Hey fellow Canberra Boot Camp & Canberra CrossFit people..

I am seeing a growing trend in many people not helping themselves out both in everyday life and also those who are into their fitness and health.

 Many Canberran’s are not doing anything to progress in their training and skills by failing to do any mobility or flexibilty work (not to mention what is happening to those that are sedentry on a daily basis).

It is vital that you spend time on your flexibilty if you wish to progress and get fitter, faster, stronger, or just to live longer for that matter!

I have just finished up a few sessions in my garage today, and I am seeing some lack of flexibilty in some people.

Here is an awesome resource tool for you. It is called the mobility WOD, run by Kelly Starrett, and he is the king of mobility in the CrossFit world, and he can certainly help YOU!!!

Check it out and get flexible:

Well I have had a whole host of people over the last few months come to me about these new ‘toning’ shoes.

Personally I think it is a waste of money (my own opinion).

We have been created to use our body in as natrual state as possible, and using these artificial items are ruining our bodies!!

I run in shoes with no support or cushioning and my feet and legs have never been so good! If you have shin splints I am going to tell you to run barefoot for a month and see what happens! Not run off and spend $600 on getting orthodics.

I will post about this soon but, this just came out in the news today that should answer your question about the toning shoe:

Reebok Agrees To $25M Settlement In Refunds For ‘Toning Shoes’

Don’t forget ‘Spring into Summer’ Boot Camp Canberra starts next week, REGISTER NOW…..

Scotty

As most of you know I also had a little boy that I almost lost at birth just over a year ago.

We have one of our clients doing The Canberra Times Fun Run this year and will be dedicating her run to:

The Miracle Babies Foundation through everyday hero.

Our client Rosy, had an amazing little boy born at 25 weeks (he is now a very healthy 2 1/2 year old), here is what she had to say:

“As most of you know, my son Angus was born premature at 25 weeks and is now a healthy 2 ½ year old.  If it wasn’t for the care he received and the amazing medical equipment, I believe that he wouldn’t be here with us today. So for us, every day is a celebration of life. I have decided to celebrate both Angus’ life and my newly found healthier life by dedicating my run in the Canberra Times Fun Run to all premature and sick newborns and raising money for The Miracle Babies Foundation through everyday hero.” Rosy

“Since recommencing Boot Camp with Succeed in May 2010, I have gone on to improve my fitness and lose nearly 20kgs in the process. Putting it into a more visual perspective, when I first started, I was pushing a size 24 and yesterday I brought a dress, for the Succeed Charity Ball that was a size 16 ( very exciting moment). I would like to really thank the Succeed team for getting me into shape and starting off the fundraising with a very kind donation for me, thank you, Rosy”.

Here is the link if you would like to help me raise some funds (there are also some images of my little man):

http://www.everydayhero.com.au/rosaria_molnar

Rosy

Hey guys,

Would love your feedback on what you think is better?? Leave your comments below! Let’s start a bit of debate…

Cardio or Strength??

Here is the latest Succeed Online Magazine, click on the image below…

Enjoy the read:

The Succeed Team

P.S. Save the date - Saturday 27th August for the 2011 Succeed/Alive Chairy Ball, tables and seats will be available for purchase from next week… stay tuned!!!

Here it is guys the latest Succeed Online Fitness Magazine full of great info for you for you read, feel FREE to pass this onto anyone that may be interested:

Enjoy the read everybody, we hope to see you back to Boot Camp soon..

The Succeed Team

The evidence is clear - regular exercise is good for you!

And not only is it good for you, but doing it regularly and consistently will have a positive effect on many areas of your life.  No more clearly can this be shown but in the workplace.

Do you want to get sick less often? Do you want more energy? Would you like to be more confident? Would you like to be able to handle stress better? Would you like to give yourself more opportunities for promotions?

Countless studies have proven that being fit and healthy will result in more energy, superior ability to focus clearly and more effective ways to manage stress levels. Now wouldn’t that make life a lot easier?

By improving yourself in these areas alone, you may be able to counter your weaknesses, and eliminate those factors that may be stopping you from getting that promotion, from gaining recognition and taking on more responsibility, from having the chance to earn a higher salary or improve your living standards!

Participation in a work-based exercise program can greatly increase job satisfaction and help to counter boredom and complacency. It can also encourage other positive health-related behaviour, such as quitting smoking or weight loss.

Exercise doesn’t need to be complicated – it just needs to be regular. The following are some examples of how exercising can be made easier:

- organise fellow staff members for lunch time sporting games – touch football, soccer, volleyball, cricket
- start a walking/running club at lunchtimes
- participate in a workplace fitness program
- join a local health club
- hire a Personal Trainer

Regular exercise, combined with sound dietary habits, WILL make a difference in many areas of your life, especially in a place where you spend a large chunk of your time – in the workplace!!

We have discounted memberships for Succeed Boot Camps right across Canberra for the month of March & April, simply click here and email us..

