THIS BLOG HAS MOVED!!!

I know I know, I hate change too. I hate moving, I hate updating links, favorite lists, etc. But I assure you the pay off will be worth it. I got so much coming up for you that your head is going to spin BUT the only way you are going to know about it is if you are paying attention to my blog and mailing list.

So from now on the new blog and even more information will be found at
http://www.avidityfitness.net

Oh and don't forget to take a look at the new releases of The Fat Loss Troubleshoot and The Metabolic Repair Manual.

Fat Loss Troubleshoot NO LONGER

At least this version. Today is the last day you can get this version of the troubleshoot.

When will I release the new one...soon enough and believe me this is going to be worth the wait.

So you have 12 hours and then POOF, it is gone forever!

GET IT HERE NOW!

Keen Fitness Sense-Interview with Julie Keen

How cool is it to be a fitness professional and have a last name like Keen? You are destined for greatness by this very fact alone. But just as Peter Parker is told "with great power comes great responsibility” same goes with a great name and Julie Keen has more than lived up to it.

Leigh Peele-Julie, can you tell us a little about yourself, give our readers a little background into what you do, love, and what field you are in?

Julie Keen-Well, when I was a teenager I had a few pretty severe athletic injuries that piqued my interest in sports medicine. I went off to the University of Connecticut majoring in athletic training. Near the end of my four years, I realized that what I really wanted to do was physical therapy. So I graduated, moved to Boston for two wild years while I finished my prerequisites, and came home to attend UConn again for PT.

For the past 12 years I have worked in many therapy settings (hospital, rehab, home care, and outpatient) but most of my time has been spent in outpatient orthopedics where the majority of my caseload has been persons with lower back pain. I was fortunate at one time to work for an organization who paid for a lot of continuing education, so I was able to take many cutting-edge manual courses: Geoffrey Maitland's mobilization, Brian Mulligan's mobilization with movement, David Butler's neurodynamics, Philip Greenman's muscle energy, balance training, Shirley Sahrmann's lumbar stabilization, Jenny McConnell's taping techniques for the knee and shoulder, etc.

I have always had an interest in exercise and weight lifting (since I found the weight room as a high school athlete), but after working for a few years in PT, I realized that many PTs don't have a great knowledge base in exercise, beyond what to do in the acute and sub-acute stages. Probably because most PTs don't get to see their client's beyond the sub-acute stage! So I made it my mission to learn as much as I could about exercise and fitness. This led me in the past year to get my NSCA-CPT certification.

A few years ago I married a wonderful man and we started a family. I am fortunate enough to be able to stay home with my girls. I do some training in the evenings and weekends, and work one weekend per month as a per diem physical therapist. I also write articles, and have some online clients.

As for what I love? My family. My kids, husband, and parents are my life! My passions? Food. Eating food. Cooking food. Talking about food. Reading about food. Seriously!! I like to stay active ... I waterski, bike, showshoe, xc-ski, hike ... pretty much anything outdoors. And if we are somewhere and there is a pick-up game of anything going on, I'm in there tussling with the boys! Football, basketball, softball, volleyball, I love it all!

Leigh Peele-Let me guess Julie, you like food?

Those courses you took sound fantastic. Of those or any of recent that you have been too what is the most exciting and surprising thing you have learned? You know the kind of knowledge that you want to slap yourself in the head for missing out on before and makes you want to shout at the fitness world to let more know.

Julie Keen-I would have to say that Gary Gray's Chain Reaction course was the best I've been to. It was one of those completely paradigm-shifting experiences! As I said before, many therapists are focused on isolated exercises to fix one part of a dysfunctional chain. So my education, and my early experience with weight training in the heydays of the muscle magazines and isolation exercises/body part splits left me squarely inside the proverbial box.

Gary taught me to think outside that box and to figure out how to get the muscles working again from a functional standpoint. (For example, in functional life, the quad rarely extends the knee, especially in isolation, it more typically decelerates knee flexion.) So, I'm big on functional movements. I rarely prescribe isolated movements now unless there is a real isolated weakness that prevents improvement solely with the functional movement.

