Holiday Body Blitz (Part 2 - Fat Loss Habits)

Before we can get into the real meat of this blog post we need to establish some basic key habits you need to start practicing in order to get ANY results.


Two glasses of water immediately when you wake up: there is nothing more important habitually than hydrating immediately when you wake.

Keep all eating within a 10-12 hour window: There should only be a 10-12 hour window between when you eat your first and last calories of the day. Once that window is closed, so is your mouth.

Eat your first meal when your first hungry: If you wake up at 6am and your not hungry until 9am don’t force food at 7am. Wait until 9am and then start your 10-12 hour window from there.

Don’t let more than 4 hours go without a meal: once you’ve started your 10-12 hour eating window keep all meals within 2-4 hours of each other

Protein and vegetable with every meal: don’t worry I’ll give you ways to eat vegetables that you won’t want to stop eating them!

Plan your cheats for 10% of the time: Let’s face it. You’re going to cheat. It’s inevitable. But only cheat if it’s a planned cheat and limit yourself to 10% of your total snacks and meals. (Example: CHRISTMAS DINNER?) so if you are eating 30 meals and snacks a week then three of those can be cheats.

Zero calorie liquids only: If you have any liquid that has any calories that counts as a cheat. This includes, milk, juice, cream in your coffee, soda (both diet and non diet), alcohol etc.)

Plan Ahead: this is mandatory and only takes 5-20 minutes at the end of the day. Use the protocols in the next post.

Get 6 Pack Abs With This 4 Minute Ab Routne

Holiday Body Blitz (Part 1 - Introduction)

Congratulations on taking steps towards a better, healthier, happier life and welcome to the Holiday Body Blitz post. Over the next days this blog is going to serve as your go-to guide to burning fat during the holidays.

You see, the reason why I made this program is because without a doubt, the holiday season between Thanksgiving and right after New Year’s is the hardest time of the year to lose weight. There are a few reasons that contribute to this problem:

- No Game plan: the main problem is as simple as that. Not having any set structure of what your going to eat, when your going to eat and how your going to eat. Just by putting a plan in place you will be 10 times more likely to see results than if you just “winged it”.

- Always on the run: this is also the busiest time of the year for most people what with holiday shopping, kids, work deadlines and let’s not forget all the social gatherings.

- Holiday treats: they…..are….EVERYWHERE! Your boss has them on their desk, your co-workers have them on their desk, YOU have them on your desk or maybe in a dish in your living room or a little treat bag in your cupboard. Treats are constantly in your face for the next 40 days and there is little you can do about it.

- Social Gatherings: Work Parties, Friends Parties, Family Parties YOUR Parties…it’s an endless assault of alcohol and food.

So with these key points in mind I set out to design this plan in order to specifically combat every one of those excuses. I say excuses because let’s face it, once I expose the solutions to all of these problems listed above, 90% of people reading this will still use them as excuses to gain weight but they are really just trying to justify their own self-doubt and laziness.

YOU CAN DO THIS. YOU DESERVE THE RESULTS. STAY TUNE FOR MORE POST TO COME.

5 Ways to Fall Into Fitness

Fall Into Fitness

We all know that January is the time of the year that everyone starts to get in shape. But did you know that the fall season is the next popular time of the year to get fit and lose those unwanted pounds?


“September is second only to January as a time when fitness springs to the top of the to-do list, with gyms and training studios buzzing with activity and motivated new members,” says Rob Williams, a Personal Trainer in Vancouver. “At the same time, family and business commitments seem to increase and the days get shorter and darker.”

Here are my five tips for you to fall into fitness as your already busy schedule cranks up another notch.

1. Don't get caught up in the quick fix - There is no such thing as a quick fix and you're fooling yourself if you think there is. Good things come to those who wait and any health and fitness goals are going to take effort and commitment on your part.

2. Support - When you are trying to get more fit, it is very important to have family and friends supporting you along the way. This means that they need to respect your fitness and health goals and not tempt you into the wrong food choices or try and derail you from your fitness training plan. Remind them how important this is to you and you need their support and encouragement and who knows, they may end of training right along side you.

