[as seen in the Oxford Review February 16th, 2012]
Over the last few years kettlebell training has grown by leaps and bounds in Canada, the US and overseas. There are literally thousands of people who have experienced the great strength, power and cardio effects of this training. There is also an equal number of ladies and men using kettlebells to get more define, gain more muscle and just to be stronger overall. The reason – kettlebells work!

I have put together short training program for you using kettlebells. A lot of kettlebell exercises can be done with one kettlebell. This is great because it creates an asymmetrical load across the body causing the lifter to stabilize in all three planes of movement (sagittal, frontal, transverse)

A good example of an exercise that is done with one kettlebell is the Turkish Get-up. The TGU begins by lying on your back with arm extended (kettlebell in hand over your chest). Procced to ‘Get-Up’ to a standing position, the kettlebell should now be over your head. Then reverse the whole movement until you are flat on your back again. Sounds easier than it is – trust me. This is a great core exercise.

As for using two kettlebells, it is much more neurologically challenging (like using dumbbells) than using an Olympic bar since the arms are not fixed by the bar and the arms must stabilize independently.

Next, let’s go over the training program to get you going. If you don’t know what the exercises look like just search for them on YouTube.

5×5 (Five Sets Of Five) Weeks 1-4
5 reps x 5 sets is a training protocol that has been around for many years. It is also an extremely effective way to put on some definition, strength and to do some toning. Here is how it works. Pick a training weight and do five sets of five reps. If and when you can complete all sets of five, increase the weight by five to ten pounds and shoot for five sets of five again. Take three-minute breaks in between each set. Since incremental weight increases are not possible with kettlebell training we have to look at other factors to manipulate. One factor to manipulate is time under tension. When you can do 5×5 with a quick tempo, increase the negative to four seconds and the positive to two seconds. When that becomes easy, try five seconds up, a pause at the bottom and five seconds down. Another factor to manipulate is the breaks between each set. Instead of taking three-minute breaks in between each set, take two-minute breaks, etc. There is always something that you can do to make an exercise harder or a training regimen more effective.

Here is a sample 5×5 kettlebell program:

Monday
A-1: Double Floor Press (push ups using the kettlebells as stands, drop low into the push up on the eccentric (downward) movement

A-2: Double Bent-over Row

Do A-1 and A-2 back to back. This is called supersets. In other words, do one set of A-1, wait a minute and then do a set of A-2, wait a minute and then do another set of A-1 and so forth. Keep going back and forth between A-1 and A-2 until you have completed all five sets.

B-1: Double Front Squat

B-2: Double Snatch (this is a technical movement and should be done technically correct before adding additional weight)

Wrap up with:

Turkish Get-ups using a 5×5 (left and right independently) rep range. Take a two-minute break in between each set. One complete set equals five reps on each side.

Wednesday
A-1: Double Military Press

A-2: Kettlebell Pull-up

B-1: Double Kettlebell Front Squat

B-2: Double Kettlebell Swing

Do A-1 and A-2 back to back. Do B-1 and B-2 back to back.

Wrap up with:

Double Windmill 5×5 (left and right) Take two-minute breaks in between each set. One complete set equals five reps on each side.

Friday
A-1: Double Seated Military Press

A-2: Kettlebell Pull-up

Same A-1 and A-2 as above.

B-1: Double Kettlebell Front Squat

B-2: Double Kettlebell Swing

Wrap up with

Guard Sit-up 5×5 (left and right) Take two minute breaks in between each set. One complete set equals five reps on each side. Take a day off in between each workout. In other words, do Day 1 on Monday, Day 2 on Wednesday, and then Day 1 again on Friday. Four weeks later you will be ready for another routine. Good Luck!

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Organic, unadulterated wholefoods have formed the basis of human diet through the ages. Only now has the human race been subjected to countless man-made chemicals found in food and the environment.

