Everyone here at Healing Strength Personal Training wants to wish you guys a very Happy Holidays. Below is my son doing a Thanksgiving day work out. He was really pumped up about getting this out to you guys so that everyone can see how hard he trains. So please do not hesitate to leave him a comment. O-yea by the way we hit the gym early that Thanksgiving day morning. He really wanted to train so I thought what the heck we both could use the workout given the fact that we had four homes to visit and eat hardy. LOL… Enjoy!

Posted under being thankful, Charlotte boot camp training, Charlotte speed running and training methods, charlotte womens boot camp, family fitness, Fat Burning Weight Loss, Healthy kids fair, Lancaster womens boot camp, Nutrition, Speed running & training methods

The weather here in Charlotte has been rainy and gloomy.  It’s always nice to put on a big bowl of chili and enjoy family time.  Here’s a healthy recipe for black and white bean chili for the cold days.

Grocery list

• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 1 cup onion, diced
• 2 cups fat free chicken broth, low sodium
• 6 ounces canned tomato paste
• 4 ounces green chilies, chopped
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 16 ounces canned black beans, drained and rinsed
• 16 ounces canned black beans, drained and rinsed

1.  In a large soup pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat.  Add the onions and cook for 5 minutes.

2.  Add the broth, tomato paste, chilies, cumin, and beans.  Bring to a boil.

3.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serves 6

Posted under Nutrition

It’s a nice Saturday morning as I am sitting here drinking my coffee.  I am going over in my head all of the things I have to do over the weekend, one of which is going to the grocery store.  I am always amazed when I go into the grocery store how many people will approach me to say “How do I lose my belly?” only to see pizza’s, potatoe chips, and chocolate in the grocery cart.   ARE YOU SERIOUS???  is always my response.   Nutrition is the key component to losing weight.  That’s right!!  I said you must be eating right in order to lose weight.

Most people who eat balanced nutritious meals, okay here it comes, get ready, they COOK (yikes, it’s the C word)!  We all know that restaurant food is laden with extra calories.  That’s why the food tastes so good.  I can pretty much guarantee you that if you spent a day in a restaurant kitchen and saw how the bulk of teh food is prepared; you’d be buying a set of pots and pans tomorrow. 

Before you put nutritious foods into your belly, you’ve got to put them in your cart.  But with so many options screaming for attention, aisle after aisle, grocery shopping can become a daunting and sometimes overwhelming task.  If you fall into this category register for your free 7 day grocery report at www.healingcharlotte.com and begin losing weight today.  You can also access the nutritional vault and begin planning your meals over the next week.  This neat tool allows you to plan your meals and rate them as if you were receiving your food report card.  It’s great so check it out!!  Until next time Train Hard and Eat Healthy!

Posted under 2009 Grocery List, Nutrition

Every woman on the face of the earth wants to know “How can I lose my stomach?”  Every time I go into WalMart I promise you before I get out of the door someone will come up to me and ask me how can they lose their stomach.  Some women will be sure and say that their stomach is all they want to lose.  They will be sure and tell me that they don’t want to lose their butts.  Ladies, I have to tell you that you CANNOT just lose your stomach.  You want your body to be toned overall.  Some ladies think that because they have a big butt this makes them look good or it’s what men like. 

When I am approached with this million dollar question I always follow up by asking them what are they eating.  Most of the time when I am in WalMart I can see their grocery cart and it is full of junk!!!  Please hear me loud and clear on this one— it boils down to NUTRITION!!!!  There is no way around it you must eat right.  Nutrition is 80% of your body composition.  If you tell yourself that eating ice cream isn’t bad you are telling yourself a lie.  That sugar you eat will settle right into your mid section and will be there to welcome you the next morning.   I get asked all of the time “How did you get those abs?”  Well trust me it doesn’t come from sitting on the couch and eating ice cream.  I work hard to look the way that I look.  I eat right and I exercise and it’s just that simple.  No magic answer  or quick infomercial here just the truth.  It is all a combination of consistency and dedication. 

So the next question of course will be what should I eat?  Now is a great time to go to www.healingcharlotte.com and register for your free grocery report.  This report provides detailed lists of sample menu plans and things you should look for when going to the grocery store.  If you are interested in how to make an overall change with your body by changing your nutrition we can do that here at our studio in our nutrition coaching program.  If you are interested please call 704-258-9844 to schedule your appointment today.  Until next time train hard and eat healthy!

