"10 Reasons To Hire A Certified Personal Fitness Trainer, Nutritionist, & Fitness Coach During The Holidays!"

"I don't believe in a fate that will fall on us no matter what we do. I do believe in a fate that will fall on us if we do nothing."

- Ronald Reagan, 40th U.S. president

"10 Reasons To Hire A Certified Personal Fitness Trainer!"

1. Motivation
Personal Trainers wear many hats, serving not only as coach, but also as an educator, confidant role model and a major source of motivation and encouragement.
2. Consistency
Do you find it difficult to stick to your program? Scheduling regular appoinments with a personal trainer helps eliminate any excuse you may come up with for not exercising.
3. Safety
Are you unsure about how to use the chest press machine at the gym, or how to perform walking lunges without hurting your knees? A personal trainer will show you how to exercise safely (including which exercises to avoid), and instruct you on the proper and safe use of exercise equipment.
4. Individualized Instruction
An exercise program that works for one person may not work for another. A personal trainer will develop the most effective program for you based on your fitness evaluation results and personal goals.
5. Effective Workouts
Today's hectic lifestyles mean you don't have to waste on ineffective exercise routines. Personal trainers help maximize your time by providing workouts designed to meet your goals quickly and efficiently.
6. Supervision
Personal attention during exercise is the primary function of personal trainers. Need someone to spot you while you do pull-ups? Looking for feedback on your running form? Thats what your personal trainer is for: to observe, assist and if necessary, correct as needed.
7. Sports-Specific Training
Many amatuer and professional athletes work with a personal trainer during off-season to prepare themselves for in-season competition. Whether you want to shave some strokes off your golf score or beat your brother-in-law at tennis, a personal trainer can tailor your program to your sport of choice.
8. Injury Rehabilitation
Injuries and accidents can prevent you from participating in your favorite activities. An experienced personal trainer, however, can make the road to recovery a smooth one by reccomending exercises that emphasize overall muscular balance to prevent future injuries.
9. Special-Needs Training
Research confirms that individuals with health challenges such as diabetes, asthma, osteoporosis, or heart disease benefit greatly from regular physical activity. These conditions, however, can make exercising safely a challenge. Many personal trainers are experienced in designing programs that address the special needs of these and other conditions.
10. Ego Boost
It's a fact- feeling good makes you look good, and vice versa. Not only can personal trainers help you achieve your health and fitness goals, they provide you with positive feedback on your performance and bolster your confidence to take on new challenges.

By,

Natalie Pyles
Owner & CEO of Fitness Elements & Associates LLC.

Fitness & Nutritional Expert,Wellness Coach, Author, & Speaker

1-800-681-9894 Or 480-419-6462 Or Fax 623-399-4199 Call For Your FREE Personal Training Session, Nutritional Consultation & Motivational Coaching Session FREE Today!

Happy Holidays From Fitness Elements!

"Do You Think It’s Possible?"

“Do you think it’s possible for a little girl to fly?”

In 1970, Coach Béla Károlyi asked this question to the young girl who was sitting silently behind her school desk. With a fire blazing behind her eyes, she stared back at him and answered his question with a nod of her head. He replied, “So do I!”

As we write this, Michael Phelps is making Olympic history by becoming the greatest Olympian who ever lived. Over three decades ago, another Olympian made history by demonstrating that what was previously believed to be impossible was in reality quite possible.

Most of us may never feel the weight of a gold medal hanging on around our necks and hear the thundering applause of a gracious and reverent crowd. Yet, in each of us is the heart of a champion. The only difference between those who allow their inner champion to fully express itself and those who live vicariously through the accomplishments of others is a decision. Champions are champions because they think, act and therefore perform as champions. The moment you decide to step out of the stands and into the arena, you are a champion.

Greatness leaves clues. Out of the seeds of greatness come the distinguishing fruits of character, the clues that are left behind by every inspiring achievement so that it can be built upon. Within every achievement is the blueprint that, when studied, enables us to not only replicate preceding accomplishments but reach those goals we set for ourselves even higher.

You must emulate that which you desire to become. With another Olympic games recently behind us, we thought it was appropriate to share with you the six qualities of a champion we have observed over the years in the top performing trainers, managers and professionals worthy of emulation. How better to do that than through the story of one of the greatest Olympians who ever lived, an individual who overcame her own adversity, so that she might help others to break free from the limits of their own.

Quality #1 - The Courage to Imagine the Unimaginable

Nearly six years later at the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games, this young girl, Nadia Comăneci, performed her legendary gymnastic routine. Her body effortlessly danced through the air in harmonious movement while she flipped, turned and flew from one uneven bar to the next. The sheer beauty, elegance and fluidity with which she performed her routine looked as if she was breaking the bonds of gravity as she soared above the ground and, in fact, looked like a little girl flying.

Nadia completed her final somersaults and landed with her two feet planted firmly on the ground. Her head was held down at first. Slowly she lifted her torso, then her head and then fully extended her arms towards the sky while staring with intensity into the layers of spectators. The hundreds of spectators from every country on the globe jumped out of their seats while clapping and cheering with praise for the performance they had just witnessed.

The judges handed in the final scores. The crowd waited silently as they stared at the scoreboard. The lights lit up on the board as 1.00. Only one? The crowd was confused, as this was the lowest score possible. Then a voice from the loud speaker said, "There seems to be a problem. The judges are conferring, one moment please.... Yes! Yes it is!!! For the first time in the Modern Olympic Games, a perfect 10.00!”

The scoreboard was only set for three digits and did not have enough spots to display the four digits of 10.00. Nadia made Olympic Gymnastic History by changing what was considered at the time by the masses to be impossible. She was the first gymnast in history to score a perfect 10.00.

Nadia was a girl no more that six years old turning cartwheels in the schoolyards of Romania when asked if she believed it possible for a little girl to fly. She was found as a carefree little girl who believed she could accomplish the unimaginable. “Many never experience breaking the bonds and flying because they lack the courage to believe beyond what others suggest as possible," said Nadia. "The lack of courage to break boundaries is not a consequence of cowardice but rather conformity. Just as the numbers on a scoreboard were set based on what others felt at one time to be possible, it also suggested the limits to which others should conform as well.”

Conformity is following a script for your life that you did not write. If you have ever heard that quiet yet persistent voice in the back of your head telling you that you can do more then has been realized, if you have ever had a feeling that you were capable of far more than has been demonstrated in your life so far or have seen yourself going further then others thought possible, this by itself could be evidence of the fact that you were meant to break through the bonds and fly.

Quality #2 - Decide to Be a Champion... No Matter What!

At one of Nadia’s first performances, before her perfect 10 was accomplished, many had hopes to watch this young girl perform her routine at a gymnastic competition. Coach Károlyi had promised everyone she would be a future champion for the Romanian team. He instructed Nadia to “perform exactly as you did in practice, and don’t let us down.” If Nadia performed as she demonstrated in practice, she would succeed.

