GymBuddiez – Helpful Fitness Tips, Tools and Buddies in your AreaFind a local gym buddy

[ Editor's Note:  Fitness author Jon Benson shared this letter with me and gave me permission to share it with you. ]

Today we need to chat about your hormones.

Yeah, I chat a lot about hormones. That’s because I have been to Hormone Hell and back. Twice.

I’ve lived to tell the tale.

It’s scary… and it’s one of those hidden illnesses that you might not even know you have.

I had it at 27. I did not affect my lovelife, but that was probably due to my youth. If I did not treat it then, I would have no lovelife or drive at ALL right now.

I treated it with drugs. That is all we had back then.

Today I use a combination of therapies, many of which are natural….

1. I train with weights to increase testosterone-levels naturally.

2. I train and do cardio before eating in the morning to increase gH levels naturally without drugs.

3. I cycle my calories to increase my thyroid levels naturally.

As you can see there are many ways to increase your hormone levels naturally.

But it’s not all exercise and nutrition. Now we have several "botanical" supplements:  Herbs and other natural helpers to help the fight.

I wish I would have known about Dr. Lucille when I was 27.

She’s the expert in that field. Herbs, nutrition for hormone help, and how to protect your body IF you have to take drugs to help the problem like I do.

I listen to her. So should you.

Here’s her site:

http://naturapause.rxsportz.com  <— natural energy help

The best thing about having your hormones optimized is energy.

Yes, you will burn more bodyfat.

Yes, you will increase your lovelife and your desire to have intimacy.

Yes, you will increase your resistance to disease and common illnesses.

But I think MORE ENERGY is the best.

I have the energy to do anything I want at just about any time I want.

Here’s an example:

Today I had to go to the funeral of a dear friend. She passed away after struggling with a lifetime of various illnesses, many of which were made worse by lifestyle choices. Some she had no control over.

We all loved her dearly.

We drove until 1:00AM this morning. I got up early for the funeral but not early enough to eat breakfast.

I had a large lunch afterwards and then we headed back — another 3 hour boring drive in traffic.

Even with all of this emotional stress, my body only needed a 2-hour nap to pop right back into high gear. I could literally go and workout now at almost 11:00pm if I had to.

I’m glad I don’t because I have a night of packing ahead of me for a business trip!

Still, the point is simple:

Hormone Health = Greater Energy

Most people do not exercise because… get this….

They do not FEEL like it.

I don’t mean "feel like it" as in they would rather do something else, although that is the case sometimes.

I mean "feel like it" in the sense that they have NO energy to do it.

They are tired, run-down after a 9 to 5 day, and feel zonked.

You too?

If so, you need this info…

http://naturapause.rxsportz.com  <— natural energy help

Remember:  More energy, more lovelife. More workouts that burn fat. More done in the day.

More living… in the best way possible.

———————————————————————-

Training With Weights vs "Weight Training"

———————————————————————-

Just a word of warning:

I will be using the term "bodybuilder" or "bodybuilding" to refer to anyone who wants to build lean muscle and burn bodyfat in this article.

That means you.

Yep… you are a "bodybuilder." That does not mean you want to look like a monster on stage and pose in front of thousands of people wearing nothing but your undies.

That means you want more lean muscle and less bodyfat — that’s it.

With that in mind, here’s something you have to know:

Bodybuilders do not "lift weights" — we "train" with weights.

We use weights as a tool like a sculptor uses a hammer and chisel.

The object of the game is not to lift some heavy weight from Point A to Point B and back. That’s weight lifting. "Bodybuilding" is about making the muscle you want to change do all the

work.

Here’s two ways to do it:

1. Lower the weight and focus:  Most people are just concerned with the lift itself. "Get this weight off of me!" seems to be the unconscious mantra. This will not get the job done. In fact you may end up looking bulky rather than sleek… or just not change at all. Instead, lower the weight slightly, slow the pace down (especially on the descent of the movement) and picture the muscle in your mind doing ALL of the work. Literally put your mind in the muscle. You will be amazed at how different the same exercise feels with this degree of concentration,.

2. Contract, hold, release:  At the top of any movement, contract the muscle hard. Hold that contraction for a second or two, then release it and lower the weight slowly. This will not only cause faster muscle growth (that is a good thing) but also demand that you use less weight to get the job done. This means your joints — shoulders, knees, elbows — will last a lifetime. At 45 my joints are in perfect health. Protect yours at all costs.

Just remember:  You are not just lifting weights when you train for muscle shape and "tone" — you are a sculptor. Treat your tools and your body with that degree of care.

I cover many more tips on how to build lean muscle and burn bodyfat faster in my book "7 Minute Muscle".

Read more here:

http://7mm.rxsportz.com  <— more muscle in far less time

You know that New Body Challenge contest I told you about the other day?

The one where you can win your share of 2300 bucks in cash and get a step by step 10-week summer shape up blueprint to follow to win it?

Yeah, that one!

Well, it was supposed to be over and done on Thursday, but the contest creator, Rob Poulos, just called me to let me know he ran into a bit of a problem…

See, because of the huge amount of hits Rob’s been receiving at his site, especially from international visitors, he had some trouble processing all of the orders for his Fat
Burning Furnace system-

-you can imagine he had quite a few angry visitors who couldn’t get their hands on his system and limited bonuses…

…so just to be fair to everybody, he’s had to extend the deadline to this Sunday, February 22nd, just before midnight eastern time.