Posted under Nutrition

I am sure that most of you have been glued to the news and watching all of the news releases regarding the swine flu.  President Obama addressed the nation and encouraged everyone to go to their doctor immediately with any signs and symptoms.  As a resident of Charlotte I have been raising my awareness by watching the local news to find out the latest.  I would encourage you all to follow the center for Disease Control at www.cdc.gov/ for the latest news on this crisis.  A few tips to make sure you are avoiding germs as best you can is to ALWAYS wash your hands when water is available.  If no water is accessible make sure you clean your hands with an alcohol sanitizer. 

Now I want to focus on your immune system and why it’s so important to your health and wellnes.  How many times have you and a friend been around someone who who was sneezing and coughing?  A few days later you come down with sickness and yet your friend who was exposed to the same germs remain perfectly healthy.  The difference is the power of the immune system.  The primary role of your immune system is to protect your body from bacterial viral infections such as colds and influenza, parasites, and microbes.  It creates a barrier that prevents bacteria and viruses from entering your body.  If a bacteria or virus does get into the body, the immune system tries to detect and eliminate it before it can make itself at home and reproduce.  If the virus or bacteria is able to reproduce and start causing problems, your immune system is in charge of eliminating it.  Many factors can lead to a weakened immune system including vitamin deficiency, cigarette smoking, being overweight, stress, excess alcohol, and lack of exercise.   Those who are under chronic stress have been shown to have lower than normal white blood cell counts.  It is not always possible to reduce the amount of stress in our lives. For those who can’t, vitamin supplementation and an immune system aid are the best way to go.   Nutrition is vital in order to achieve a strong immune system.  Make sure and register for your free grocery report which includes menu plans and nutritional facts at www.healingcharlotte.com

Other tips can include drinking lots of water, getting plenty of rest, and of course exercise!!!!  Remember that your  immune system is your shield of armour to overall health and wellness.  Until next time Train Hard and Eat Healthy!

Posted under Commitment to your health and wellness

Today is the day all of the new year’s parties are done.  You now know what to do and what to buy.  But do you know really?  I have broken this blog down a couple of different ways.  Many of us hear the words Protien,Carbohydrates and fats but do we really know what they are?  Hopefully this blog will help you with that underestanding. 

Have you ever walked into your local supermarket with your new and exciting nutritional meal ideas in mind and been overwhelmed with what to buy?  At Healing Strength Personal Training we strive to educate our clients on proper nutrition to reach their health and fitness goals.  Many people are not aware of what to buy or even the wide variety of choices they have.  So let’s begin with the basics. 

Clean Food List

1. Lean meats (protein) – Lean beef 90% or leaner, Lean pork, any lean game meat such as Deer, Buffalo, Ostrich, Salmon, turkey breast, chicken breast, egg whites, fish- just about any type of fin fish (No Cat Fish) If you choose deer meat make sure that it is processed lean

2. Complex Carbohydrates- Brown Rice, sweet potatoes, oatmeal and all variations of beans

• Low Carb Vegetables and Fruit- all green leafy salads (no iceberg lettuce) spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, green beans and just about any other green or yellow vegetable (summer squash)
• Low Carb fruits- grapefruit, strawberries, blueberries, cantaloupe, and peaches

3. Dietary Fats- fish oil, olive oil, almond butter, heavy cream, coconut oil, flax oil, sunflower, walnuts, and safflower oil

Free meal or cheat meal- Once every seven days you are allowed to have a cheat day.  This means you can eat what you desire within that 24hrs. window. As your body adapts to the clean foods you will not have as strong of an urge to eat sweets and junk food.  But you will have a craven for some particular foods every now and again. Use this day wisely!

Note: Water is the key to any nutrition program.  You have to keep your body hydrated, if the body is dehydrated in any way you will yield the results of burning body fat.  You should start by drinking at least 1-2 liters a day and build from there.

Beverages- unsweetened tea, Crystal Light, green tea, water  

Note: If you choose to drink a sports drink such as Gatorade during training or Cardio mix it with water.  You should have about 50/50 of each. 

