JACK LALANNE, APOLO OHNO, DR. DANIEL AMEN – Part 3

THREE INCREDIBLE PEOPLE, THREE INCREDIBLE LIFE STORIES

By Monika Tarkowska-Carter, CPT, LWMC, HLC 2

                 Dr Daniel Amen and me at the IDEA World Fitness Convention

In the last couple of posts I talked about two famous people. Today I want to talk about someone who may not be as famous, but who has been changing people’s lives for quite some time. I had the pleasure of meeting him at the recent IDEA World Fitness Convention where he gave a standing- ovation presentation to an audience of 5000 health and fitness professionals. His name is Dr. Daniel Amen.

Dr. Amen is a psychiatrist and a neuroscientist, who has shown in his research and his clinics that aging of the human brain can be reversed with a combination of healthy diet and exercise. He is the author of two best-selling books: “Change your brain, change your life”, and “The Amen Solution. The Secret to Being Thinner, Smarter, Happier”. He runs clinics in Newport Beach, CA and San Francisco, CA and will be opening two more in Washington, DC and New York, NY shortly. Dr. Amen walks the talk. He is slim, fit, and full of energy. He exercises regularly and insists on eating a healthy diet no matter what the occasion. He was just getting ready to leave for a vacation in Spain, with his suitcase full of healthy snacks, in case the typical Spanish fare of fried foods was all that was available. His beautiful wife is also involved in spreading the results of his research by coaching people in healthy nutrition and teaching them how to cook in a brain-healthy way. She also has a DVD on the subject.

As someone who has been in the health and fitness industry for 20 years, I have my own observations on how diet and exercise affect us. I have had enough time to experiment with myself and learn from my clients, as well as my family and friends. I have always believed that proper nutrition and regular exercise is responsible for a lot more than keeping one slim and attractive looking. It helps us function at our best; it gives clarity of mind and makes focusing easier; it gives us energy, it keeps us healthy; it gives us clear and healthy looking skin, it brings confidence and high self-esteem; it prevents many diseases; it slows down aging; it allows us to enjoy life more fully and be more active participants in it; etc., etc. Considering the profession I am in, I obviously know how much diet and exercise affect our physical health. I have also been familiar with some studies of how lack of proper nutrition and exercise impacts the brain and its susceptibility to certain diseases like dementia or Alzheimer’s, but until now I was not familiar with studies showing that brain damage or changes caused by unhealthy lifestyle are actually reversible. Dr. Amen shared with us some success stories as well as slides of actual brain changes, many of them following a fairly short period of a specifically designed healthy diet plan and regular exercise. Had I not seen them myself, I would have argued that these were not changes that were possible to make in such short periods of time, with such seemingly simple means. Not only did his patients lose weight, normalize their blood numbers, reverse diabetes and decrease their risk of many diseases but it almost looked as if the brain repaired itself. Some of the slides showed people who are well known personalities in America. These stories are real.

No story, however, is more real than that of Steve Nicander who, following Dr. Amen’s diet plan, lost close to 400 lbs. Steve used to weigh 638 lbs. In his worst moments, when contemplating suicide, he couldn’t even get upstairs to get his gun. His life did not show much promise, until he read Dr. Amen’s book. Steve was there in front of us – 5000 fitness professionals who gave him a standing ovation. Choked up with emotion, his hand on his heart, he bowed to us in deep appreciation - a truly changed man. In a way, he reminds me of both Jack LaLanne and Apolo Ohno. They all showed tremendous resolve to achieve what they wanted in order to make their life better and healthier. All three met with different challenges and road blocks, yet all found the inner strength and motivation to push their body beyond what many never could.

YOUR HEALTH IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY. NO ONE CAN CHANGE IT BUT YOU.

(I had the pleasure of interviewing Steve about his amazing journey to health and will be sharing this interview on the blog.)

To learn more about Dr. Daniel Amen and his work, please visit his website at: www.amenclinics.com. You can also join him on Facebook at: The Amen Solution or Dr. Daniel Amen. You can find his books on www.amazon.com or by going to the above mentioned website.

Stay tuned for my interview with Steve Nicander, “The Incredible Shrinking Man”, coming next.