Eating foods that provide a balanced amount of nutrients is required to keep the body in perfect balance. A good deal of energy is wasted trying to disarm alien and often-toxic chemicals – some of which cannot be eliminated and accumulate in body tissue. Choosing organic foods whenever possible is the nearest we can get to eating a pure diet today. By supporting the organic movement, we help to minimise the damage of chemical pollution, which poses a real threat to the future of humanity. I might sound dire but it is the truth.

Raw, organic food is the most natural and beneficial way to take food into the body. It is especially important to buy organic fruit where you eat the skin. Almost and every non-organic edible fruit-skin has been sprayed. The surface area is vast, and many fruits (think apples) are found to contain large amounts of organophosphate fertilisers. If you cannot find or afford organic then you must wash them (even this only partially helps since the chemicals get into the fruit).

In straightforward nutritional analyses, organic food tends to have more in it, both in terms of dry weight and nutrients (see chart below). This is because organically grown produce must be grown in enriched soil and because modern methods of farming with agrochemicals can speed up the growth of a plant, changing its structure to be more full of water. In other words, although it may still look like a carrot you could be buying less food.

 The average price difference between organic produce and non-organic produce is around 20 per cent (sometimes higher, sometimes lower). Organic produce was found, on average, to contain 26 per cent more dry matter (less water) — therefore actually making it cheaper to buy organic. This is why non-organic produce tends to shrink more on cooking as its high water content evaporates.

Comparison of Organic vs Non-Organic Produce

Component Mean % increase in organic produce vs non-organic produce

• Dry matter +26%
• Potassium +13%
• Calcium +56%
• Magnesium +49%
• Iron +290%
• Copper +34%
• Manganese +28%
• Protein +12%
• Essential amino acids +35%
• Nitrates +69%
• Phosphorous +6%

Organic food’s strength also lies in what it doesn’t contain. This stretches well beyond excluding agricultural chemicals such as fertilisers and pesticides, to prohibition of artificial preservatives, colours, sweeteners, residual antibiotics, hydrogenated fats, processing aids and meaningless starches. There is, in fact, only food in organic food (I am not talking about packaged organic food which is sneaky and should be avoided).

One of the most amazing things that I have noticed regarding organic food is the taste.  Have you even purchased wonderful looking tomatoes from the store only to find them totally tasteless?  That is actually one of my pet peeves.  I have found almost exclusively that organic food tastes better than commercially grown produce. It has more nutrients and our bodies recognize that. It is the nutrients that give fresh whole food its distinct taste.

As always remember to: Train Hard, Eat Well, and Smile!

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[as seen in the Oxford Review January 20th, 2011]
There are a few things that you don’t want to do when trying to lose some weight. They are crucial and you will not get the results you want if you tumble into these pitfalls.

Lack Discipline
A lack of discipline is most likely the most harmful pitfall if you are trying to lose weight. You have to have what I call persistent consistency. You have to tough it out even when you don’t feel like it. Then tough it out again. And again.

Cutting down on your waistline takes a reasonable amount of effort which must be sustained over the course of a year (or more). This didn’t happen to you overnight so it is unreasonable to expect results in less time than is actually possible.

There is one word that describes the staying power of winners. One word that describes the type of commitment that is needed. One word that you need to learn to use and become. That word is: Grit.

Eliminate Fat
Eliminating fat or eating a very low fat diet is a common error that people are encouraged to make by food marketing. Eliminating fat intake to get rid of fat from the body may seem like a good idea at first glance, but when you understand that most food producers add sugar when they take out the fat you will begin to understand why ‘low-fat’ doesn’t mean healthy. (Note: all trans-fat should be removed from your diet because they will hurt you).

You need a decent amount of good fat in the diet because all the cells in the body are made up of two layers of lipids or fats, which will be composed of good fats or bad fats depending on the type you eat. If the cell lipid layers are made up of healthy fats, it will make them more sensitive to insulin and allow the receptors to bind more easily, which is necessary for good metabolism and energy production. Remember to balance your fat intake by taking fish oil for the high levels of available Omega-3. I recommend at least 1g of EPA per day.

