Fastrack To Stay On Track

I just finished listening to a 1980’s hit Once In A Life Time by The Talking Heads. And a phrase from the song caught my attention “And I ask myself,  how did I get here?”

It’s been just over three months for me on the My Fitness Solutions “Fastrack” program. I am one who tried joining a gym (even had a year free full membership with a trainer) . I lasted 3 weeks. I am a skinnier then most guy and something inside me just paralyzed me from going to the gym. Afraid of the big guys and the fears set from childhood about Bodybuilders  scared me to stop going. One time while on Facebook I had made a new friend, a gentleman named Fadi Malouf . I liked the first name what can I say. That was in July of 2010. I so heavy in to drinking beers, smoking cigarettes I was nothing short of a train wreck waiting to happen. Fadi and I started started to really talk a few months later and I seemed to really enjoy his posts about health and fitness nutrition and his often words of wisdom.

We started talking mostly about nutrition at first. I was totally grasping it but I started it and then fell off track with it even stopped talking to Fadi for about a good six months.  Beers, staying up late drunk as ever every night and really not caring too much about my health. But hated the way I was feeling in the morning and in general about myself. Fadi one late night back in August of 2012  happen to be on Facebook or at least logged in. I said Hello and we started a really great conversation. He was always upbeat and never had one negative thing to say. After all that time of not talking it was like we were best friends who had just returned home from college break. I apologized to him for the nutrition thing not working for me. And he said something that changed me from that moment on. “You can go back to the way you were or move forward and never look back”.

And that’s what I did. He told me about a program he designed called “Fast Track” on My Fitness Solutions.  He told me about the free 30 day trial period and I should give it a try. The only thing it can do it better myself. If I didn’t like it no problem. And he told me about the amazing smartphone app to use when on the go or computer is down. That there was no excuse not to workout. And trust me I used every one of them and a few new ones. “The Cat ate my speakers” was not a legit excuse in Fadi’s book.

It took me a few weeks after that to really get into the swing of things.   But Sept 26, 2012, will live to be the day I leaped forward into what now I call the ” fast track to stay on track”

During our set up phone call (monthly phone consults come with the program).  Now Coach  Fadi asked me about my habits. Smoking and Drinking were talked about. That was my last day of a beer.Smoking I had to quit. (am currently working on that) He asked about my food consumption. Let’s just say you know how McDonald’s changed their dining rooms to look more like a cafe. I think that was due to my feasting their everyday. Ramon noodles and frozen foods were what I lived on with about 3 or 4 20.oz diet sodas a day. That was my last burger and diet soda. Ramon noddles out and frozen foods out also.  I told him about my fear of the gym and how I tried before just didn’t work. He understood and explained why this program would benefit me. It was based in my home with no gym contact required.   He had given me an assignment to do which was to write down and explain three things in an email that may derail me from the program. That made see what could stop me the most was me.

He set me up with a 10-minute exercise routine seeing I had no weights or equipment. Who would have thought using your own body as a weight, not me? I was impressed with the routine he gave me to do.  Four weeks later was another. I had seen on the site a workout called Boot Camp. I was in awe and so wanted to do that. He gave me the exercise routine and so eager was I to do it. As we getting close to our second monthly phone consult I had begun to want more. I wanted to do something that would be a challenge to me and would help me along. I wanted something with weights. I wrote an email asking him what was out there not to heavy in how it weighed seeing I lived upstairs apartment in an older home.  He had suggested trying Suspension Straps like TRX. I looked into it and found a similar version of TRX at a cheaper cost. That would be my next routine. Now working with Suspension training then  Kettle Bells as my next routine!!! Building my own home gym!!

I started to see results in my second month upper Arms were starting to form muscle on them. My skinny arms were getting guns!! (I called them bb guns, it was small but wow!!) The support I have received from my friend and family my Facebook friends was really growing.  My upper legs were starting to take shape as well. I had energy like never before and started noticing the self-confidence was getting stronger. I believed in myself I was walking with my head up for the first time. My job was more enjoyable and people around me say I smile more. My third month just past and I can see the difference from the days of Beer drink sitting around feeling depressed to now asking: What’s next?What can I do to get better? And the day I don’t exercise I feel like something is missing. I do not like rest days, but I have a lot of fitness friends who say the same thing. I was explained to that’s how you know your liking what you are doing and committed to doing it.

My life has changed due to the one simple saying “You can go back to the way you were or move forward and never look back” Coach Fadi and his team have made me feel as a welcomed member on the path to good health and fitness. I have learned so much about myself through his guidance  Coach Fadi will NOT make you feel like you are just another client. He will help you with any problem you may have. Trust me I have been getting better at shooting video clips of problem exercises and having him write me back telling me what I need to do to make that exercise right.  Never will you hear him say “Do what you want I don’t care”. He does care. I still have a way to go but loving every minute of it.  Oh, yea even if you are not a beginner  The Fast Track Program has an exercise routine for all levels of fitness training.