JACK LALANNE, APOLO OHNO, DR. DANIEL AMEN – Part 1

THREE INCREDIBLE PEOPLE, THREE INCREDIBLE LIFE STORIES

By Monika Tarkowska-Carter, CPT, LWMC, HLC 2

Jack LaLanne's wife, Elaine with me at the IDEA World Fitness Convention

 Recently, I attended the biggest annual event in the fitness industry – the IDEA World Fitness Convention, in Los Angeles. I have been a fan of the convention for many years, with its amazing array of lectures, workshops and workouts, as well as a large scale expo showcasing everything new and hot in the fitness world.

IDEA Health and Fitness Association will be celebrating its 30-th anniversary next year. I am proud to be a member of the organization that has helped bring the status of health and fitness professionals of every specialty to a completely new and higher level. The organization has 55,000 members worldwide and 5000 of them were present at the recent convention. It is not only inspiring to see so many like-minded people under one roof, but more than anything, it is uplifting and heartwarming to see that so many people of all ages, from all over the world, are committed to spreading the word about health through exercise. Now, more than ever before, the world needs us, as obesity epidemic, as well diabetes, heart disease and other lifestyle related diseases, have reached alarming proportions.

“INSPIRE THE WORLD TO FITNESS” is the recent initiative undertaken by IDEA. It has met with great enthusiasm on the part of all of us who see the devastating results of the health crisis worldwide. Each year, during a special keynote address, the organization honors individuals who, in some special way, have inspired the world to fitness and health. This year, IDEA bestowed an inaugural Jack LaLanne Award, though posthumously, to Jack LaLanne for introducing the country to weight training and helping to spread the knowledge about the importance of regular physical activity.

JACK LALANNE was 97 years old when he died of complications from pneumonia. His sudden death came almost as a shock since he was always a symbol of eternal health and longevity. A sickly teenager, who lived on a diet of sweets,  in rather poor health, whose doctors did not predict a long life, was so inspired by a lecture by one of the famous nutritionists of the 1930-ies, Paul Bragg that he changed his diet almost instantaneously and started working out on a regular basis. Within a short period of time, he realized that his life had changed forever. The incredible strength, vigor and energy, and almost inhuman acts of endurance he became known for, were well documented by the US and world media for many years. He was the first person to have an exercise show on TV. He opened the first real weight training gym in Northern California. He was the one to develop many of the exercise machines currently used in health clubs. He was a spokes person for healthy nutrition and daily exercise, often before doctors knew much about either one. In the early years, many of them spoke furiously against him and his recommendations. He was the one to prove, year after year, that one’s age doesn’t matter when it comes to working out – whether you are young or old, a man or a woman. He showed that exercise, and especially strength training, has amazing anti-aging benefits: being old doesn’t have to mean being weak, sick, and dependant. He set out to prove, by his own example, that if one pays attention to good nutrition and takes care of one’s body, one can remain youthful, energetic, and full of stamina well into the 90-ies and beyond. He worked out every day in the early morning to remain in great condition until his death. His contribution to the health of Americans (and most likely many other people around the world who had heard of him), has been enormous.

Jack’s wife Elaine accepted the award on his behalf. At 85 years old, she is one vibrant and spunky lady. After giving her acceptance speech and sharing some jokes and interesting stories about Jack, she dropped on the floor and started doing push-ups to standing ovation from the audience.

 Jack LaLanne will always remain a symbol of health and, one might say, immortality. But in my mind, more than anything, he will remain a symbol of inner strength and strong motivation it takes to make the decision to be healthy. All of us are capable of it, yet so few of us chose this path. It is not easy, and sometimes requires sacrifices, but in the end it can bring everlasting rewards.

If all of us take care of our own health, there will be so much less suffering in the world; fewer diseases and debilitating conditions; less money spent on health care; more quality time to spend with our families and friends; and more time to enjoy life for all it has to offer.

YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR OWN HEALTH. YOU HAVE TO MAKE THE DECISION TO BE HEALTHY. YOU’VE ALWAYS WANTED TO DO IT. NOW IS YOUR CHANCE.

 The story of Apolo Ohno – an Olympic athlete with zero regrets – coming in the next blog post.