3. Use variety - The body is very adaptive. Performing the same routine over and over is not only boring, but your body will get used to the routine and quit responding. Change your exercises, the order in which you do them, the number or sets and reps, or change the weights. In one workout you may use weights, another you may use resistance bands, in another, machines. Make every workout different in some way.

4. Record and review - If you don't keep track of your workouts and improvements, how will you know if you're making progress? Whether it's fat loss, building muscle tissue, or just feeling better; keeping a log helps and motivates you to get there. When you see where you were, and where you are, you realize you're making progress!

5. Hire a Personal Trainer - It is proven that having a motivating and positive support system will help you stay with your goals long term. How many times have you started an exercise program and stopped? Remember those New Year's Resolutions? How many have you kept? Was losing weight or eating healthier part of those resolutions that are now on a shelf collecting dust? Do you have multiple pieces of exercise equipment that you bought on an infomercial late at night that you now hang your clothes on collecting dust? Get motivated and use a Personal Trainer to help support you in your life long mission to permanent weight loss and better overall body fitness and health.

Three Ways to Stop Procrastination

One of the most common problems when it comes to starting an exercise program is procrastination. We know what we want to do and should do. But still we end up making all kinds of excuses and spending hours upon hours watching TV, surfing the internet or listening to music.
Now, nothing wrong with an escape from time to time, but if you procrastinate too much you will not reach your fitness goals. Soon you will find yourself gaining more weight and also send yourself into negative spirals where your self-esteem takes a nose dive and you spend your days in a negative funk with no results.
So what can you do? Here are three simple tips to help you to stop procrastinating and start living your life more fully.
1. Stop thinking. Start doing.
A bit of planning can certainly help you to achieve your weight loss goals. A lot of planning and thinking tends to have the opposite effect.
By over thinking you tend to put things off because you are not only trying to protect yourself from the muscle pain that you will experience when you first start your exercise program. You also make mountains out of molehills because you are dwelling on it. And so it expands in your mind. And since you are putting it off you are probably thinking about it in a negative way. This makes a little thing a big giant, a horrible beast that is threatening to ruin your health.
Often you don’t even have to plan, you have been there before and you know what needs to be done. So stop thinking and just do it no matter how you feel and what you think.
2. Just take the first step.
Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”
When you start to look at how much weight you want to lose it can seem close to impossible. You begin to shut down because you become overwhelmed and start eating more and more.
You should just focus on taking the first step. That is all you need to focus on, nothing else. By taking the first step you change your mental state from procrastination to “hey, I’m working out and I feel good”. You put yourself in state where you become more positive and open minded a state where you gain enthusiasm because you are making progress.

3. Finish it.
Not taking the first step to start your exercise program can make you feel bad. But not finishing what you have started can also leave you in a sort of negative funk. You feel sluggish or stressed and sometimes you don’t even know why. It’s like someone zapped your inner power. Once you start commit to it. Ask yourself what’s more important to you – Going out to a fast food restaurant and eating 800 calorie or going to Zumba class and burning 800 calories? The former might bring you some temporal gratification, but the latter is what truly gives you satisfaction. The rewards you get from doing the latter are rewards which you’ll continue to reap long afterward. Remember always finish strong, if you fail, try and try again, never give up!

Gaining Weight To Qualify For Lap Ban Surgery

At 202 pounds, Steffany Sears knew she was fat, but not fat enough to qualify for traditional weight-loss surgery.

Desperate for help, the Gold Bar, Wash., woman did what seemed the only logical thing: She gorged herself on chips and cookies, pizza and fried chicken so she’d gain at least eight pounds more.

“I would have eaten myself stupid,” recalled Sears, 34, who was turned down by her insurance company for the $20,000 procedure. “I know friends who would have done that, too.”

In the end, she actually qualified to participate in a clinical trial that led the federal Food and Drug Administration this spring to lower the bar for obesity in people eligible for one form of weight-loss surgery, Allergan’s Lap-Band stomach-shrinking device. Because she had a body mass index, or BMI, of between 30 and 35, the target range of the new rule, she even got the treatment for free, instead of having to take out a second mortgage on her house.

