerful creative tool.

Slicing & Dicing Attention

Kids brains aren’t trying to multi-task learning to walk. By multi-task I’m referring to the “attention” directed at a task. They give just one thing total focus, and then they move on to the next thing. I used to think I was pretty good at mutli-tasking, until I realized that each task was happening slower. I was exhausted at the end of the day and my efficiency was poor. Studies show that when you interrupt a task, it can take up to 50% longer to complete it.

Wandering Eyes

If you want to achieve something, be committed, believe in yourself and your process, and stay focused on the task at hand. I don’t let my client’s eyes and mind wander at the gym (just another form of multi-tasking). If they start to, I may have them repeat a phrase “mind in my muscle” or something that works for them in order to keep attention focused on the muscle and form.

Burn & Build a New You
The Burn & Build Body 14-Day Anti-Aging Detox is almost magical in it's ease of use and ability to focus attention on healthy transformation. The 14-Day Detox guide book "has your back" and keeps you inspired.

My clients who have wanted to lose body fat or those "last 8 pounds" have immediate success when they follow the program. It's the perfect foundation program to achieve your New Year's body composition goals. You'll Burn Fat and become stronger – the program requires eating, it's NOT a fasting diet -- and it is designed to maintain lean muscle so you don't rebound at the end of the 14-Days. There's even a Detox Maintenance Kit that you can use to continue with the "feel good" results of the 14-Days.

If you’re having difficulty reaching your goals, just remember that with razor sharp attention, you once stood up and defied gravity against huge odds and never, never, never gave up.

Train your body. Train your mind. Tame your tongue.

Information n this site is not a substitute for consulting a licensed medical professional, health care provider or nutritionist. Never begin an exercise or nutritional regime without consulting your wellness professional.

Protein Lean Power

2011-12-13T17:00:00.012-05:00

Power-up your workouts by adding lean protein to your breakfast

Warm Gluten Free Cereals:

Buckwheat, Gluten Free Oatmeal and Organic Brown Rice Cereals

Cook as directed on the label and just before the cereal is completely cooked add pre-mixed protein powder to the cereal. Continue to cook on low heat for a few more minutes, or until the protein liquid is mostly absorbed. This will give you a creamy breakfast cereal with complex carbohydrates and protein.

To mix the protein powder: Add two scoops of protein powder to about 7-10 ounces of water (or non-dairy “milk”). Shake or blend until dissolved. Do not put the powder directly into the cereal without mixing, it will probably curdle and get lumpy without blending into the cereal.

Gluten Free Cold Cereals:

Blend protein powder in 8-10 ounces of almond, rice, oat or hemp milk. Shake or blend well. Add to your cereal bowl. You can combine this with fruit in season.

Best Bet:

I recommend Protein Lean from Burn & Build Body to add to your warm or cold cereals and protein smoothies. It will add 17 grams of brown rice and green pea protein to your breakfast and won't cause bloating the way whey and casein protein powders can.

Protein plus Fruit Smoothies:

Mix fresh or frozen fruit with protein powder and about 8 ounces of water or almond milk. If you are allergic to nuts – use rice, oat or hemp milk.

Eggs:

Look for organic, free range (as opposed to cage free), antibiotic free eggs. Buy them from farmers markets, or if you’re lucky enough to live in the country, go right to the farmer.

Best hard or soft boiled. Tasty scrambled eggs oxidize the cholesterol in the yolk.

Combine your eggs with a slice of gluten free toast and steamed vegetables.

Meats:

Stay with leaner meats (turkey, chicken). Avoid sausage and fatty meats like bacon. Turkey bacon is processed, it just promotes itself as healthy, don’t be fooled.

6 to 8 ounces of is good for a serving. If you’re on a lean down and build fitness quest, meat at breakfast might be a short-term option. However, our morning metabolism isn’t usually ready for this kind of heavy protein. Stay with organic meats, or at least certified meats, free of growth hormones and antibiotics.

Combine your meat with a slice of gluten free toast, brown rice or quinoa and steamed vegetables.

McFriedBreakfasts:

This isn’t part of a healthy lifestyle or diet. No fast food breakfasts.

Know your egg, know your meat, don’t even think about dunkin a donut.

While you're at it, put these foods on your unhealthy list and eliminate them from your diet:

Dairy including milk, cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese

Gluten containing grains, pastas and baked goods

Refined sugar and chemical sugar substitutes

Peanuts and peanut butters

Shell fish and shrimp

Deli meats and processed meats

Hydrogenated oils and oils heated to frying

Soy products

Train your Mind,Train your Body,Tame your Tongue

Information on this site is not a substitute for consulting a licensed medical professional or nutritionist. Never begin an exercise or nutritional regime without consulting your health care provider.

Burn & Build Body with your Detox

2011-12-12T11:50:00.003-05:00

More than Squeezing Lemons

I remember my first “detox experiment” when I was in my 30’s. Some friends were doing a fasting cleanse with water, lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne pepper. What did I know? It sounded good to me, and since we were all engaged in similar spiritual pursuits and taking breath work classes together, I figured someone knew what they were doing. As it turned out, all we were really good at was squeezing the lemons and getting the cayenne pepper mix just right. In the end, we all went back to our old eating habits.

That wasn’t my last adventure into detoxification and I’m glad that I’ve had various experiences which have included a guided juice and vegetable liquid fast and Panchakarma, the Ayurvedic cleansing program. The goal of all of the various programs is always physical cleansing and rejuvenation.

Since then I’ve learned a lot, and since I’m working with my training clients on anti-aging and lifestyle changes in addition to pumping iron, I thought I’d share some of the information here.

Metabolic Slow Down

Most people think that a detoxification is necessary only after you’ve binged excessively on drugs, alcohol or prescription medications. They also think that a detoxification has to be in a “fasting” form. But that isn’t the case. Our bodies accumulate toxins through the ingestion of pesticides, breathing polluted air, drinking chlorinated water laced with fluoride and from the toxic by-products of digesting food, or only partially digesting food and from working out– as well as from drugs and alcohol. These toxic substances slow our metabolism - we get fat, decrease our energy and chip away at the vital life forces that keep us young, strong and confident.

Toxic Congestion

When toxins build up, our body looses the ability to function at its peak, opening the door for chronic, degenerative and non-specific diseases. Our natural state of health and wellness is lost. Like Superman around kryptonite, we’re weaker everywhere… that includes mental functions and emotions that should be calm and happy – in addition to the physical dangers.

Starting a Detox

We can scrub our skin, but what about our internal organs? To look and feel our best, we have to make a conscious decision and take action to clear toxic substances from our system. Because a healthy, well functioning body is critical to gains made while strength training, I have about 70% of my new clients start with a cleanse. If you’re looking for a program, you’ll want to make sure you have guidance and support, someone to modify your program depending on your level of detoxification. Burn & Build Body was created to support my clients and Dr. Margolin's patients. Dr. Margolin and I co-founded Burn & Build Body and have been testing the Detox Kit for the last 5 years, it's user friendly, uncomplicated and has proven results.

Detox on the Run

On the run? Well, not really. But unless you can drop out of life for a week or two, you’ll be managing a detoxification program while you’re working, and dealing with everyday life. Since a program that detoxes the liver, kidneys, lymph system and supports intestinal function along with providing digestive enzymes is important to start with, I use the 14-Day Anti-Aging Detox Kit that has a specific diet, doesn’t’ crash your body and leaves everyone feeling more energetic and usually lighter.

My favorite thing is that the Burn & Build Body 14- Day Anti-Aging Detox program has a defined beginning and end, a specific and manageable diet, re-focuses eating patterns and while eliminating toxins, brings calm and change to both body and mind.

14-Day Detox vs "Fasting"

A fasting vs. food based detox. Both types of detoxification programs have benefits. When I "fast", it’ll be a fruit and vegetable juice fast, I’ll drop out of life for the duration and be in a place that prepares the juices and supports me spiritually as well as physically. The benefits of the Burn & Build Body cleanse – a cleanse that with a modified food diet include: being able to choose to stay in your daily activities and having food to absorb and carry released toxins out of your system.

Detox to Retox

I’m not sure if I made that word up, but it does happen. We slip into some of our old eating habits after a while. Confront your daily stresses and toxins start to build up again. So one detox gets us started, and repeated ones keep us healthy and vibrant. The New York Times (T-Magazine) recommends getting a detox Kit in December to detox after the holidays. (T-Magazine - see December 18)

Subversion Assault

It’s not just alcohol, sugar, dairy, gluten, heavy metals, pesticides and pollutants that are out to bring us down. (Translate that as “accelerate our aging process”), it’s people we know, even “friends” who want us on the same binge as them. Detoxification can also mean cleaning up our relationships and choosing healthy ones instead.

Burn to Build

Once I’ve completed this 14-Day Detox program, I find my results at the gym to multiply quicker than they have in the months before. Everything is building on a clean strong base, and nutrients are being absorbed and used as they were meant to. Because my liver is performing well, my hormone levels are better.

If you’re a guy reading this, know that a poorly functioning liver also affects your prostate health adversely. My post-detox leaner body affects my spirit as well, and I have more creativity when I’m writing or painting.

Adam Razak, an elite fitness trainer and martial artist uses and recommends these products to his clients to stay fit and get cut. On the Burn & Build Body cleanse, you'll burn body fat but not lean muscle.

This is what Rich Fitter, editor of Men's Exercise had to say about his experience:

"I plan on repeating this program every six months to ensure I stay healthy and fight father time. Given my experience with the (Burn & Build Body) 14-Day Anti-Aging Detox Kit, I highly recommend it to our (Men's Exercise) readers."

See the Anti-Aging Detox article from Men's Exercise.

Choose Anti-Aging

We get to choose what we put in our body. Choose foods that heal, nourish it and promote anti-aging. Tune-up your engine twice a year. You’ll be another chronological year older in 12 months, but your body won’t have biologically aged more than a few days. See Burn & Build Lifestyle for food, shopping, cooking and recipe suggestions.

Train your Body. Train your Mind. Tame your Tongue.

Information on this site is not a substitute for consulting a licensed medical professional or nutritionist. You should never begin an exercise or nutritional regime without consulting your health care provider.

MetroSource Magazine Article – The Pre-Travel Workouts

2011-03-09T17:53:00.006-05:00

GETTING IN SHAPE FOR TRAVEL

As published in MetroSource Magazine, April-May 2011

Growing up in Portland Oregon in the 50’s, long distance travel was never high on my family’s agenda. Somehow I got a travel itch that started in high school and it hasn’t stopped. It’s not as easy now. I used to hitchhike and we all used to be able to walk on and off planes to see our friends off on their trips.

JUST SITTING AROUND

The most challenging part of traveling is sitting. Whether we are traveling by car, train or air, our bodies are badly supported with seats that push our shoulders forward and make our lower backs scream with inflammation and stress. Once we arrive, hotel beds and pillows aren’t always up to the support standards that keep our bodies healthy.

ARRIVING SHARP

Whether we’re traveling for business or vacation, we want to arrive feeling rested and strong, not tired and achy. The time to insure this is prior to travel. Make a plan and perform exercises that target endurance and core muscle groups to achieve this goal.

PRE-TRAVEL PLANS

· For vacation travel, get committed three weeks before your departure date.

· If you travel for business, incorporate this formula into your workout regime.

· Dedicate three days a week to fitness conditioning for travel.

· Include a yoga or stretch class at least one day a week.

· Include two 30-40 minute cardio sessions each week between weight workouts.

· Get a massage every week to work out any existing stiffness.