Nadia slowly walked over to the balance beam. She stared over the balance beam not with her usual fire but with hesitancy for what she was she was supposed to do, with a look of fear from the expectations set by others. Nadia proceeded with her routine and fell several times off the balance beam. Many looked on with disbelief and disappointment. Was this was the young girl who was promised to be a champion?

All too often many of us stand in our own way of making our dreams and goals come to fruition not because of who we think we are, but rather, who we think we’re not.

On the trip back from the competition, Nadia stared out of the window of the bus in the back seat. Bela sat next to her and said, "The tragedy is not that you fell. It was that you were the best and didn’t live up to it! You’re not serious about gymnastics! You should quit! Did you ever see anyone as bad as you were today? Go back to the schoolyards where you came from!”

“NO!" Nadia yelled back at him. "I WANT TO BE A CHAMPION!"

Quality #3 - Keep the Company of Other Champions

How many times have you fallen? How many times have you missed that one step and stumbled? Nadia had within her the talent to be a legendary gymnast. At no more 13 years of age, Nadia was told she was a champion and yet she still fell. And not just once but several times. How many of us know we have more within us but yet continually fall short of our fullest potential? As a result, we never truly allow our talents and gifts to be harnessed. Nadia was surrounded by people who believed in her. Coach Károlyi believed Nadia had the potential for greatness and expected nothing less. It was this uncompromising belief in Nadia’s potential that was perhaps one of the strongest determinants in her success.

Your reference group is one of the most powerful determinants of your success in any area of your life. We all have the potential to be champions and break the norms of what is believed to be possible. It takes just one person who unconditionally believes in your abilities to help you become more than your personal history.

Look at three people in your life who you share most of your time and thoughts with and ask the following questions:

• What are the words they say to you? Do they believe you are remarkable?
• Do they continually point it out your unique talents?
• Does your reference group allow you to stay where you are, or do they continually push you to go were you were meant to be?
• Do they stay quiet when you fall back, or do they not accept anything less than your best? How do they communicate this to you?
• Do they question you as a person, or do they question the behaviors, decisions and actions you take that aren’t consistent with your highest potential?

Your reference group is one of the most important things in your life because they have the ability to shape and define who and what you become. Think hard about the above questions. Every day you are at work in your club or business setting ask yourself:

• Who do I choose to spend my time with at work? Is this consistent with who I aspire to be as a professional?
• Do the people I surround myself with continually discuss new ideas and thoughts?
• Are the people in my reference group at work attending seminars and pursuing continual education and professional development?
• Are the people I talk to positive, or do they consistently complain about all that is wrong? What you allow to be put in to your mind can eventually shape your thoughts as well.
• Do I surround myself with the best in my club (or whatever environment you work in)? People/Clients/Members notice everything. Even when you think it is not important, they see who you talk to and how you spend your time at the club and use this as a determinant when choosing a trainer.
• Is my reference group at work supportive of my success, or do they feel comfortable when I don’t succeed at a task or goal? Competition and threat are two totally different things. Healthy competition can help in boosting your potential while those who are threatened by your success might seek to pull you down.

Quality #4 - Self Reliance

After making Olympic history by achieving a perfect 10, Nadia lived her life growing up in the eyes of society. She was always referred to as the champion, the legend and the best. She was constantly being watched, judged and criticized by the masses. The story of the champion comes with greatness, and with greatness comes adversity. It is the challenge that leads you further towards your unrealized potential. The potential would never had been known if the challenge had never been experienced.

Nadia was separated from her family and coach. She was sent to another team and coach. In her separation from the familiar support group she had for many years, her life shifted. She gained weight, was mocked by her team and lost her best friend in feuds of jealousy. Nadia was alone for the first time in her life. She was used to a structure, a support group and voice believing in her and setting the parameters with which she lived. When she was without this, she had nothing left but time by herself. Nadia was isolated to her room by her new coaches and given strict orders to not see visitors so she could focus on gymnastics and lose the weight she had gained.

In her room alone, Nadia was forced to think, reflect and question. Her ego kicked in. The ego is the dark, shadowy side of us that wants to believe we are capable of not being loved by anyone. The ego keeps us in shame, guilt and confusion about our true identity. The ego keeps us resistant to telling the truth, and then uses our internal and external display of honesty to breed fear in our hearts. Nadia attempted to end the silence and fear by self destructing behaviors and attempted suicide.

Quality #5 - Perseverance

In her hospital bed during her recovery from attempted suicide, Nadia was told to leave gymnastics and lead a simple life. "Take walks," they said, "Get a job and start a family." Nadia could not do it. She responded, “I must be the best! I must train harder than I have ever done before!”

The difference for champions is they go one more round. Regardless of how many times you are “down,” you are not beaten if you rise to your feet just one more time. Nadia went back to Bela. She trained harder then ever. She ran miles, trained intensely and restricted her diet to lose the weight.

On your journey through life, there will perhaps be many experiences, roles and environments that will contribute to who you are. There will also be times where the patterns that have made you succeed in the past may be futile in the future. Because change is constant, you must have the ability to be flexible in your environment. Always have the ability to hear different opinions and viewpoints and adapt to different patterns to lead to the same result you desire. The professional who does not have the ability to adapt and change is the professional who will stay in one place and eventually be obsolete.

As you grow and move towards your goal, always have the ability to:

• Stay true to your values and beliefs.
• Stay aware of your strengths and weaknesses.
• Be aware of your “why” in the industry and the contribution you wish to make.
• Always have the ability to be flexible enough to learn and be open minded to change your patterns and adapt to new environments, all leading to the goal you desire.

Life can move fast when we are on a rise towards greatness. Because of this, we might look back and not realize how we got there. We question the accomplishments we make, the praises we receive, and we fear the next step. One night during her training, Nadia ran to the kitchen and grabbed some food to secretly take back to her room and eat. Bela ran in to her room, grabbed her, threw her over his shoulder and took her back to the kitchen. As he was throwing food at her, he screamed, "Can’t stand the pressure of being a star? Do you want to self destruct so no one will recognize you? Don’t know what to do when the going gets rough? From now on Nadia, it is up to you. You can’t depend on me anymore. I will teach you what to do, but I can’t make you do it, and I won’t do it for you!"

Quality #6 - Re-imagine

At the 1979 World Gymnastic Championships, after rigorously training, Nadia was to perform once again after many years in hopes of regaining her crown and leading the Romanian team to victory. However, she was suffering a wrist injury which she had never attended to in her past weeks of training. Bela angrily looked at her and said, “You are no use to us like this.” Nadia was taken out of the competition.

