1.      Forget the old adage: “I work out, so I can eat anything I want!” Your nutrition each day should be as carefully planned out as any other important activity.

2.    View your nutrition as a way of fueling your daily activity levels at work, at leisure, and in the gym.

3.     Always eat a breakfast rich in protein and complex carbs which will keep your blood sugar steady throughout the day. Never skip breakfast! Have small healthy snacks around to eat between meals.

4.    Before eating anything, ask yourself, “Am I really hungry?” After a few bites ask, “Do I really feel like eating more?” If the answer is “no”, then stop eating!

5.     The word diet has negative connotations. View your daily eating as an overall nutritional plan.

6.    Never lose more than 1-3 pounds per week, otherwise you risk losing muscle as well as fat, and your energy levels will plummet!

7.     A healthy nutritional plan can be enjoyable if you avail yourself to the vast variety of delicious, healthy food alternatives at your fingertips.

8.    Limit your alcohol intake. Period! The calories from alcohol are empty, valueless, and drinking can only lead to weight gain over time.

9.    Focus on eating plenty of low fat protein, vegetables, legumes, whole grains and other foods low on the glycemic index (which measures how fast carbs are converted into energy).

10.   Avoid “fast food” establishments.

11.  Write down what you eat every day. It’s easy to underestimate your food consumption, so documenting what you really eat in the course of the day will allow you to make better choices.

12. Find new, active and creative ways of dealing with stress. Don’t succumb to lethal stress and binge eating.

13.  Make sure your other needs are satisfied. Food is not the answer if you are feeling tired, lonely, anxious, burned out or bored.

14. Don’t dwell on the scale. Instead, focus on eating for health, feeling good and better workouts.

15.  Get the support you need from friends, or even groups like Weight Watchers or Over-eaters Anonymous.

Here’s to a leaner, healthier fall!

Contact TrainerTomB@aol.com with questions about your workouts or nutritional plan. Check out www.pumpnincgym.com or call today to set up a face-to-face intake and consultation with Tom  (954) 557-1119.

Two out of three Americans are either overweight or obese–that’s 67% of the population or more than 190 million people.

But the really alarming trend is that the problem is worsening, with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) predicting that by the year 2020, 75% of Americans will be either overweight or obese.  The trend is clear, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC): In the year 2000, no state had an obesity rate of 30% or higher; by 2010, 12 states reported rates of 30% or more.

While many among us laugh off “a few extra pounds” as perfectly harmless, the truth is health-related conditions such as heart disease, stroke, Type 2 diabetes and some forms of cancer are all linked to obesity. It’s no laughing matter: obesity diminishes quality of life, shortens life span and, not least of all, takes a toll on the health care system which drives costs up for everyone.

If I were to award a single food item with the title of “Fastest Way To Pack On The Pounds”, hands-down the winner would be refined sugar. 

We have been eating more and more sugar over the past 200 years, which has led to rising obesity numbers. Back in 1822, the average person ate only 6.3 lbs. of sugar per year compared to 130 lbs. of sugar in 2013. That’s more than 20 times as much sugar in our modern diet! No wonder two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese!

One of the reasons that your diet is filled with so much sugar is that some form of refined sugar is included in virtually every single processed food. This is yet another reason that it’s important to cut those processed and packaged convenience foods out of your diet.

Why is sugar so bad? Not only does it promote rapid fat storage, but sugar also:

Weakens your immune system

Causes insulin resistance

Is addictive–as addictive, it is believed, as hard drugs

Speeds up the aging process

Raises your risk of disease

Contains empty calories

Cutting sugar from your diet is easier said than done. Once it is a part of your daily diet, cravings strike, causing you to eat it even more frequently. But there is hope.

Here are seven ways to crave less of that sugar that’s killing your results and keeping you from attaining your goal weight: 

1) EAT MORE PROTEIN: A diet rich in protein keeps you full, satisfied and less likely to crave sweets. A great way to make sure that you are getting enough is to plan each meal and snack around a protein. Plan breakfast around eggs, lunch and dinner around baked chicken breast, and make snacks hard boiled eggs or baked meatballs.

2) AVOID ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS:  One of the biggest fitness myths out there is the idea that calorie-free, artificially sweetened beverages don’t impact your fat loss results. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the truth is that the diet soda you’re sipping is making it harder for you to reach your goal weight. While the diet soda itself doesn’t contain calories, it has been proven to cause cravings for sugary foods. Put down the diet soda and instead pick up a refreshing bottle of spring water.