· Adjust your diet so it’s low in fats and carbohydrates and heavy in protein and vegetables.

· Eliminate inflammatory foods: sugar, anything fried, alcohol and excessive salt.

STRENGTH-TEST YOURSELF

On Day 1, you will Test your strength and endurance with this simple (yet challenging) routine outlined below. Each week, you will perform the strength test and time how long it takes you to complete. At the end of three weeks, your goal is to shave time off your initial performance.

· Start with 10 Squats

· Move directly to 10 Push-ups

· Then follow with 10 Crunches.

· Immediately stand and repeat the sequence 9 more times.

Stop if you have to, but your goal is to complete all of the movements with no rest between them. This routine targets your legs, abs and upper body and will give you a good cardio workout.

TRAVEL FIT WORKOUTS

Here are 3 days worth of exercises. I recommend doing them Monday, Wednesday, Friday separated with cardio on Tuesday and Thursday.

Perform each exercise 3 times with a goal of 15 repetitions for each – excluding the Strength Test, perform that just once.

Day 1:

1. Strength test workout

2. Medicine ball woodchop

3. Cable side twists

4. Stability ball dumbbell press

5. Stability ball dumbbell flyes

6. Barbell upright rows

7. Dumbbell bicep curls

Day 2:

1. One arm dumbbell row

2. Wide grip cable pull down

3. Narrow grip cable pull down

4. Seated leg extensions

5. Hip dips on stability ball

6. Dumbbell weighted squats

7. Stability ball crunches

Day 3:

1. Medicine ball weighted sit-up

2. Oblique crunches

3. Plank on stability ball (hold for 10-60 seconds)

4. Dumbbell side lateral shoulder raises

5. Dumbbell single arm shoulder presses

6. Push-ups, toes on stability ball

7. Triceps rope push downs

You can find instructional videos to all of the exercises at Rick Dinihanian's Channel on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/user/rickdinihanian?feature=mhsn

Train your Mind,Train your Body,Tame your Tongue
Information on this site is not a substitute for consulting a licensed medical professional or nutritionist. Never begin an exercise or nutritional regime without consulting your health care provider.

Cooking Healthy

2010-07-25T14:30:00.000-04:00

Six Simple Tips

This is part 4 of “Living a Detox Lifestyle”.

1. Clean Your Food

Thoroughly rinse all vegetables, lettuce, and greens before using. The use of vegetable and fruit “soap” is recommended to help removing pesticide residues. Grains should also be thoroughly rinsed before being cooked.

2. Cooking Vegetables

The best way to cook vegetables is to steam them. Boiling destroys their nutrient content. Be careful not to over cook them – you’ll destroy valuable enzymes as well as nutrients, vegetables should be a little crunchy, not soggy.

3. Cooking Meat

Ground meat, should be lean and always cooked to well done. Other meat cuts can be cooked to your preference, although medium or medium-rare better preserve nutrients.

4. Cooking Poultry

Remove the skin of all fowl before cooking. Use a thermometer when roasting to determine when poultry is done. Grill, roast or steam, never fry.

5. Cooking Fish

Fish may smell a bit like the sea, but never bad. Do not eat it if it does. Make sure fish is cooked all the way through.

6. Steaming Fish and Poultry

You can easily steam your fish and poultry in a stacking bamboo steamer. If you want to steam vegetables at the same time, put your fish or poultry on the bottom steamer and your vegetables on the top one. Vegetables usually cook faster, simply remove the top steamer and continue cooking the fish or chicken until done. You’ll be surprised at how tender and moist your food will be.

Avoid Cooking This Way

1. Frying

Broil, steam, bake grill, roast or saute instead.

Do not fry anything.

2. With Salt

Do not salt foods, at least until after they have been cooked. Use unbleached, crystal or sea salt.

3. With Microwave Ovens

Microwaving changes the chemical structure of your food. It’s not a form that is beneficial to your body.

4. With Aluminum

Aluminum is a highly toxic metal. Aluminum molecules enter food that is cooked, covered or stored in aluminum pots, cans or foil. Teflon coatings do not prevent aluminum for leaching into food.

5. Scrambling Eggs

Cooking scrambled eggs causes oxidation of the cholesterol contained in the yolks, making it a harmful substance. Poaching eggs is best, followed by boiling.

4. Raw

Unless you have a healthy digestive system, raw vegetables can be difficult to digest. Steaming is the best choice for the first month or two of a health therapy program. If you digest raw vegetables well, disregard this last suggestion.

For more information visit the NPR website. You'll find a vinegar wash formula for cleaning vegetables and fruit as well as other tips. Click Here.

Train your Body. Train your Mind. Tame your Tongue.

More Healthy Shopping

2010-07-18T20:23:00.000-04:00

Shop Smart

This is part 3 of "Living a Detox Lifestyle". These tips will continue to help you navigate through grocery store items in order to choose the highest quality food.

Produce

Although it is usually more expensive, organic produce is much healthier and has more nutrients than non-organic produce. Ideally, produce should be fresh, ripe, in-season and locally grown. Look for a local farmer’s market or consider mail-ordering organic food if there is none in your area. Color counts too–bring home an entire rainbow of colorful fruits and vegetables if your eating guidelines allow for them.

Meat

Buy only organic and/or free-range, hormone and antibiotic-free meats whenever possible. Lean meat is always healthiest. If it is not available then trim off all excess fat before cooking.

Poultry and Eggs

Poultry and eggs should be organic and/or free-range, hormone and antibiotic-free. Eggs labeled as “High Omega 3” are especially healthy. If the label says "cage free", it doesn't necessarily mean "free range".

Seafood

Buy only smaller varieties of cold water, non-farm-raised fish. Fish should smell a bit like the sea, but fresh. It should not smell bad. Avoid shellfish and scavenger type seafood. Most fish are contaminated with toxic metals and chemicals, farm raised is the least healthy and most contaminated.

Buy Whole Fresh Foods

Read labels carefully and look for foods that contain only one ingredient. Look for the word “whole” before the first ingredient on the label or ingredient list. Fresh food is healthier than packaged, frozen or canned foods. Always buy fresh first. If you do by packaged foods, always check the expiration dates on the labels.

Watch out for These

Non-Domestic Produce

Non-domestic produce is usually out of season for the climate we live in, picked unripe, heavily sprayed and lacking nutrients you’ll get with local, organic produce. If it was picked ripe and unsprayed, do you think it could handle the shipping?

Ground Meat

A patty of ground meat can contain body parts from up to 80 cattle whose health is unknown. That package of ground meat started collecting bacteria on all of its surfaces as soon as it was ground. If you insist, have your butcher grind it fresh for you, or do it yourself. Better– stick with whole meat cuts.

Frozen Poultry

Most frozen poultry is packaged by poultry processors. Most use hormones to maximize bird size and growth rate and must use antibiotics to prevent disease because of the extreme cage-crowding found in a typical poultry farm. The hormones and antibiotics remain in the bird and are passed into your body when you eat them.

Deceptive Labeling

The word “natural” does not mean healthy or safe. Insect parts and rodent droppings are also “natural”. If the ingredients say "hydrogenated oil" (of any kind) or "partially hydrogenated oil" then the food contains trans-fats – even if the "Food Facts" say zero trans-fats. Our watchdog government allows up to .5 grams of trans-fats to be in foods without declaring it. A few servings of deceptively labeled processed foods and you are taking your trans-fat consumption into the danger zone. Click for more trans-fat information.

10 Things to Avoid

1. Non-domestic produce

2. Ground Meat

3. Frozen Poultry

4. Farm Raised Fish

5. Food with Additives

6. Processed Foods

7. Deceptive Labeling

8. Hydrogenated Fats

9. Artificial Sweeteners

10 High-Fructose Corn Syrup

Train your Body. Train your Mind. Tame your Tongue.

Healthy Shopping

2010-07-11T15:28:00.000-04:00

Shop Well – Eat Well
This is the second part of a series about living a "detoxification lifestyle". For an overview of detoxification read this blog – click here. My detox program starts with a metabolic detox and targets the liver, kidneys and helps restore function to the lymph system and intestines. It also includes probiotics and digestive enzymes. The 10-day diet does not include grains of any kind, red meat, alcohol, coffee, dairy or sugar. You'll find versions of some of those items on the healthy food shopping list even though they are eliminated in the detox program. We can’t eat well without having healthy foods around and having a shopping list keeps me from wandering down the bright isles lined with Twinkies and Doritos.

Shop Green

Buy everything organic if you can. But if you have to budget, or if organic simply isn't available, here's a list of foods containing the most toxins which you’ll definitely want to buy organic – and those foods that are safer and can come from from conventional sources. The Environmental Working Group lists the most chemically treated foods, and also provides information on those foods that are safer to eat non-organic.

Buy Organic

White Potatoes

Grapes

Leafy Greens

Spinach

Kale

Carrots

Pears

Tomatoes

Bell Peppers

Celery

Peaches

Apples

Strawberies

Blueberries

Cherries

Nectarines

OK Non-Organic

Onions

Avocados

Sweet Corn

Pineapple

Mango

Bananas

Asparagus

Sweet Peas

Kiwi

Cabbage

Eggplant

Papaya

Watermelon

Honeydew

Broccoli

Sweet Potato

Grapefruit

Count the Numbers

Blueberries are rated by as the most polluted berries on the market, containing up to 52 different pesticides. Conventional spinach has up to 48 different pesticides, cherries 42, carrots 26 and pears 28. The extra buzz you get in your non-organic coffee can come from pesticides. Look for coffee beans that say USDA Organic and Fair Trade Certified, or Rainforest Alliance (or bird friendly). No washing can clean the pesticide residue from grapes, which can harbor as many as 34 different pesticides – and remember, wine is made from grapes.

Beefy Toxins

Meats contain most of their toxins in the fat, beef muscle is fairly clean but beef fat contains up to 10 different pesticides and both meat and fat can contain growth hormones. Look for grass fed organic.

Grainy Poisons

Animals fed on non-organic grains absorb the toxins of the grains. Conventionally farmed produce and grains are frequently grown with fertilizers that contain cadmium. Cadmium is a known human carcinogen, it damages DNA and also disrupts a DNA repair system that helps to prevent cancer. Cadmium accumulates in and can also damage the kidneys. Two other common toxins that are found in non-organic grains and foods are arsenic and lead.

PCB Salmon

Polychlorinated biphenyls also known as PCBs interfere with our thyroid – the gland most important to our energy and metabolism. While PCBs are no longer used in the USA, they are still in the environment, and found particularly in "farmed" salmon – another reason to choose wild salmon. Enough exposure to these and you end up with a poorly functioning thyroid, or hypothyroid, causing weight gain, depression and low energy.

Whey This

This is a good place to mention that the whey protein you drink to support your gym workouts can contain cadmium, lead, arsenic, mercury and bovine growth hormones. Look for Non-BGH (bovine growth hormone) and organic, or from grass fed cows on the labels. You really don't want rat poison in your protein shake do you?

Ads Make Us Fat

According to “The Daily Green”, the food industry spends $25 Billion a year marketing their products. With processed foods, for example, that kind of advertising power can create enough brand identities to make a whole nation confused and fat. In fact, it has. In 1978, 45% of the population was overweight. Today that number is 67% with increasing consumption of processed foods and obesity comes cancer, liver disease, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, kidney disorders and more.

When you’re shopping, you want to look for locally grown, in season produce and vegetables. In order for a food item to be shipped, it has to be picked before it’s ripe and full of the complete set of nutrients a ripe fruit has. Don’t cheat yourself.

