Those of you that know me, know that I am a man of science and WILL NOT attach my name and reputation to just anything. They have gone through the extra effort of becoming GMP certified. GMP means Good Manufacturing Practices. Nutritional supplements are not FDA regulated. In the absence of that, a GMP certification with third party auditors ensures inspections of dietary supplement manufacturing facilities to determine whether specified performance standards on a number of measures—including quality control, cleanliness, receiving and testing of raw materials—are being met.

All of the ingredients are something I feel comfortable ingesting, myself. In fact, they don’t use artificial sweetners (aspartame) which make other supplements like workout shakes taste crappy. They use Stevia which is a non-caloric sweetner which also has a nutritional content and contains fiber. And there aren’t any strange herbs or anything. It’s very good stuff. Just good old fashioned nutrients.
Like I said, I won’t attach my name to just anything and after nearly 3 years of research, this is it!

S.P.A.R.T.A.’s Pro Grade Nutritional Supplement Line

Today is the first day of the launch. We’ve started with the basics like men’s and women’s line of multivitamins, whey protein powder, and pre and post workout drink.
BE SURE TO STAY TUNED because in the following days, I’ll be releasing a new product each day.

Tuesday - Meal Replacement with 35 grams protein and 8 grams of fiber.

Wednesday - Nutritional bars “Cravers” only 180 cals. No trans fats and comes in peanut butter, almond butter, and spirulina. Healthy dark chocolate to satisfy that chocolate craving.

Thursday – Essential Fatty Acids. Reduce your risk of early death from cardiovascular disease by 50%. It’s krill oil which is just as effective and won’t give you “fish burps”. I’m a huge supporter of essential fatty acids for everything from brain health to it’s anti-inflammatory properties.

Friday – The week will be culminating in the release of the weight loss product, METABOLISM. This link will come with one of the best articles on metabolic effects of certain nutrients I’ve ever read. This is a great natural product at the right dosage so as not to cause the side effects of other weight loss products.

This is big. If you’d like a reasonably priced supplement line that you can feel safe taking and expect good results, I’ve found it for you through my own research. I’m very skeptical and I haven’t seen anything that would make me not want to be a part of this or not want to attach my name and reputation to it.

So here’s that link again. Come in and check out what we’ve got available. Thank you.

S.P.A.R.T.A.’s Prograde Nutritional Supplement Product Line

Benefit One: Avoid Muscle Loss
Adults who don’t strength train lose between 5-7 pounds of muscle every decade. Although endurance exercise improves our cardiovascular fitness, it does not prevent the loss of muscle tissue. Only strength exercise maintains our muscle mass and strength throughout our mid-life and senior years.

Benefit Two: Avoid Metabolic Rate Reduction
Because muscle is very active tissue, muscle loss is accompanied by a reduction in our resting metabolism. Information from Tufts University indicates that the average adult experiences a 2-5 percent reduction in metabolic rate during every decade of life. Because regular strength exercise prevents muscle loss, it also prevents the accompanying decrease in resting metabolic rate.

Benefit Three: Increase Muscle Mass
Because most adults do not perform strength exercise, they need to first replace the muscle tissue that has been lost through inactivity. Fortunately, research from the South Shore YMCA shows that a standard strength-training program can increase muscle mass by about three pounds over an eight-week training period. This is the typical training response for men and women who do 25 minutes of strength exercise two or three days per week, and represents an excellent return on a time-efficient investment.

Benefit Four: Increase Metabolic Rate
Research from Tufts University and the University of Maryland reveals that adding three pounds of muscle increases our resting metabolic rate by seven percent, and our daily calorie requirements by 15 percent. At rest, a pound of muscle requires about 35 calories per day for tissue maintenance. During exercise, muscle energy utilization increases dramatically. Adults who replace muscle through sensible strength exercise use more calories all day long, thereby reducing the likelihood of fat accumulation.

Benefit Five: Reduce Body Fat
Campbell and his co-workers at Tufts found that strength exercise produced four pounds of fat loss after three months of training, even though the subjects were eating 15 percent more calories per day. That is, a basic strength-training program resulted in 3 pounds more lean weight, 4 pounds less fat weight and 370 more calories per day food intake.

Benefit Six: Increase Bone Mineral Density
The effects of progressive resistance exercise are similar for muscle tissue and bone tissue. The same training stimulus that increases muscle proteins also increases bone proteins and mineral content. A University of Maryland study demonstrated significant increases in the bone mineral density of the femur bone (upper leg) after four months of strength exercise.

Benefit Seven: Improve Glucose Metabolism
The University of Maryland research center has also reported a 23 percent increase in glucose utilization after four months of strength training. Because poor glucose metabolism is associated with adult onset diabetes, improved glucose metabolism is an important benefit of regular strength exercise.

Benefit Eight: Increase Gastrointestinal Transit Speed
Another study at the University of Maryland showed a 56 percent increase in gastrointestinal transit speed after three months of strength training. This is a significant finding due to the fact that delayed gastrointestinal transit time is related to a higher risk of colon cancer.

Benefit Nine: Reduce Resting Blood Pressure
Strength training alone has been shown to significantly reduce resting blood pressure. Our YMCA studies have revealed that strength plus aerobic exercise is highly effective for improving blood pressure readings. After two months of combined exercise (Nautilus and treadmill walking), the program participants dropped their systolic blood pressure by 4 mm Hg. and their diastolic blood pressure by 3 mm Hg.