This whole topc is really still in it’s infancy and what these products could potentially do to you. Now some of the above potential health problems are definitely not proven as fact in studies. However, some of them have been shown in animal studies given high doses.

 Feel free to do some research, you’ll find hoardes of people that attribute the use of artificial sweeteners over the years with all sorts of illnesses in themselves or in family members.

Regardless of the fact that any real health problems for actual human use are not proven yet, I don’t know about you, but I’d rather protect myself and my family and steer clear of these possibly dangerous artificial chemicals.

Of course, despite all of the health issues potentially associated with artificial sweeteners, the companies that sell the products will continue to claim that they are fully safe. Don’t believe them!  The bottom line is that the body was not designed to deal with foreign substances like artificial sweeteners. Take my word on that one.

So what are your options for alternatives? Well, your best alternatives for sugar or corn syrup are either natuaral honey, or organic maple syrup. Even though these alternatives still have the same amount of calories as sugar or corn syrup… honey and maple syrup, actually provide some nutrients and antioxidants, so it’s not just empty calories.

Empty calories such as white refined sugar stimulate your appetite more because your body is lacking nutrients.

Now I know your still thinking that you’d like to still save on calories but avoid the nasty artificial sweeteners.

Good news… You can!

It’s called Stevia.

Stevia is not artificial like the other chemical sweeteners I mentioned above. Stevia is a natural non-caloric herb that’s been used for thousands of years in some parts of the world. It is a South American herb and when dried into a powder, has a sweetness about 200-300 times stronger than sugar.

One problem I’ve noticed with using Stevia is that the pure powder is a very powerful sweetener, so you can easily use too much. However, I’ve found some good Stevia products that use a bulking agent added so that you can measure out the stevia powder in direct comparison to measuring sugar.

I’ve yet to see any negative reports or health concerns regarding stevia and only positive potential health benefits.

 I definitely give Stevia my seal of approval. Do yourself a favor (and your family), and if you are currently an artificial sweetener junkie, please consider switching to stevia.

Until next time, keep on training gang.

Scott

Hey there, it’s Scott Williams from www.succeed.com.au & www.succeedstrategies.com.au with your latest health and nutrtion tip.

Today I wanted to talk about artificial sweeteners because I’ve noticed that there’s a lot of confusion about them with my clients not really understanding them at all.

There is a huge list of products sweetened with them, and are marketed to you as “healthy foods” or “healthier” than sugar. But are they really?

Some of the most popular artificial sweeteners on the market today are:
• Equal
• Aspartame
• Splenda

These artificial sweeteners are used in pretty much every “diet” drink, “lite” yogurts, puddings, and ice creams, most “low-carb” products, and almost all “reduced-sugar” products. Look closely, even most protein powders are loaded with artificial sweeteners too (just look on the ingredients and you’ll usually see one of them).

Equal and Splenda are probably the worst offenders of claiming to be “healthy” as they say that it’s made from real sugar.

But don’t be fooled!
 
It’s still an artificial substance. Some of the truths they don’t tell you is that Equal & Splenda is a chemically modified substance where chlorine is added to the chemical structure, making it more similar to a chlorinated pesticide than something we should be eating or drinking.

This is one of the biggest misconceptions that I see all of the time and people, parents etc don’t realise what are in these products and thinking they’re taking the ‘healthy’ option for the family.

The truth is that artificial sweeteners are not even close to being healthy, and, can easily be as bad for you, if not worse, than sugar.
 
Most people think that they are doing something good for themselves by choosing the “diet” drinks or “lo fat” yogurts compared to the full sugar versions, but the problem is that you’re exposing yourself to a whole new set of problems with the artificially sweetened drinks and foods.

People these days are receiving a lot of contradicting messages about which foods are good for you and which are bad.
 
Don’t worry. Just stick with me and I’ll get past the marketing hype and tell you the truth. I’ll also give you some ideas for great alternatives to artificial sweeteners and sugar.

In reality it is a battle between artificial sweeteners vs. sugar. Both is evil, but which evil is worse?

I’m sure you already know the problems with sugar:
1.  excess empty calories,
2.  blood sugar spike,
3. insulin surge this creates in your body promotes fat gain
4. stimulates your appetite further for more sweet things

On the other hand, artificial sweeteners save you calories, but there’s growing evidence that they can increase your appetite for sweets and other carbohydrates causing you to eat more later in the day anyway. Therefore, you don’t really save any calories at all. Also, studies have shown that artificial sweeteners can stimulate high insulin levels in your body too, which again can promote fat storage.

All of the artificial sweeteners listed above are nasty chemicals that the human body is simply not meant to ingest. However, most of us are ingesting a whole lot of these chemicals on a daily basis. Aside from the problems I touched on so far, other health issues that have been related to artificial sweeteners in scientific studies as well as observations are:
• some have been linked to potential cancer risks
• headaches
• developmental problems in children and fetuses
• negative effects on the liver, kidneys, and other organs
• stimulating cravings
• gastrointestinal problems

Stay Tuned for Part II soon

Scott

Will I Lose Weight if I Skip Breakfast?