Shopping Suggestions

Here’s a starter list of foods to help you stay healthy, energetic and lean:

Greens and Fresh Vegetables:

Romaine, Arugula, Watercress, Endive, Mustard Greens, Bok Choy, Spinach, Kohlrabi, Swiss Chard, Kale, Parsley, Cilantro, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Brussels Sprouts, Asparagus, Peppers, Green Beans, Celery, Carrots, Cucumber, Zucchini and Sea Vegetables.

Fruits and Vegetables

Lemons, Limes, Apples, Pears, Bananas, Melons, Strawberries, Raspberries and all fruits and berries in season.

Beans, Legumes, Grains, Seeds and Nuts

Lentils, all varieties of Beans, Quinoa, Wild and Brown Rice, Amaranth, Buckwheat, Gluten Free Oatmeal, Millet, Almonds and other Nuts (except peanuts), Sunflower and other seeds. Include hummus and almond butters. Avoid gluten containing grains.

Meat, Poultry and Tofu

Lean cuts of Chicken and Turkey, wild Salmon (not farmed) and white fish, organic, free range eggs and grass fed beef. Make sure you only consume organic and non-gmo Tofu.

Beverages

Almond and Rice Milk (avoiding soy milk), distilled and spring water, diluted organic fresh juices, herbal teas, green and white teas. Milk is not your friend.

Sweeteners

Vermont Maple Syrup, Raw Honey, Turbanado Sugar, Sucinat, Stevia and Agave. Please read the three part series on sugars from January 2010 starting with Sugar Baby - Part 1.

Seasonings and Condiments

Cayenne Pepper, Garlic, Basil, Celery Seed, Chives, Dill, Marjoram, Oregano, Rosemary, Sage, Tarragon, Thyme, Anise, Bay Leaves, Cinnamon, Corrander, Cumin, Curry, Turmeric, Fennel, Ginger, Natural Ketsup, Celtic Sea Salt (the unbleached, grey salt), Miso (in moderation), Braggs Liquid Aminos and Wheat free, low sodium Tamari.

Dan Alexander, a celebrated health writer wrote about processed foods in his 1960 book Good Health and Common Sense:

“Many “modern-day” diseases were unknown centuries ago. The types of illness that afflicted

mankind 5,000 years ago were far different from the ailments of today.

Early men, and primitive people today were dependent on natural foods. They did not eat any

processed foodstuffs, which lack certain needed elements and contain other needed elements – but in strange combinations that are unfamiliar to the body and possibly unworkable. Examples are whipped butter, hydrogenated peanut butter, processed cheeses. When we began to consume vast quantities of highly refined foods, we became victims of a flood of “new” diseases.”

Good Health and Common Sense was written half a century ago, but it didn't make us wake up. The changes since then have been an exponential increase in chemically treated and processed foods and a corresponding increase in diseases. But we can make a difference in our own lives; start with a personal shopping list, detoxify your body and diet, enjoy eating and live greener.

Train your Body. Train your Mind. Tame your Tongue.

Bad Days Happen

2010-06-22T16:48:00.002-04:00

Sometimes I have to sidestep the activity of training, responsibilities and life in general to get a perspective on “what I’m doing now, and why?” Just the movement of getting from one place to another in Manhattan can distort my “well-intended reality”. There are days when a walk down 6th Avenue to 23rd Street feels claustrophobic, almost like there’s no room physically or energetically for me.

I wanted a retreat from everything last week, but I didn’t realize it until after a long grumpy hour at the gym. It was showing up in my body… knee hurt, elbow hurt, no spring in my legs for jumps and I felt really weak. The scary part is that what I really felt like was “old”.

My brain doesn’t think I’m old, my body’s pretty good, but all last week everything on the outside was hammering away at my favorite commandment: “Never blame anything on your age”. It was a lot of work to stay away from that blame place. I knew the feeling would pass, but not quickly enough for me. There wasn’t a blog posting last week, now you know why.

So I headed up to the Catskills – thinking that alone time in the mountains should turn this around. It was cold, cloudy and rainy. Those kind of creepy dark days just like the middle of winter but without any festive holidays to perk them up. Five wet dark days and then the sun came out like there was never a gloomy day. Everything looked different, my mood slowly shifted, and the reality of handling good and bad days looked a whole lot simpler.

This is how simple it is – I’m not doing the things I do to be 20 again, but to be fully alive, every minute – until I’m not.

Staying fit and strong is a big part of aliveness. If you’re looking for another reason to embrace a healthy, fitness lifestyle, look at your aliveness. Look at it when you’re feeling good – remember that feeling and keep working out… it’ll carry you through the bad times until the sun comes out again.

Train your Body. Train your Mind. Tame your Tongue.

Turning 61

2010-06-06T12:01:00.001-04:00

May 27, 2010

There are billboards and ads everywhere announcing the release of “Sex in the City 2” on May 27^th. My favorite is one with high heels in the sand and the girls looking as comfortable as if they were walking on a red carpet. No sinking heels in that sand dune. We love Hollywood because it makes the impossible – real. (Photoshop does too) Making the impossible – real is one of my favorite things about California. The whole state lives in the sunny land of possibility.

May 27^th is also my birthday – I just turned 61 – and I was lucky to spend most of my life in California so that even the last 6 years of living in New York hasn’t changed my mindset. New York is solid, and the city is all about business, no flirting and teasing. But I had to stop for a few minutes and think about my life because it’s always been a combination of California and New York.

Flirting,Teasing & Love

I love the flirting and teasing and the exploration of new ideas and teachings. The concepts that I love get more attention and eventually become part of my life. They become part of the “business of life”.

The same applies to “fitness life”. For my birthday this year I explored kickboxing and was surprised by how much I loved it. It really helps to love everything we do, even if it’s tough work. Having a “flirt affair” with the treadmill or dumbbells at the gym is a great start. I like to “date “ different kinds of workouts too and then get down to business. The tease comes from watching our bodies change while we’re doing this.

Looking at my body as a business enterprise has been pretty easy. I used to build graphic design projects from a napkin concept to finished campaigns. The ones that were the best always had a special relationship to the businesses that hired me.

If you’re an actor, dancer, or in my case, a lifestyle coach and fitness trainer, it’s obvious that our bodies are important for our careers. But it’s no different for bankers or corporate vice-presidents – a fit body tells the world that you’re focused, strong, and flexible enough to navigate life. No bag of Doritos or financial glitch is going to knock you off course. You’re dependable.

When you believe that you are worth the effort to stay fit and healthy others will believe in your worth as well.

If you can take care of yourself then you can take care of company business… or your client’s – that’s one hidden message. You’ll get promoted instead of someone else – that’s a message that’s not hidden.

Creating our Future

Think of health and exercise this way – working out is like creating a “Fitness 401k”. The more we stock away, the stronger our “F401k” is. The longer we do it, the more we have in reserve. Of course diversity is also security. That means creating strong minds and lifestyle training as much as having a strong body.

If you’re 30, start your “F401k” now. You’ll start compounding the benefits early. If you’re 60 or older, it’s not too late to tap into the unlimited possibilities that a healthy strong body offers you for your future. If you don’t believe me, maybe it’s time to take a trip to Hollywood.

Train your Body. Train your Mind. Tame your Tongue.

The Beauty Bitch Interview

2010-05-24T17:11:00.077-04:00

BeautyBitch.Com is a website you'll want to visit. The following is a recent interview with their editor, and I like my new title. – Rick

Beauty Bitch interviews Rick Dinihanian a 61 year-old celebrity lifestyle coach and fitness trainer

Hey Ladies and Gentlemen, we were extremely fortunate to have witnessed a photo shoot while at the beach in California and found the ultimate inspiration for "Sexy Bastard."

Meet Rick Dinihanian. He's a lifestyle coach and fitness trainer in New York and Los Angeles and guess what? He's 60... that's right – 60. May he be an inspiration to all of us!

Sexy Bastard

BB: Rick, you made a big change in your life and became an inspirational sex symbol. What made you choose to make those changes and become such a sexy bastard?

RD: I was 49, well on the way to 50, and my jeans didn’t fit any more. I had a 50-year-old belly, and thought “I’m going to deal with this now, or it’s just going to take me over”.

Beside the vanity factor, there was another reason that drove me to take action. At that point in my life I was tired all the time, feeling pretty low in the confidence department and unhappy in an unsupportive relationship. I felt compelled to become the best that I could, instead of staying stuck.

By the time I was 54 my jeans were fitting just fine. Playgirl Magazine agreed and made me their oldest Cover/centerfold ever published. I guess that’s where the sexy bastard comes from.

BB: What mid-life advice would you give to our readers?

RD: Let’s start with the context of being in the best shape that you can be. You get that by training your mind and your body. Then you have to watch your tongue. The tongue stuff is tricky because it’s both what you say, and what you eat. If you have a vision and use your mental muscle you can achieve anything.

Yesterday I received an email from a 68 year-old man. I’ve never met him, but he started emailing me three years ago. Since then he’s dropped 45 pounds and is planning on entering a marathon this summer. Sometimes all any of us require is inspiration and a few words of encouragement.

BB: Give me one tip to survive getting older.

RD: Never blame anything on your age. Own your responsibility. If you blame a lack of strength or fitness on age, well, you’re just stuck. You can’t change your age. But you can change your eating habits, your exercise routine, your flexibility, and your sleep patterns. Pick something that you can change, and then do it.

BB: How do you stay motivated to continue to look the way you do?

RD: Well, I’ve been lucky to have photographers and magazines want to photograph me at intervals close enough together to keep me motivated to stay in shape. My physique is also my personal billboard… I’m a lifestyle coach and fitness trainer. I can’t imagine practicing anything other that what I teach.

BB: How about a few motivational tips for Beauty Bitch.

RD: Make a fitness plan, set specific goals, use the things you know that motivate you, take a before picture, find someone to help you keep going when you’re wanting to stop and be patient and kind to yourself along the journey of transformation.

It’s helpful to set goals with timelines. Anyone can create an event and train for it. You might be getting ready for a presentation at the Tony Awards, a 4th of July pool party or a special date with your lover. Set-up enough of these and you’ve got a year’s worth of motivational goals. The other option is to wait until you’re sick and the doctor tells you to start exercising. Then your motivation is avoiding illness or death. I think you would agree that the first option is a better choice.

BB: You’re one of those exceptional modern renaissance men. You’re a well-known fitness expert and writer, you model, travel with your clients, train celebrities like Jessica Lange, Anika Noni Rose and Marcia Gay Harden and are an accomplished artist. I heard that when you accompanied Madonna’s Sticky and Sweet tour in Europe and North America you were training her dancers. How do you do it all?

RD: All of these things are part of who I am. I use my artistic vision when I’m painting; I also use it when I’m training a client. I can see their transformation, often before they can see it themselves. I rarely get tired doing this because it’s what I love. It was such a great experience training Madonna’s dancers. They’re all passionate and exceptionally skilled. Even though I was old enough to be their father (or grandfather) I brought wisdom and could match them physically.

BB: We’d like to understand more about your life vision.

RD: I’ve always done things that I’ve loved doing. Those times that I didn’t have that passion, my world turned darker. Making choices that bring more light and love into our lives can never be wrong. Turning this towards fitness meant fine-tuning my thoughts and having power over uncontrolled appetites that work against growth and renewal. Take a look at food. How many people do you know that understand how harmful or helpful foods can be? Why not? You wouldn’t try to run your Maserati on kerosene would you?