Benefit Ten: Improve Blood Lipid Levels
Although the effects of strength training on blood lipid levels needs further research, at least two studies from excellent universities have revealed improved blood lipid profiles after several weeks of strength exercise. It is important to note that improvements in blood lipid levels are similar for both endurance and strength exercise.

Benefit Eleven: Reduce Low Back Pain
Several years of research on strength training and back pain conducted at the University of Florida Medical School has shown that strong low-back muscles are less likely to be injured low-back muscles. A recent study by at the University of Florida found that low-back patients had significantly less back pain after 10 weeks of specific (full-range) strength exercise for the lumbar spine muscles. Because 80 percent of all Americans experience low back problems, it is advisable for all adults to properly strengthen their low back muscles.

Benefit Twelve: Reduce Arthritic Pain
According to a recent edition of the Tufts University Diet and Nutrition Letter, sensible strength training eases the pain of osteo and rheumatoid arthritis. This is good news, because most men and women who suffer from arthritic pain need strength exercise to develop stronger muscles, bones and connective tissue to improve joint function.

Benefit Thirteen: Reduce Depression
A Harvard University study found that seriously depressed seniors responded most favorably to a basic program of strength exercise. After 10 weeks of strength training, 87 percent of the program participants no longer met the criteria for clinical depression, even though they received no other treatment. Apparently, increasing muscle strength and physical functionality is highly effective for improving emotional states in previously depressed senior men and women.

Summary of Strength Training Benefits
There are 13 physiological reasons why older adults should perform regular strength exercise. On a more basic level, it is important to realize that proper strength training may help us look better, feel better and function better. Understand that our skeletal muscles serve as the engine, chassis and shock absorbers of our bodies. Consequently, strength training is an effective means for increasing our physical capacity, improving our athletic performance, reducing our injury risk, enhancing our personal appearance and improving our self-confidence.

Used with permission from Wayne L. Westcott, Ph.D. the Fitness Research Director at the South Shore YMCA and author of 15 fitness books, including Strength Training Past 50 and Strength Training for Seniors.

Take a look at what some other people are saying about S.P.A.R.T.A. Training here. And sign up for a program today to get your FREE consultation!

Many of you have probably heard me mention the word metabolism and have asked room fulls of you before if you know what your’s is. I’ve asked a room full of 40 people before if anyone in the room knows what their metabolism is and only 1 or 2 hands go up. However, almost 100% of the people in that room would like to lose more than a few pounds of body fat. How could these people ever hope to control their weight, let alone lose a significant amount, unless they know this number? The answer is that they can’t.

It pains me to see people put all of their efforts and try really hard at things that have little to no effect on fat loss. Or worse, they try to avoid what they think are fattening foods (also happens to be the ones they like), but still consume too many calories and nothing happens or they get fatter. That’s because the type of food has literally nothing to do with short term fat loss. The truth is that you MUST know your metabolism if you want to have any hope of ever controlling your weight and looking good.

What if I told you that you could take a 10 min. test and have a 10 min. conversation and you would know just about everything you need to know to control your weight and body fat level for the rest of your life? Even without exercise! When will you hear a personal trainer say that? It’s not the best and your body will deteriorate and not function at some point, but it is possible.

I’ll teach you the single most powerful and important number and technique for you to lose as much fat as you want or maintain once you are there. I am one of a few professionals who can accurately test your metabolism and tell you this information. Again, unless you know what this single number is, everything is a round about effort or a guess at best. Once you know this number, it will last a lifetime. Your metabolism won’t change significantly for at least a decade. It could, however, change positively in a matter of a few workouts if you decided to add proper exercise to this plan. Sure you could figure this out with a formula, but why haven’t you done that already? And if you have any doubts about the accuracy or your specific metabolism, this test will tell us for sure. It’s no mystery, let’s figure out that number once and for all.

To prove this is not junk and is accurate and reliable information (I wouldn’t sell you something that wasn’t), here is the link to the validation studies.

The test is $49 and once you have the number, you are off and running (so to speak). What’s it going to be? No other piece of information could have such power over your own general well being and looks.

However, each test requires a single personal disposable mouthpiece and I only have 12 of them left. I don’t know if I’ll continue this service once they are gone because we have a registered dietician on staff. You can sign up NOW for a metabolic test.

After you’ve done that make sure you engage in regular high intensity circuit resistance training to BOOST your resting metabolism. Make no mistake about it, building lean tissue is the ONLY way to raise your resting metabolism (your biggest calorie burner).

I’ll be following this up with a video soon and a more descriptive book with one of my favorite routines in it. Stay tuned!

Nearly the only thing that matters when it comes to fat loss is energy balance or are we creating a calorie deficit. Total calorie consumption, plus a little extra burn from exercise and metabolism should be in the negative to lose fat. If not, you will either maintain or gain. So, let’s place your efforts in the right place. Don’t bar yourself from eating things you like, rather, include them in the totals for the day, just don’t go over! Most of all, don’t assign a meaningless label of “bad” or “good”, “healthy” or “unhealthy” to any certain foods. Don’t be fooled by the restaurant’s claims of “healthy” either. Ask for their nutritional/calorie information. Most of them have it on hand now a days. Once you master the skill of moderating calorie intake for your specific metabolism, you can use that skill to maintain your weight for almost the rest of your life. So eat up, enjoy! But, don’t go over board.

Need help determining your metabolism? Let S.P.A.R.T.A. conduct our easy 10 minute test and pinpoint the date you’ll reach your goal weight.