Train Smart,

Ben Greenfield

Bachelor's Degree, Sport Science, University of Idaho 2004

Master's Degree, Exercise Physiology, University of Idaho 2005

Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (NSCA-CPT)

National Strength & Conditioning Association Certified Personal Trainer (CSCS)

What is Shape21? (or I already know and I want to order it now!)

After working for over 7 years in the personal training industry, helping thousands of clients melt away literally tons of fat, and discovering how to transform the body into a lean and athletic fat-burning machine, I've collected all the secrets that I've learned over the years and packaged them into one complete manual - a book that will change the way you view nutrition and exercise forever...click here to read more...

This brand new fitness manual offers a revolutionary new approach, and here's why: rather than separate nutrition and exercise into two different ways to burn fat, boost the metabolism, or gain a toned and sculptured body, I've combined a workout program, grocery shopping list, exercise instruction manual and meal plan menu that shows you exactly how to exercise and what to eat every single day. That means there is no guesswork and no "holes" in your fitness program - it's all there, in one complete, easy-to-read package that you can keep in your car, gym locker, kitchen table, or grocery store shopping cart...click here to read more...

Best of all, I've designed Shape21 to be applicable for all levels. So each manual includes options for beginner, intermediate, or advanced individuals. That means that if you have never worked out before, but want to take charge of your life and begin a new exercise and nutrition routine, you'll start with the beginner level. If you're in decent shape, but need to lose a few percentage points of body fat, or need to find a diet that caters to your busy lifestyle, you'll begin Shape21 at the intermediate level. Finally, for athletes who want to see unparalleled increases in speed and power, while retaining a lean sprinter's body and consuming the best possible fuel, the advanced level exercise program in Shape21 will instantly give you a huge performance boost...click here to read more...

How Sugar Makes You Fat

Look at how many grams of sugar are in what you're eating (on the nutritional label). Now divide that number by 4. That's how many teaspoons of pure sugar you're consuming. Kinda scary, huh? Sugar makes you fat and fat-free food isn't really free of fat. I've said it before in multiple articles, but occasionally, I've had someone lean over my desk and say "How in the heck does sugar make you fat if there's no fat in it?". This article will answer that puzzler, and provide you with some helpful suggestions to achieve not only weight loss success, but improved body health.

First, let's make some qualifications. Sugar isn't inherently evil. Your body uses sugar to survive, and burns sugar to provide you with the energy necessary for life. Many truly healthy foods are actually broken down to sugar in the body - through the conversion of long and complex sugars called polysaccharides into short and simple sugars called monosaccharides, such as glucose. In additions to the breakdown products of fat and protein, glucose is a great energy source for your body.

However, there are two ways that sugar can sabotage your body and cause fat storage. Excess glucose is the first problem, and it involves a very simple concept. Anytime you have filled your body with more fuel than it actually needs (and this is very easy to do when eating foods with high sugar content), your liver's sugar storage capacity is exceeded. When the liver is maximally full, the excess sugar is converted by the liver into fatty acids (that's right - fat!) and returned to the bloodstream, where is taken throughout your body and stored (that's right - as fat!) wherever you tend to store adipose fat cells, including, but not limited to, the popular regions of the stomach, hips, butt, and breasts.

As an unfortunate bonus, once these regions are full of adipose tissue, the fatty acids begin to spill over into your organs, like the heart, liver, and kidneys. This reduces organ ability, raises blood pressure, decreases metabolism, and weakens the immune system.

Not good!

Excess insulin is the second problem. Insulin is a major hormone in the body, and is released in high levels anytime you ingest what would be considered a "simple" carbohydrate, which would include, but not be limited to: fruit juice, white bread, most "wheat" bread (basically white bread with a little extra fiber), white rice, baked white potato, bagels, croissants, pretzels, graham crackers, vanilla wafers, waffles, corn chips, cornflakes, cake, jelly beans, sugary drinks, Gatorade, beer, and anything that has high fructose corn syrup on the nutritional label.

Two actions occur when the insulin levels are spiked. First, the body's fat burning process is shut down so that the sugar that has just been ingested can be immediately used for energy. Then, insulin takes all that sugar and puts it into your muscles. Well, not quite! Actually, most of us, except those random Ironman triathletes and 8000-calories-per-day exercisers, walk around with fairly full energy stores in the muscles. As soon as the muscles energy stores are full, the excess sugars are converted to fat and, just like the fatty acids released from the liver, stored as adipose tissue on our waistline.

But that's not all. After the blood sugar has been reduced by going into the muscles or being converted to fat in the liver, the feedback mechanism that tells the body to stop producing insulin is slightly delayed, so blood sugar levels fall even lower, below normal measurements. This causes 1) an immediate increase in appetite, which is usually remedied by eating more food; 2) the production of a stress hormone called cortisol. Cortisol triggers the release of stored sugar from the liver to bring blood sugar levels back up, which, combined with the meal you eat from your appetite increase, begins the entire "fat storage, metabolic decrease" process over again.

This process of destabilizing blood sugar levels and sending your body on a roller coaster ride can occur throughout an entire day, week, or month. The excessive cortisol that accumulates in the body eventually distresses your hormonal system and results in other problems, including a further decrease in metabolism, obesity, depression, allergies, immune weakness, chronic fatigue syndrome and other serious side effects.