I believe that we all have an untapped potential to reach high levels of health and fitness. When you’re living pain free, feeling in control of your body and have an abundance of energy, your self-confidence and sexiness is expressed naturally.

BB: What about your writing? I heard you are writing a book.

RD: I do have a book in the works, but you’ll have to interview me about that another time! I can tell you that it will be groundbreaking and inspirational. I write weekly on fitness and health and Beauty Bitch readers can find my writing at BreakingSixty.Blogspot.com.

BB: Can I join your fan club?

RD: That’ll make us even; I’ve already joined yours!

BB: Passion. Is that why you do the work you do?

RD: Absolutely. I do it for myself, and for the joy I get when I see a client walking in the door with a newfound confidence. My message to everyone is to be the best that they can be, no matter what age. Being your best inspires others and ultimately brings more love to the planet.

BeautyBitch.com

Train your Body. Train your Mind. Tame your Tongue.
Information on this site is not a substitute for consulting a licensed medical professional, health care provider or nutritionist. Never begin an exercise or nutritional regime without consulting your wellness professional.

Behind the Scenes

2010-05-23T13:18:00.007-04:00

I wanted to post a video teaser from a recent photoshoot. This is one of the things that keeps me motivated to stay in shape... I think the feature will be groundbreaking for the magazine. You rarely see anyone over 60 on fitness magazine pages.

If you have trouble playing the video on my blog, click on the link below for a full screen view.

Video Teaser Link

Thanks for watching... and reading. See you next week.

Train Your Body. Train Your Mind. Tame Your Tongue.

Information on this site is not a substitute for consulting a licensed medical professional, health care provider or nutritionist. Never begin an exercise or nutritional regime without consulting your wellness professional.

Rest Soft – Get Hard

2010-05-18T13:32:00.004-04:00

Last week I wrote about sleep. An extension of the fantastic healing power of sleep are days off from intense workouts. We refer to those as rest or recovery days. They’re one of the most overlooked pieces of the muscle building equation.

Lean Muscle Builder

When we do intense weight training and muscle building, our muscle fibers break down. As the muscle repairs itself during rest, it becomes stronger and grows. If we don’t rest, how can we expect to gain in the lean muscle mass department? Fat loves it when you don’t rest enough. Muscle is just the opposite. Rest and recovery means days off and at least 8 hours of sleep every day.

Last weekend I had a photoshoot for a national fitness magazine (more about that in a future blog). One of the hardest things for me to do when training for this day was keeping my commitment to resting and recovery. Personally, it’s easier for me to go workout, than take a day off and chill, but I knew that the only way to show up my best was to avoid overtraining and get the rest days in.

Balancing your Auto Pilot

When we push our training to the limit, our body is mostly functioning with the help of our “sympathetic nervous system”. This system is responsive to our body’s requirements during times of increased activity and stress. When we are resting, the “parasympathetic nervous system” takes over. Both of these systems are part of our autonomic nervous system, made up of nerves that control and help maintain body functions without our awareness. Things like breathing, heart rate, blood flow and digestion. Both systems work together. When we keep them balanced, we’re functioning in a healthy zone – another reason for taking that day off and a good night’s sleep.

Rest Soft, Get Hard

Resting doesn’t mean parking on the couch with a box of donuts. It means consciously choosing to get 8 hours sleep and taking a day off from our regular gym routine to do something different. We’ll be resetting our metabolic process, increasing muscle growth and preparing ourselves for a better workout on the next day.

While training for the magazine shoot, my best workout days were those after I had a full day off from the gym and plenty of sleep. I made sure that the day before the shoot I let all my muscles rest. It was a mental challenge to stay away from the gym, especially since I was nervous about the shoot (I’ll confess to a light run though, it keeps me grounded). On the day of the shoot I didn’t need to do much of a pre-shoot pump to be photo ready.

Mind Programming

Think of it this way. Our internal mechanism is working really hard to build new muscle and burn fat. By giving it a break from new tasks it will to catch up (rebuild you) and really get you into great shape. So take a day off and go dancing, ride your bike, hike in the woods, have sex in the afternoon, sail your boat, or just go for a walk in the park… your body will still be working hard – just without the intense muscle work you do on other days.

Train Your Body. Train Your Mind. Tame Your Tongue.

Thanks to Adam Razak for inspiring this blog.
Information on this site is not a substitute for consulting a licensed medical professional, health care provider or nutritionist. Never begin an exercise or nutritional regime without consulting your wellness professional

Good in Bed?

2010-05-09T20:16:00.002-04:00

Not Getting Enough?

Sleep! It is the underrated supplement for weight loss and body building. Imagine that. No conscious mental or physical exertion… all you have to do is get into bed and wake up about 8 hours later.

When I’m getting ready for a photoshoot, the two most important things for me are drinking enough water and getting enough rest. Rest equals recovery. It also equals a lot of other things. We detox emotions and physical toxins during sleep. We also create important hormones including growth hormone. You get the picture – if you are only getting two-thirds of the sleep you require, you’re short changing yourself on much more than feeling rested in the morning.

More HGH

A University of Chicago study reported that those who slept 4 hours had cortisol levels 37 percent higher than those who slept a full 8 hours. High cortisol equals less muscle and more fat. If you want really good stuff without supplementation, you’ll be glad to know that another University of Chicago study reported that men who got plenty of sleep – deep sleep –produced about 65% more human growth hormone (HGH) than those who short changed themselves in bed.

On those days where I’ve missed my sleep quota, I’m usually prone to wanting to eat more – that usually means calorie laden, carbohydrate heavy and fatty with plenty of salt. Put a plate of sweet potato fries (everything sweet potato isn’t healthy) in front of me one of those days and I’ll inhale them first and think about it later. Yes, I’ve really done that. But about 4 hours later, I’m reminded of my choice and feel really tired and bloated.

Getting enough sleep isn’t something we’re trained to do as adults. Some men pride themselves on being able to function on 4 hours of sleep. Eventually, when their bodies have had enough, it’s crash and burn time. Not a great way to manage a fitness program.

10 tips for being a sleep athlete:

1. Regular Sleep Patterns

Plan your evening and your morning. Make your bedtime and wake-up time consistent. You’ll find your natural rhythm and body clock will kick-in and after several weeks and it’ll be natural for you to be getting 8 hours of sleep. If you have a partner, or roommate that loves to watch Letterman and midnight sci-fi movies, engage them in supporting you (and themselves) in better health. If they insist on staying up late, buy them some headphones to plug into the TV.

2. Create an Evening Routine

Your routine will signal your body that it’s time to rest. Eat at least two (better yet, 3 hours) hours before you hit the pillow, have some warm herbal tea, soak in a tub – and if you can’t do that, be sure and take a warm shower to wash off all of the electrical vibration you’ve been exposed to during the day.

3. Sex-place not Workplace

Save your bedroom for sleeping and sex. Leave your legal papers, newspapers, TV and brain activities in another room. The bedroom is a place to recharge your body and soul.

4. Make it Shady

Dim your lights an hour before you are going to sleep. Shut off the TV. The brighter the lights are before you go to bed, the longer it will take for your body to start producing melatonin. Low levels of melatonin have been associated with aging and studies have shown men with prostate cancer and women with breast cancer have lower levels of melatonin. Ever see a rock star right after a concert? She’ll pop on rose tinted glasses to start quieting her system after being in the glare of the stage lights.

5. Hot Magnesium

Soak in a bath with Magnesium flakes and magnesium “oil”. Your body will absorb the magnesium through your skin, relaxing your muscles. The side benefit is that it’s great for your skin texture. If you’re hyper and can’t relax before bed, fill the tub, dim the bathroom lights and soak for 10 minutes. You’ll sleep deeper than you can imagine.

6. Rock Off

Turn off the disco beat and play something calm. If you find a tune that works for you, keep playing it. Personally, I like new age wind instrument tracks. Try playing them every night for a week. Add this to your other night-time routines to create more restful sleep.

7. Other Hands

Get yourself a massage, chiropractic or acupuncture treatment, or other holistic care once a month. If you’re working out intensely, you’ll benefit from this care more often. All of these treatments assist your body in releasing tension, calming your mind and correcting imbalances. Whenever you do this, your body becomes healthier and more alkaline.

8. Work it Out

You know the benefits of exercise or you wouldn’t be here on this blog. Don’t make it your second priority. Work out so you can sleep deep, and sleep deep so your workouts make a difference. Since you’ll be releasing plenty of feel good endorphins when you work out, just before bed isn’t a great time to exercise. While these endorphins are great during the day, their energy can keep you awake at night.

9. Deep Sleep Tea

It’s really not called that, but it’s my “get me to sleep now” tea. I use a combination of mint and valerian root tea. It’s not addictive and almost always works. Try making it with hot almond milk and water.

10. Spirit Quest

Still dragging your office into the bedroom. Put a box outside the bedroom door and leave your physical or imaginary problems in it. They’ll be there in the morning if you still want them, but they won’t follow you into bed. Take a minute to be grateful, no matter what’s going on in your life. Sweet Dreams.

Train your body. Train your mind. Tame your tongue.

Information on this site is not a substitute for consulting a licensed medical professional, health care provider or nutritionist. Never begin an exercise or nutritional regime without consulting your wellness professional.

Guarantees

2010-04-18T15:30:00.002-04:00

And an Extended Warranty

You know how every time you buy an appliance or big-ticket item – like that new flat screen – you get hit up at the end of the sale for the purchase of an extended warranty. The sales person will imply that the extended warranty will guarantee you results for as long as you are going to want to keep your new shiny toy.

Which guarantees are important to us anyway? I couldn’t help but think about all of this when a client (who happened to have won a “Best Acting” Academy Award) asked for a “guarantee that my lifestyle coaching and strength training program would yield results. Maybe we’ve all become overly accustomed to manufacturers warranties and product guarantees.

No Remote Control

In the journey to getting fit and healthy, most of us are looking for a guarantee of tight abs and a shiny new body. Not much different than the amazing picture quality we are expecting from that new flat screen we’re searching for in all of the appliance stores. The only difference is that our bodies do not come with a remote control and there’s only one form of guarantee and extended warranty – I’ll get to that in a minute.

Being a good coach means walking a fine line between teaching, pushing, pulling, watching and inspiring – then letting your client be responsible for choosing and taking actions that will yield the results that they desire. Motivation and inspiration are critical to the process. So are positive thoughts and language. If someone is moving and has been motivated, their brain is fed electrical charges that create internal and external change. We didn’t evolve into this spectacular place as human beings without movement and challenges (existence motivation).

Tame your Tongue

Take a look at my Blog tag-line that says: “Train Your Body. Train Your Mind. Tame Your Tongue”. The first two thoughts are pretty clear, but what about “Taming Your Tongue”?

When I penned that last "command", I intended it to have a double meaning. Primarily, I was referring to the voracious appetite that the tongue has for food. The 2^nd meaning was a result of the years spent meditating and studying the effects of positive thoughts, actions and language. I want to make sure that the meaning of it is clear.

How are you going to “Train Your Mind” if you don’t use supportive language and “Tame Your Tongue”? If you are in the habit of saying, “I just can’t,” chances are you won’t. When my client said something negative and then made a positive language correction, I had a huge Cheshire cat grin. Tongue taming was in the works.

The Guarantee

Now let’s look at guaranteed results. When we do the work, stay present in our training, keep our minds sharp, eat right and do not allow our tongues to run away with our confidence and determination – spoiling all our positive work – we’ve got the tightest guarantee around. The best thing about this is that there is no extra cost and it is far better then the “limited” warranty that comes with your flat screen.

