A message from Ben:

Welcome to the January 10th edition of the Pacific Elite Fitness Newsletter! Just one more month until the release of my brand new book "100 Ways to Increase Your Metabolism". In the meantime, I'm offering a fantastic combo special on Shape21: The Complete 21 Day Lean Body Manual, as well as Ben Greenfield's E-Health Handbook of Diet & Fitness Secrets. Click here to jump to the special offer, but make sure to come back and read today's article!

If you haven't been to the Pacific Elite Fitness website recently, be sure to check it out. By clicking on Fitness or Triathlete, you can access a fantastic array of online training options, designed for all levels and budgets.

Today's article is the second in a 2 part series on nutritional supplements...

Ben Greenfield

MS PE, NSCA-CPT, CSCS

Kids Eating Healthy

An interesting article in the newspaper today noted that couples without kids tend to eat healthier. The reasoning is that when kids are around, so are corn dogs, ice cream, pizza, and french fries. For some reason, we're hardwired to think that children without access to junk food are deprived of some magical aspect of childhood. Last time I checked, finding out at 20 years of age that you're pre-diabetic and insulin resistant with high blood pressure and the joints of an 85 year old wasn't exactly considered a privilege. So what's the answer? How do you ensure that your children live healthy lives with strong bones and peak physical potential, without making them feel "left out", "underprivileged" or, worse of all, "a granola"? Although I'm in the process of writing a book that will help you raise physically healthy children in modern Western society, I'd like to start by giving you three tips:

  • Don't Focus on the Fat
    • Children should not be led to believe that the reason they're eating a salad for dinner is to improve their body image. While childhood obesity has inherent health risks, most kids don't understand that fact. Instead, all they know is that fat people are the butt of many jokes in cartoons, books, and pop culture, so it must be bad to be fat. What your kids need to understand is that they're eating healthy *for themselves*, not for other people. Instead of focusing on body image or waistline size, educate your children about the benefits of wholesome nutrition, fiber, fruits, vegetables, complete proteins, and whole, unpackaged and unprocessed foods. In other words, focus on the positive - the "do's", and not the "don'ts".
  • Put Your Kids in Charge
    • Anytime a meal is being prepared at home, you should use it as an opportunity to teach your children about healthy ingredients and well-balanced meals. There are several ways to do this. You can put each of your children in charge of a different preparation aspect of each meal, with pre-set ingredients. For instance, one gets to prepare the salad, one gets a complex carbohydrate like wild rice or whole grain bread, and one helps out with a lean protein, like chicken. In such a case, the first child could pick out and arrange three different vegetables for the salad, the second could help measure out water and add special ingredients (i.e. almonds and raisins) to the wild rice, and the third child could help season the chicken with three spices of their choice (i.e. curry, turmeric, and black pepper). Responsibility breeds awareness, and it will help for your children to help create the finished product, and see how the ingredients interact. This will also help spark discussions about good recipe substitutions, like olive oil vs. margarine, or whole wheat flour vs. regular. Another example of putting your kids in charge is to let them create a dinner menu for one day of the week. For older children, this would include grocery list and recipe preparation.
  • Grocery Store Challenge
    • One of the best tips I give my clients is to "shop around the perimeter" of the grocery store. Outside the aisles are fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs, milk, yogurt, lean meats and proteins, unsalted nuts, and whole grain breads, while the aisles contain many of the tempting packaged foods, including sweet cereals, frozen entrees, snacks, salty or sugary trail mixes, sodas, and other processed and packaged. Brave these elements yourself while you send your kids out to the healthy areas of the store. This will keep your children from grabbing unhealthy items to throw in the cart, while teaching them how to utilize the more healthy sections of the grocery store. Don't wait until your son or daughter gets to college to confront a perplexing line of produce items. They should be well versed in choosing complex fruits and vegetables, lean meats, and nutritious dairy items and breads early in life.

Personal training for kids is an option with Pacific Elite Fitness. Your child can not only learn fun ways to stay active, but also review nutritional tips and tricks with a certified personal trainer. Contact me at elite@pacificfit.net if you'd like to discuss consulting or training with your child...

Until next time, train smart,

Ben Greenfield

M.S. PE, NSCA-CPT, CSCS

Triathlete Tip of the Week
"SPINNING VS. CYCLING"

The flywheel on most spinning bikes is about 30-40lbs, which is why the pedals keep turning after your legs stop. The hamstrings will naturally respond to this added circular momentum by contracting at the top of the pedal stroke to decrease momentum, resulting in an "eccentric contraction" or lengthening of the muscles responsible for slowing hip flexion. So your hamstrings work harder on a spinning bike. You'll also find that the added flywheel momentum encourages a higher overall cadence, resulting in an increased strain on the cardiovascular system. This is why your heart rate is typically higher in spin class vs. an indoor training session. As your spinning rate increases, you use a higher degree of slow-twitch muscle fibers, burn more fat as fuel and have a higher perceived rate of exertion.

In contrast, the freewheel drivetrain system on your bicycle requires a greater degree of hip flexor activity and quadriceps activity to generate momentum at the top of the pedal stroke. Because you don't have that flywheel helping you spin, cadence is typically lower. While this means less oxygen shuttling needs and a lower strain on the cardiovascular system, it also means you're using a higher amount of fast-twitch muscle fibers, burning more carbs as a fuel and depleting muscle glycogen stores, all at a slightly lower rate of exertion. This is described by the highly scientific term "gear-mashing", and is highly contraindicated for time trialists and triathletes.