Nadia stood outside the arena as she listened to the judges announcing the scores of her teammates and competitors. Her one-time best friend, the one who had turned on her in jealousy during Nadia’s times of glory, now walked over to her and said, “Nadia, gymnastics has changed. We are the ones who changed it. What was once special is now ordinary. Nadia, I am sorry. I am sorry for being jealous. You deserved all of your wings.”

We fall and we get up, and perhaps we fall again. Each of these experiences can teach us more about ourselves. You learn a little and then put it in to practice. There is always more for you to learn, but after a while, you notice that what you are practicing no longer works. That’s the blessing. It does not allow you to stagnate. It forces you to grow, and grow some more. In order to grow, we must work and continue to work. It is the work we must do on ourselves in order to experience our greatness that makes it so challenging.

Nadia walked back in to the arena, took off her jacket and said, “I will compete.” Bela stared at her and said, “I can’t let you do that.” “What do we need to win?” Nadia asked. The response was, “9.9.” Nadia stared at Bela and said, “I understand now. I can do it on my own.”

Nadia walked with confidence over to the balance beam. The crowd looked on with excitement at her on the gymnasium floor as her name was announced over the loud speaker. She stared over the balance beam. This was a place she had been before. This is where she began, yet this time it was different after all of the years of trials, glories, defeats and struggles. This time, Nadia stood staring over the balance beam with a confidence that came from within her, a confidence that was not based on the beliefs of others.

Nadia believed she could do this routine magnificently because she was doing it. She performed her routine on the balance beam with a badly injured wrist. The judges and spectators watched silently, remembering the last time they had witnessed this performance. Her movements were beautiful. Her presence was magnificent.

Champions are champions because they have within them the ability to realize their inherent talents. The greatest blessing one can have is the realization that it is not a circumstance, company, role or another person that helps to develop a talent. It is the realization that the talent was, is and and always will be within you.

Nadia completed her final somersaults and landed with her two feet planted firmly on the ground. Her head was held down at first. Slowly she lifted her torso, then her head and then fully extended her arms towards the sky while staring with intensity into the layers of spectators.

The judges announced the score “9.95.” They won the championship.

“And in the end of all of our exploring, will be to arrive where we started, and know the place for the first time.” – T.S Elliot

References:

Robert Cappuccio

Natania Goldberg

Forwarded By, Natalie Pyles

Fitness & Nutrition Expert, Author, Speaker

Call Me For Your FREE Motivational Coaching Session, Nutritional Consultation, And Personal Training Analysis 1-800-681-9894 Or Visit WWW.MYFITNESSELEMENTS.COM For Your FREE Report...

“Do you think it’s possible for a little girl to fly?”

"How To Use EFT for Weight Loss Effectively For Clients & Customers"

Almost every trainer can relate with the frustration of wanting their clients to lose weight. As you encourage and support your clients to the best of your ability, they can often infuriate you by saying they blew their nutrition over the last week and never made it to the gym.

When this happens, it is obvious that the problem does not lie in the exercise program or nutrition plan but in the mind of your client. The only solution for most personal trainers to this problem is to continue offering encouragement and hope the client makes that change.

Psychological Influences

Any change in life brings both positive and negative consequences. Even something such as winning $8 million on the lottery will bring some negatives (e.g., people befriending you for the money, publicity, etc). However, regardless of the negative aspects, not many people would turn down this if given the choice.

Losing weight is not as clear cut as choosing to win $8 million. For one, it is not luck but an effort that will allow a client to achieve his goal weight. The next major factor is that the benefits of not achieving your goal weight often far outweigh the benefits of achieving it.

Here are a few examples of the pros and cons of losing weight:

Positive Consequences


Negative Consequences

Feel good


People will judge you

Feel attractive


Unwanted attention

Regain confidence


Need to buy new clothes

More energy


It is the relative balance of the positive consequences versus the negatives consequences that determines how much “motivation” the client shows.

The Key to the Mind: Your Subconscious

The mind and how we think is very complicated, but it can be simplified to being comprised of the conscious and the subconscious. The conscious mind is the thoughts and things that come to your awareness. The subconscious mind is the activity of the brain you not aware of. It controls and processes all of the information you receive, and it runs the body.

For success in any endeavour, the subconscious mind must be in tune with your conscious desires. It is the role of the subconscious that will determine the outcome. If the conscious mind determined success, then any goal you said you wanted to achieve you would easily attain, provided you knew how. This is not the case.

The subconscious is where all your previous experiences and beliefs are held. These can be thought of as the writing on the wall of your mind. Whenever you try and act consciously, the subconscious first checks with the writing inside the mind to see that this is something you really want to do. For example, if you thought, “I am going to jump into that fire,” the subconscious would check with what it has written down in your mind about fire and influence your decision. This is obviously vital in this example, and the writing in your mind on this subject is fairly clear, “Fire burns, burns hurt... do not jump in.”

However, what happens when a more neutral thought occurs that has conflicting writing on the wall? For example, if you said, “I want to lose 10 pounds of fat,” the subconscious writing on the wall may read, “You need to do this, you'll feel great,” but at the same time, there may also be thoughts saying, “You cannot lose weight,” beliefs saying, “You will become unpopular among your friends at work” and memories saying, “Thin people are arrogant” and “You don’t deserve to be thin.” These would all conflict with the conscious, and ultimately, these thoughts, beliefs and memories would determine your behavior.

The Subconscious and Losing Weight

When someone is trying to lose weight, there are many factors influencing his goal. For the majority of people looking to lose weight, especially long term overweight people, you will find the subconscious has a number of reasons why it feels it is best for them to stay overweight.

These can be for all sorts of possible reasons, but they will mostly stem from events in the past. An example could be if the client has experienced a previous trauma with the opposite sex (e.g., divorce), they may protect themselves in the future by staying overweight. Sometimes people may be punishing themselves for something they did.

Another common factor is that people find an emotional comfort in foods, which causes them to gain weight. If this is the case, you will find they will struggle greatly when you take this food away, because you have taken away their emotional support. This equates to taking a smoker’s cigarette away.

Whatever the influence may be, and the list is almost endless, it is important for you to not guess at the cause but to help clients identify it for themselves, and then apply EFT and other strategies to resolve the problem.

Emotional Freedom Technique and Other Techniques

To develop the mind set, first identify possible blocks. From this point, the application of Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is the fastest way to removing these.

EFT is a branch of energy psychology, the fastest growing aspect of psychology today. It was discovered in 1980 when Dr. Roger Callaghan was treating his patient for an intense water phobia. She complained in the session of stomach pain, so he told her to tap under her eye as knew the energy meridian of the stomach ended there (from acupuncture theory). To his surprise, the lady’s fear of water disappeared.