3) STEER CLEAR OF SABOTEURS: The sad truth is that people in your life will try to sabotage your low sugar diet. You’ll run into that pushy person at the office who insists that you eat a donut, the well-meaning family member who dishes you up a bowl of ice cream, and the friend who comes over with a plate of his home-baked cookies. The best avoidance strategy is to sincerely thank the sugar-pusher for their gift, tell them you wish you could eat it, and then blame me – or your trainer – as the bad guy who says that you need to cut back on sugar.

4) TRY DARK CHOCOLATE: For those moments when your sweet tooth is relentlessly badgering you for something sweet, ditch the super-sugary candies and stick with a small square of very dark chocolate. Chocolate that is 70% or higher in cocoa content should be the only candy that you keep on hand. The benefit of the cocoa, in addition to the lowered sugar content, makes dark chocolate an occasionally justifiable treat.

5) STICK WITH FRUIT: What’s sweet, colorful and comes in hundreds of flavors? Organic, seasonal, fresh fruit, of course! As you remove refined sugar from your life, feel free to add in some natural sugar by way of fresh, local fruit. It’s amazing how satisfyingly sweet fruit is–it’s truly nature’s candy.

6) CHANGE YOUR PALATE: As you begin to limit your intake of refined sugars, you’ll find that your tolerance for sugar decreases. This means that something that didn’t taste sweet before – say a green apple – now has uncanny depths of sweetness. What’s happening is that your sweet receptors are becoming more finely tuned, now that you’re not overwhelming your palate with sickly-sweet refined sugar.

7) WORKOUT LIKE YOU MEAN IT: A regular, challenging exercise routine will not only get you into amazing shape, it also reduces your cravings for sugar. The endorphin rush brought on by vigorous exercise is an even more powerful feel-good-feeling than the pleasure gotten by indulging in sugary foods. Make challenging, consistent exercise a part of your life by signing up for a fitness program.

Photo: Sodas are loaded with sugar. Diet sodas may not contain calories, but the taste raises your desire for sugary foods.

Peter Jackson is a certified fitness and nutrition coach and the owner of Push Fitness (www.PushFitnessFTL.com) and Club One CrossFit (www.ClubOneCrossFit.com) in Oakland Park. He welcomes your questions at Peter@PushFitnessFTL.com.

Q: I’ve been told that working the shoulder muscles isn’t really necessary as those muscles are worked in the course of building other muscles like the back and chest. I’m starting to doubt that as my chest is looking really good but my shoulders haven’t grown at all. Any suggestions?

A: Big, broad shoulders on a man are a beautiful thing. They complement the arms, chest and back and punctuate a well-developed upper body.

While appearances are important, there are two reasons why strengthening the shoulder muscles is so important:

1) It’s the best defense we have to preventing painful, often debilitating injuries to the shoulder joint including dislocation or, worse, a torn rotator cuff; and

2) The shoulder muscles assist in most exercises for your chest, back and arms; consequently weak shoulders mean those muscle groups won’t reach their full potential.

The deltoid (musculus deltoideus) plays a critical role in building strong shoulder muscles. This is the large triangular muscle covering the shoulder joint which allows movement, extension and rotation of the arm. It’s made up of three sections – the front, middle and rear deltoid. Also critical to improving your shoulder strength is working the upper traps (trapezius), located between the neck and shoulders.

The Shoulder Press is, hands-down, the best exercise to develop the front and middle delts as well as the traps. Avoid this exercise, however, if you are experiencing any shoulder pain! My recommendation is to restrict overhead pressing exercises such as the Shoulder Press to just one or two per workout and instead utilize Cable or Dumbbell Flyes, Lateral Raises, Shrugs and other exercises to avoid putting too much stress on the shoulder joints.

Here are two of my favorite exercises to help build big, strong shoulders. Ask a personal trainer at your gym or training facility to recommend others.

SIDE-LYING LATERAL RAISE: Lie on your left side on an incline bench with a dumbbell in your right hand and your palm facing your thigh. Without bending your elbow, raise your arm until it’s in line with your shoulder as your rotate your palm outward.

CUBAN PRESS: Hold a pair of dumbbells at right angles above your shoulders, palms facing forward. Next, rotate your arms down so that your palms face the floor. Return to the starting position and lift your arms above your head. Repeat from the beginning. Awesome exercise!

TIP OF THE WEEK

How much water should you drink?

