Just wanted to share with you the top 4 blogs that I subscribe to at the minute in no particular order or ranking.

1. Paul Chek
2. Charles Poliquin
3. Martin Rooney
4. Patrick Holford

Check them out!

Thanks,

I’m really pleased to be a guest blogger here and I thought I would make my first post just a little rundown on who I am and what I believe in when it comes to health and fitness.

I spent the greater part of my life in pain and discomfort. The range was huge: depression, anxiety, stomach issues, elimination problems, weight issues, energy, lower back pain, painful menstrual issues, binge eating disorder,  sinus and gland problems…. Just to name a few.

“Health and fitness” in the traditional sense only got me so far. The so-called “healthy diets” designed to alleviate these problems weren’t working and the “go hard or go home” approach to training only provided results for a short time. The traditional model of food and exercise had helped me, only to a certain extent but had let me down overall. The bodybuilding “model” of training and nutrition that I also undertook depleted my cells so far that the good ol’ healthy food and multivitamin couldn’t even bring me back from the deep damage that had been done.

Even my education in fitness and nutrition didn’t have the answers. I felt totally stuck.

I then discovered Paul Chek and his concept of “sometimes to work out, you need to work in”. I found an Integrated Dr and learned about adrenal fatigue, toxicity and thyroid issues. I started reading material from Weston A Price and learning about the GAP’s diet by Dr Natasha Campbell McBride. I started reading Charles’ Poliquin blogs and got involved in reading information by Personal Trainers who also followed these methods.

The message became perfectly clear. If I didn’t balance out my nervous and endocrine systems then those systems would continue to work against me as they fought for homeostasis. I had to accept that I was going to have to “go soft…or go home”

And I did. I followed the non-conventional concepts of diet and exercise, replacing my lean chicken breast for chicken thighs cooked in coconut oil, including fatty gelatinous broths and enjoying my soaked oatsfried instead of boiled, and added tasty condiments like Rapadura sugar, cocoa and coconut. I switched my gym sessions for complete rest, tai chi, walking and just recently pilates. I began listening to what my body needed, guided by the teachings of Paul Chek and Sally Fallon Morrell. 100% of the time I kept away from the foods I was intolerant too, I took all the supplements I was told to and I was given instructions that detoxing my overburdened body is not over…until it’s over.

I am now at a stage where I can start putting gym workouts back in (May/June 2012) , and those workouts will be dictated by the teachings of Charles Poliquin, Paul Chek and Bret Contreras (The Glute Guy). I refuse to hire another personal trainer in my town unless they are CHEK trained, and currently I’m the only one.

I am a CHEK Exercise Coach, Weston A Price Foundation member, CHEK Holistic Lifestyle Coach and a traditionally trained Personal Trainer and Nutritionist. I operate my practice in Hamilton New Zealand.

So I intend to guest blog on this site about health and fitness based on the teachings of the aforementioned people. Together we will take a trip back in time before things like heart disease, obesity, cancer and mental illness were so commonplace. I will not be singing the praises of the Food Pyramid, nor will I be touting the benefits of polyunsaturated oils. I certainly won’t be looking for the next best “health food” or the most amazing diet.

I look forward to sharing with you how to become your own Health Detective and how to make objective decisions over the heath and fitness techniques you select.

Peace,

I’ve been aware for some time about yoga as have most people and is something that for the last two years on and off I have integrated into my training at some stage (normally when I feel tight in my range of movements or I am seeking a bit more mental clarity).

Clubbells like Kettlebells have been around for years and years and are not a new FAD. I’ve been using Kettlebells properly now for about 3 and a half years and know that IFS Personal Trainer of the year 2010 Charlotte Ord is a big fan of them. I don’t hammer the kettlebells 24/7 and only use them when I feel the need to.

I don’t however use Clubbells but have toyed with the idea of buying some for quite a while now. I have seen various fitness professionals like Paul Chek use them and been impressed but more recently I’ve been watching a lot of the Scott Sonnon videos from TACFIT and been even more impressed. Scott Sonnon is recognised in the fitness industry for a host of things one being the Circular Strength Training® System which is definitely worth a read.

The Circular Strength Training® System uses full-range, multiple-joint movements which increases acceleration, agility, coordination, speed, extreme range strength, dynamic flexibility, deceleration, and mental toughness!

Scott has also wrote a book called Prasara Yoga: Flow Beyond Thought. It’s an enlightening read and a resource that I have used to help with my own training when I have integrated these practices into my routine, another great read.

It wasn’t till tonight that I saw Scott Share this video on his facebook page and was blown away with the concept of mixing clubbells and yoga in the way that Summer Huntington has done so.

So I thought I’d share it with all of you and see what you think.

Thanks,

We’ve been busy over the last couple of weeks contacting various people to see if they’d be interested in a Q&A session with us. So far we’ve had a magnificent response!

We really wanted a variety of people to interview but at the end of the day we can’t be too picky! We are delighted to announce that we’ve already heard back from some key people. They include US professional boxer Ishe ‘Sugar Shay’ Smith, Biggest Loser trainer Richard Callender, the legend that is Paul Chek, English athlete Nadine Okyere and original Gladiator stars Diane Youdale (Jet) and Michael van Wijk (Wolf). We’re very excited about this as the questions we’ll be asking will be specific to them and their training methods.

Stay tuned for these interviews and enjoy your Monday!