From that point on, he began studying this phenomenon and went on to create a new branch of therapy called energy psychology. A student of Dr Callaghan, Gary Craig, a Stamford engineer, trained under him and then advanced the theory and made it accessible to all by creating EFT.

EFT is a system that involves tapping on certain acupuncture points with your fingers while tuning into specific negative thoughts. The system is based on the premise that “a disruption to the electrical patterns of the body is the cause of negative emotion,” so EFT works by realigning your electrical energy system associated with different thoughts by tapping on the point of the body used in acupuncture.

When your electrical pattern is disturbed, you could talk about an issue until you are blue in the face, and it will not resolve the problem. Similarly, this explains why sometimes illogical thoughts can prevent people from achieving their goals.

EFT can be used on any thoughts and memories from the past that still cause negative emotions when you think about it now. Using EFT, you can now remove the emotional charge on those thoughts. As well as using EFT for this, you can also apply it to present/future issues and emotional connections. When the mind is cleared of these blocks, your clients will be able to go on and lose weight.

The success of EFT is due in part to the startling results that can be achieved using the technique and also by the fact that the processes involve no pain or need to bring up any painful memories.

The Theory Behind EFT

The premise of the theory is summed up by its discovery statement: “The cause of all negative or unwanted emotion is a disruption to the body’s electrical energy system.” This is inherently different to the way traditional psychology would view emotions. They would see it as: distressing memory -> negative emotion.

EFT would say there is a vital intermediate step: distressing memory -> disrupted electrical energy system -> negative emotion.

To dissolve the negative emotion associated with the memory, you do not need to treat your memory but instead realign the energy in your body. In EFT, you are tapping on the meridian points on the body (see below). The meridian points are where an electrical pathway that runs through the body ends. Think of it like an electrical lead going from one part to the other. This can be easily imagined as if you bent your finger right now. To do this, an electrical signal is sent through your nerves from the brain to move your finger.





EFT and Losing Weight

To ensure the electrical system associated with the negative emotion/issue is being balanced, you will need to say certain statements before the tapping and during. To lose weight, your client must resolve the emotional blocks. Picture the problem of losing weight as a table top. The many blocks contributing to the problem can be thought of as the legs to this table. The tabletop may have many table legs underneath, which represent different emotional contributors. The idea of EFT is to collapse the emotional issues, or the table legs, to the point where there are not enough to support the table. In other words, if you collapse enough emotional issues under your problem, you will resolve it.

Some of the table legs are thicker than others and thus more important to resolving the issue. Sometimes there may be just two or three legs, and sometimes you may need to break down more than 20.

Many of the table legs to a problem are previous memories of events that happened to you. These show up in your behavior today by influencing your thought processes. These may be rational or irrational thoughts. Being scared of a tiny spider that couldn’t hurt you is a very real fear to many people, but it is also irrational. Your previous memories (table legs) can also be irrational and will affect you today.

An irrational thought is in your mind because there is a disturbed electricity field associated with it. Therefore, you must use EFT to resolve the issue as it will likely not respond very well to conscious rationale because the cause of the problem is in the electrical pattern within the body.

One of the great benefits of EFT is that it can be done on your own, and clients can often make great progress from just a few minutes a day.

Once the negative blocks are removed, you can include techniques that develop the positive aspects of success. This includes using visualization techniques, positive self talk/language and activating the Law of Attraction. Please note these techniques will be useless unless the negative blocks have been broken down first. Only when this is done will clients be able to successfully overcome them.

Using EFT with Clients

Trainers who are interested in ensuring their clients get results should look to visit the referenced articles and websites below. This will allow you to broaden your knowledge about the topics covered. It is highly recommended to download the free EFT manual by Gary Craig.

For immediate use with your clients, ask them the questions below. They are designed to get clients thinking about their current situation and their thought patterns. They are not intended to solve their problems or unearth specific table legs but simply to get them thinking. Please refer all of your clients to a suitably trained professional for any sort of treatment or therapy.

1. When did you gain your excess weight, and what was going on in your life at that time?
2. What is the downside of achieving your goal weight?
3. What s the upside of staying where you are?
4. Why are you struggling to achieve your goal? Why are you letting this stop you?

References:

1. Callaghan, Roger. PhD. Originator of Thought Field Therapy, http://www.thoughtfieldtherapy.com
2. Craig, Gary. Emotional Freedom Technique, DVD. www.emofree.com
3. Craig, Gary. Emotional Freedom Technique: The Palace of Possibilities, DVD.
4. Craig, Gary. Emotional Freedom Technique: Theory of Past Memories Influence Upon Current Day Goals, DVD. www.emofree.com
5. Ben Wilson

Forwarded By, Natalie Pyles

Fitness & Nutrition Expert, Author , Speaker

Call Me For Your FREE Weight- loss Consultation 1-800-681-9894 Or WWW.MyFitnessElements

"How To Use Corrective Exercise That Is Functional - Part 2"

This article is a continuation from Part 1....

Although working with clients in pain for the purpose of “treating” or “fixing” their pain is outside the scope of practice of the fitness professional, this does not mean that our clients do not have active symptoms. Many clients feel they have exhausted treatment options or have plateaued with their care. Managed care and capitation that has limited visits for physical therapy has created a new demographic seeking personal training. Add the aging baby boomer generation and the health history profile of many personal training clients is increasingly more complex. These individuals still want to be healthy, physically active, functional and productive. The appropriate training progressions can help them do that.

There is a critical point here I would like to emphasize. In my observations, many fitness professionals have adopted the "Far Right (FR)" philosophy, not recognizing the full complement of tools that a physical therapist or chiropractor - who also uses the FR philosophy - utilizes as part of their intervention. Aside from having a more in-depth education on joint mechanics, tissue tolerance, etc., physical therapists and chiropractors also apply joint mobilization, joint distraction, manual resistance and even orthotics to enhance what they will do with fully integrated, multiplanar exercises.

Following comprehensive assessments on their patients, these medical professionals will use these various other “tools” to prepare the patient’s body for fully integrated, multiplanar exercises. These tools are used to address dysfunctions at the local level to improve the global response. The fitness professional who applies exercise strategies from the FR philosophy without addressing the local segmental dysfunctions first provides the body an environment to perpetuate compensatory movement patterns.

The appropriate application of corrective exercise can produce benefits similar to many manual interventions. In fact, from a motor learning perspective, the benefits of corrective exercise can be even superior to manual intervention because the client can reproduce the benefits independently of the health professional. This allows for more frequent and proactive changes by the client that can not occur with manual interventions performed two or three times a week. This is assuming the fitness professional has the prerequisite knowledge of functional anatomy and application of specific corrective exercise.

A fitness professional who does not assess musculoskeletal function or who does not have a thorough understanding of the results of an assessment may incorrectly believe that getting an exercise done is the same as getting an exercise done right. Or that if an exercise does not produce immediate pain, it is not doing any harm. The reality is that cumulative mechanical stress from inappropriately applied functional exercises is the same as cumulative mechanical stress from any other activity.