HOW DO I LOSE "THIS" FAT?

FROM THE SERIES “ASK THE TRAINER”

By Monika Tarkowska-Carter, CPT, LWMC, HLC 2

Short of liposuction or liposculpture, there is no such thing as spot reducing. Everybody puts on weight somewhat differently, but the way you put the weight on is most likely the way you will also lose it. If you gain weight all over, then it will come off evenly from your whole body when you lose it. But….here are the exceptions: if you’re a woman, the older you get the more fat tends to accumulate on the back of the arms, on the hips and thighs, and most commonly, the abdomen. And that’s where it is also the hardest to lose. Tricep muscles don’t get used very much, so the area often looks flabby. Hips and thighs are a typical way for women to store fat. Some of it is predetermined by nature. Some is the result of eating way too many polyunsaturated fats, especially the bad quality and proinflammatory ones, which also cause cellulite. Some can be a result of being estrogen dominant, so common in our society because of many xenoestrogens in the environment. And some is caused by the cells in the hips and thighs being less sensitive to insulin than other areas of the body.

In regards to the abdomen, losing fat becomes particularly difficult because as women age the ratio of male to female hormones (specifically testosterone to estrogen) increases due to lower estrogen levels. This gives us a more male-like body, with practically no waist. Having a heavy toxic burden, wherever the toxins come from, be it heavy metals, organic pollutants like chemicals, etc., can make losing abdominal fat particularly difficult. Toxins get stored mostly in the adipose tissue and during the process of weight loss, they get released into the bloodstream. Your body will be protecting itself from being flooded by these toxins and work hard against your best efforts, making weight loss very hard, if not virtually impossible. If you suspect this might be the case, seek a doctor who is trained in environmental and functional medicine, and who will be able to do specific tests to find out what the causes of your difficulties may be.

All the above said, however, it still makes sense to exercise. What is flabby will definitely tighten up and what has no shape will look better if you put some work into it. I think it is much more attractive to look at a person that’s a little overweight but has a decent shape and toned muscles, than a, what I call, a” skinny fat” person with an overall thin body but high percentage of body fat and lots of flab.    

TOTAL ABS AND CORE - Part 1 and 2

GET ROCK HARD ABS AND SUPER STRONG CORE WITH THESE ADVANCED MOVES THAT WILL CHALLENGE YOUR WHOLE BODY

By Monika Tarkowska-Carter, CPT, LWMC, HLC 2

These two videos show different variations on exercises for abdominals using the stability ball. In Part 1 I talk about the simpler exercises that most people know, adding slight variations to make them more challenging. Part 2 consists mostly of more advanced exercises. The ball is used here to challenge balance and core stabilization to a higher degree.

Make sure to do at least a 5-10 minute warm-up before beginning any exercises.

Do the level of exercises that fits your ability. Perform them slowly and correctly, through the full range of motion if you can. Make sure your abdominals are contracted at the very beginning and at the end of the movement.  Your lower back should never be sinking down or be overarched. Your butt shouldn’t stick up into the air, unless you have back problems, in which case to protect it, you might want to lift your butt a little bit higher than the straight line.

Start with 1-2 sets of 12 and build up to 15-20 repetitions and up to 3 sets OR do 1 set of different exercises to work the abdominal muscle fibers in many different angles and positions. No matter how effective the exercise or how much you like it, it’s always good to vary your routine. Your muscles get used to the same movement and are not pushed enough if you are doing the same exercise over and over. That’s when you experience plateaus. You will see results faster this way and the routine will be less boring.

Some of these exercises don’t look as hard as they actually are. If performed slowly and correctly you will see how your whole body will feel the burn. You are using a lot of muscles to stabilize the holding positions as well as other muscles to help you with the movement itself. In Part 2, you will particularly feel your shoulders, scapular stabilizers, triceps, lower back, glutes, legs, inner thigh muscles, and of course all the abdominal muscles.

You may want to have a spotter for some of the more advanced exercises, especially at the beginning, until you get used to them, and are sure you are doing them correctly. It is sometimes good to have someone else’s feedback because it’s hard to see your form in some of these advanced moves.

Please, always consult a physician before starting any exercise program.