So in conclusion, there is a high degree of muscular and physiological specificity between the two modes of cycling. The best of both worlds would be to teach your legs to achieve a high cadence without the use of the flywheel. Some spinning bikes now use a freewheel. If you don't have access to such a bike, then be sure to supplement your off-season spinning with 1-2 skill based sessions on a freewheel system to practice your high cadence.

One final word of caution on spinning: your instructor is usually not attempting to "periodize" or take into account that you're technically supposed to be focusing on endurance, skill, and force in the base training period. Most triathletes don't want to "peak" in March, which is what indoor spinning can do if you don't hold back a bit on the loud music, screaming leg sprints. All my off-season and base training classes that I teach at Liberty Lake Athletic Club focus on three important aspects of base training: skill development, force development, and aerobic endurance.

A New Year's special from Ben Greenfield:

I'm offering a brand new January special. Although the my exciting new book "100 Ways to Increase Your Metabolism" will be available in Febuary, I'm already offering a combo deal on my previous two books: Shape21 - The Complete 21 Day Lean Body Manual and Ben Greenfield's E-Health Handbook of Diet & Fitness Secrets. As a matter of fact, the E-Health Handbook is now FREE.

FREE?

Well, not exactly. Here's the deal: If you purchase the Shape21 Book/DVD package, which, by the way, is a fantastic way to kick off your New Year's Resolution, then I will give you a complementary edition of Ben Greenfield's E-Health Handbook - a guide to fitness and wellness.

Just think - if you order Shape21 today, and begin the detailed exercise and nutrition program when it arrives next week, you can lose 10 pounds before February, with your daily routine completely spelled out for you. Just roll out of bed, pick up the book, and follow the instructions! WOW.

Let's review what this special actually gets you. First of all, you'll receive a hard copy via postal mail of Shape21: The Complete 21 Day Lean Body Manual, complete with a full color Exercise DVD of every single exercise in the entire manual. This is the "no guesswork involved" fat burning program that combines every aspect of your training, both diet and exercise, into one convenient package. Your Shape21 Book/DVD Package includes the following:

  • Full weightlifting and body weight workout plans for every day, split into beginner, intermediate, and advanced user options.
  • Detailed cardio intervals and instructions for every day, with clear intensity and time specifications.
  • Full color photos and detailed instructions for over 100 exercises, with exact specifications on when and how to complete these highly effective, cutting-edge fitness moves.
  • Grocery shopping list for each week, complete with checklists and categories. No more scratching your head in the grocery store aisles.
  • Complete meal plan with recipes for every single meal and snack of every day.
  • Detailed FAQ section with pages of tips, tricks, modifications, and suggestions for customizing Shape21 to your personal lifestyle.
  • Alphabetized exercise index for easy reference during a workout.
  • Full color, action-packed, exercise DVD, with every single exercise you'll need categorized on a day-by-day basis. Just stick the DVD into your computer or home theatre, and start sweating!

In addition, for absolutely FREE, you'll also receive my E-Health Handbook of Diet & Fitness Secrets, which includes the following:

  • Learn exactly why alcohol makes you gain weight and what to do about it!
  • Read about the one special meal ingredient that results in instant weight loss, and 5 ways to get it!
  • Can sugar really make you fat? Find out the answer, and what you can do about it.
  • Get 3 quick 20 minute workouts to tone the body – with zero equipment requirements.
  • Discover 5 nutritional myths that can change your life.
  • What is the mysterious fat burning zone, and will it really work?
  • Discover the top 10 ways to turn your body into a fat-burning machine!
  • Get the details on the ultimate 15 minute workout.
  • Read about functional training and how to use this powerful tool to quadruple your exercise results!
  • Gain an understanding of how to get through the holidays without completely sabotaging your weight.
  • It’s actually possible to lose weight during a road trip! Find out how.
  • Learn the 10 readily accessible snacks that can melt away fat.
  • Learn an easy-to-follow, 7 day-a-week, 30-minute-a-day exercise program!
  • Lose 26 pounds a year by while you watch TV!
  • Learn the 10 how-to-get-fat rules that you have to break to lose weight.
  • Find out how to customize your exercise and diet routine for your exact body type!
  • 5 finger-lickin’ party foods that will actually help you lose weight and stay healthy.
  • Learn exactly why you need to know about the BMR - the key to weight loss success.
  • The essential 7 how-to’s of late night snacking.
  • Get the complete low-down on sugar and artificial sweeteners.
  • Find out exactly what kind of cardio burns the most calories.
  • Stuck at the grocery store? Get a comprehensive description of how to shop and what to get.

Combining these two books into one package ensures that you will see results, guaranteed. You'll be able to literally melt the fat away as you refer to Shape21 for exact instructions about how to eat and which exercises to do every day. Then, you can expand your knowledge with dozens of tips and tricks from the E-Health Handbook to make sure that you reach your goals from every possible angle! Are you ready to get off your plateau and start seeing amazing results?

Shape21 is a great way to power through your New Year's resolution with absolutely no guesswork! Click here to get your package now for $49.95, and take advantage of the FREE E-Health Handbook offer, only good for the month of January!

QUESTIONS? Contact elite@pacificfit.net.

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