Proprioceptive Flow Following Injury

The ligaments and joint capsules contain mechanoreceptors that provide feedback on joint position and acceleration. Certain mechanoreceptors also contain pain receptors. When a ligament or the joint capsule is injured, the amount and quality of proprioceptive information is reduced. During the healing process, scar tissue forms. The properties of scar tissue are not the same as the original ligament tissue. Therefore, proprioceptive information remains reduced, unless the injury was followed by a comprehensive rehabilitative process that challenged the local proprioceptive system.

Unless you are working with high level athletes, how many of your clients have gone through comprehensive proprioceptive training following an injury? Many people won’t even go to a doctor for a diagnosis following a sprain, never mind therapy.

Muscle spindles will adapt to injury as well. Edgerton et al. studied the muscle activation of spinal muscles during a variety of motor tasks in whiplash patients. Their research showed an under activity of agonists and over activity of synergist. They concluded that the nervous system can detect a reduced capacity to generate force from a specific muscle or muscle groups and compensate by recruiting more motor neurons. This compensation is achieved by recruiting more motor units from an uninjured area of the muscle or from other muscles capable of performing a similar task (synergist).

Babyar looked at a population that had experienced shoulder pain. As part of the patient’s compensation strategy, they elevated their scapula when the arm was raised. Patients were reevaluated after the shoulder pain was gone. Babyar observed that the scapular elevation continued even in the absence of pain.

Janda also describes muscles that have a low irritability threshold. These are posturally shortened and hypertonic muscles. These muscles will create a bias of the motor neuron pool and are prematurely active (or overactive) and exert inappropriate influence on selected movements.

Interestingly, joint range of motion (ROM) may return to pre-injury levels after the ligament or joint capsule heals. But ROM does not correlate directly with proprioceptive flow from the mechanoreceptors. Therefore, even if a previously injured joint has normal ROM, it may not be “feeding” the necessary proprioceptive information to the CNS during activity. Our internal feedback systems are based on the quality of the proprioceptive information we receive. Therefore, poor proprioceptive flow from the periphery will negatively affect the quality of the motor response based on that poor proprioceptive information.

For example, the client or athlete with a history of ankle sprains that were never rehabilitated properly will have poor proprioceptive flow from the damaged ligaments. The body will not sense the “stuck” talus that is inhibiting adequate dorsi flexion during midstance in gait. The body unconsciously figures out the best way to maintain equal stride lengths is by prematurely lifting the heel on the affected side during the stance phase. This creates biomechanical changes at the hip and lumbar spine.

Also associated with joint injuries are two muscular responses resulting from disruption of the joint integrity. Both are unconscious and neurologically based. One response is reflex spasming. This is a response to pain in which the muscles splint via co contraction around the joint to protect it by reducing movement and minimizing additional damage. Motion required at the protected joint must be transferred to joints proximal and distal to the protected joint.

An alternate response by the CNS is reflex inhibition. This is the complete opposite of spasms. As the result of the arthrogenic reflex, the muscles surrounding the joint become inhibited. This often follows distention of the joint due to effusion (swelling). Inhibition prevents the body from using that joint, thereby avoiding any potential additional harm. Biomechanical compensation is therefore necessary to compensate for the weak link.

An often overlooked example of this is the role a blocked sacroiliac (SI) joint has on the function of the ipsilateral gluteus maximus, internal oblique and multifidus. If the appropriate movement of the sacrum on the innominate does not occur, the activity of these three vital lumbo-pelvic stabilizers is delayed due to inhibition by the CNS. Force production is secondary to appropriate timing of muscle activation for joint stabilization. The role of the SI joint is critical in load transfer of forces from the ground to the upper body. Poor load transfer through the SI joint requires compensatory reactions at the knee, hip and lumbar spine, compromising optimal lumbo-pelvic stabilization.

Therefore, it is questionable if, for example, an anterior lunge with the trunk flexed forward can improve gluteus maximus function if the SI joint is blocked on the same side. According to Hungerford’s study, there is more likely to be an earlier onset and increase in activity of the biceps femoris, also a hip extensor. Clearing the SI joint with the appropriate corrective exercises prior to lunging will facilitate appropriate timing of gluteus maximus function in the lunge.

Stay tuned for the third and final part of this series... coming soon!

References:

1. Babyar SR: Excessive scapular motion in individuals recovering from painful and stiff shoulders: causes and treatment strategies, Physical Therapy 76:226, 1996
2. Brooks, VB The Neural Basis of Motor Control. New York: Oxford University Press 1986
3. Edgerton, VR., Wolf, SL., Levendowski, DJ., Roy, RR. (1996). Theoretical basis for patterning EMG amplitudes to assess muscle dysfunction. Medical Science in Sports and Exercise 28: 744-51.
4. Hungerford B, Gilleard W, Hodges P 2003 Evidence of altered lumbopelvic muscle recruitment in the presence of sacroiliac joint pain. Spine 28(14):1593
5. Jeansonne, J, (2004). Motor skill learning looks beyond outcomes. Biomechanics Magazine Online. Retrieved June 2004.
Keele, S.W. Summers, JJ (1976). The structure of motor programs. In G.E. Stelmach (Ed.), Motor control: Issues and Trends (pp. 109-142). New York: Academic Process.
6. Lee, Diane (2001). An Integrated Model of Joint Function and Its Clinical Application. 4th Interdisciplinary World Congress on Low Back and Pelvic Pain. Montreal, Canada, 137-151.
7. Laskowski ER, Newcomer-Aney K, Smith J, (2000). Proprioception. Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics of North America. May;11(2):323-40, vi.
8. Magill, RA, (2001). Motor learning: Concepts and applications. New York. McGraw-Hill, 2001
9. McGill, Stuart (2002). Low Back Disorders: Evidence-Based Prevention and Rehabilitation. Champaign, IL. Human Kinetics.
10. Myers, T. (2001). Anatomy Trains: Myofascial Meridians for Manual and Movement Therapists. New York, NY: Churchill Livingston.
11. O’Sullivan PB, Twomey LT, Allison GT. (1997). Evaluation of specific stabilizing exercise in the treatment of chronic low back pain with radiologic diagnosis of spondylolysis or spondylolisthesis. Spine;22:2959-67
12. Anthony Carey

Forwarded By, Natalie Pyles

Fitness & Nutritional Expert, Author, Speaker

Call Me For A FREE Fitness Consultation OR Functional Fitness Training Session

1-800-681-9894 or 480-419-6462 or go to

WWW.MYFitnessElements.com to request a Consultation

"How To Use Corrective Exercise That Is Functional - Part 1"

"The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education." - Albert Einstein




As the evolution of the fitness industry continues, perhaps one of the greatest benefits to emerge is the “discussions” it has generated. With all of the gains in research that have expanded our understanding of human anatomy and physiology, there are still vast differences in the interpretation and application of the available information. And this is understandable, since that is the nature of research meeting practical application.