Today, at 5-foot-6, she weighs 143 pounds. “I felt like I’d won the lottery, really, with my life,” said Sears, a native of England.

But Sears’ experience highlights what dieters and doctors alike say is a growing dilemma. Spurred by strict insurance policies that limit surgery to high BMIs of 35 or 40, some obese people are actually striving to gain weight – in order to lose it.

Web sites devoted to weight-loss surgery are full of advice and anecdotes from would-be losers who claim they ate piles of bananas, chowed down on burgers and curly fries or swilled gallons of water to nudge the scale to the correct heights.

“That happens all the time,” said Dr. Robert Michaelson of Northwest Weight Loss Surgery in Everett, Wash., who was a clinical investigator for the FDA trial. “I’ve seen people come in with ankle weights on.”

Sometimes, it works. Elizabeth Marks, 32, of San Diego, Calif., was turned down for surgery once by her insurance company for being less than 100 pounds overweight, but accepted after she gained more.

“I just had two weeks of eating all the junk I could,” Mark said.

In general, a person who is 5-foot-6 and weighs 220 pounds has a BMI of 35. At 250, the BMI climbs to 40.

Weight-loss doctors definitely discourage patients from gaining more and instead urge them to pursue non-surgical options, or to find other ways to pay for the surgery. One good reason? Some insurers regard the practice as fraud.

“I tell them go home. You don’t qualify,” said Dr. Namir Katkhouda, a bariatric surgeon at the University of Southern California who has performed 2,000 procedures. “They come back six months later and their problems are much worse.”


Excerpted from MSNBC: Gaining Weight To Quality For Lap-Band Surgery? | A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss

The Workout Push For the Holidays

If gobble 'til you wobble is your holiday mentality, You aren't alone. While most are laser focused on fitness during the summer, the holidays prove to be the most popular time to slack off from a workout routine. If you're thinking about throwing in a towel for a turkey leg don't give up just yet.

Everybody is working hard, getting ready for the beach, for many, the summer grind in the gym is over. Gym memberships everywhere typically see a decrease between October and December: the season when holiday fun, family and food are the focus.

Next thing you know, you're eating leftovers. When the winter months come, people get relaxed and the next you know two months have went by and that's the hardest part staying with your fitness goals.

Gaining about ten pounds during the holiday season is the norm for most. Eating small portions every three hours and exercising at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week will give you what you need to still maintain.

Strive to keep fit, stay healthy and push for a yearly, not season goal of physical fitness.

15 minutes of stretching at home or walking will make a difference for those you may not can make it to the gym or afford it:

My Blueprint for Success

Last Sunday I ran a half marathon.

Now, I should tell you that I'm not a runner. I'm not built to run. I'm built to lift. But I wanted to do something way out of my comfort zone, so I chose the St. Louis Rock N Roll marathon to run.

Along the 13.1 mile run I learned and rediscovered some life lessons that I want to share with you here.

13.1 lessons I learned while running a marathon:

1. Preparation is the key. I trained for 12 weeks, I developed a training plan and stuck to it.

2. Taking Action is a must. You can make all the plans
you want but it you don’t take action on your plans, vision or goals, then your plan is just a dream

3. Have good support around you. My Mother, Flora Johnson
died from cancer while I was training for the marathon. Support is everything. I had my friends and family helping during this stormy period in my life. I had you giving me words of prayer and encouragement on Facebook. Have a support system.

5. Acknowledge then destroy negative self talk. Guess what? You’re human, and you’re going to have negative self talk when things get tough. I know I did from mile number 10 all the way to mile 13. The trick is to know that you’re having it, and then to tell yourself to shut up, and plow forward.

6. Trust people who are experts to teach you. Don’t try to
reinvent the wheel.

7. Success is 1% information and 99% application. Once again action is the key. Take one step at a time.

8. It's not running 13 miles, it's running one mile 13 times. In the process of challenging yourself to achieve something great there is personal growth that is greater.