Keep Getting Stressed
To lose fat, it’s essential that you minimize stress to lower your cortisol levels. It is well established that chronically high cortisol results in fat gain, particularly around the middle. This means that no matter how much you exercise or eat healthy, you won’t lose weight if your cortisol is elevated because of how cortisol makes the body insensitive to insulin.

One recent study looked at the relationship between cortisol levels, insulin sensitivity, and visceral belly fat in men. Men with more belly fat produced far more cortisol throughout the day and had decreased insulin sensitivity than those with less belly fat. Interestingly, subcutaneous fat—the jiggly kind that’s right below the skin—was not related to insulin or cortisol levels. Researchers suggest both external stress and internal physiological stress (in the form of chronic inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract) are the cause of the elevated cortisol.

Forget Your Gut
Fix your gut health and support digestion by taking a probiotic to lose fat, have more energy, and feel better. Probiotics are the tiny bacteria that naturally occur in the gastrointestinal tract and are commonly found in dairy products such as yogurt and kefir.

Gut health is essential in that it will improve digestion and help you feel better. You will actually feel more energetic because your neurotransmitters will be firing at optimal levels, and your metabolism will be supported so that nutrients and energy sources are getting broken down, absorbed, and used by the body in the most effective manner. Additionally, research shows probiotic supplementation helps lower anxiety and stress levels, which leads to less secretion of cortisol.

Miss Adding Protein to Breakfast
Skipping breakfast and missing meals will set you up to fail when trying to lose weight. Eating breakfast is one of the simplest, healthiest things you can do to feel better and have more energy, but there’s one catch. You have to eat protein at breakfast. Eating cereal for breakfast is a common pitfall that is often not addressed by the media or mainstream health professionals.

Cereal is bad for breakfast because it’s typically packed with sugar and additives. In the rare case that you can find a cereal that doesn’t have added sugar, cereal tends to be low in protein. You can always add some high quality whey protein to your breakfast. It what I do and it works wonders.

Stay Focused, have Grit, and Smile.

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[as seen in the Oxford Review January 27th, 2012] According to the most recent data available it is the unfortunate reality that the rates of cancer continue to rise. I have personally had a few family members die as a result of cancer and I have a personal mission to find out what I can do to help stop this disease.

While researching the causes of cancer I discovered that there are a minority of cancers that are caused by factors that cannot readily be controlled. When I say not ‘readily’ controlled I mean behaviours and situations that are not immediately available to be changed now; things like environmental pollution, viral infection, and genetic factors. The generally accepted number place about 30% of all cancers under this umbrella.

Conversely, many factors directly related to choices of lifestyle, such as smoking, lack of physical exercise, obesity, dietary habits and the immoderate use of alcohol directly cause the onset of approximately 70% all cancers. Even a very casual inspection of the data (that is the number of people afflicted worldwide) show great variation in the rate of cancer depending on where you look on the globe. This is good news since we can discover some epidemiological truths about cancer by analyzing this variance.

Peter Wentzel, in his book Hungry Planet, showcases the almost unbelievable differences in diet around the world. It is beyond doubt (or argument) that we, in North America, eat a diet heavily laden in processed foods. We eat according to the energy content of food and the fuel it provides. In stark contrast to this those in the East (statistically significant cancer rates are much lower) eat food for the health benefits and for the disease prevention it provides.

Our diet here in the West is generally characterized by a relative lack of fruits and vegetables and it appears that the very same plant foods we lack do play a critical role in the prevention of most (if not all) cancers. It is my opinion that we need a national agenda to get more truly fresh fruits and vegetables into our bodies. There is no substitute for the daily addition of these plants foods to our meals.

The bleak reality is that in spite of decades of dedicated and determined research, financed to the tune of billions of dollars, a large number of cancers remain impossible to treat. It is my belief that the miracle drug (or procedure) to cure cancer will never come. The responsibility firmly rests upon our shoulders to take matters into our own hands and make some good choices for change.