You’re the guarantee baby. Go for it.

Train Your Body. Train Your Mind. Tame Your Tongue.

10 Beach Body Tips

2010-04-11T14:31:00.001-04:00

1. Eat Often

Space your meals out three hours apart and make them small. Aim for three “meals” and two or three snack size meals. You’ll kick-up your metabolism this way. If you’re still full after three hours, you ate too much at the last meal.

2. Go Green

Fill up on vegetables. They don’t weigh a lot on the calorie counter, but they’ll fill you up, add fiber and insure your supply of vitamins and minerals. Go for cruciferous vegetables and dark leafy greens.

3. Drink it up

Drink water. If you’re under-hydrated, your body will hoard water and you’ll feel bloated. Plus water helps your body process toxins and to eliminate lactic acid after you’ve worked out. You’ll want to drink at least one ounce of water for every two pounds you weigh. Have at least 8 ounces of water ½ hour before a meal, and minimize your water intake at meals to small sips. You want your digestive fires undiluted for the best metabolism of your food. Sodas and juices are not water.

4. Choose Proteins

We burn about 25% of the calories in each gram of protein while it’s being digested. Compared to carbohydrates (which only take about 6%) protein wins on the calorie burn race. And protein will give you the fuel to build the muscle you want.

5. Cut your Carbohydrate Intake

But don't cut it completely. Here’s a trick. Alternate low carb and normal carb days like this:

Give yourself two days with one serving of carbohydrates like brown rice, white sweet potato or quinoa. Replace the missing carbs on these two days with vegetables and protein. On day three, have four servings of carbs. Then repeat for a second time. When you’ve done this cycle, limit yourself to 3 servings of carbs per day. You’ll notice your body shift. One serving is about the size of your clenched fist.

6. Challenge Yourself

If you weight train on Monday, Wednesday and Friday then hit the gym for an additional cardio blast on Tuesday and Thursday – and make these two days “challenge” days. Aim to run farther in the same amount of time, or to increase your time from 20 minutes to 25 minutes. Every week challenge yourself to be better than the week before.

7. Work Up-and-Down

Alternate a lower-body set with an upper-body set when training with no rest between the two sets. Pause 60 seconds and repeat the routine. Do this 3 times for a total of 6 sets. You’ll be resting your lower-body while performing an upper body set and vice-versa.

8. Do the Big Ones

Work your big body parts. Heck, work your arms too. But focus on your bigger body parts. Working them will create the calorie burn and muscle you want. Your abdominals get worked every time you do a squat, lung, bench press or pull down. Do your abs workouts, but don’t count on them to produce a six-pack. Getting lean and putting muscle on the rest of your body is a better solution.

9. Sleep Deep

At night our bodies detoxify things like lactic acid as well as emotional waste. When it’s doing that, it’s also secreting growth hormones that we want to build muscle. Besides, you know how good you feel, and how much energy you have to work out after a solid nights sleep.

Try this for 10 days: Take a warm shower (or better yet, soak in a bath with magnesium flakes) before you sleep every night; your skin holds surface tension from all the electro-magnetic fields you’ve been exposed to during the day disrupting your sleep.

10. Get Smaller, Look Bigger

When you lean down, your body will be smaller and tighter. Your jeans won’t fit anymore, but you’ll actually look bigger because your muscular definition will be more visible. So eat more often, on smaller plates and double up on your cardio. If you make your mantra “yes I can”, you’ll be beach ready before summer.

Train your Body. Train your Mind. Tame your Tongue.

Making Strides

2010-04-03T02:11:00.001-04:00

The early morning sun in West Hollywood is streaming into Peet’s Coffee. It’s a crisp sunny Los Angeles morning. Sunset Boulevard is waking up along with me. I feel great and soon I’ll be ready to head out for a run.

My first recollections of the joy of intense “cardio exercise” go back to somewhere around the seventh grade. I had a big, clunky green Schwinn Bike that took me everywhere. As soon as my parents let me ride it wherever I wanted, off I’d go. Soon, I’d explored every park in East and West Portland. The next year I talked older friends into letting me ride with them into the foothills of Mt. Hood. In the summer, we’d end up splashing in the Sandy River and coming home sunburned.

The idea that we were “exercising” never entered our minds. It was just sheer joy of the adventure and how good everything felt. Moving my body became associated with freedom and fun.

Happy Feet

In high school I started running. Running became an add-on to my bike adventures. I’d had no idea that my legs could take me so many places so fast. At the same time, I felt elated with the activity. While I didn’t understand it back then, my body was releasing tons of “feel good” chemicals. At the same time, all my insecure teen mental chatter would stop for an hour or two.

After high school I transplanted myself from the Pacific Northwest to the San Francisco Bay area. The climate was amazing, and you could run the foothills above Palo Alto all year long. I didn’t have a car, so my bike (now a 10-speed special) became my transportation.

Transportation. I guess that’s what this blog is about. I’m lucky that I love doing things that Trans-port me to a place called elation. As much as I love cars, they’ve never been able to create the same internal feeling for me as physical exertion.

I’ve coached one of my clients away from doing a long daily run. If heroin had a healthy double, running would be it for him. After two weeks of replacing some of his runs with weight training, we saw a body shift – better muscle tone and more energy. After week three, he reported that his weekend run was the most energetic and fastest he’d had in 6 months.

Most of us are like racehorses. If we don’t get out and move – we go stir crazy. Our bodies sag and slow down and our minds slow down too. Overtraining can produce the same results. Personally, I get a little grumpy if I have to be still for too long. When I’ve had a stretch of morning aches that keep me from activity, I start to feel sorry for myself.

Writing this in Peet’s, I see a jogger with an amazing stride coming up the street. As he passes I can see that he’s lost a leg and has an arc of metal to replace it. Nothing is going to stop him from following his bliss. The universe couldn’t have sent a better messenger to me this morning and I’m filled with gratitude and determined to take even better care of my body.

I like being trans-ported.

Getting Started

1. Walk first

If you haven’t run, start by walking. That’s intense walking, not walking to get yourself to work. Walk, then speed walk. Build up to a walk-run-walk-run. You’ll see results faster than you think.

2. Buy Good Shoes

Buy running shoes, not sneakers. Shoes that fit you well, are comfortable and assist you with your stride. You must change them… they don’t last forever. The more you run, the quicker you should replace your shoes. Here’s a shoe buying tip: try on new shoes on in the afternoon, our feet are usually “larger” then.

3. Get F I T

Combine these for your running program – Frequency, Intensity and Time. With this formula, you’d start with walking, graduate to a walk-run and then run. Make your "frequency" every other day, your "intensity" a comfortable pace and your "time" about 30 minutes. Your comfortable pace will increase along with the distance you cover.

4. Lighten up

If you’re severely overweight, lose some weight before you start to run. Your joints will thank you for it. Running exposes your joints to two to three times your body weight – with each foot impact!

5. Hot Stuff

Warm-up means getting your body temperature up before you hit your stride.

Speed walking, jumping jacks or push-ups. Save your heavy duty stretching for after your run.

6. Stretch It Out

When you finish, be sure to stretch. Otherwise you’re like a horse that’s been rode hard and left wet (a sure recipe for problems). Make stretching a part of your practice that you never miss.

7. Hydrate

You’ll want to drink more water and also replace lost electrolytes. Water supports your body in cushioning your joints. Dehydration is a disaster for knees and ankles.

8. Be Social

Run with friend. If you can talk to each other you’re in aerobic mode. If you’re breathing so hard you can’t talk, you’re in anaerobic mode. You’ll want to experience both modes during your run.

9. Lift Weights

Want to improve your run? Lift weights. You’ll have extra muscle and energy to propel you along the way. Long distance running can break down muscle, so build it back and add to your bone density at the same time.

10. Be safe, carry id and don’t hop right into a hot tub after your run.

Cool down and stretch. If you’ve created inflammation during the run, getting right into a hot tub will make it worse.

Train your Body. Tame your Mind. Tame your Tongue.

Fit for Takeoff

2010-03-27T22:01:00.002-04:00

The April-May 2010 issue of MetroSource , an upscale business guide for New York City and Los Angeles, includes an article that I wrote entitled “Fit for Take-Off”. It’s about exercising when you are away from home and gives you a great Hotel Gym Workout. I thought I’d share it with you here– especially for everyone outside of MetroSource’s distribution area.

Traveling on Madonna’s “Sticky and Sweet” tour gave me a chance to experience a lot of hotel gyms. Guest conscious establishments, like the Four Seasons and Ritz Carlton, know their guests are fitness savvy and provide their gyms with amazing equipment. Regardless of where you’re staying, most hotels with a gym will provide you with hand weights and dumbbells for working out.

Fit for Takeoff

MetroSource Magazine

Most of my clients are gearing up for bathing suit weather with spring just around the corner. Since it’s also a time for travel, I’m giving those of you who have some training a “portable workout” that is primarily dumbbell-based because most every gym has them.

I love coming back from a trip feeling energized and more fit than when I left. You will too, if you take this program along with you. It’ll help you knock out your training anywhere. For those of you who are just getting started, you may need some instruction first, but don’t use this caution as an excuse to sidestep exercise. Almost anyone can use cardio equipment and do simple abdominal and floor exercises.

Workout Notes

Warm up for each weight workout with five to 10 minutes of cardio. Complete three sets of 12 repetitions for each weight exercise. Target three sets of 25 reps for each abdominal exercise. If you can’t do that, set a benchmark that’s just above what you think you can do and shoot for that number. Do 20 to 40 minutes of “interval training” on your cardio days. If you don’t have the endurance or time for a 40-minute stretch, get up, grab some coffee and hit the gym before breakfast for a 20-minute cardio blast, then come back at the end of the day before dinner and give yourself another 20 minutes. (As an added bonus, you won’t feel guilty if you eat dessert.)

The Workout

Day 1: Chest & Triceps

Flat bench, dumbbell chest press

Incline bench, dumbbell chest press

Flat bench, dumbbell flys

Decline pushups

Triceps dumbbell kickbacks

Triceps bench dips

Day 2: Cardio & Abs

Bent knee leg raises

Oblique crunches

Crunches

Day 3: Back & Biceps

Dumbbell row

Pull ups: narrow & wide grips

Dumbbell biceps curl

Dumbbell hammer curl

Day 4: Cardio & Abs

Knee-in on bench

Stability ball abdominal crunches

Stability ball oblique crunches

Day 5: Legs & Shoulders

Squats and lunges

Leg extensions

Seated dumbbell shoulder press

Side deltoid: Seated lateral raise

Front deltoid: standing forward raise

Posterior deltoid: seated bent-over raise

Day 6: Cardio & Abs

Flat bench crunches

Flat bench bicycle

Flat bench Russian twist

Train your Body. Train your Mind. Tame your Tongue.

Information on this site is not a substitute for consulting a licensed medical professional or nutritionist. Never begin and exercise or nutritional regime without consulting your health care provider.

Master your Body

2010-03-21T14:28:00.003-04:00

Every week I receive questions about quick-fixes. They're usually body image related questions. About things like fat burners, bio-identical growth hormone replacement and liposuction. These quick-fixes are countered with questions about self- esteem, resetting our mind to make healthy choices and being in charge of our destiny – the "do it yourself" program. When we look at our body as a whole, instead of looking just at the part we're not so pleased with, we can achieve what we want and become healthier at the same time.