9. Do something different. Get out of your mental comfort zone–muscles expand when you give it resistance and you’re mind expands when you step out of your comfort zone.

10. Be willing to do whatever it takes. For me it I had
to run during the heat of the day most of the time. But I was willing to do that because I wanted to spend time with my Mom during her final days.

11. Be a leader, not a follower. Lead by example-you tell your family to get out of their comfort zones, so you do the same.

12. Ignore the haters. You’re always will have people who tell you that you can’t do it. Ignore the haters.

13. Push yourself. Your mind, body and soul are infinitely more resilient than you give it credit for.

13.1. Use the power of prayer. Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26

I hope these lessons were as valuable to you as they were to
me

MVP Countdown Workout - 109 Days Until My 50th Birthday

Today was an 8 mile early morning run. Feels great to complete a long run and to finish it off with church and family fellowship. that's what Get Fit 4 Christ is all about.

For more info on my book entitled Get Fit 4 Christ log onto www.getfit4christ.com

MVP Countdown Workout - 111 Days Until My 50th Birthday

Today was a combination of strength training, Kettlebell Training and running.

Strength Training Workout

Seated Dumbbell Curls
20 lbs - 1x12
30 lbs - 1x12
40 lbs - 1x12

Standing Alternating Dumbbell Curls
40 lbs - 1x12 Each Side (ES)
45 lbs - 1x10 ES
50 lbs - 1x5 ES

Barbell Curls
50lbs - 1x12
70lbs - 1x10
90lbs - 1x5

Pull Ups 1x12

Seated Dumbbell Lat Pulls
25lbs - 1x12
30lbs - 1x10
40lbs - 1x10

Leg Curls
30lbs - 1x10
50lbs - 1x8
70lbs - 1x5
90lbs - 1x3
110lbs - 1x3

Kettlebell Workout

Turkish Get Ups - 35lbs 5 ES
2 Hand Swings - 40lbs - 60 seconds
Clean & Press - 40lbs - 10 ES
High Pulls - 40lbs - 10 ES
Snatches - 40lbs - 10 ES
Squat Press - 40lbs - 10 ES
Turkish Get Ups 35lbs 5 ES
High Pulls - 40lbs - 10 ES
Snatches - 40lbs - 10 ES
Squat Press - 40lbs - 10 ES

3 Mile Run

Saturday is an off day. I have an 8 mile run on Sunday. Overall I feel great and blessed and I'm optimistic about the future.

The Most Dangerous Fat Loss Activity There Is

By Cassandra Forsythe-Pribanic, PhD, RD

In the mid-1900’s, technology brought something into our homes that previously was only available freely at the doctor’s office, or for a penny (or more) at the general store.

This device was unique in that it could measure how much your body weighed against the pull of gravity. And since this wasn’t known to most people before, it was quite the novelty.

People would gamble to guess a person’s correct weight, and it was fun to see how much your friend weighed compared to you.

But then something happened: That number on the scale was no longer fun to look at. Instead, that number became a measure of a person’s attractiveness or how healthy their body was.

If it was too low, you were sick or lacked muscle. While if it was too high - especially compared to someone you knew - you were considered fat, or out of shape.

Body weight numbers soon became standardized, and people were then compared to each other on a height and weight basis. They were given a “too fat,” “too thin,” or “average” categorization; but, never was your weight completely right. Either you had to gain, lose, or become better than average to be happy, healthy, and desirable (whatever that meant).

Today, women and men are bombarded constantly about how much their favorite actors and actresses weigh, and (foolishly) strive to weigh the same as them. Or, they’re given the stats on a magazine model and die trying to weigh the same.

If you really think about this though: How healthy is all this weighing, really? And, how healthy is it to try and weigh the same as someone that looks completely different than you, is probably 20 years younger, and has all the time in the world to have a very low body weight?

Not healthy at all!
Since the advent of the bathroom scale, people have become obsessed about their body weight, but yet are getting heavier and heavier with each year, while our “models” and favorite movie stars get thinner.