Despite the heat of summer and the increase in outdoor activities, the majority of us are not drinking enough water! Needs vary between individuals, but a good rule of thumb is to divide your bodyweight by 2 and drink that number in ounces. That means a person who weighs 150 pounds should drink roughly 75 ounces of water (about 4 standard bottles) while a 200-pound individual should consume about 100 ounces (approximately six bottles of water).

SPOTLIGHT EXERCISE

SUPERMAN CABLE CURL

Here’s a great way to build your biceps. 1) Stand between the weight stacks of a cable crossover station and grab a high pulley in each hand. Hold your arms out to the side so they are parallel to the floor but slightly bend. 2) Without moving your upper arms, curl your hands uniformly toward your head. 3) Slowly straighten your arms and repeat.

Peter Jackson is a certified fitness and nutrition coach and the owner of Push Fitness (www.PushFitnessFTL.com) and Club One CrossFit (www.ClubOneCrossFit.com) in Oakland Park. He welcomes your questions at Peter@PushFitnessFTL.com.

A: Absolutely! You are referring to your gluteus maximus, called glutes for short, which are a group of three muscles located at the back of each hip.

While many guys give the “glamor” muscles of the chest, back and arms almost all of their attention in the gym, the glutes deserve attention as they are actually the largest and strongest of the 639 named muscles in the body.

They are extremely important, too, with responsibility for keeping the body upright. They also play an anti-gravity role to allow us to climb stairs and hills.

A toned, round bubble-butt is always an attention-grabber! And the good news is the glutes usually respond quickly to resistance training.

The best exercise to tighten the glutes, hands-down, is the squat. This compound exercise (meaning it incorporates multiple joints and muscle groups) is largely considered one of the best exercises you can do – period.  It works the glutes, quadriceps and hamstrings (front and back of your upper legs, respectively) as well as the calves and core.

There are dozens of variations of the squat ranging from the Body-Weight Squat (great for beginners) all the way to Barbell Squats using heavy plates (advanced). Search YouTube for video demonstrations of other squat exercises and be sure to incorporate these into your workout program.

To perform a basic Body-Weight Squat: 

1) Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and your arms stretched in front of you at shoulder level. Your back should be naturally arched.

2) Push your hips back, bend at the knees and lower your body as low as you can.

3) Pause, then use your hips and knees to lift your body back to the starting position. Perform three sets. As you build confidence, try holding a set of dumbbells at your sides while squatting to add to the degree of difficulty.

Another great exercise to tighten the glutes is the lunge. Again, there are many variations of this terrific exercise. Use Google or YouTube for videos or contact me for a free demonstration.

TIP OF THE WEEK

ORGANIC KETCHUP IS BETTER FOR YOU

The big difference between store brand and organic ketchup has nothing to do with the amount of calories, sodium, or sugar in either – rather, it’s the amount of the cancer-fighting pigment called lycopene in the organic brands which acts as an antioxidant in the body.

Organically-grown tomatoes have twice as much lycopene as regular tomatoes. Lycopene, which

gives tomatoes (and other fruits and vegetables such as watermelon and apricots) their red color, is not produced by the body. It has been shown to reduce the risk of prostate cancer in men.

SPOTLIGHT EXERCISE 

Weight-plate Front Raise

Cutline: Guy Beeman demonstrates the Weight-Plate Front Raise. Photography by TobysPhotos.com.

This is a great exercise for your front and middle deltoids. Grab the sides of a weight plate with both hands and hold it in front of you at waist level, standing with your feet shoulder-width apart. Brace your core. Without bending your elbows, lift your arms until they are parallel to the floor. Perform three sets of 12, 10 and 8 respectively, adjusting the weight with each set to increase the challenge.

Peter Jackson is a fitness and nutrition coach and the owner of Push Fitness (www.PushFitnessFTL.com) and Club One CrossFit (www.ClubOneCrossFit.com) in Oakland Park. He welcomes your questions at Peter@PushFitnessFTL.com.

In America’s quest for better health, they forgot to look at all of the aspects that occur when Omega 3 acids are introduced into the body, especially in certain quantities. Little did they know that the latest research has shown that this complex fatty acid can do as much harm as help–particularly if you are a man.

Recent studies have shown that Omega 3′s may be very beneficial to some organs of the body, and extremely detrimental to others. One of the biggest concerns in the latest studies seems to be with men’s prostate health. An increasing majority of the studies are showing that certain levels of Omega 3′s can tremendously increase your risk of prostate cancer. Given the heightened concern that men of a certain age are already feeling regarding their prostate health, this additional news is anything but welcome.