You can’t get the whole body "do it yourself" program at Home Depot, and rarely do you find a doctor who understands body wholeness. It’s a personal commitment that will get you what you want. You have to find out what works for you. I hope I can convey the intensity of the power that we all have – to create what we want. The outcome of what you want may be different from what I want, but the process has a similar path and ending – with more confidence, energy, happiness and a feeling of abundance. You just can’t help that. When you connect with your body, you connect with the flow of the universe.

It’s taken me years to be able to write that, I figured if I shared it, maybe you’d get it faster than I did. These 10 tips can help get you there.

Ten Tips for Spring

Jump Start

Do this if you’re in an office all day long or haven’t been exercising. Take two breaks during the day and speed walk for 10 minutes. Finish with as many push-ups as you can. At the end of the day, do the same thing. That’s 30 minutes of stress-free cardio. When the days get longer and you’re feeling stronger, turn your 10-minute end of the day cardio into a 30-minute program.

Get Clean

A ten-day gentle “metabolic detox” and diet shift will get your metabolism fired up and send your extra winter weight away. If you’re starting a workout program, do this for a good foundation. The detox will help you reset your eating habits for spring. There are several good detox supplements and diets available. I developed one with my partner Dr. Steven Margolin called the Longevity+Health “10 Day Urban Detox”.

Be a Loser

Hop on the scale -- go ahead. Weigh yourself. Now put the scale in the closet and don’t use it for a week. Pretend like you’re on the “Biggest Loser”. Weigh yourself once a week, and pay attention to how your clothes fit. That’s what’s going to tell you how much your body is really changing!

Plan to Succeed

Set your goals for your body. Project 3 months and one year ahead. Now break your goals down into small monthly steps you can master. Always keep your goals in sight, and everyone will think you made achieving them look easy. Remember, you gotta work hard to make it look easy!

High and Low

Get a hormone test. Do a saliva test – it’s the most accurate. Find a doctor who understands this stuff, and work with your doctor to understand your hormone balance. If you’re a guy, you want your testosterone to be dominant. Free testosterone is important to measure as well. Exercise and diet are the primary keys to balancing all hormones.

Nail that Spike

Insulin spikes will take away all your hard work at the gym. Control your sugar and refined carbohydrate intake. Avoid fried and low quality fats. Your liver is one of the keys to healthy hormone balance and production of growth hormone. Love it and take care of it. Lay off excess alcohol, hydrogenated oils and sugars.

Know your Pancreas

This is the organ that secrets insulin. Insulin regulates food storage and metabolism. When you over indulge in sugar (sugar from alcohol and refined “white” carbohydrates count too) you strain your pancreas and gain weight. An unhappy pancreas can eventually stop producing insulin altogether, then you’ll be dealing with diabetes. Can you see your abs? If not, your pancreas is probably overworked.

Have a Drink

Go ahead, have quite a few drinks. Water, that is. Among other things, proper hydration is anti-aging, anti-cancer, anti-allergy and anti-asthma. It also pumps up your muscles. Isn’t that what you’re working out for? Try these for super-hydration:

1 Add a cup of coconut water to your quart of water, it’s full of electrolytes.

2 Squeeze a lemon, add a pinch of cayenne pepper, a few grains of Celtic sea salt and a spoonful of agave to your water for an alkalinizing boost.

3 Drink pure water and avoid chlorine and fluoride. Coffee and soft drinks don’t count.

4 Ice water shuts down your digestive fires, and is tough on your organs. Stick with cool, warm or room temperature water.

5 Drink at least 50% of your weight in ounces of water. More if you are intensely exercising. For most of us that’s at least 3 quarts of water every day.

Get Beach Ready

Just eating and walking won’t get you beach ready. Find a gym that’s convenient and one you’ll love going to. Now get yourself there, work hard and break a sweat. Remember those goals you set? Add some “gym goals”. Maybe it’s the number of push-ups and pull-ups you can do. If you want more energy, you’ve got to use it to get it! Give yourself a 60-day challenge, or better yet, do it with a buddy so you can support each other. Be your own “before and after” story.

Freaky Control

You’ll like this. Really. When you take control of your food you’re in charge. When you schedule in your workouts and stay committed, you’re in charge. When you are on the path to the healthy, fit body you want, you’re in charge. When this happens, your feeling of personal power and self-esteem will soar. Friends may want to sabotage your program when you’re out to dinner with them, just know that they’re secretly envious of you.

Train your Body. Train your Mind. Tame your Tongue.

Forgetting to stretch

2010-03-13T20:59:00.001-05:00

2009 started out slow for me, but by spring, life was really taking off. Maybe it’s because I was born in the spring it’s such an energetic time. My body shakes off winter like a heavy coat that’s been worn one too many days. Accumulated body fat starts to disappear and my brain thinks it’s on a lithium diet.

Running had always taken me through all four seasons. When I left California for New York, all of that changed. There are a few days in the New York winter that are great for running – but not many, and when you run up in the country you end up on trails that leave your ankles deep in mud. Photo: Nilaya Sabnis

By the fall of 2009, I’d skipped one of my coaching rules too many times – to stretch. Long runs and minimal stretching sent me home limping. While I was hobbling down the Old North Branch Road, I realized that the pain I felt was in the same place and similar to a knee injury I’d had in high school.

Not being able to run… well, that’s like taking my car keys away. Maybe worse.

I went right into physical therapy with Mark Hall of Encore Physical Therapy. Mark is known among Broadway dancers and actors as the guy to go to. I also made sure to get weekly acupuncture, massage and chiropractic treatments. The acupuncture increased healing and reduced inflammation. Therapeutic massage released the very tight leg muscles and tendons that I couldn’t get to on my own. Chiropractic adjustments corrected my misaligned spine (from walking a little lopsided) and gave me an endorphin boost. I supplemented with anti-inflammatory and rebuilding herbs and minerals.

I took my downtime to learn new upper body training forms in the gym, and get a new personal training certification, and I started this blog.

The injury kept healing and after two months I got an “ok” to run. I was back again, with one of those elastic knee braces with side supports, but at least I was running, and yes, I was stretching.

Fierce Interval Training

Instead of long runs, I’m maxing out at 20 minutes now. So far, it’s all on a treadmill. The program is fierce interval training. My strides are longer then they have been in the past and my form is more like a sprinter than long distance runner with arms tight to my torso with a slight twist in my upper body as I run.

My biggest surprise is that my top speed continues to increase. Because of the longer sprint strides and lighter landings, the impact on my knee has been cut way down. 20 minutes of high intensity interval training is giving me better results than my former long runs.

I’m excited to take my new version of “sprint-slow-sprint” outside on country trails this summer.

Living in pain doesn’t belong in a fitness lifestyle. If you are in acute or chronic pain, get someone to do the bodywork that will help get you out of it. Then get someone to retrain you and watch your every move. While you’re sidelined, get really good at something you weren’t good at before – everything can be an opportunity.

Supplementation to reduce inflammation & speed repair

Borage Oil, Evening Primrose, Blackcurrant Seed: All these contain gamma linoleic acid (GLA) a fatty acid that the body converts to a hormone like substance called prostaglandin E-1 or PGE1. PGE1 has anti-inflammatory properties, acts as a blood thinner and blood vessel dilator and has been used to support the body in dealing with rheumatoid arthritis, eczema, and other forms of dermatitis, as well as other inflammatory conditions.

Bromelain: An anti-inflammatory most often used for traumatic injuries and surgery. Bromelain reduces inflammation by breaking down proteins in swollen tissues, support the body in lessening blood clot formation and promote healing.

Quercetin: Counteracts the production of inflammatory agents produced by the body. Quercetin can aid the body in stopping the multiplication of neutrophils involved in the production of inflammation causing hormones.

Turmeric: This is the primary anti-inflammatory herb of Ayurvedic Medicine. Laboratory studies have confirmed its anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritic properties.

Ginger: Is an effective remedy for inflammation and pain.

Other ingredients to look for: Vitamin A, Vitamin B-12, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Zinc, Selenium

“Joint Pain and Muscle Repair Formula” from Longevity Health in Manhattan is a complex supplement that I found helpful.

Train your Body. Train Your Mind. Tame your Tongue.

Information on this site is not a substitute for consulting a licensed medical professional or nutritionist. Never begin an exercise, supplement or nutritional regime without consulting your health care provider.

Shallow Inspiration

2010-03-04T08:00:00.000-05:00

Vanity is Fierce

We always hear that working out is good for us and that we should do it for our health. Sure, that works for me. I promote health right here on this blog – and will continue to. But right now I want to give a gold star to vanity motivation. No, make that 10 gold stars. Vanity is one of the most wonderful, shallow and intensely motivating things that can inspire us to workout.

Think – Hot guy from Mad Men.

Working out = Looking Better

When you are wearing the body that you want, you’ll look and feel better. When you feel better your cells vibrate with more life. So far, nothing wrong with that vanity motivator, who doesn’t want to look and feel better?

Working out = Feeling confident

When you’re looking and feeling better, you’ll feel more confident. Confidence breeds success in all aspects of life. Confidence allows you to wear your clothes with style. Whatever you choose, a T-shirt and jeans or skinny tie and suit, you’ll make the clothes. You won’t need clothes to make you. Again, the vanity motivator gets an A+.

Working out = Abundant energy

When you are expending focused physical energy you’ll have more energy. You’ll sleep deeper; your sex life will be more fun. Is anyone going to argue with the sex angle?

Working out = You win

When our bodies transform, everything in our life changes – our energy increases, our relationships get juicier, our minds sharper and we look better in and out of clothes.

By guiltlessly allowing vanity to motivate you, you’ll achieve your health goals as well. So just imagine having the body you always wanted, no matter what age you are. Imagine putting on a suit with the confidence of one of the guys from Mad Men and having a great time everywhere you go. I’m sure you’ve already imagined the sex part.

Train your body. Train your mind. Tame your tongue.

Acid-Alkaline Balance

2010-02-28T08:29:00.000-05:00

Body Chemistry 101

Summers in the Napa Valley can be brutally hot, not that “wet” east coast hot, but a ‘bake you dry’ hot. It was one of those days; I’d started it out early, with a long morning run on the crusty earth of the vineyards. Life can seem flawless there with its blue-sky cool mornings and smell of ripe grapes.

Then I went to my design office in downtown St. Helena. This day was supposed to herald the completion of a 6-month design project. Instead I found myself dealing with my client’s new project manager who just seemed to want to fight. You know the type, all our communications were unexpectedly tough and acidic. It wasn't just the temperature outside that was heating up.

By noon the calm from my morning run felt like it had never happened. I put the phone on “answer mode” and bolted out of the office to chill. This situation was unhealthy, and certainly not my idea of good interpersonal communication. I know you’ve experienced this – getting completely drained and unable to think clearly while your body feels like someone injected it with toxic chemicals.

Alien Green Drink

Having a beautiful design sidetracked is one thing, having my body (and mind) react to the acidity is quite another. I had to step outside of it and make some choices. Driving home I decided to trek over to my neighbors and use their pool. Water and sunlight has an amazing ability to pull negative energy away. Swimming laps started to recharge me up.

I realized that I didn’t want to continue the status quo, and that shifting my internal chemistry was paramount to making a change. I'd been studying living foods, so I made a “green drink” including a huge bunch of parsley. A drink like this wasn’t new for me but they always look like something out of the alien bar in Starwars. I could feel it working right away.