So if you missed the 1st deadline for any reason, or haven’t heard about this new chance at your NEW BODY, you’re going to thank me later…

Just tap the link below to get started:

http://fbf.rxsportz.com

Alright that’s it for now…

Here’s to stepping into your new body this summer and stepping out onto that beach feeling confident and looking your very best ever,

Arthur M.
http://rxsportz.com

Have you ever milked an almond? Wanna try it? We’re no Julia Child when it comes to concocting edible creations in the kitchen, but this recipe seems more Rachel Ray on the scale of culinary difficulty. If you’ve got the time give this moo-free  milk a whirl this weekend. And if you’re of the yerba mate persuasion, we highly recommend trying it with Mate Factor’s organic Dark Roast, which we snatched up randomly in a recent health food store raid and have been drooling over since.

Homemade Almond Milk

Ingredients:

• 1 cup soaked raw almonds (soaked 4-8 hours – in a bowl in the refrigerator overnight. rinse before using)
• 4 cups water
• Pinch of sea salt
• 1 T non-alcohol vanilla extract
• 3 T maple syrup

1 In a blender, at medium, then high speed, blend soaked almonds, water, and sea salt until smooth.

2  Pour through a strainer to separate pulp.

3  Pour liquid back in the the blender and blend in vanilla extract and maple syrup until smooth.

4  Pour yourself a glass. Enjoy. Share some with a special someone and/or save the rest in an airtight container in the fridge.

Extra pulp? Don’t be a slouch, make some cookies! You could try adding some chocolate too. Yum.

photo from awesome new discovery Thrifty Living, recipe courtesy elephantbeans

And because it IS Friday, and time is ticking on submitting taxes (aw crap! sorry! we’re already getting an ulcer thinking about it), we present some comic relief… Oh man did we die when we saw this. Srsly, if we had almond milk in our mouth it would have sprayed out our nose. A little lolz yoga.

It’s Groucho Marx! Get it?? link

and also…Happy baby, happy kitteh.

teehee.

link

‘Yoga Girl’ Free Vector Download: For all you yogadorks and designer nerds out there we found a pretty goodie for you in our internet travels. This vector image is free to download and you can do with it what you wish. (fyi: briefly, a vector image is a super high-quality scalable and fully customizable image usually created in adobe illustrator).  [Download from e-maniacs.com]

Hebrew and Yoga Together at Last: Well we’ve certainly been hearing about Jewish Yoga a lot lately, eh? “Religious” yoga mutations kinda give us the heebs, but who can argue when it’s encouraging kiddies to get involved in the practice, and it’s educational! Certainly not husband-wife team Bill and Ruth Goldeen who wrote Alef-Bet Yoga for Kids, a book that uses traditional and modified yoga poses to teach the Hebrew alphabet.   [Dallas News]

Re-Questing the Meaning of Life: Londoner Lucy Edge wrote Yoga School Dropout from her diaries after going on a  spiritual quest through India. Have you heard this one before? We haven’t read it, but it sounds Eat, Pray, Love-ish in epiphany-seeking tone and humor. Anyway, if you liked that one you’ll be interested to know she’s just submitted her final manuscript for the follow up to YSD, about her “quest for yogic serenity in the windy reaches of Norfolk”.  We should expect to see it on Amazon’s bookshelves some time in August 2009. [YogaSchoolDropout.com]

Yoga Booklist: If you’re looking for a great list of books to get you started on your own “yoga journey” pop over to Linda’s Yoga Blog. Don’t be deterred by the headiness of some of the titles and topics… we’re all students here, find enlightenment at your own pace.

Fellow YogaDorks… Do we have any Canucks in the house? Here is your mission should you choose to accept it:

Continuing today’s theme of “giving back”… This Sunday February 22 will see the world’s largest fundraiser involving yoga to promote awareness and to raise money for arthritis research. Power of Movement, the organization behind it all, has in two years raised more than $115,000 for arthritis research in Canada. This weekend’s event will span 10 cities in hopes of beating the record. The “movers” have worked hard to help those suffering from arthritis and autoimmune conditions. Do your best to make it out to one of the “mega-sessions” on Sunday – registration is walkathon pledge-style – or if you’re feeling so inclined you can just make a donation. (worldwide YD’s can do this part actually).

Three cheers for all those involved, including the yoga studios, teachers and Canadian yogis participating. Labatts all around!

Power of Movement
Moving for Arthritis Research
This Sunday Feb 22, 2009

Check here for Mega-Session locations and registration info.

In the form of donations to charity or remarkable efforts for people with special needs, we feel it’s important to recognize the work of karma yoga in action. Here are just a few of the recent stories deserving of the honorable spotlight in the past week.

Connecticut: Greenwich Yoga is kicking off its new series of donation-based classes to benefit local nonprofit organizations, Boys & Girls Club. [more]

New Hampshire: Seacoast Yoga Mala raises more than $5,000 for home heating and food assistance this winter. [more]

New Jersey: Autism Family Tours with Brianna announces their March Special Needs Family Yoga Program. [more]

Ohio: Second-year psychology major at Ohio State, Daniel Snider, starts yoga class for cancer survivors, patients and any student affected by cancer. [more]

Texas: Brownsville yoga studio, Blue Moon Yoga, has helped many to battle ailments such as breast cancer, and effects of aging.  [more]

Mysore, India: Donations have poured in from around the world to help raise the funds for Coconut Guru’s heart surgery. [read more or donate Project Coconut]

When I first started lifting weights, my sister, a personal trainer, set me up with a routine. She told me which weights to buy, which exercises to do and…

A cheat sheet for navigating everyone’s favorite form of takeout

Fewer than 20 percent of U.S. clinics follow professional guidelines on how many embryos should be used for younger women.

Most men over age 75 can safely discontinue screening for prostate cancer with the PSA blood test, although such screening may still benefit some older men, U.S. researchers said on Friday.