Perhaps no other topic has created more “discussion” than that of function and functional training. And with the overwhelming varieties in human bodies and what they are used for, is it any wonder?

Corrective exercises are of growing interest in the fitness industry, and they are part of this discussion on function. This three part article will attempt to provide a clear understanding of what corrective exercises are and demonstrate the vital role they play in the functional continuum.

The approach and application of corrective exercises I use and teach are often quite different than the perception many professionals have on the topic. This article will further differentiate the functional contribution this approach and application has to optimal health and performance.

I am a proponent of and use all forms of what most consider functional training. This includes but is not limited to multiplanar movements using multiple segments as well as unstable surfaces. But perhaps instead of calling it functional training, we should call it training for function since function is ultimately defined by the individual. This may seem like pure semantics, but it is not. Functional training implies a specific mode of training. Training for function implies an objective.

Corrective Exercise vs. Post Rehab Exercise

It may be useful to first draw a distinction between corrective exercise and post rehabilitative exercise. Corrective exercises are not dictated by symptoms or a current pathology. They are based purely on positively influencing the neuromusculoskeletal system. Exercises will always involve areas of the body far removed from the site of pain or past injury. In a symptomatic client such as those I work with, the symptoms do not dictate what we do. They only place certain limitations on what we do because we do not want to exacerbate the symptom(s).

Post rehabilitation exercises are dictated by a specific objective related to prior treatments by a licensed medical provider following an injury or medical intervention (e.g., surgery). Technically, a fitness professional should not be doing post rehab without directives from the treating professional. Post rehab is most commonly a continuation of the medical providers’ treatment plan.

Post rehabilitative exercises are often body part or quadrant specific. For example, post rehabilitative exercises for a knee procedure would include attention to the quadriceps and hamstrings. And then ideally, it would include the joints above and below the effected knee (ankle and hip).

As the outcomes of the post rehab plan are met, it would be prudent to move on to a more global corrective exercise strategy, realizing that any disruption to the motor system will have consequences far removed from the site of the procedure or pathology.

Whose Function?

Two questions that always drive my training paradigm are: “For whom?” and “For what?” When we ask these two questions, differing philosophies on function inevitably move closer to common ground. Once we’ve answered these two questions, in order for our training approach to be functional, it must be transferable to the unique characteristics and needs of that client/athlete.

To further expand and perhaps cloud the discussion on function, I’ll use one of my clients with chronic lower back pain as an example. This woman can not sit for more than 15 minutes and can no longer work. For her session, I dance around her in a dimly lit room waving incense and singing The Smiths’ song “Girlfriend in a Coma.” She finishes our session with no back pain and proceeds to drive for two hours to Los Angeles still pain free. Was that a functional training session? If you asked my client, she wouldn’t care. She had a functional outcome.

And that may be a critical point: function is determined by output and not necessarily input. In the hypothetical example, the client’s back pain would not be gone long unless it was completely psychosomatic. Therefore, an appropriate functional exercise program would follow.

But what is functional for this client and at this point in her progression? Here is where the divergence occurs in philosophies. One end of the spectrum might involve floor work that is purely cognitive driven motor re-education. We’ll call this the Far Left (FL) of the spectrum. The other end of the spectrum would include completely vertically loaded multi planar exercise including squats and lunges. We’ll call this the Far Right (FR) of the spectrum. Which is “right” or more effective?

I believe they both are. I believe that they are not mutually exclusive and are both in fact part of the total functional continuum. The goal ultimately is to minimize cognitive input and move to the far right of the continuum as quickly as the client is capable. “Capable” means the client has demonstrated a level of competency (quality of movement, stability, endurance, etc.) that justifies moving her to the next stage in the continuum.

There are many practitioners who would agree with me on this, and this approach is supported by many researchers (including McGill, O’Sullivan and Lee) in the area of spinal rehabilitation. But what many practitioners don’t realize is that the continuum I am speaking of does not necessarily span weeks or months. It spans minutes.

Why Corrective Exercise?

When used with specific functional objectives in mind, corrective exercises can be progressed to multiplanar and/or proprioceptively challenging exercises within a given one hour session. This is what I do every day. I use corrective exercises to create an environment where the client can be most successful, performing exercises that are vertically loaded, multiplanar and/or on labile surfaces.

The body is cued to move differently through the stimulus of the corrective exercises. The corrective exercises are ascended, progressively linking together more complex movements. Even as the program is progressed to movements of the FR, we continue to apply exercises that challenge the client’s individual functional needs versus generic multi planar exercises. By following this programming strategy, we facilitate changes to the individual’s biomechanical constraints and motor control strategies.

Corrective exercises are applicable to every client and athlete. They are not limited to clients currently experiencing pain. We can be reasonably confident that most, if not all, of your clients have been in pain at some point in their lives. Show me a client or athlete older than 15 years of age who has never had an injury that created pain avoidance, and I’ll show you someone with a very short memory.

Pain is the single greatest stimulus to enter our body. Through resulting changes in the central nervous system (CNS), the influence of pain is reflected in biomechanical characteristics. Even if pain is no longer present, its effects are. To quote Doctor Janet Travell, the former White House physician and pioneer in trigger point work: “Tissues heal, but muscles learn. They readily develop habits of guarding that long outlast the pain.”

Pathological or disrupted proprioceptive information from the periphery (skin, muscles, joints, tendons, connective tissue) results in functional, adaptive processes through the whole motor system. The symptoms might be felt locally, but the response is experienced globally.

Far Right (FR) on the Functional Continuum

The FR approach has its basis in stimulating the proprioceptive system through “natural” movements that most often require eccentrically controlling gravitational forces. This elicits an appropriate concentric contraction to overcome gravitational forces such as in walking or to produce acceleration and power for a movement such as throwing. The mass and momentum of various body segments are manipulated through verbal instruction from the trainer or therapist to dynamically produce desirable biomechanical reactions of other muscles and joints. For example, changing the orientation of the trunk in a lunge relative to the gravity vector will alter the muscular and joint responses throughout the body.

For these reasons, the FR approach elicits a more integrated and higher level of musculoskeletal function than a floor based, cognitive approach that is to the far left (FL) of the continuum. Assuming the client’s existing biomechanical constraints have responded to the designed stimulus (exercises), the CNS is able to assimilate a more comprehensive catalog of improved movement strategies.