Also, if you weigh more than our so-called “standards” for healthy body weight and our famous “models,” does that necessarily mean that you’re fat? Not exactly.

Women are more affected by this competition of numbers than men, unfortunately, and go to great lengths to try and achieve a certain body weight. But, what they fail to realize is that there’s more to those numbers on the scale than they realize, and that the numbers we’re supposed to model after are mostly unrealistic.

Your body weight on a scale does not tell you how much body fat you have. Even newer scales that claim to tell us how much fat we have, are known to have an error margin of at least 5% either direction.

Body fat, muscle mass, and bone density, however, are more important for us to focus on (if we need to focus on anything at all), compared to a general number on our home bathroom scale that tells us nothing about overall health or happiness.

The reason being is that it is well known that the more body fat you have, the more at risk you are for chronic diseases like heart disease, cancer, and arthritis; while having more muscle mass and denser bones is a protective factor against injuries and disease.

And, even when a man or woman loses a fair amount of body fat, which is a healthy move in the right direction, his or her body weight may not actually change very much, especially if that fat loss was due to an increase in physical activity (which is one of the best ways to get rid of body fat, along with an unprocessed diet). This is because as fat is lost, body muscle and blood volume is gained, and total body weight may be minimally different.

Yet, even if their clothes feel better and their pants are falling off, both men and women will complain that they’re not losing any weight at all (because, technically, they aren’t), and will feel all their efforts are wasted and will give up their quest for health and body improvement - which is totally, completely, wrong.

Sure, maybe if you’re 45 and you’re aiming for your high school body weight, you probably won’t get there, but you sure did change your body and are now fitting into clothes you haven’t worn for 10+ years! Consider this loss of inches a great accomplishment and start charting your progress more on how your body looks and feels every day, rather than a single number on a scale!

If you’re quite over-fat (see how I’m not using the word overweight here?), yes, your body weight will probably decrease as your waist slims down.

But, we all have seen the weight loss struggles with those contestants on Biggest Loser and other fat-loss shows, and can visually see the decrease in their body fat levels even if the scale says not much has happened at all. We shout at the T.V. screen and wish that the rules of the game were different, and that they should be judged on body fat losses instead of pure body weight.

Yet, we do the same to ourselves, by being mad and frustrated when the numbers on our own scales don’t do what we think they should, even though our bodies are clearly better.

The bottom line here is: Stop judging your health and body by a single number on your scale. It’s not doing anyone any good, and it’s time to do something different.

If your clothes are tighter than they ever have been before, or if you’re buying bigger sizes this year compared to last, don’t even bother getting on the scale – realize right then and there that your body fat levels are increasing; and, that it’s in your best health interest to do something about it right now before it gets out of hand.

Again – if this size increase is a change from your high school days to your mid-twenties, that’s not something to be upset about given that we’re not designed to have a body of a teenager forever (unless you’re in the modeling business, however…).

This is a healthy body
Aim for a body size that is realistic for your body. Don’t try to look like a runway model, or a Hollywood superstar. Aim to look like a fit, healthy, athletic man or woman of your age, who is not paid to look a certain way, and looks the way they do because they eat well and exercise often.

That is the body you’re aiming for, not one that has a body weight that only celebrity chefs and star personal trainers can help you achieve.

MVP Countdown Workout - 114 Days Until My 50th Birthday

Today was a rest day and a day of pray and fasting.

Here are the benefits of a fast:

1. Builds energy
2. Restores vigor and vitality
3. Helps regulate the metabolism
4. Helps slow down aging
5. Removes accumulated wastes and toxins
6. Helps improve skin
7. Helps build discipline

On the spiritual side, it is important to remember that fasting is not a method of punishing our bodies and it is not be used as a dieting method. You should not spend time in prayer and fasting in order to lose weight, but rather to gain a deeper relationship with God. Tom Ciola, author of Moses Wasn't Fat says “fasting is a deliberate physical self-denial for spiritual growth. It enables us to have a more focused prayer life while at the same time develop a greater intimacy with God. Fasting also helps deliver us from the bondage of sin and addictions since fasting helps give us power over the flesh.”