That said, I think many trainers who purport to be "functional" miss one of Gary's big basic tenents. Have a reason, a purpose, for everything you are doing with a client. So having some overweight housewife (whose main goal is to lose fat) stand on one foot on a Bosu ball and do bicep curls ... my question is WHY? What purpose is that going to serve in a fat loss program? I could maybe see it in an ankle rehab program, but not in a fat loss program. It just doesn't follow common sense.

Leigh Peele-Ha but Julie, It is cutting edge balance super inner core work that really hits those "upper abs"!

I couldn't agree more with you on any of those statement you listed.
You mentioned that you do training in person and in online conditions. Do you focus more on rehab/chain work? What is your average client like?

Julie Keen-I would say that most of my online clients have pretty significant rehab needs. Most are folks who have had either major surgery at some point, or a major injury at some point. I also have many who have avoided major injury or surgery, but are a biomechanical mess. They have come to me because I am a physical therapist in addition to being a trainer, so they want that rehab aspect. Most of those clients have goals of improved health and mobility leading to improved fitness. I also have a small number of online fat loss clients.

My in-person clients are all fat loss, but they also have significant rehab needs. Many have had joint replacement or back surgery. The majority are significantly obese. Even in those fat loss clients, my programs are heavy on warm-up drills, emphasizing mobility and activation.

It's funny because I did not set out to be a fat-loss trainer, but the obese clients have a whole host of physical ailments that go along with their obesity and can really limit their ability to effectively exercise. My goal for them is to be able to exercise successfully and painfree so that they feel good doing it and stick with it. I teach them that if they focus on health first, the changes in the mirror will follow. In turn, they chose me as their trainer, because I am also a physical therapist and that makes it feel more safe for them. I think they also like the fact that I do not work out of a gym, but rather come to their house. It is much less intimidating for someone new to exercise, especially if he/she is obese.
Leigh Peele-I know the gym atmosphere can be really intimidating, especially for those who are starting out. What are some of the common problems you see with obese clients? Can you point out some mobility issues that obese clients might have to deal with more than non-obese clients?

Julie Keen-Well, I don't really like to make generalized statements based upon someone's body weight, but my obese in-person clients have many mobility restrictions because they have all had some sort of orthopedic surgery. The obese people I have treated in the physical therapy clinic don't necessarily have more mobility restrictions than the average person, but that might be since I'm comparing among physical therapy clients.

Common mobility restrictions that I have noticed in general include:
(Please note that these are gross generalizations, obviously every one is an individual!)
*Protracted scapulae with upper extremity internal rotation (in relaxed standing the palms will face backwards)
*Forward head
*Poor lumbar stability and motor control
*Weak glutes with a tendency to compensate using lower back muscles
*Limited hip mobility
*Short hip flexors (may or may not be weak)
*Long and weak hamstrings
*Poor body awareness - I think that obese people in general have had such shame around their bodies that they are used to tuning them out. Consequently, they have a lower awareness of where they are in space.

One of the real issues I see with out of shape obese clients is that they are very weak even with body weight exercises. So to have someone up and down on/off the floor in a workout can be a workout in and of itself! But that can be true with an out of shape thin client too I suppose.

Another is that sometimes an obese person will get soft tissue approximation during some stretching exercises before a stretch is felt. For example, in heel sitting, many people will feel quad stretch. But if someone is obese, and tries to heel sit, their calves and hamstrings might come into contact before the muscle is put on stretch.

But I really don't like to make generalizations; I evaluate each person as an individual with no preconceived ideas about what he/she might have as a restriction or limitation!

Leigh Peele-That is a great rule to follow Julie. While I know we have been discussing some more physical aspects I was curious what roles nutrition plays in your programs with clients be it recommendations or more specific guidelines?

Julie Keen-Well, in general I believe that people should eat balanced. Balanced protein, carbs, veggies, and fats. I think that each food group plays a vital role in homeostasis, from hormone balance to digestive health to immune function and more. Completely eliminating any one food group can lead to significant imbalances.

That said, each person's body is different, and each person will need differing levels of each macronutrient depending upon his/her individual constitution. So with my clients we start with a baseline diet, and adjust as progress dictates. Progress being fat loss or cravings or energy levels or whatever.