I look forward to sharing with you my achievements with the program in the coming months.

So now I ask myself “How did I get here”  The Fastrack way.

How Can Changing My Diet Affect  My Asthma?

How Can Changing My Diet Affect My Asthma?

Asthma
Asthma

 

What Is Asthma?

Asthma is a chronic lung disease characterized by inflammation and spasm of the airways. Causing breathing problems such as coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath. Asthma can be triggered by environmental factors, infections, allergies, exercise, temperature changes or other airway irritants. By properly managing asthma, however, such as avoiding being exposed to triggers, taking prescribed medications, looking for warning signs and knowing what to do during an asthma attack, an individual with asthma can have a healthy and active lifestyle.

Sulfites and sulfiting agents in foods (found in dried fruits, prepared potatoes, wine, bottled lemon or lime juice, and shrimp), and diagnosed food allergens (such as milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, wheat, fish, and shellfish) have been found to trigger asthma. Many food ingredients such as food dyes and colors, food preservatives like BHA and BHT, monosodium glutamate, aspartame, and nitrite, have not been conclusively linked to asthma.

 learn about food sensitivity by clicking here

Know what is in your food.

The best way to avoid food-induced asthma is to eliminate or avoid the offending food or food ingredient from the diet or the environment. Reading ingredient information on food labels and knowing where food triggers of asthma found to be the best defenses against a food-induced asthma attack.

The Thirty Year Rise In Asthma.

 Asthma has risen in the United States during the past thirty years, which leads doctors to  believe that our changing diets could be the cause of this. As the general population eat fewer and fewer fruits and vegetables and more processed foods. Also it has many wondering if it possible  that we’re greatly increasing  our risk of developing asthma.  Studies have suggested this, and others are ongoing.

  A recent study of asthma and diet showed that teens with poor nutrition were more likely to have asthma symptoms. Those who didn’t get enough fruits and foods with vitamins C and E and omega-3 fatty acids were the most likely to have poor lung function. A  study done back in 2007 showed that children who grew up eating a Mediterranean diet — high in nuts and fruits like grapes, apples, and tomatoes — were less likely to have asthma-like symptoms.

 Foods to Help Asthma:

Apples; Studies suggest that those who ate two to five apples a week had a thirty-two percent lower risk of asthma then those who ate less

Vitamin C: A strong antioxidant that may fight off lung damage. Citrus fruits are highest in Vitamin C fruits like Cantaloupe Oranges, Grapefruit, Kiwi. And vegetables like  Broccoli, Brussels sprouts,and Tomatoes.

Beta Carotene:  Which is converted to Vitamin A may help reduce the incidences of asthma . Foods like carrots and other vibrant colored fruits and veggies like apricots, green peppers, and sweet potatoes.

Coffee/ Black Tea: Although it seems every story leads with some bad news about health effects of  caffeine.With regards to asthma, at least, caffeine is emerging as a good guy.  It is a  broncodilater that may improve air flow.

Avocado:  Avocados contain an  antioxidant called glutathione,  Their role in the body is to protect cells against the damage done by free radicals.

Flax seed: Very high in Omega 3 fatty acids and magnesium. Since magnesium helps relax the muscles surrounding the bronchi, the airways, and keeps them open.

Garlic:  This excellent anti-inflammatory contains allicin, an extremely powerful antioxidant 

Foods to avoid:

  Studies have shown these following foods are best avoided since they can promote asthma attacks.Though foods like milk can be have good and bad effects on asthma.  Those with an allergy to milk can cause wheezing coughing and other repository symptoms. However it is high in vitamin D which  may ease the symptoms of asthma

Red wine: may trigger asthma attacks, possibly due to the presence of  sulfites (also found in dried fruit and shrimp). 
Other studies suggest it might be the alcohol itself  .

Peanuts: A study found kids with asthma who also had a peanut allergy, develop asthma earlier than kids without a peanut allergy. Also more likely to be hospitalized and more likely to need steroids.They seem to also have allergies to grass, weeds, cats, dust mites and tree pollen, all of which can trigger asthma attacks.  

Salt: The number one aspect of asthma is inflammation and tightening of the airways, and salt can contribute to inflammation by causing fluid retention

Shellfish: The number three most common food allergy is shellfish. It can happen in children and adults. Beware also of hidden shellfish  products and of cross contamination. Unlike egg allergies, shellfish allergies usually stay with you your whole life.

Celebrities who can relate:

The following athletes and entertainers never let asthma stop them from being the best; Tom Dolan, Kurt Grote, Nancy Hogshead, Jim “Catfish” Hunter, Miguel Indurain, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Greg Louganis, George Murray, Robert Muzzio, Dennis Rodman, Mark Spitz,  Alberto Salazar, Kristi Yamaguchi, Tim Allen, Loni Anderson, Jason Alexander, Alice Cooper, Morgan Fairchild, Bob Hope, Billy Joel, Diane Keaton, Liza Minelli, Martin Scorsese, Paul Sorvino, Sharon Stone, Elizabeth Taylor, Orson Welles.