The FR approach assumes, however, that the proprioceptive system will respond in a predictable manner and thereby produce the desired biomechanical response. In the case of the client currently experiencing pain or with pain events in her health history, the proprioceptive system may be “rewired.” And even in cases where the dysfunction is pre-pathological, adaptations/compensations are already underway that will eventually lead to exceeding tissue tolerance and manifesting as regional symptoms.

It can also be argued that exercises from the FR actually use more cognitive processing than the appropriate application of corrective exercises. The complexities of many of the multiplanar, multi joint exercises are completely foreign to many people’s motor systems and are therefore novel movements. This unfamiliar exercise requires a higher level of cognitive processing to both understand and execute than a corrective exercise would. The more complex the unfamiliar movement is, the more likely it will initially produce inefficient co-contractions at many joints, potentially blocking degrees of freedom at those joints. This results in stiff and awkward movement patterns.

Even if the desired proprioceptive response is produced in the CNS, the body must still deal with any possible biomechanical constraints (myofascial adhesions, trigger points, scar tissue, osseous obstructions, etc.). Excitation of the motor nerve from the spinal cord determines how frequently the muscle is excited, but how it actually contracts and relaxes is determined by the properties of the muscle tissue.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this fascinating series... coming soon!

References:

1. Babyar SR: Excessive scapular motion in individuals recovering from painful and stiff shoulders: causes and treatment strategies, Physical Therapy 76:226, 1996
2. Brooks, VB The Neural Basis of Motor Control. New York: Oxford University Press 1986
3. Edgerton, VR., Wolf, SL., Levendowski, DJ., Roy, RR. (1996). Theoretical basis for patterning EMG amplitudes to assess muscle dysfunction. Medical Science in Sports and Exercise 28: 744-51.
4. Hungerford B, Gilleard W, Hodges P 2003 Evidence of altered lumbopelvic muscle recruitment in the presence of sacroiliac joint pain. Spine 28(14):1593
5. Jeansonne, J, (2004). Motor skill learning looks beyond outcomes. Biomechanics Magazine Online. Retrieved June 2004.
6. Keele, S.W. Summers, JJ (1976). The structure of motor programs. In G.E. Stelmach (Ed.), Motor control: Issues and Trends (pp. 109-142). New York: Academic Process.
7. Lee, Diane (2001). An Integrated Model of Joint Function and Its Clinical Application. 4th Interdisciplinary World Congress on Low Back and Pelvic Pain. Montreal, Canada, 137-151.
8. Laskowski ER, Newcomer-Aney K, Smith J, (2000). Proprioception. Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics of North America. May;11(2):323-40, vi.
9. Magill, RA, (2001). Motor learning: Concepts and applications. New York. McGraw-Hill, 2001
10. McGill, Stuart (2002). Low Back Disorders: Evidence-Based Prevention and Rehabilitation. Champaign, IL. Human Kinetics.
11. Myers, T. (2001). Anatomy Trains: Myofascial Meridians for Manual and Movement Therapists. New York, NY: Churchill Livingston.
12. O’Sullivan PB, Twomey LT, Allison GT. (1997). Evaluation of specific stabilizing exercise in the treatment of chronic low back pain with radiologic diagnosis of spondylolysis or spondylolisthesis. Spine;22:2959-67
13. Anthony Carey

Forwarded By, Natalie Pyles

Fitness & Nutritional Expert, Author, Speaker

Recipe Of The Week/ Natalie Pyles/ 11/10/08

Turkey Breast Mushroom Stew

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/4 lb extra lean ground turkey breast
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 large red pepper, chopped
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 3 tsp Italian seasoning, divided
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground 4-pepper blend
• 3 28-oz cans diced tomatoes, with liquid, no salt added
• 1 15-oz can Bush’s Best pinto beans, with liquid
• 3 strips cooked extra-lean turkey bacon, chopped
• 2 tsp hot pepper sauce
• 1 small zucchini, sliced
• 12 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced

INSTRUCTIONS:

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook the turkey until browned, stirring with a spoon to separate and brown evenly. Add the garlic, onion and red pepper. Cook for 3 minutes and add crushed red pepper, 2 tsp Italian seasoning and freshly ground 4-pepper blend. Cook for 8 minutes, then transfer to a large pot. Add the tomatoes with the liquid, the pinto beans with the liquid, the cooked turkey bacon and the hot sauce. Stir in the zucchini and mushrooms. Bring to a simmer and add 1 tsp Italian seasoning, then reduce to low heat. Cook for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Serve over brown rice.

NUTRITIONAL VALUE per serving:

Serves 8

Calories: 200
Protein: 11 g
Carbohydrates: 24 g
Fat: 6 g
Dietary Fiber: 6 g

Enjoy!!

Your Friend In Health & Fitness ,

Natalie Pyles

Fitness & Nutritional Expert, Author, Speaker

CAll Me For Your FREE Nutritional Consultation 1-800-681-9894 Act Now

And I Will Send You Your FREE Report On "How To Maximize Your Fat-Loss During The Holidays!"

" How To Use The Metabolic Typing Method For Your Nutritional Needs"

" How To Use The Metabolic Typing Method For Your Nutritional Needs"


Metabolic typing is the buzz across the industry at the moment. Read on to find out why the science is dominating the headlines and how it should be used if your clients are trying to lose weight or improve their health.

Metabolic typing is the science of personalized nutrition. It is a highly accurate system of determining the foods and nutrients your body needs. Metabolic typing answers the foundational questions of nutrition by telling you:

1. What to eat
2. How much to eat
3. What foods to specifically avoid
4. All other aspects of nutrition including supplements, food quality, etc.

Before I discuss how metabolic typing answers these fundamentals, I must first explain to you why this science is necessary. The health of a food is not so much related to the qualities of the food but instead to the qualities of the food and it's relationship to your body. You've probably had clients who do not lose much weight despite sticking to a fairly "healthy" diet. The reason behind this is that the "healthy" diet they are following (or trying to follow!) is in fact unhealthy for them specifically. To label a food as "healthy," it must have a balancing effect on one's body chemistry (metabolic type).

The reasons healthy foods differ between individuals stems from the way humans have evolved into such unique individuals. To understand this, first ask yourself how many people look exactly the same as you in appearance? The answer is most likely no one, and yet all of us have the same features (i.e., nose, eyes, mouth, etc). Inside we are the same. We all have the same structures, organs, tissues and enzymes, and yet the size, efficiency and concentration of these varies greatly between individuals, just as our external appearance. The variety seen within us has occurred from thousands of years of evolution. As humans moved across the globe, they adapted to the foods before them through natural selection. This caused humans to adapt differently among the many international tribal groups. This was confirmed by Dr. Weston A. Price, who charted the vast differences seen in native tribes. The starkest contrast was between the Eskimos who ate a diet almost totally of protein and fat from seal and fish to the South American tribes who ate an almost totally carbohydrate diet from fruit and berries. Think how many fruits grow in the artic circle? Humans had to adapt to living off the other foods available, or they would have died. Despite this total contradiction of diets observed by Dr. Price, neither group showed any signs of cancer, heart disease, dental problems or mental illness.