I emphasize health above appearance with all my clients, so if someone has a lot of dietary changes to make, we make them over time with small, manageable steps, again adjusting as the client progresses. In general, I have people eat 5-6 meals per day, with a portion of protein, a portion of real carbs (unprocessed) and a lot of fibrous veggies, topped with some healthy fats at each "meal".

Most of my client's don't obsessively track calories, but rather portions, or sometimes grams of certain macros. When someone has more than 50 pounds to lose, I just don't think it's necessary when they aren't even doing the basics. Once someone gets the basics down, then we move more toward tightening things up, especially if we need to jumpstart progress.

Nutrition is huge ... it is the fuel that feeds your body. If you want to have a healthy body, you can't be feeding it crap!! I spend a lot of time on nutrition with my clients. Each one keeps a log and we review it at least once a week, when we problem solve regarding energy levels and cravings, substitutions for less healthy options, eating out etc. Cooking is a major hobby of mine, so we talk about cooking and recipes and shopping for healthy options.

Leigh Peele-Julie this is fantastic stuff, real common sense approach and I could pick at you all day but I will leave this to be my last intrusion.

I am starting a new section that I am adding on to the end of my interviews titled "The Pro and the Case Client". I give you the case and you give me what you would do in a training aspect to help them with their problem.

Case Client #001-Posture Gadget Addict

Client #001 has a problem with upper postural distortions that lead to a forward head posture and the dreaded hunchback. Frantic to fix this problem #001 has gone out and gathered pillows, braces, the posture pal and some sort of restraint made fit for medieval times. Overwhelmed by their new toys and plagued with an internet full of advice #001 has come to you for help. He asks you " Is there a gadget safe to use to help his particular posture problem and what should he really be doing to fix it?"

Julie Keen-Well, as is typical, it depends! In general I am not big on gadgets unless he has an abundance of money!

Assuming that #001 has a desk job, then I would advocate four things. First, either an ergonomic chair, or at a minimum a lumbar cushion. When someone sits all day, and gravity exerts the constant pull toward the ground, most people end up losing that ideal posture. Even those with the best of intentions end up looking like a teenager in front of the TV after time. A good lumbar support (either built into a good ergonomic chair, or a lumbar cushion) can help foster good posture throughout the day. Second, a sticky note on his computer monitor reminding him to correct his posture every 10 minutes, and third a timer to get him up out of his chair doing easy postural exercises every 20-30 minutes (things like stick-ups, standing backward bends, and upper cervical nodding).

Fourth is for when he is not at work ... the ever-loved foam roller. He needs to work on mobilizing his thoracic spine to reduce kyphosis and improve extension and rotation. His workouts should include a healthy warm-up with lots of thoracic mobilization, pectoral stretching, and postural activation exercises.

I would avoid exercises that promote trunk flexion like crunches. I would also avoid things like Good Mornings and even Romanian Deadlifts until proper posture comes more easily. Proper posture must be emphasized in all training activities or he will just be promoting the poor posture.

I would also recommend that he limit recreation activities that promote poor posture like video games (unless it is the Wii), TV-watching, and sometimes even long-distance road biking.

Kyphosis (that dreaded hunchback) is correctable with concerted effort and the lack of underlying structural defect (like Scheuermann's Disease) ... it just takes time to improve mobility of the joints, strengthen the structures that are weakened, and stretch those that are tight. Sometimes extended time. You can't correct a 40-year old guy's issue, which he has likely had for at least 25 years, in 2 weeks. It is a continual effort.

Sometimes persons with postural deficiencies also need hands-on physical therapy. If the joints are really stiff, they might need manual mobilization by a qualified therapist. Also some people just have poor body awareness (commonly referred to as "motor morons" - not very politically correct, but pretty accurate!) and need verbal, visual, and tactile cueing with frequent monitoring to correct long-standing habitual postures.
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You can find more out about Julie Keen and her work by going to http://www.keenfitness.com or contacting her directly at KeenFitness@comcast.net.

Alan Aragon-The Scientist of Fitness Pt. 2

We last left off with some of the best information we have gotten of late on common sense and its approach to your fitness and nutrition program. Now I am going to let you in on that secret I was talking about.

Leigh Peele-Alan here is what I want to elaborate on and it brings me to an even more important point of what you are releasing as an amazing helpful service for others.