Fasting is good medicine for your mind, body and soul. You will become a MVP as a result of fasting. Therefore, take fasting seriously because it is a very powerful weapon to Get Fit 4 Christ and in defeating your giants.

MVP Countdown Workout - 116 Days Until My 50th Birthday

Today's Workout included:

Weight Training:

Seated Dumbell Shoulder Shrug
40 lbs - 2x20
50 lbs - 2x20
60 lbs - 2x20
70 lbs - 2x20

Standing Barbell Shoulder Shrug

100 lbs - 3x15
125 lbs - 3x15
150 lbs - 3x15
180 lbs - 3x15

Stiff Leg

40 lbs - 30 reps
50 lbs - 24 reps
70 lbs - 15 reps
80 lbs - 15 reps

Leg Curls

40 lbs - 3x8
50 lbs - 2x8
60 lbs - 2x5
70 lbs - 2x2
30 lbs - 1x12

Full Body Press

100 lbs - 2x10
125 lbs - 2x8

7-Mile Run

The Full Body Press was very challenging. The weather was hot and humid and the 7-mile run was brutal, I had to walk a lot during the run but I did finish.

Overall I feel great.

MVP Countdown Workout - 117 Days Until My 50th Birthday

Today is a rest day.

I'm resting up for a long run of 7 miles on Sunday. Tonight I'll take in a live Professional Boxing Bout with Devon Alexander taking on Lucas Matthysse.

7 Tips to Give You a Jump Start

Being physically active is the initial step to living a strong life! Here's seven tips to help you achieve your quest to a healthier and fitter you!

1. Commit for 30 Days – Begin by make a undertaking to exercise every day for a month. This will jump start the habit of exericing.

2. Don’t Break the Habit – The easiest way to keep things going is simply not to stop. Avoid long breaks and don't give up, remember exercising leads to more benefits in the long run.

3. Start Small – Trying to run fifteen miles on your first day isn’t a great way to begin a habit. Work next your ability is the right way to start your habit. Otherwise you may shock yourself off after a heartless workout.

4. Start Slow – Over time, work up to 30 to 60 mins of activity, at least 5 days a week. If you can’t work at a full 30 mins to exercise, break your routine up into three 10-minute intervals to reach your goal.

5. Create a Ritual – Your exercise goal should burn inside you so much that it becomes a ritual. Make an appointment to workout each and every day.

6. Add Variety – Try not to take long breaks (no more than three days off) on a exercise activity. Find a form of exericse that you enjoy. That way, exercise will never appear tedious or routine.

7. Find a Buddy to Exercise With – Exercise may be fun if you have someone to share your thoughts with while you workout. Statistics show that people who exercise with a buddy are more successful at reaching their goals. You can also keep each other accountable.

A Word About Goals

When it comes to physical preparation, most athletes don’t know where to start or what direction to take. They go through the motions of training, but they’re unfocused and rarely leave their comfort zones. If they want to get to the next level, however, their activities must be much more focused and intense.

I’ve found that setting goals for my athletes has really given them the direction they needed. If you have goals in mind, like playing your sport in college or professionally, you tend to organize your life so you can meet them. Here are six keys to meeting your expectations.

1 Write your goals down. Until you put them on paper, they’re just ideas, and everybody has ideas. Once you write them down, you can start taking the necessary steps to reach them.

2 Put them where you can see them. Write your goals on posted-notes and stick them on the bathroom mirror. Look at your goals every day when you wake up and before you go to bed.

3 Set long- and short-term goals. While tracking your progress from week to week, you should never lose sight of why you are working so hard in the first place.

4 Make your goals measurable. I hear a lot of athletes say, “I need to be better overall.” How can you tell if you are better overall? For a baseball player, the proof might be improving your batting average by 100 points, increasing your RBI totals or making better plays in the field. These things are actually measurable.
5 Do what is necessary to achieve your goals. If you can’t find time in the day to develop your skills, such as batting practice or dribbling a basketball, wake up earlier. You’re competing against millions of athletes for that scholarship. Make the time.