You should be eating 4-6 meals a day with 3 of these meals containing 1 protein, 1 complex carbohydrate, and 1 vegetable.  When preparing your meals always use the “fist rule.”  The “fist rule” is comparing your portions to the size of your fist.  As you can see your grocery list is simple broken into 3 categories including proteins, carbohydrates, and fats.  

Here are a few examples of meal plans including the above list.  Please note these are only SAMPLES as each nutritional program is specific to each individual. 

Meal 1
2 Egg whites (protein)
1serving Oatmeal (complex carbohydrate)
1/2Grapefruit (fruits)

Snack 1
3-4ozTurkey breast (protein)
5 stalks of Asparagus (vegetable)

Meal 3
6ozSalmon (protein) note: use Salmon once a week other days replace with lean chicken breast
Sweet potatoes (carbohydrate)
Green Beans (vegetable)

Snack 2
Yogurt
7 whole almond nuts
Meal 5
6-8oz Tilapia fish (protein) or chicken breast
1 cup Broccoli (vegetable)
            or
1 cup Summer squash (vegetable

So now we lead up to the famous question, what do you eat for snacks?  You should always eat at least 3 meals along with 2 snacks.  Here are a few examples of ideas for including snacks throughout your day.

Snacks
Any fruits
Fresh leafy vegetable
Nuts (Almonds)
Egg Whites
Yogurt
Tuna
Quality meal replacement shakes or nutritional bars.

****Please note these snacks must be used in moderation as too much of these could lead to unwanted fat.

Most of my clients share with me they have a difficult time eating healthy meals long term because of the lack of taste.  I am one who believes in using seasonings to spice up your foods.  Ideal seasonings to use when preparing your meals can include Ms. Dash, sea salt, natural herbs, almond butter and coconut oil. 

Supplementation
I highly recommend a quality line of supplements including Amino acids, glutamine, and quality meal replacements.  The body naturally produces non essential amino acids; however, it doesn’t produce essential ones.  Amino acids are the basic building blocks of muscles, with a complete program I highly recommend supplementing Branch Chain Amino Acids (BCAA).  All of essential and non essential acids need to be available for the lean muscle building process to take place.  Glutamine helps with muscle tissue recovery, which is essential when working the muscles during intense training sessions. 

I hope you found this blog to be helpful in assisting you with your health and fitness goals.  Good luck and remember that weight loss or gaining lean muscle mass must begin with execution.  The first step in this process is to fuel your body with the right nutrients.

Posted under 2009 Grocery List

Hello Everyone this is going to be quick.  I had a blast this past week as you could see in the previous blog post.  Well alone the way I picked up some nasty bug and woke up early Monday to find myself with a scratchy throat and fever headache etc.  Well lucky for me I believe in a couple of different principles when it comes to the human body and nutrition.  During times that you are ill  with a cold or virus of some sort.  The body is pretty much under attack by germs.  Think of it this way, if you were planning to go to battle against enemy soldier and they were equipped with Guns and Cannons.  If your goal is to win the war you will need to have something with a little more bang!!!  Let’s say a few heat seeking missiles alone with guns, cannons and a few stealthfighters.  Now you are ready for combat.  The chances are that you will win the war.  Now lets but that Philosophy in prospective with the human body.  When most of us are sick we tend to not eat or drink much.  Well this is when you need all the quality nutrition possible because your body is under attack.  It needs every vitamin,mineral,fat,carbohydrate,protein etc. to recovery and kill the bacteria or virus.  The point is eat and drink when you are sick with colds etc.  I know your taste buds are tasteless and you don’t really have a taste for anything.  But at less eat rice and chicken soup, the chicken is packed with enzymes that will help you recover.  Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water and natural juices.  Give your body the ammo that it needs to fight back against the Winter Man Flu.  Until next time Train Hard and Eat Healthy!  Here is a all natural remedy that my friend from Nikken www.mynikken.net/hall  Carolyn Hall gave me to try.   ”I used it to help me and it really does work!”

Add all these elements together

-one cup of black tea

-grind a little fresh ginger

-grind a little fresh garlic

-cut a slice of lemon squeeze a little of the juice

-1 teaspoon of honey

mix all together and call me in the morning (LOL) Have a nice weekend

Posted under Natural Tea Remedy