I want to elaborate on the need to ask "Why?".

Recently in some discussions with Coach Hale we were discussing the importance of being a skeptic and how it is a good thing, a positive one, not a negative thing like it's claimed. Really all it entails is just asking why.

Now I am in on the secret that you are taking giving the information as to "why" on a whole new level with the creation of a new service you are offering of amazing and in depth information. Can you share with the readers what this service is and WHY it is important to utilize such a service especially right now?

Alan Aragon-Let me first tell the readers flat-out that I approached you to do this interview because I want to blatantly promote my new "baby" that's been in development for some time now. I got really creative with the title -- Alan Aragon's Research Review. Bear with me on the background before I get into some of the details. This is by far my most ambitious project ever, and it will be exactly that for the rest of my career. What made me put this together? Dissatisfaction with the general state of ignorance, half-understanding, and perpetuation of misinformation in fitness circles. Are people dying off in droves because of this? No, but I see a tremendous amount of confusion resulting in a lot of wasted time, money, and potential. Seeing this on a daily basis is what drove me to create this review and make it available to the fitness pros as well as lay folks who take fitness and
science very seriously.

In the beginning, everything the 'experts' hold to be true in our industry should be based on scientific research, rather than opinion and hearsay. While science is the best tool we have for figuring out the way nature works, the scientific research isn't perfect. Oftentimes it's riddled with shortfalls that render it either useless or tentative at best. So, rather than simply relay the research data, my goal is to take things a step further and dissect its strengths, weaknesses, and applicability in a subscription-based online journal. I'll look at the current, recent, and not-so-recent research on a number of different topics, as well as comment on fitness information in the popular media.

In addition to critically analyzing the literature, I'll periodically
inject my observations in private practice as a degree of cross-checking what's seen in the lab with what's seen in the field. I honestly can't verbalize how excited I am about this project. It gives me the opportunity to be an ongoing facilitator of the acquisition of knowledge –- real knowledge, not Bro-pinion. Those who would rather be spoon-fed simplistic, generalized sound-bites of info will probably hate it. People who see the value of understanding the facts (or lack of) behind the current recommendations and getting to the nitty-gritty of the so-called what we base our beliefs on will instantly love it. Keep in mind that although the sub-topics will evolve and grow as I get readers' feedback, each issue will open with a full-length, fully referenced article examining whatever topic grabs me and compels me to air out its details. Rather than hype it up any further (which is not a talent of mine), I'll provide a sample issue for folks to decide for themselves.

Leigh Peele-Alan, not that you haven't, but I really want to break this down for readers here what this really means. This isn't just some run of the meal monthly subscription program where you get an interview here and a half hearted "new" swiss ball movement. This is the actual science and study behind what we are all doing or should be doing, broken down into laymen detail (for those of you that don't know some of these studies can cost 20-40 bucks easy).

As far as topics are concerned what are we going to see a lot of being discussed, obviously nutrition, but any physiology thrown in there at all? In short, can you give us a little preview of what being a subscriber can bring us knowledge of?

Alan Aragon-Overall, the goal is to provide a unique science & practice-based, multi-topic, commercial-free, in-depth, ongoing resource of information. For now, the format of each issue will be as follows:

Editor's Cut -- A comprehensive review article that will attempt to cover the range of relevant details of the given topic. It will be fully referenced, and will include a summary and application section.

Nutrition & Exercise Research -- Just what the title denotes. Some
research looks at nutrition or exercise individually, and some of it is
combined. Study strengths, limitations, and applications of the research released in the current month will be examined.

Supplementation Research -- Same format as above, but I'll look at all
the wonderful powders, pills, & potions on the market.

Less Recent Gems -- Just because research is more than a month old doesn't make it less important. In fact, a big part of the research review is to re-capture and re-examine the tremendous body of work over the past few decades. It's this collective body of research that shapes our current practices, so this section of the review is just as important as the sections covering the late-breaking stuff.

In The Lay Press -- I'll choose a layperson-directed online or print
article about some aspect of fitness that I find interesting or
provocative, and critically evaluate it.

Future sections will include letters to the editor, debates, invited
reviews, as well as other ideas that are bound to crop up.