6 Stay focused and keep your goals in mind with everything you do. If you lose concentration doing something simple, like jumping rope, you’re going to lose concentration in a game.

MVP Client Loses 40 Pounds in 2 Months

Each and every January people make weight loss a New Year’s Resolution and most of them give up by January 15th. They continue to make excuses, stay lazy and eat more and more and gain lots of weight.

Michael Maclin is different because at the beginning of the year Maclin came to MVP Fitness wanting to make a change and with hard work and determination he has lost 40 pounds since he started MVP Kettlebell Boot Camp.

Maclin is very satisfied with his results so far but admits he "has a long way to go.”

Keys to success:

Maclin has changed his eating habits by trimming his portions and adding fat burning foods like lean protein, veggies, and fiber-rich whole grains to his meals. Maclin also joined MVP Kettlebell Boot Camp in January, one month into the program, his clothes felt looser. Kettlebell training has helped him to rev up his metabolism and is helping him to lose even more weight.

MVP Kettlebell workouts are:

Efficient - Maclin works at a job that has a jammed packed schedule each and every day so finding the time to workout and exercise is a challenge. MVP Kettlebell classes are strength, flexibility and cardio workouts in one, so he spends less time in the gym and more time living his life!

Effective - Maclin has made great strides in fat loss, strength gains and changes in his overall body composition. His Before and After pictures tell the true story.

It's not magic. Maclin WORKS VERY HARD to burn 600-900 calories in 45 minutes, And is getting quick, quantifiable results!

You can become the next success story. My next MVP Kettlebell Boot Camp starts the week of April 4th.

Here's a glance at the schedule:

UPCOMING PROGRAMS

NEW TOWN - ST. CHARLES-MON/WED EVENING (6:00-6:45pm)
AND SAT MORNING (8:30-9:15am)-Session begins Monday,
April 4, 2011 at the Amphitheatre across from Town Hall.
Class costs $75 for the 4 week(12 classes) program.
Please register by logging onto www.mvpfitness.net.

NORTH COUNTY PROGRAMS- All classes begin Tuesday, April
5, 2011 at Hazelwood Central High School, 15875
New Halls Ferry Road, Florissant. Class costs
$75 for 3 days per week (12 classes) or $55 for
2 days per week (8 classes). Please register
by logging onto www.mvpfitness.net.

There are three times to choose from:

NORTH COUNTY BREAKFAST CLUB-TUES/THURS MORNING
(6:00-6:45am) AND SAT MORNING (7:00-7:45am)

NORTH COUNTY SUPPER CLUB GROUP I (BEGINNER'S LEVEL)
-TUES/THURS EVENING (5:30-6:15pm) AND
SAT MORNING (7:00-7:45am)

NORTH COUNTY SUPPER CLUB GROUP II-TUES/THURS EVENING
(6:45-7:15pm)AND SAT MORNING (7:00-7:45 am)

For more info log onto www.mvpfitness.net

The #1 Reason Why 80% of African American Women Are Fat

Eighty percent of African American women are obese or overweight. African American women rate the highest among other races according to Kaiser State Health Facts. The Kaiser study shows that the obesity/overweight rate among white women is 60.2% and 63.2% for Hispanic women.

The number one reason why African American women in this country are fat is lack of exercise.

The lack of exercise is also the reason behind many chronic health conditions such as heart problems, diabetes. Some of the reasons African American women give for not exercising are, being busy, lack of motivation, not knowing how to exercise and the famous “I just got my hair done”. However, the effects of lack of exercise are so serious that I recommend exercising at least four to five times per week for at least 30 minutes per exercise session.

Effects of Lack of Exercise:
Here are some of the effects of lack of exercise:

1. Chronic Diseases: The lack of exercise among African American women leads to chronic health conditions such as heart problems, diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis, increased risk of developing cancer and premature death

2. Depression: Lack of exercise can make anybody stressed, fatigued and depressed. Exercising releases certain hormones in the body, which reduces anxiety and depression. Lack of exercise, however, can make a person depressed and fatigued.

