Desire is the starting point of all achievement, not a hope, not a wish, but a keen pulsating desire which transcends everything.

    - Napoleon Hill

According to a recent study, those adults 45 years old or older, who sat for eleven or more hours/day (work/home/commute), were 40% more likely to die of all causes over the next 3 years than those who sat for less than 4 hours/day.

This is a different study than the one reporting that sitting all day long negates the benefits of aerobic exercise. Exercise and physical activity of any kind, even standing, is the critical component of health and longevity.

Solution: Stand up when someone walks into your office or when you get on the phone. Take activity breaks by getting up and walking around periodically or take a “Physical Activity Break (PAB).” PABs can be a set of Deep Knee Bends or Bell Protocols or a quick walk.

Most people focus on eating certain food groups and avoiding others according to the “Food Diet of the Month!” The Truth is: all low-calorie diets result in weight loss. Some people will prefer Atkins or Ornish or South Beach or the Zone, but the common denominator is that they are all low calorie diets.

Teaching your clients to Count Calories may be the most useful tool you can provide. According to a recent study, only 9% of the people could even come close to estimating how many calories they consume each day!

If you have completed the IFPA Sports Nutrition Certification Course, you have the knowledge, skills and abilities to help your clients lose FAT! Losing Weight should never be the goal, as you have learned that gaining muscle is critical to increasing your clients’ metabolic rate so they can burn more calories throughout the day (and night).

Studies show that people with Body Mass Index (BMI) between 18.5 to 24.9 have the greatest longevity. People above 25 and below 18.5 BMI show decreases in longevity.

• 2 out of 3 Americans are overweight or obese.
• The average number of calories required for healthy living according to guidelines is 2000 to 2500 calories/day (Adult Males) and 1800 to 2300 calories/day (Adult Females).
• Energy Expenditure levels decline with age, by approximately 20% by age 50 and by 30% for those over 70.
• Increase lean body tissue to increase energy expenditure.
• One pound of fat equals 3500 Calories.
• Typical bagels can be 700 calories.
• Typical 64 ounce Sodas can be 800 calories.
• Typical McDonalds meals can be over 1600 calories.
• Those who chew each bite of food 40 times before swallowing consumed 12% fewer calories than those who chewed only 15 times.
• Americans average Fiber Intake is 11.9 grams of Fiber/day.
• Increasing American Fiber Intake to the recommended 25-35 grams/day resulted in one pound of fat loss per month with no other change in calorie intake or exercise activities.
• Consuming Whole, natural, non-processed or least processed fruits, vegetable, whole grains, steel cut oats, beans and legumes increases fiber intake.

• Always warm-up before stretching.
• Warm muscles are 30% more extensible than cold.
• Hold a stretch for 30 seconds and allow the muscle to gently increase its’ Range of Motion (ROM).
• Increase the stretch slightly for an additional 30 seconds.
• Never stretch to the point of pain. Increase ROM to the point of a slight tight feeling, but never pain.
• Never hold a stretch for longer for 90 seconds.
• The increased ROM following a stretching session lasts for 4 hours. After 4 hours the muscle will begin to decrease ROM to the pre-session ROM.

The Classic Repetition Maximum (RM) for Muscle Hypertrophy is 15 RM. If you actually look at the raw data in the numerous studies that provided this number, you will find that this is an “Average” of a fairly wide range of numbers. The raw data showed outliers of 3RM-29RM! Meaning that one subject attained the best hypertrophy at 3RM (male) and another at 29RM (female).

You can also imagine that the experience, technique, years of training, timing of the concentric and eccentric contraction, as well as many other factors can affect hypertrophy gains.

Visualize a weightlifter performing very rapid movements vs. a weightlifter performing very slow movements. Super Slow 4-6 repetitions of 10-second concentric contractions and 10-second eccentric contractions have been shown to be highly effective at muscular hypertrophy.

Recommendation: You should experiment yourself to find your own individual hypertrophy range. Start at 15RM, slow (2 sec concentric/ 4 sec eccentric) and watch your results over 3 weeks, then experiment by adding to or subtracting from the load, to decrease or increase the repetition by 3RM in either direction. Most of you will find that the higher load, lower RM ranges will provide you with increases in strength, though less hypertrophy.