So what kind of carbohydrates can you eat to avoid de-stabilizing blood sugar levels, constantly sabotaging your weight loss, and spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in health care as you get older? Here is a list of carbohydrates do not trigger such a strong insulin response and instead provide long-term, stabilized energy: apples, oranges, pears, plums, grapes, bananas (not overly ripened), grapefruit, oatmeal, brown rice, whole wheat spaghetti and egg fettuccine, whole-wheat pasta, bran cereal, barley, bulgur, basmati, Kashi and other whole grains, beans, peas (especially chick and black-eyed), lentils, whole corn, sweet potatoes, yams, milk, yogurt (preferably low-fat or fat-free) and soy. Stay away from processed and packaged foods as much as possible, because they are highly likely to include artificial sweeteners (which basically have a similar effect as sugar), as well as simple and refined sugars. Keep your eye out for ingredients that include sucrose, maltose, dextrose, fructose, galactose, glucose, arabinose, ribose, xylose, deoxyribose, lactose, and other fake names for sugars. Even "healthy" juice and many health food products will need to be avoided if they contain high levels of sugar.

If you need more help with your diet, just let me know. Feel free to e-mail elite@pacificfit.net, and I'll give you some suggestions on how a personal trainer can help you with your nutrition. My new book, Shape21, includes 21 days of nutritional intake that completely stabilizes blood sugar levels, which, when combined with the perfect exercise program that I've detailed in the book, leaves you with a lean, athletic body. You can check it out at my website, www.pacificfit.net, or at a gym near you. Or you can order it now by clicking here.

Until next time, train smart!

Ben Greenfield

5 Open Water Swim Tips For Triathletes

Try your race goggles in open water swims *before* the actual race. The visibility that you experience in the pool will be noticeably diminished in the open water. It doesn't make sense at all for something as simple as goggles to severely affect your swim, so esnure that you're confident with your current specs. If they leak, fog, or offer poor sighting in the open water, get a new pair. A company called Aquasphere makes a great swim mask with good face hugging capabilities and awesome visibility.

Swim with high elbows. The choppy open water will take your smooth swim stroke that you've practiced in the pool and completely swallow up your recovery and entry unless you get the arm sufficiently above the water. Practice a high elbow recovery by "zipping" an imaginary zipper up the side of your body with each stroke.

Sight off landmarks, not buoys. With the splashing, extra bodies, and overall commotion, buoys can become very tough to see in some open water swims. Attempt to focus on larger, more visible objects, like stationary boats, bridges or houses on the shore. Try to line these up as close as possible to your swim course, and you'll have a much easier time staying on target.

Swim on the perimeters. In a large triathlon with many participants in each wave, you'll experience less frustration and be able to maintain a steadier pace if you stay to the outside or inside of the group. While drafting may not be as readily available, you'll waste much less energy changing your pace to match the group. Just beware - in you swim on the inside of the group, there will be quite a bit of position jockeying as you approach the turn buoy, so be ready to fight off other swimmers.

Practice swimming with groups. Many of us get used to a relaxing, solo swim in the pool or open water, then completely panic when a hundred other bodies are thrown in the water along with us. Swim at the local beach during busy times, swim at your pool during "family" swim time, join an outdoor or indoor master's swim group, and get used to not having the water to yourself. This will help you experience more choppiness in the water, assist you with unexpected changes of pace, and train you, both mentally and physically, to adapt to the movements of other bodies in the water while staying relaxed.

Pacific Elite Fitness now offers swim stroke video analysis. Contact elite@pacificfit.net for instruction on how to shoot your video and send it in for professional video analysis. For local Spokane, Couer d' Alene, or Post Falls athletes, underwater filming is also available. Call Ben at 208-883-7705 for more information.

Fitness Tip of the Week

"Shop Around The Perimeter of the Grocery Store"

Have you ever noticed that most of the recommended food items, such as whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, lean deli-cut meats, nutrient-rich dairy products, healthy seafood, and yes, even antioxidant-filled red wine come from outside the grocery store aisles? With a few obvious exceptions, you should be able to do most of your grocery shopping without dipping into the aisles where the tempting food is located - like processed and packaged carbohydrates, sodium rich canned foods, and salt or sugar-filled snacks.

This week's fitness tip comes to you straight from the brand new Shape21 Lean Body Fitness Manual. To order your copy today, click here.

Weekly Specials

NEW! Wellness Consultation: Available in Spokane/Coeur d' Alene/Post Falls area only. A certified fitness coach will present at your private conference or club meeting on the topic of your choice, including nutrition, personal fitness or weight loss. Price: $69.99/hr. CLICK HERE TO ORDER.

NEW! Triathlete Gait Analysis: Complete running gait analysis. Upon receiving your order, a coach will contact you with detailed instructions of how to have a friend or partner videotape you. If you want to become a faster and more efficient runner, this is guaranteed to be one of the most valuable coaching tools at your disposal, and includes a full professional analysis and drill instruction for you to achieve perfect biomechanics, packaged in a convenient CD MediaBook. Price: $199.99. CLICK HERE TO ORDER.

QUESTIONS? Contact elite@pacificfit.net.