Omega 3 fatty acids have been found to be more complex than originally thought. These complex acids have now been linked to increasing oxidative damage to the DNA within our cells. This kind of damage is the same one would find with excess stress, and provides a perfect breeding ground for cancers to grow. The prostate is an easy target for these cancerous cells as it enlarges as we age. Compound an overload of Omega 3 fatty acid to an already weakened organ, and voilà–we have our next victim.

If you are already a host of prostate cancer, be sure to check with your doctor before taking any fish oil supplements or consuming fatty fish. If you are already eating fatty fish, try to cut back on your intake throughout the week. Servings should be 2-3oz portions two to three times a week. Fish oil supplements have especially heavy concentrations of the Omega 3s and these take awhile to break down in the body. These elevated daily levels of Omega 3 acids are very deleterious to prostate cancer patients.

Don’t get me wrong, Omega 3′s are not bad for you. They are absolutely essential. What needs to be addressed is how much one should consume. Sedentary adults should keep eating fatty fish to a minimum, due to an inactive lifestyle. Average adults should combine eating fatty fish 2-3 times a week and fill in supplementation when foods are not available. Active adults can consume fatty fish 2-4 times a week and fill in supplementation when needed. Portions of fatty fish can increase to between 4-5oz. for active adults.

Being aware of the effects that too little or too much of any one thing is never a bad idea, especially if you want to live to your optimum potential. Try to know all the facts before swallowing your next meal or downing your next supplement, or you too may fall victim to a false prophet.

Q: I can’t do barbell squats because I have a herniated disc in my lower back. My chiropractor has advised me not to do squats with a barbell on my shoulders as the weight will compress my spine and aggravate the situation. Can you suggest an alternative exercise?

A: True, barbell squats are very effective but there are many exercises that will recruit the same muscle groups without putting as much stress on the lower back.

Ideally, you want to carry the weight closest to your center of gravity thereby reducing the torque and stress on your entire back.

A simple variation of the barbell squat is a dumbbell squat:

1) Hold a pair of dumbbells at your sides.

2) Slowly lower yourself into a seated position by pushing your hips back and bending your knees.

3) Pause, then push yourself back to the starting position.

HEX BAR: An essential tool for anyone with back issues is a hex bar – basically, a barbell with a hexagonal center. This bar allows you to squat and perform other exercises from inside the encompassing bar which you hold on either side. The stress on your back is minimized because the weight is evenly distributed at hip level. Many bodybuilders with back issues rely on the hex bar to execute squats and deadlifts as the bar uses plates just like the barbell but reduces the risk of injury.

I strongly recommend the use of a hex bar by anyone with joint or bone density concerns.

Other exercises you should try include the Seated Leg Press, the Seated Leg Extension and Seated Leg Curls. All of these isolate the glutes, quadriceps and hamstrings, will protect your back and help you build the killer legs you want.

My associate Chase Brendle, who has vast experience with corrective exercise, uses the following test to evaluate proper form when executing a squat: Stand facing a wall with your body about six inches from it. Attempt to squat by sending your hips back and down while opening your knees. The wall will ensure your back is erect and your weight is properly loaded into your heels. “If you have are not proficient at this movement, I highly recommend practicing it without weight until you are able to complete the movement smoothly,” Chase advises.

TIP OF THE WEEK

PROTEIN PEANUT BUTTER BALLS

¾ cup natural peanut butter

¼ cup honey

1 scoop vanilla or chocolate protein powder

½ cup raw oats

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and shape in 1-inch balls. Chill them in the fridge for a couple hours then enjoy as a healthy, nutritious snack or dessert.

SPOTLIGHT EXERCISE

BENT-OVER RAISE

Chris Truster demonstrates the Bent-Over Raise.

This is a great exercise you can do at home or in the gym to strengthen your shoulders. Sit on a Swiss ball and lean forward, holding a pair of dumbbells just off the floor. Keeping your arms slightly bent, proceed to raise them up and out behind you until you reach shoulder level. Pause. Return to starting position. Perform 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps, increasing the weight of the dumbbells with each set.

Photography by TobysPhotos.com.

Peter Jackson is a fitness and nutrition coach and the owner of Push Fitness and Club One CrossFit in Oakland Park. He welcomes your questions at Peter@PushFitnessFTL.com.

A: You should be doing both because your grip (wide versus close) together with the type of movement, affects which part of your back is trained.