Some people think that skipping breakfast will help them lose weight. It won’t.

Studies show a direct link between breakfast and successful weight loss, and that compared to breakfast skippers, breakfast eaters generally:

•  Eat fewer calories throughout the day
•  Eat less saturated fat and cholesterol
•  Have better nutrition habits
•  Weigh less (women 4kgs/men 3kgs less)

 The key to successful weight loss.

The key to successful weight loss is burning more calories than we consume each day.

Our body burns calories 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. How quickly we burn those calories is called our metabolic rate.

Our individual metabolic rates change throughout the day and night, depending upon things like when we last ate and whether we are active or at rest.

Even though we burn calories while we are asleep, our metabolic rate slows dramatically during this time and we burn fewer calories per hour as a result.

(Now before you go planning to give up sleep to lose weight, which is definitely not the answer, let me tell you a better way).

The way to maximize the number of calories we burn each day is not to stay awake longer but to maximize our metabolic rate while we are awake.

This is where eating breakfast comes in.

Why breakfast is so important to losing weight?

One of the secrets to successful weight loss is to kick-start our metabolism as soon as possible after we wake. The best way to do that is to eat breakfast. In fact, nothing, including exercise, gets our metabolism going as fast again after eight hours of restful sleep as eating a healthy breakfast!

When we skip breakfast, not only does our metabolic rate stay low, so too does our blood sugar levels. Low blood sugar levels resulting from missing breakfast often leads us to feel lethargic.

Low blood sugar levels in the morning eventually make us feel extra hungry later, which sets us up for impulse snacking, or eating overly large portions of food at lunch and dinner.

When we eat breakfast, our body feels nourished and satisfied, making us far less likely to over eat during the rest of the day.

Common reasons for missing Breakfast

The most common reasons that people skip breakfast include:
No Time
Preferring to exercise in the morning instead
Not feeling hungry in the morning
Unable to stomach food first thing in the morning
Here’s what you can do if either one of these causes you to miss breakfast regularly:

“No time” is no excuse

Time is at a premium for most of us. Nevertheless, it pays to make time for what is undoubtedly the most important weight loss meal of the day.

If time is a real issue for you and you only have a few minutes for breakfast in the mornings, try to:
Eat something that doesn’t take any time to prepare, like a glass of pre-squeezed fruit juice, a couple of pieces of fresh fruit or a tub of low-fat yoghurt. Even last night’s left-over stir fry is a better option than eating nothing at all.
Prepare your breakfast the night before. Lay your cereal packet, dish, spoon or toast condiments on the breakfast bar so they are ready to go first thing in the morning.
Do two things at once. Try doing something within your morning routine, like ironing a blouse or shirt for example, while your toast is browning in the toaster. (Try not to do two things at once while you’re eating, you’ll eat too quickly and your digestion will be affected. If you have no choice, eat anyway, but try not to do this too often).
Have at least something to eat no matter how small and take the rest of your breakfast with you. For example, drink a breakfast smoothie and take your favourite breakfast cereal to work with you in a plastic container.
If you are in a rush to get somewhere, eat something as soon as you get there. If you’re meeting someone, meet them in a café or coffee shop. If you are always in a rush to get to work, leave a packet of breakfast cereal in your office kitchen or in a drawer of your desk.

Most people like to exercise in the morning for the same reason they should eat breakfast, to raise there metabolism and burn extra calories.

If you exercise in the morning on an empty stomach, your metabolism won’t reach the same heights it would if you ate something before-hand.

Don’t like to exercise on a full stomach? Ideally we shouldn’t really work out until an hour or two after our breakfast (or any other meal), but if you like exercising in the morning or it’s the only time you have, a glass of fruit juice or small piece of fruit beforehand will give your metabolism the spark it needs to maximize the calories burnt during your workout.

Remember, you don’t need to eat a three course meal to get your metabolism going in the morning, even something small like a banana or fruit smoothie will get it firing.

Why Boot Camp Are So Effective for Fatloss

•functional movements and exercises that burn more calories and fat

•boost fitness levels quick.

•They Challenge you physically, mentally, and emotionally which is key for long term results

•Hold you accountable for showing up and for giving 110% when you’re there.

•Include different workouts everytime you train and are of course fun and interesting.

•Are full of other highly motivated people who encourage and motivate you.

•Boot Camp will Push you to go past your comfort zone while staying safe.

•It will Address all aspects of fitness including cardio, strength, and flexibility.

•Set achievable fitness goals that contribute to weight loss and fat loss.

•We can address healthy eating and metabolism boosting strategies.

•Are more affordable than one on one personal training.

•Can be modified for people of all levels.

If you are considering on starting on your road to fitness, then why not let Australia’s Personal Training Business of the Year help you out.

To book your FREE session simply email admin@ succeed.com.au today