Our fitness professionals will  help you with various exercises and nutritional guidance to give you a healthy, happy, and active lifestyle,

 

How The History of Strongmen Can Be Seen in Today’s BodyBuilding

strong_man

 

When we think of strongmen today, we usually think of pro-athletes or that guy from Iceland who won a bunch of world strongest man competitions. But how strong are we today when compared with other generations?

 In the 19th century, strongmen were the pro-athletes. They traveled the world, performing in circuses, lifting incredibly heavy things, bending iron bars, hammering nails into wood with their bare hands and wrestling bears, all while sporting classic handlebar mustaches. They did not have the latest in medicine or sport training science, equipment or facilities. They also didn’t have access to a plethora of legal and illegal performance enhancing supplements that are available today. They were just strong, ridiculously strong. So here’s our shortlist of the top five strongmen from the classic 19th century era.

Angus MacAskill
Also known as Black Angus or the Giant MacAskill, Angus was born in Scotland in 1825. He truly was a giant, reaching 7ft 9in and weighing in at over 500lbs. From early on, MacAskill worked as a fisherman where his impressive size and strength came in handy. His feats of strength included lifting ship anchors weighing 2,800lbs and carrying 350lb barrels under each arm. He eventually joined the P.T. Barnum circus and toured with General Tom Thumb. He is recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s tallest “natural” giant as well as having the largest chest of any non-obese man (80in).

Luis Uni
Born in France in 1862, Uni was better known as Apollon the Mighty. He made his name as a Greco-Roman wrestler and strongman performer in Bordeaux. Best known for the size of his forearms and wrists, and pinch-lifting 160lbs and lifting a pair of 366lb train-car wheels with an enormously thick axle overhead. In 1913 while attempting to hold back two cars with his bare hands he suffered a career ending arm injury.

Louis Cyr
Born in Canada in 1863, Louis worked in a lumber yard as a youth where he showed off his awesome strength, even at a young age. Imitating Milo of Croton, who carried everywhere he went a calf to full grown bull, Cyr attempted the same, but had to settle for a sack of grain when the calf kicked too much and bolted. He did, however, lift a fully grown horse in his first strongman contest. He also set a record for the one-handed bench press with a lift of 273lbs, breaking Eugen Sandows record by 2lbs. He also famously lifted a platform on his back containing 18 men weighing in at 4,337lbs. Cyr has been called the strongest man to have ever lived.

Eugen Sandow
Born Friedrich Muller in Prussia, in 1867, Sandow is often referred to as the father of modern-day bodybuilding. After fleeing his homeland to avoid military service, he traveled Europe performing as a circus strongman. He found fame in England where he was admired more for his bulging muscles than his feats of strength. In 1901, he held the Great Competition, recognized as the first ever recorded bodybuilding contest. Sandow also opened gymnasiums, designed strength training equipment and wrote books on exercise and diet. Some of his lifting feats included a 312lb one-arm dumbbell clean and a 1,500lb one-handed stone lift. He is forever a bronze statue simply called “The Sandow,” which is presented to the winner of Mr. Olympia each year.

Georg Hackenschmidt
Nicknamed the “Russian Lion,” Hackenschmidt was born in Russian in 1877. In school, he was a supreme athlete and excelled at many sports including wrestling and weightlifting. After school and a short stint as a blacksmith, he became a professional wrestler. He wrestled throughout Europe and became the first recognized heavyweight wrestling champion. He was known to often wrestle five different opponents in a night -of course defeating them all. In his career, it is estimated that he competed in about 3,000 professional wrestling matches and lost only lost twice. Known for the famous bear hug move. Along with wrestling, Hackenschmidt was also an accomplished weightlifter, recognized for polarizing the hack squat and bench press.

Though much has changed throughout the course of history for strongmen and bodybuilders much of what was done as far back as Ancient Greece is still doing in some form today. From carrying calves on their shoulders every day until, they were bulls, demonstrating progressive resistance builds strength. The “Grecian Ideal” the aesthetic standard that modern bodybuilders would aim to achieve. Even 11 century India using dumbbells carved out of stone to get bigger and stronger, by the 16th century weightlifting became India’s national past time. It was in 1904 that Benarr Macfadden began to organize and promote bodybuilding competitions for both men and women. Though it has been a predominately male sport women would evolve on the scene in the 1960’s with physique competitions would later see bodybuilding in 1970’s.

The roads are endless on to where you can go with weight training from a lifestyle transformation to look feel and live a healthy life, to compete in amateur, novice and professional stages. Keep up your dreams at any age and any level of platform. We can show you how every step of the way.

 
 
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