One green drink and fifteen minutes of meditation later, I was ready to head back to a phone call with the project manager. With no acidity in my body and a peaceful mind, every aspect of the phone call got handled in an open way from my end. I’d managed to let go of attachment to the outcome. In the end the design prevailed with just a few changes, the project manager was surprisingly happy – she actually hired me again – and I’d learned an unforgettable lesson about my body chemistry and relationships.

Exercise Chemistry

Exercise can create acidity, the same kind that my body created interacting with that project manager. Up until exhaustion, our bodies are in a fairly alkaline state. Once exhausted, we release stored acidity (lactic acid). This acidity creates sore muscles and stiffness making recovery time from our workouts slower. When combined with an acidic diet for extended periods of time, acidity depletes our body’s natural alkaline reserve (think of it as a bank account). When this reserve is depleted, or goes bankrupt, parasites, yeast infections, viruses and cancers thrive. This includes Herpes Simplex II, kidney and urinary tract infections and Candida. And, we might find ourselves chronically stiff and sore.

Any form of exercise can push the body into an acidic state. If you’re healthy, strong, and in relatively good condition – great – go for it. Get that intense workout in, then go and replenish and restore your alkaline reserves. If you’re just starting, or are feeling weak and already acidic, start with a mild exercise program and build up slowly, and stay on the alkaline path.

Our bodies start to crave exercise once we get into a consistent program. It pumps our organs and glands and keeps our hormonal and digestive functions operating at their best. Exercise and alkaline forming foods can help us maintain a healthy alkaline-acid balance in our bodies.

“Generalized fatigue, weakness and

malaise are the results of an overly acidic body.

These waste acids accumulate over years of too

many acid foods, stomach malabsorption,

lack of water, and constipation."

– Dr. Theodore Baroody

I figure that if we’re going to be kicking our butts at the gym, walking stairs instead of taking the elevator and eating to stay lean, we’d better keep an alkaline balance in mind as well. After all, what will we accomplish with all that work if our body slips into disease?

You probably stay away from people with “acid personalities” and have an idea of some acid forming foods such as coffee, alcohol, carbonated drinks, white sugar, peanuts, most ketchups, mayonnaises and mustards, bleached table salt, and vinegar (Don’t forget tobacco and drugs – prescription or otherwise). But do you wonder why people on a self-healing path eliminate all meats and fish from their diets? Meats and fish are acidic. There just aren’t any alkaline forming meats or animal fats.

Alkaline forming foods = energy

Acid forming foods deplete energy

Foods that contain the acid-binding minerals of magnesium, calcium, sodium, potassium iron and manganese are usually alkaline forming.

We all want abundant energy to fire us up at the gym, at work and in our personal relationships. If you want to get ripped, you have to be healthy. This is a list of some of my favorite alkaline forming foods. Dr. Baroody recommends a ratio of 80% alkaline forming to 20% acidic forming foods. It's a ratio to strive for. I usually make a morning and evening fresh lemon juice drink to help with the balance. Try this Alkalizing Tonic:

Lemon juice (fresh), distilled water, pinch of cayenne pepper and a little sucanat or honey if you want it sweet. Drink as a tea or room temperature.

Alkalizing Foods

VEGETABLES

· Kelp

· Asparagus

· Beets

· Broccoli

· Brussels sprouts

· Carrots

· Swiss Chard

· Dandelion greens

· Endive

· Parsley

· Seaweed

· Pumpkin

· Watercress

FRUITS

· Melons

· Strawberries

· Dried dates

· Grapes

· Grapefruit

· Kiwis

· Lemons

· Limes

· Mangos

· Papaya

· Peaches

· Pears

· Pineapple

SUGARS

· Brown rice syrup

· Sucanat

· Raw honey

· Bronner’s Barley Malt

NUTS and SEEDS

· Almonds

· Chestnuts

· Coconuts

· Pignolias

· Alfalfa

· Radish

· Chia

BEVERAGES

· Parsley juice

· Wheat grass juice

· Carrot, celery and beet juices

· Distilled water

BEVERAGES

· Most herbal teas

· Ginger tea

· Ginseng tea

· Comfrey tea

· Fresh fruit juices

GRAINS

· Amaranth

· Millet

· Quinoa

BEANS

· Fresh green

· Fresh lima

· Fresh peas

· Fresh Snap

· Fresh String

STARCHES

· Arrowroot flour

· Essene bread

· White sweet potato with skin

OILS

These oils are neutral to alkaline forming.

Buy the freshest, cold-pressed, untreated as possible.

Rancid oils are unhealthy.

· Almond

· Avocado

· Canola

· Coconut

· Olive

· Sesamie

· Soy

· Sunflower

Train your Body, Train your Mind, Tame your Tongue.

An excellent reference book is Alkalize or Die by Dr. Theodore A. Baroody.

Metabolic Meal Plan

2010-02-20T19:40:00.016-05:00

Getting Results

The hardest part of my own fitness program isn’t getting to the gym or taking part in body conditioning on a committed basis, it’s eating right. You probably figured that out by how much I write about food. The food part always seems like another job – plan it, shop it, cook it, and then hopefully be in the mood for it when it’s time to eat. Then start all over.

Do it. The results are worth it.

If you missed “Eating to Burn”, you might want to read it and then return to here. Eating every three hours is not a fad diet. It’s just sensible, and the quality of what we eat makes all the difference. Aim for health first, you’ll never go wrong.

Ayla Yavin, L.Ac., an acupuncturist at Longevity Health, says that she has seen people actually reverse the aging process and become more physically fit and resilient as they get older. Four keys to this are good nutrition, plenty of rest, a sustainable exercise program, and rejuvenating therapies such as acupuncture, chiropractic and massage.

Eat Well

A diet loaded with fresh organic vegetables, legumes and seasonal fruit will help keep you healthy.

Gluten free grains will keep your muscles pumped and your brain clear. When it comes to grains, the less processed the better. Whenever I’ve forgotten this and taken a turn down the processed food aisle (that includes the cookie aisle) my energy, clarity and metabolism gets sluggish.

Quality protein will build muscle. You want this! Replace some of your evening carbs with protein – you’ll add more muscle while burning additional calories digesting the protein.

We feed our cars with the fuel that makes them run best. Why treat our bodies any differently? The way food interacts with our individual body chemistry is one of the most important aspects of health and fitness for us to understand.

Fad Diets

Fad diets arrive, they peak and then new ones appear. That’s partly from marketing, but mostly from the fact that each diet only works on one-third of the people who try it and doesn't on the other two-thirds… it just isn't suited to their body chemistry.

Fad diets can have value though. If you’re trying one, pause and learn what part of the diet structure works for your body. Learning to eat right is a lifelong process because our body’s requirements are constantly changing.

What's in – What's out

I’ve received a lot of emails asking what my personal daily diet looks like, so I’m going to share one with you here. My day starts at 4:30 am, but for writing this plan, I started it at 7 am – when I'd really rather get up.

My eating is fairly simple and always starts with breakfast. There are three meals and three small snacks. Eating like this keeps me fueled all day long and gives me abundant energy to work out. The snacks are foods that can be kept in a desk or cooler – or in a gym bag if you’re on the run. New York fitness trainer and former Mr. Australia, Gennaro Ferra, uses a diet similar to this to keep his clients in shape.

Alcohol, most dairy, soy, peanuts, wheat (and gluten sources) and highly processed foods are eliminated from my daily diet. Try this for yourself – go 10 days without them and see how you body feels. Then, if you want, add them back one at a time. Be sure to notice how you feel after each one re-enters your body? Does the wheat and gluten bloat you up? Do your joints hurt when you have an alcohol binge, or are you suddenly re-craving sweets the day after?

You’ll probably notice that red meat isn’t listed on my typical day menu. It is part of my diet though, a couple of servings a month. It’s better for us to eat less red meat and be sure it’s the best – hormone free, organic grass fed beef.

Eggs are organic and free-range. Chicken and turkey is organic – or at least hormone and additive free. Vegetables and fruits are organic and seasonal. I visit local farmer's markets or purchase their produce whenever possible.

If you are over 40 – or in my case, over 60 – keeping your meals small and frequent is one of the healthiest things you can do for yourself. Plus when you eat like this, you’ll have a metabolic furnace that will burn fat, support muscle growth, and keep your energy levels high all day long. None of these meals should hit you like a Thanksgiving Day feast. If they do, you’ve eaten too much. The same applies if you’re still full after 3 to 3 ½ hours – cut down your portions at the previous meal.

Whenever I want to prepare for a photo shoot or event, I make sure I stay on course like a Cessna getting directions from air traffic control. Our bellies are the center of our power. Take charge of your eating, and you'll be surprised at how more much personal power you feel.

My Six Meal Plan

Breakfast 7 am

· 1/2 cup of cooked oats with a scoop of protein powder mixed in, or

· Hot brown rice or buckwheat cereal with protein powder, or combine with fresh fruit, or cook in a spoonful of raisins.

Mid-morning 10 am snack

· 6 oz organic or goat's milk yogurt, 1 organic apple, pear, or

· 5 oz tuna with lemon and a small white sweet potato, or

· 2 hard boiled eggs plus 1/3 cup buckwheat cereal, or

· 8-10 oz homemade protein shake, or

· 2 spoonfuls of hummus and gluten free crackers or vegetables

· 12 Almonds and an apple, pear or other fruit in season, or

· 6-8 Gluten free crackers with almond butter.

Lunch 1 pm

· Steamed or grilled chicken and cruciferous vegetables, or

· Grilled salmon or turkey with steamed vegetables

· Include a serving of grain like brown rice or quinoa, or white sweet potato

· If I have a craving for something sweet, I'll wait for a half hour. If it doesn't pass I'll eat half a piece of fruit.

Mid-afternoon 4 pm snack

· 6 oz organic or goat's milk yogurt, 1 organic apple or pear, or

· 5 oz tuna with lemon and a small white sweet potato, or

· 6 0z satay chicken and vegetables, or

· 2 hard boiled eggs and vegetables, or

· 8-10 oz homemade protein shake, or

· 2 spoonfuls of hummus with vegetables, or

· 12 Almonds and an apple or pear (or other fruit in season)

Dinner 7 pm

· Wild salmon or white fish, or

· Chicken or turkey breast

· Vegetables including steamed asparagus, broccoli, spinach and cauliflower

Evening 10 pm

· If you get hungry, make a protein shake. I prefer this with water only late at night, but you could make it with blueberries and almond milk.

· Prep yourself for a restful sleep with hot caffeine free tea – mint, ginger or one of your favorite herbal teas.

Train your Body, Train your Mind, Tame your Tongue.

Photo: Sarah Bailey. Taken on my 60^th birthday.

Heartbeat Hotel

2010-02-13T14:18:00.012-05:00

It's in our Chest

When I moved to NYC 5 years ago I had my own personal recession going on. No surprise, my identity had been used by someone very close to me and I had lost almost everything. (This did have a happy ending – it took 8 years, and he ended up with "felon" after his name). Anyway, one afternoon walking through Chelsea on the way to an audition, I passed the VIEW Bar and saw a sign up for "Best Chest Contest" – winner gets $1,000.

Take off my shirt for the possibility of ending my financial recession... why not?

The night of the contest – in my mid-50's – I was definitely the "old guy" there. And being next to Mr. Gay New York didn't give me lots of encouragement. But my friends and boyfriend, Steven, braved the rain to support me. My intention that night was to win. It worked for the judges and the crowd because I left the bar with my rent paid for the next month.

Most of us don't work out to win contests in bars, but every once and a while it comes in handy. There were better chests in the show, but I had worked on symmetry, balance and proportion. If you're cut, defined and fully present you can always win a crowd – no matter what your age.