Leigh Peele-*Disclosure* I want to just write for those reading that my enthusiasm is not marketing hype, I really am this excited about what Alan is doing and am signing on the moment it's available to the public. Yes, I am that much of a nerd and yeah you should be too. So with that being said...

Alan, this is really an incredible release you are going to be offering. Now I know for myself, even with my gleaming and light blinding brilliance ...

*crickets chirping*...

that a study is no picnic in the park to read sometimes. How easy is this information going to be for the average joe to understand? Can anyone make use of these?

Alan Aragon-I appreciate your enthusiasm about the journal. Yes, studies can be complex and confusing for the uninitiated. Also, not everyone's learning style clicks with the format of scientific studies. This is especially the case with primary research, so my objective is to make the primary research digestible. Also, I believe that anything is learnable, it just requires having a genuine interest in the subject.

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Now I have just received my issue of AARR and guess what you can get a free sample yourself but don’t think I am giving you the link yet without my final words.

You will be able to see for yourself the quality of Alan’s work here, which is without contest. He also put together something that is far beyond it’s worth. I want to answer a question that didn’t get asked myself.

Why does someone need this?

If you are a fitness professional you better not think twice. This is a way to get up to date and back catalog information on the actual science and fact of what your job is. If you are going to take networking and podcasting so seriously, you better start taking the science of what you do seriously as well.

If you are a fitness enthusiast, it's time to end hero worship. It’s time to understand that it doesn’t take a degree or a certification to have this knowledge. This may be a bit of a scary journey at first, this stuff isn’t the new Harry Potter release, but reading this information wont just open your eyes to if you need a PWO shake or not. It will open your eyes to all the methods of research for our society. Don’t be afraid to investigate what you are given.

Okay, now you can have the link. I better hear from Alan sales are through the roof. For what it is worth there is no affiliate for this, and I am just another customer, I just got a receipt for purchase to prove it.

http://alanaragon.com/researchreview

My New Years Gift

My phone has rang off the hook today. Even with crap email there has been tons of messages. I should be happy right? Trainers dream. The new year for a trainer is like a retail store on Black Friday. Well I have a free gift for someone out there and I am curious about who is going to take it. I am only going to mention this once and only here.

I want to see who of you still has the drive a month from now. After all the hype of new years resolution is over. After most have given up and fallen by the wayside. The first two people to send me an email at midnight of Jan.31st (technically Feb. 1st) eastern time will get a free training program, phone consultation, and nutrition program.

Happy New Year.

Edit-Eastern Time (North Carolina) is the time zone.

To All Readers

I recently sent out this email below...

If you are receiving this email it is because in the last 72 hours I have tried to send you an email and it either came back to me (after a long time) or I haven't received a response to my email sent. So unless I stepped into some virtual dog poo that I am unaware of I think there is a problem with email service. So if you get this please write back if you have received messages from me or not. If haven't or unsure just write back "resend" and I will resend everything I have written.

Thanks for your time and sorry if I am just filling your inbox with crap;)


Leigh Peele
http://leighpeele.blogspot.com
http://fatlosstroubleshoot.com

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It turns out the problem is worse than I thought and I have not been receiving or sending most emails for sometime. I am very sorry for this and am in the process of switching to a new company as I type. Please if you get a failure notice keep trying, I will have new service up and running within the next few days. You can also leave anything in comments here or through Private Message on JPFitness.com

Again sorry for any problems.

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UPDATE- HOLY CRAP I HAD NO IDEA HALF OF YOU HAD CONTACTED ME. PLEASE FORGIVE THE DELAY. I WILL GET TO EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU.

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Final Update-For the time being the problem seems to be fixed. According to the hosting company I had a "blocked que" in my email system. As for how the newsletter got sent out if I am "having a problem", my newsletters work through a different provider. Meaning my web email and newsletter are two different things. You will never get put on my newsletter list just because you email me, I hate that. So those of you who were rude, think twice before you speak. The problem was with my client/general email service and that is an important issue and I thought getting the word out was needed. That is all, there will be a new service company, I am not going to change it over until late evening. There might be a small window of delay so if I don't respond to a message it is only because I didn't get it.