We must make the lifelong decision to eat more vegetables, be more active, and get high quality rest. As a nation, if we ever want to address the cancer problems we have in this country, we must look at ourselves in the mirror, stop making excuses, and start living a lifestyle reflective of what we already know is true.

You might have been expecting me to list off a bunch of foods that will nourish your body and block cancer from developing in the first place. While I am going to give you my time 5 foods – the truth is you already know. You have heard it hundreds of times before – fresh vegetables and fruits have been written about extensively. They are all good for you. No more excuses. Take control now. Commit half of every single plate of food you eat to fresh veggies and fruit. Once-in-a-while just won’t cut it. The reality is you need to eat them on a very regular basis, over a lifetime, to get the benefits. It is the daily, day-in-day-out, choices you make which have the greatest impact on you.

I will finish up by giving you my top 5 cancer fighting foods – but we have to make a deal first. The deal is that you must commit to adding these foods to your diet now. Please. I would actually get down on my knees, if I could, that is how strongly I feel about this.

The top five cancer fighters are: cruciferous veggies (broccoli), garlic and onions, turmeric, green/white tea, and omega-3’s. If you need more information on how to get these foods in your diet please email me at info@vitalityplus.com.

We can change the broken health system one meal at a time.

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[as seen in the Oxford Review January 6th, 2011] The bacteria in your gut are, during the best of times, highly underrated. They provide many different functions that help us live our lives. In fact we have more bacteria in our gut than we do cells in our body. Amazing isn’t it. To keep our gastrointestinal tract healthy it is very important that we do a few things well. We must maintain our intake of fibre to be a minimum of 30g per day. We must eat a plethora of high quality low-starch veggies like broccoli and kale. We must limit (or eliminate) our sugar intake since sugar causes a shift in the healthy keep-us-lean bacteria. We must take a probiotic as a supplement or as food. There are many options for getting probiotics into our gut. One of my favorites is called Kefir and it is my secret ingredient to staying in tip-top shape. I am free from colds and the flu year round (my next article will highlight more of my secrets on staying cold-free). A very large part of our immunity lies in the health of our gut and in the bacteria that reside there. You would do well to take that very seriously. When you eat a diet high in fibre, veggies and probiotics you are on your way to getting a very robust immune system. I find that many people discover Kefir does them very well and helps them regain their health. In fact – many studies point to a well-colonized intestinal tract as being a first-line-defense for our immunological system. Kefir, an ancient drink from the Caucasus Mountains that resembles liquid yogurt, is made by adding a live culture – called kefir “grains” – from a previous batch of kefir to room-temperature milk (usually from a cow, goat or sheep, though soymilk can be used). The cultures are a combination of bacteria and yeasts, usually lactobacillus acidophilus and Saccharomyces kefir. The term probiotic means it is “friendly” bacteria. Having lots of friendly bacteria in our gut also keeps us happy. As early as 1906, in an article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers found that the health of the gut and depression were correlated. As a probiotic Kefir also provides you with calcium and protein, and may have some additional benefits for the immune system. You can certainly use it every day. The one caution I would give you is that commercial kefir can be overly sweet and can contain additives. Read labels carefully. I would buy plain varieties and add your own freshly cut fruit. Making your own kefir isn’t difficult, with starter kits widely available. You’ll have to experiment a bit to produce kefir that bests suits your taste. In general, the longer the fermentation time, the more sour the finished product. My personally recommendation is Pinehedge Farms Kefir. This Kefir is made right here in Ontario and right on the farm. This product is not only Organic but also has the Demeter Bio-Dynamic Certification. The Demeter certification has the absolute strictest requirements for organic food, and it also demands the farm be bio-dynamic. I don’t use any other Kefir products (I get mine at Inside U in Woodstock) because none can even come close to Pinehedge Farms for quality. As usual I called the farm and spoke directly to the farmer when I was doing my research and information gathering. Mr. Heinzle was very helpful and full of great information. He definitely takes pride in his work and believes in the sustainability of bio-dynamic farming. As always – Eat Well. Exercise Hard. And Keep Smiling! Read More