Many guys focus on the “vanity muscles” – the chest, biceps and triceps – and fail to build the muscles of their back, leading to an imbalance which leaves you with slumped shoulders and poor posture.

Your back is comprised of several muscles including the large, triangular-shaped trapezius muscles (or traps) in your upper back, the rhomboids which lie beneath them, two large muscles on the outer edges called the latissimus dorsi (or lats for short), and the erector spinae in your middle and lower back.

Generally speaking, the lats are emphasized when a wide grip is used in exercises such as the Lat Pull-down and Pull-ups. When you use a close-grip, you tend to emphasize the rhomboids and traps as your elbows remain close to your body. If you want to create a “V” shaped torso, incorporating wide-grip Lat Pull-downs into your routine is a must.

Use a variety of exercises (movements), angles and grips to effectively hit all the muscles of the back. Some of the best exercises include the Lat Pull-down, Seated Cable Row, Bent-Over Barbell Row, Straight-Arm Pull-down and Reverse Cable Flye.

TIP OF THE WEEK

Raspberry Almond Power Shake

Here’s a great post-workout protein shake:

1 scoop protein powder

1 cup almond milk

½ cup raspberries (or substitute other berries)

½ cup ice

Mix in blender until creamy!

Calories: 202

Protein: 26 grams

Carbs: 20 grams

Fat: 5 grams

EXERCISE OF THE WEEK

SEATED DUMBBELL SHOULDER PRESS (WITH PALMS IN)

Photo: Michael Humpleby demonstrates the Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press (Palms In).

Grab a pair of dumbbells and position them, with a palms-in grip, at shoulder level. Drive the weights up and overhead, extending your arms fully. Gently lock your elbows and pause for a few seconds before returning to the starting position in a controlled manner. Use a spotter or trainer if you are using heavy weights.

Photography by TobysPhotos.com.

Peter Jackson is a fitness and nutrition coach and the owner of Push Fitness and Club One CrossFit in Oakland Park. He welcomes your questions at Peter@PushFitnessFTL.com.

This over-consumption of alcohol with friends is all well and fine—occasionally–but repeated days and nights in a row of excess drinking can really wreck havoc on your health. Yet, despite the known risks, weekend after weekend we see the same faces out at the bars or local clubs getting sloshed time and again. Every drinker has his or her limit, and the warning “Drink in Moderation” isn’t just some puritan ethic. It’s essential a life or death matter.

If you drink alcohol on a daily basis, health care professionals recommend no more than one alcoholic beverage a day for woman, and two alcoholic beverages a day for a man. Keeping your alcoholic consumption within these boundaries will enable you to stay within guidelines for optimal health. Taking control over your alcohol consumption not only shows others how strong you are, but how smart and healthy you as well.

Beer and alcohol have been around since about 4000 B.C., and its effects and health benefits have been around since that time as well. These two beverages have some great health benefits, such as lowering the risk of heart disease by thinning out the blood and keeping plaque from forming on the arteries. Other health benefits have included enhanced brain function. That’s right, alcohol can help make you smarter, but only if drank in moderation.

Alcohol is great for relieving anxiety, especially since it lowers inhibitions. Lowering inhibitions is where alcohol got its nickname, “liquid courage”. But no matter what you may call your drink, cheers to drinking to your good health.

On the other hand, over-consumption is a slow march to certain death. The first organ to feel the wrath of the alcohol overload is the all-important liver. The liver breaks down foods and beverages and turns them into useable forms of energy. When that useable form of energy is only coming from alcohol, many unhealthy by-products are produced and circulated throughout the body, only to then be refiltered and damage the liver a second time. Cirrhosis of the liver is the end result.

Having far too many drinks on a constant basis can produce cancers of the mouth, throat and larynx. Additionally, alcohol abuse has also been linked as the primary cause of cancer in every living organ in the human body.

Obesity is another dangerous side effect of over-consuming alcohol. Obesity can affect all aspects of your health and combining it with the deleterious effects of over-consumption makes you are a heart attack waiting to happen.

Malnutrition is another common side effect of drinking alcohol too often. A suppressed appetite from heavy drinking translates into either a very poor diet, or consuming no food at all. Diminishing the body of vital nutrients inhibits its ability to eliminate alcohol’s toxic by-products, thus weakening the body as a whole and leaving increased chance for disease to set in.

All of these conditions are brought on by your need to over-consume. You are the one who makes the decision to drink too much, or to drink in moderation. You! Take responsibility now and start consuming foods and drinks in moderation. It will support your all-over wellness, and make you the very best you can be at any age. To your health.