Thinking back to earlier times, us natives used to respect and admire our elders. That is until we were taught to treat them as old – by the elders themselves. Somewhere along the way, the older, wiser members of our tribes turned into – just plain "old folks". What's up with that? Age is a chronological number, never a pass to drop out of life.

Breath and Form
When we drop out we cease to be present, we become numb to the everyday things that turn us on. We simply become tourists that visit our own life – stopping in once and a while to take snapshots and pick-up souvenirs. When we stop being a drop-in tourist and are fully present, we create a vibration that will keep us young and healthy. And the more present we are, the better it gets. The higher the vibration, the better we feel. Even diseases have difficulty staying with a happy body.

When you workout for an hour, with full attention to your breath, form and nothing else, your mind clears and your body relaxes. You're not focused on anything except the present, so everything comes into focus.

Transform yourself

from the inside out,

or the outside in,

and you'll transform

your world.

The physical-spiritual transformation creates peace in your body. When you've worked out the tensions that press on your chest – and your vibration is clear – bingo, your heart opens to the world. Now, you're lighter and suddenly everyone is attracted to you.

Go figure... all you did was workout.

An open heart filled with light and love is a gift we all have. Go ahead, unwrap it – it's Valentine's Day.

Wishing you peace, love and abundance,

Rick

Train your Body, Tame your Mind, Tame your Tongue.

Eat to Burn

2010-02-06T22:24:00.019-05:00

Six Times a Day

You know that phrase, “ he (or she) eats like a bird”. It usually means that person hardly eats at all. In reality, birds eat all the time. They have to, otherwise they’d be like a 747 without fuel. Grounded.

If we eat properly, our bodies will maintain a normal, healthy weight and composition. If we skip meals, eat junk or binge late at night, we end up looking like a chunky monkey.

I grew up in Eisenhower’s 1950's America with it’s new convenient foods, cars with big and bigger fins and a society that ate 3 square meals a day. You weren’t supposed to eat between meals, at least that’s what the experts said.

This blog is about eating early and often. 6 meals a day – and please don’t make them square! Have three meals and three nutritional snacks, or small meals. Actually, they are all small meals compared to what you’d get with the 3-meal deal.

This blog is also about eating your most important meal, because even though we’re in the era of daily new apps for our phones (Dick Tracy would be trading in his wrist watch) and kindle books, our bodies are still primal mechanisms. So when it comes to eating, think of your body as if you were a Caveman.

Watch and Learn

Let's visit three Caveman scenes that will help explain how our bodies react to starvation / metabolism functions.

Scene 1: Caveman Wakes and Hunts

Caveman wakes up and goes on a hunt. His metabolism kicks in to provide fuel from fat stores so our hero can score breakfast. He’s ravished, so he eats right away – he’s got his protein and vegetables. Because he ate after his hunt, his body knew that there would be plenty of food. It could keep right on burning, no need to horde those fat stores.

His metabolism supported him on the hunt, going into fat burning mode so the Caveman would have energy for his hunt, get food and be alive for another day. He didn’t think about his metabolic burn, it knew when to turn on.

This is the same as doing intense cardio first thing in the morning before breakfast. If you want to burn fat and lean down, do cardio within 40 minutes of getting up, then feed yourself. But if you skip eating after the cardio your body will really go into starvation mode, hang on to its stored fuel (fat) and you’ll defeat the purpose of all your morning work.

Scene 2: Caveman Wakes and Eats

Caveman wakes up, makes a breakfast with protein and low glycemic carbs. Buttons his suit and walks to the office. He fired up his metabolism first by having a lean, protein rich breakfast to digest. Plus, his starvation monitors are satisfied that they can relax and burn, burn, burn. It’ll be a good day for them because there’s lots of food. Once again, he didn’t think about his metabolic burn, it knew when to turn on.

The action of digesting food burns between 10 and 30 percent of the total calories you’ll burn each day. Start your metabolic furnace by eating protein and carbs first thing in the morning.

Scene 3: Caveman Wakes and Hangs Out

Caveman wakes up, makes coffee and watches two hours of Netflix. Has more coffee, not knowing that it will dampen his appetite (it raises insulin levels) and make him an "out of control" eater late in the day.

By the time noon comes around his primitive signals have gathered together in the fear of starvation. His metabolic furnace is ice cold. No food, no breakfast, no hunt… must be starvation in the bush today. Mid-afternoon, he gets in his car and picks up a double bacon cheeseburger, fries and a coke. His body knows just what to do with that food now – store it as fat.

So if you’re skipping breakfast, your probably packing on the pounds. Plan the night before, get enough sleep and know what you’ll have for breakfast in the morning.

Every Three Hours

Our body stays watchful, like those hidden spy cams. If you create a starvation situation for your body during the day, all the alarms will go off and your metabolism will come to a screeching halt. To keep this from happening you have to eat small meals every 3 - 4 hours.

Every three hours doesn’t mean mega meals every time you eat, it means moderate portions. You’ll want to eat about as much as you would in 3 normal meals, spread into 6. That’s 3 meals and 3 snacks.

You get the idea here – split those calories up. Smaller portions make your digestive process fire-up, and allow your body to metabolize food efficiently keeping you energized all day long. If you’re too full after waiting 3 – 4 hours, you probably ate too much at the previous meal.

Learn and Burn

Burn Mode

When we digest protein we burn approximately 25 calories for every 100 calories eaten.

When we digest fats and carbohydrates we average a burn of about 10-15 calories for every 100 calories eaten.

Be generous with the protein, heavy on the vegetables, moderate with fats and carbs.

Body fat does nothing to help your metabolism function or burn calories, but muscle does. For every pound of muscle you add, your body burns an additional 50 calories every 24 hours.

Muscle takes less space than fat. Lose 5 pounds of fat and add 5 pounds of muscle and you’ll not only look leaner and tighter, you’ll be burning an additional 250 calories every day without doing anything but looking good.

Protein helps your muscles repair after working out. Digesting protein burns more calories than other foods. You’ll burn two times more calories digesting protein than carbohydrates.

Protein, Carbs and Fats

Protein will keep you feeling full longer. Go for lean chicken, turkey, fish, eggs and powdered protein.

Carbohydrates keep your muscles pumped and full and your brain functioning. Your body loves carbs for energy. Keep your intake balanced. If you think I’m talking about “Wonder Bread”, do an experiment and leave it on your counter for the next year. It won’t go bad. Switch to grains like quinoa, brown rice, millet and buckwheat.

If you really want to get "cut", turn off your carb intake at 5 in the afternoon. Eat only protein and vegetables after that.

Dietary fats are different than body fat. Healthy dietary fats will help you burn fat. Fats play an important role in delivering key vitamins. (Vitamins A, D, E and K). Fats also help our body produce essential hormones like testosterone. Eat quality fats and keep you’re your hands off fried foods and trans fats.

Fat free will make you fat! Get your fats from sources like fish, flaxseed, almonds, avocados and olive oil.

Write and Shop

Get a handle on your food intake. Write down everything you eat, how much and what time you eat. Do this for 4 to 7 days. Knowing where what you eat is the first step in controlling your diet.

Plan to win. Plan your meals. Plan for a couple of days if you can, but certainly for the next day. Write it down. Most of the time you’ll end up right on target.

Fill your cupboard and refrigerator with healthy fruits, vegetables, proteins and grains. You can’t eat them if they’re not around.

A follow-up blog in two weeks – the Metabolic Meal Plan – will give you a six-meal program to get you started. I'll share my meals and snacks that will keep you lean and energized all day long.

Watch for my Valentine's Day blog next Sunday... to you from Paris.

Train your body. Train your mind. Tame your tongue.

Ten Training Tips

2010-01-29T20:25:00.022-05:00

At the gym I see every kind of body. The guy who's totally lean, the trainers who are huge but need coaching on body aesthetics, the really heavy guy working on his biceps, and there's the guy who just came in from Abercrombie.

Comparing myself to other guys gets me into trouble because there's always someone better and more fit – and someone who's not. My meditation Master always said that "there is no competition", our task is simply to make ourselves better.

Better Workouts – Better Bodies

1 Train your mind
Before you start a set, know what you are going to do. What's your form and movement? How many reps are you going to do? Tell yourself you are going to do 10 reps and you'll almost always do them. Tell yourself you are going to try to do 10 reps and you'll almost always miss your mark.

2 Core values first
If you have core values, you can weather anything life throws at you. If your body has a strong core, the same thing happens. So train your core. Get a stability ball for home; they're the best piece of gym equipment you can invest in. Workout your abs and lower back. First thing in the morning do hip dips on the ball followed by a hard ab blast. Flip over and do 20 push-ups on the ball planking your body and pulling your belly button to your spine.

3 Legs before coffee
After you do your stability ball routine, hit your legs by doing three sets of 25 squats without any weight. Now have your morning coffee. You'll have more energy all day long. The first time I did this I was shocked at how much work it was. This is great to do before you head to the gym for a leg workout.

4 Befriend a dumbbell – or two
Use dumbbells instead of machines. Dumbbells make each side of your body (or arm, or bicep) work independently. Both sides have to work just as hard. Additionally dumbbells allow muscles a greater range of movement and strengthen the smaller muscles, tendons and ligaments. You'll keep from being bored too. Dumbbells have more variations for training than machines or barbells.

5 Release growth hormone
Train your legs.Working this massive muscle group triggers the release of large amounts of growth hormone. Guess what? That creates muscle growth throughout your entire body and best of all turbo charges your fat burners. Want a strong upper body? Train your legs.

6 Work the big boys
Just starting? Want to burn and get ripped? Train your big body parts first – train your legs, your back and your chest. These are the powerhouses of your body, they'll fire up your metabolism and create additional energy for you. Your smaller muscles will get worked right along with them without direct focus. You'll still want to train your biceps, triceps, shoulders and forearms, just not as often.

7 Super circuit
Circuit training is perfect if you're just getting started, you muscles are relearning how to work. You can work them hard, build strength and get a full hour in. If you're already training, doing a circuit training blast once every two weeks can keep you lean and your workouts fresh. Your goal is to do 3 full body circuits in an hour.

8 The magic hour
Hit an hour of weight training hard, stop and stretch. It's not really a magic number, but it's a good time measure for most of us. After an hour of intense weight training your body starts to produce cortisol in response to perceived stress. Too much cortisol is nasty and deserves an entire blog. Suffice it to say that it can lower testosterone levels, cause protein breakdown, increase body fat – and with overtraining – decrease athletic performance. Want more time at the gym? Split your workouts morning and evening, you'll have a rest, and both workouts will be strong.

9 Cardio blast last
If you want to do cardio on weight training days, do it after your workout. You can always power through 20 minutes of cardio after training. But if you use your prime energy for cardio before a workout, you'll have less energy and endurance lifting weights, get poor results and take longer to create the gains (or losses) that you are looking for.

10 Recover and grow
Some days my mind thinks my body should train – but my body doesn't want to. If I'm dragging myself up the stairs to the gym I know I've hit one of those times that is approaching overload. I probably haven't recovered from my previous workout. So I'll guiltlessly leave the gym and do something fresh with my hour. Look at it this way; we work out to challenge our muscles to grow. The muscle has to recover as it's growing, so if we're not fully recovered we won't be creating new muscle growth with our workout. Listen to your body, it always knows best.

Train your Body. Train your Mind. Tame your Tongue.

Information on this site is not a substitute for consulting a licensed medical professional. You should never begin an exercise or nutritional program without consulting your health care provider.