3. Obesity: Among all effects of lack of exercise, obesity is primary. 80% of African American women are obese or overweight is a very distrubing figure. Obesity is a condition where high amount of fat is accumulated in the body, which in turn can lead to several other health problems.

4. Lack of flexibility, balance: Lack of exercise can lead to a loss of flexibility, which can make performing daily tasks such as going up two or three flights of stairs difficult. Lack of exercise can also lead to loss of balance among the elderly.

5. Increased risk of falls, injuries: People who do not exercise are at an increased risk of falls and injuries¸, which may in turn lead to knee pain, lack of mobility and decreased self-esteem.

In the next article I will discuss how exercising can be done in many ways.

Speaker focuses on fitness as NAACP hands out yearly honors

The Rev. Silas Johnson received the Springfield NAACP’s Webster Plaque at the 90th annual Lincoln-Douglass Banquet on Sunday.

The award is given annually to the person who best exemplifies the spirit of service in Springfield’s black community.

Johnson devotes his time to Calvary Missionary Baptist Church and his Nehemiah Project ministries. He is co-chair of the Eastside Community Foundation and a member of the Mayor’s Homeless Taskforce.

The banquet also featured a speech by fitness author Lyle Johnson, which made a connection to this year’s theme, “One Nation, One Dream — Working Together,” chapter president Teresa Haley said.

“In order to live longer and live out your dreams, you want to be fit,” Haley said. “The NAACP has a national initiative around health, and first lady Michelle Obama is working with school districts throughout the country to talk about childhood obesity. We know obesity impacts the black community a lot more than other communities, and we wanted someone who was an expert in that area.”

Johnson is a certified personal trainer, author of “Get Fit 4 Christ” and owner of St. Louis-based MVP Fitness. Haley said organizers chose Johnson this year because they wanted a more local speaker.

“I thought it was important for us to reach back,” Haley said. “Because he’s a fitness expert and owns a fitness shop in St. Louis, we thought it would be nice to have him come back home and to educate our community of the importance of dieting and exercise and those types of things.”

By Rhys Saunders - Illinois State Journal Register

The Three A's of Fitness

It amazes me that only 30% of people in American exercise on a regular basis. How often should you exercise? The frequency of your workouts will depend on your fitness level and your schedule. Beginners should start with three non-consecutive days of cardio and work their way up to more frequent sessions. The general guidelines are:

• To maintain current fitness level: two-four days a week (at least 20 minutes)
• To lose weight: four or more days a week (at least 30 minutes)
• To train as an athlete: six days a week.
I have come up with the three A’s of fitness to help you get started or maintain your exercise program. Exercising is a good habit that helps almost everyone. The benefits provided are too long to list in this article.

I encourage you be movement minded. Every day do something to move your body, whether it’s playing with the kids, shoveling the snow, or training for a marathon. Becoming movement minded is the main thing, and it must become a lifelong mindset.

Activity –

You will have a better chance of sticking with your exercise program if you get involved with an activity you enjoy. There are many ways to exercise ranging from the latest trends such as Zumba and Kettlebell training to the oldest form of exercise – walking. The word “walking” is listed in the Bible 244 times and experts say that Jesus walked an average of 20 miles per day. Starting a walking club at work or church would be a step in the right direction.


Attitude -

I have come to find out that one of the reasons why so many of my clients succeed in their fitness goals is attitude. Each and every one of them have an "I will succeed come hell or high water attitude.” This is one of the most important characteristics needed to succeed. Of all the clients I've trained, every one of the top success stories had an attitude - right from the start – that nothing was going to stand in their way.

Remember no matter what your goal or goals are "the difference between try and triumph is a little umph." - Author Unknown

Action –

Nothing is going to happen to your body if you do not take positive action. It doesn’t do you any good to have heard all of that information on how to build a good solid physical body. You want to take care of your body. You want to live longer and you want to be a more active and powerful in your living. You must avoid time killers. Doubt must be buried with faith, fear must be destroyed with confidence and procrastination must be defeated with action.