Invitation to Next Seminar: Watch a Live Assessment and Learn How Your Hormones Affect Your Body Fat
On Sunday, January 13 from 3-5 PM, I will be hosting a seminar that is only open to the first 15 people to register. To all attendees, there will be a special surprise at the end.
I’ve mentioned this over and over and over again, but where you store your body fat is indicative of your hormonal profile. This methodology is called “biosignature modulation.” To quickly recap, here are the correlations:
Triceps = testosterone
Chest = aromatase for men (which is an enzyme that converts testosterone to estrogen) and estrogen balance for women (estrogen is a group of 3 different hormones, and it’s the balance between them that determines risk for different types of cancers)
Upper back = genetic tolerance for carbohydrates (how many carbohydrates can you eat before putting on body fat?)
Over the ribs = thyroid
Love handles = insulin
Belly = cortisol
Thighs = estrogen
Knees and calves = growth hormone
By measuring these sites, I know a person’s hormonal profile. Based on that hormonal profile, I can much more specifically determine how that particular person should eat, exercise and supplement.
On Sunday, January 13, from 3-5 PM, you will see me doing a live biosignature assessment on somebody for the first time, and interpret the results.
So if you want to learn about the connection between body fat and hormones, and how to lose body fat by optimizing your hormones, register for this seminar by emailing me at [email protected]. This is only open to the first 15 people who register. If you are bringing someone with you, please let me know.
Cost: $5. All money generated will be donated to the Alzheimer’s Society
Location: 500 Denison St., Markham (major intersection is Woodbine and Denison)
Vicki Hooper: Client of the Year 2012
Meet Vicki Hooper. Vicki is a busy 50-year-old woman who works a regular 9-5 at Sunlife financial. She has a husband, an aging mother and an active social life. She is also the Fitness Solutions Plus client of the year 2012.
Of all the people we trained in 2012, how did Vicki manage to become client of the year? There are 4 reasons:
Consistency.
Vicki started training in February 2012, and between then and now, she was working out consistently with me once per week (and an additional 5 times per week on her own). She currently trains with me only once every 2 weeks. During all this time, she has only missed just 1 workout (due to celebrating her 50th birthday in Las Vegas – by skydiving! How cool is that?).
Compliance.
Tell Vicki what changes to make with her nutrition, supplementation and training, and she’ll do it. No ifs, buts or maybes. Sure, a little “cheating” is expected, and sometimes even encouraged, but with Vicki, it was just the right amount (except for this one time at band camp… I mean Vegas).
Attitude
Vicki is very enthusiastic about fitness and health, yet she’s not socially awkward about it. She finds ways to fit it into her life, and when she’s faced with a situation where it’s not so easy, she makes the best of it. She always comes in with a smile, and a recap of the latest episode of Dexter (which is awesome! If you don’t watch it, you should).
Adversity
Very rarely is life perfect. Sometimes, there are challenges along the way. You’re invited to a party where there’s no healthy food, you go on a vacation to Las Vegas, etc. When Vicki just started working out, she had frozen shoulder. That’s when you simply can’t lift your arm above 90 degrees. If you think about all the things in life where you need that range of motion, it definitely poses a challenge. Despite that, she continued to exercise.
More recently, she had a back problem that originated with a knee surgery she had 25 years ago. Despite the back problems, she continued to exercise. Sure, she modified her routine, but she didn’t stop it. And she didn’t let up on her nutrition either.
For all those reasons, Vicki was awarded the client of the year award from Fitness Solutions Plus.
An honourable mention goes to Wendy Vaiopoulos for similar reasons as Vicki.
What do I Think About Crossfit, P90X and Jane Fonda tapes?
I am often asked about one-size-fits-all exercise programs like P90X, Crossfit, and other like it. What do I think about them?
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The truth is just like anything, there are upsides and downsides to them.
The Upsides
I think that as far as one-size-fits-all programs go, P90X and Crossfit are about as good as it gets. Why? Because unlike the infomercials from 10 or more years ago, where they preached “just 20 minutes, 3 times a week to the body of your dreams”, P90X and Crossfit are different. They preach “1 hour of hard work, 5-6 times per week.” In addition to that, they give some decent nutritional guidelines. And clearly, there are lots of case studies to show the effectiveness of these types of programs.
I think another big upside is that programs like these are fun. With both P90X and Crossfit, they create a sense of community. In the Crossfit world, if you’re a Crossfitter from Canada and you meet a Crossfitter from Germany (the land of Modern Talking: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lp2qcCrdBLA), they have an instant connection, and they feel like part of the same “clan.”
The Downsides
The obvious downside, at least with Crossfit is the very high risk of injury. For one thing, Crossfit throws good technique out the window. For another thing, even if their technique was good (which it isn’t), the program is very imbalanced. There are a lot of exercises for one side of the joint without a corresponding number of exercises for the opposite side of the joint.
Also, both Crossfit and P90X are very inappropriate for somebody under high levels of stress. The high intensity nature of both of these will cause the body to deteriorate even more. Not only that, it may actually cause paradoxical fat gain. You’ll be exercising hard, and you might actually gain body fat.
Additionally, by their nature, one-size-fits-all programs can’t accommodate to little injuries (or for that matter, big injuries). The assumption is that everybody is healthy all the time. That’s not always the case. Sometimes you sleep funny and your neck or shoulder doesn’t feel quite right. If you’re just doing the daily workout with Crossfit or P90X, a minor nuisance can turn into a big problem.
Motivation can also be an issue. Whether you’re doing Crossfit, P90X or some other routine, whenever you’re on your own, it’s easy to slack off. There is no accountability.
Another downside of Crossfit and P90X are that they don’t tailor nutrition and supplementation to the individual. Their general guidelines are quite good: eat lots of veggies, and eat lots of meat/fish/seafood. And for most people, that’s perfectly good advice. But then there are some people for whom it’s not appropriate. For example, if a person has digestive issues, veggies can actually make them worse. If someone has problems with their kidneys, meat, fish and seafood might not be so good in high quantities. If somebody has thyroid issues, raw broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage or Brussels sprouts can actually make it worse. So they don’t accommodate to the individual.
So after having thoroughly confused you, what’s my verdict on P90X and Crossfit? If they suit your goals, your personality and your current condition and if you enjoy them, go for it. They’re certainly not as good as individualized guidance, but as far as one-size-fits-all programs, they’re about as good as it gets.
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Short Summary
- P90X and Crossfit have a few upsides:
- They don’t lie to you: you need to work hard.
- They address nutrition
- They are fun
- P90X and Crossfit also have downsides:
- The risk of injury is high
- Doesn’t accommodate to a person’s individuality
- Motivation can be an issue