The evidence showed that humans adapted to their natural environment just like any other animal. The problem today is that we cannot chart our genetic heritage. Natural selection happens over many generations. It is almost impossible and unwise to look at your family tree to discover what foods to eat. The answer is metabolic typing, designed to discover your unique nutritional needs as you function and live today.

To briefly review the scientific basis of metabolic typing, the theory analyzes 10 systems within the body thought to control all the behavior of the millions of chemicals reactions that occur in your body. To be truly healthy, you first need to discover where your 10 systems lie at the moment. You then need to consume the foods and nutrients that seek to balance these while avoiding any nutrients that will disrupt the systems. Using metabolic typing, we can answer the fundamental questions outlined previously.

What Should I Eat?

It is the role of the main two systems that provide the exact answer to this question. In order to know what you need to eat, you must be classified along your autonomic nervous system and oxidation system. In simple terms, the autonomic nervous system regulates involuntary action, as of the intestines, heart and glands. The oxidation system refers to how the body processes food to produce energy.

It is possible to classify people along these systems by looking at traits associated with different ends of the two systems. For example, if you have a client who has strong hunger, they are showing one sign of a fast oxidation rate. Those who do not want to eat very often are showing a slow oxidation trait. When you analyze a further 150 of these traits associated within each system, it is possible to build a picture of your body’s behavior and classify you along these two systems.

Your classification along these systems is what is known as your metabolic type. Further analysis of the other eight systems gives a more detailed look at your metabolic type, allowing higher levels of health to be attained.

Once your metabolic type is known, it is vital you eat the foods to balance your systems. For example, if your oxidation system was too fast, we would eat foods to slow your system down. Or if the fight or flight (sympathetic) branch of your nervous system was too strong, we would support the other rest and recovery branch (parasympathetic) by eating the appropriate, stimulating foods.

Putting the science of metabolic typing aside, the main thing you need to know is there is no one diet or food that will balance everyone’s body chemistry. Therefore, in order to be healthy, you must know exactly where you are at the moment and which foods are needed to balance your systems. For example, certain vegetables commonly believed to be "good for us" can in fact unbalance certain metabolic types.

A final point to note is the difference between this and the traditional protein, carbohydrate and mixed metabolic typing protocol. This is an easy to use but less specific analysis. This more simplistic test often does not reveal the true metabolic type of many people and does not classify people along the two major systems. The reason it works is that the fast oxidizers and parasympathetics have similar needs as do sympathetic and slow oxidizers. However, there are many real and significant differences between the classifications. It is a question of how far you want to take your health. Do you want to use the general guide, or do you want to find out the specific foods that will make you and your clients truly healthy?

How Much Should I Eat?

When you are eating the right foods, you will go a long way towards achieving your goals. To complement this, you must also eat these foods in the right amounts. This is important because, to ensure metabolic typing is successful and allow the body to be healthy, the cells must be able to effectively utilize energy. This can occur only when the cells receive everything they need in the right amounts. This depends very much on the type of food you eat (as determined above) but also the relative ratios of protein, carbohydrates and fat consumed.

We do not all need to consume the same amounts of protein, carbohydrates and fat at each meal. Each metabolic type will have a ball park amount that should be explored based on what the body needs. This can vary greatly between individuals, even those of the same metabolic type. It also varies during different times of the day.

When the right amounts are consumed, the body effectively can produce energy within the cells. This gives off a series of positive body language signals (e.g., high energy, low food cravings, etc). When the wrong proportions are eaten, negative reactions occur such as sugar cravings, hunger pangs soon after eating, energy dips, etc. These are all signs that the meal was miscalculated and in need of further investigation. This is central to metabolic typing programs and ensures clients achieve long term results.

What Foods Should I Avoid?

Metabolic typing looks closely at the issues of what foods to avoid, as this can upset the balance in one or more of the body’s 10 systems. Primary to the theory is avoiding non metabolically correct foods. Remember, this includes certain vegetables and fruits.

Isolating intolerances to certain foods is vital to success. A food intolerance is the negative reactions of the body to a certain food source. It occurs because the body has difficulty in handling the food for a variety of reasons. Any food can become intolerant to your body, but it is usually the most commonly eaten foods that develop into intolerances, especially those with certain properties, making them more difficult to handle. Some very common food intolerances include pasteurized dairy, wheat (gluten) and oats. Any health attempt will be totally undermined if you are eating foods to which you are intolerant.

To lose weight, it is essential you allow your endocrine glands to be at their optimal health. This fundamental system looks at which one gland is more active in comparison to others. These glands (adrenal, thyroid, pituitary and ovaries) will influence the pattern in which you store your body fat. Look at your clients. Do they store most of their fat below the waist? On their stomachs? All over their bodies? These are clues about the internal body chemistry of the endocrine glands. It is believed over reliance on the specific foods that excite your dominant gland can play a major role in fat storage. To lose fat, we therefore restrict the specific foods that stimulate your dominant gland, allowing balance to be restored to this system.

Blood type influences are dependent on the blood type interactions with specific proteins called lectins. In certain individuals, this can cause food intolerances, immune responses and agglutination of the blood, leading to many negative health complaints. Therefore, the blood type recommendations refer to which foods to avoid within the nutrition plan.

Other Issues

Food quality and preparation technique are a foundation of any metabolic typing regime. Eating inferior food products can completely undermine the effect of that food on your metabolic type. In addition to this, metabolic typing looks at the issues of supplements and tailors a few specific supplements to increase metabolism, restore and maintain digestive function and make up for the short fall of current nutrition practices.

In summary, metabolic typing allows you to discover exactly what foods to eat, how much of them to eat and what foods to avoid. It covers all aspects of nutrition and supplements. It is rapidly growing because it is the most sophisticated and accurate system of finding out your individual needs. Its rise in popularity is because it gets amazing results with all types of clients.

References:

1. Abravanel. The Body Typing Diet. Bantam.
2. Chek, Paul. How to Eat, Move and Be Healthy!
3. Fallon, Sally. Nourishing Traditions. ProMotion Publishing, 1995.
4. Power, Laura. Dietary Lectins: Food Intolerances and Blood Type.
5. Price, Weston A. Nutrition and Physical Degeneration. Price-Pottenger Foundation.
6. Wolcott, William and Fahey, Trish. The Metabolic Typing Diet. Doubleday.
7. Williams, Roger. Biochemical Individuality. Keats.
8. Watson, George. Nutrition and Your Mind. Bantam.
9. Ben Wilson

Forwarded By, Natalie Pyles

Fitness & Nutritional Expert, Author, Speaker