FORTITUDE  April 2005

WELCOME to the second issue of FORTITUDE!

AWARDS and RECOGNITION:
This month I have to acknowledge three great clients whom have been consistent and making great progress. They were given nice awards for their excellent accomplishment:
 
        1. Joe Clark - Dinosaur Training Award
        He has been training for a year and half without any cancellation!
        CONGRATULATIONS Joe!
 
        2. Pedro Canas - Senior Training Award
        He has been training with me over four years.
        CONGRATULATIONS Pedro!
 
        3. Rachael Eversfield - Completion of Level One Award
        She had been training for twelve weeks without any cancellation
        and now she will be apply what she learned to train herself!
        CONGRATULATION Racheal!
 

Message of the Month:
Many of you have been training very hard and consistently with me. I
CONGRATULATE you! Those of you who are consistent, please make a note: In
order to obtain maximum results from all your hard work your body needs
optimal NUTRITION! Here is what the body needs every day:
    1. Macronutrients
            Protein
            Carbohydrates
            Healthy Fats
            Fiber

    2. Micronutrients
            Vitamins
            Minerals

    3. Water

These are the human body's building blocks. But how do you eat all this in
one day? Well, you should have four to six meals per day. But why so many
meals? Because this will divide your total required daily caloric intake
into small portions  which your metabolism will be able to process
efficiently for ENERGY instead of storing extra calories as body fat. Your
daily caloric intake can be measured with Equinox's upcoming nutrition
program. Please ask me if you're interested. Doing this will help increase
your ENERGY throughout your day.

To maintain top quality health with your nutrition style organic foods are
best, where available. Some good protein sources are turkey, chicken, red
meats, fish, and dairy foods. Some good sources of carbohydrates are
oatmeal, multigrain breads, whole-wheat bread, whole-heat pasta, brown rice,
and dark rice. Some good sources of healthy fats are olive oil, flax-seed
oil, fish oil, and borage oil. Some good sources of water include spring
water and distilled water.

Many of you find it difficult to eat four to six balanced meals each day. A
good way to make successful changes in your life is by slow progression.
Start small then work your way up towards your goal. For example, let's say
John is currently eating two meals per day: breakfast at 7am and dinner at
9pm. He is consistently training on Tuesdays and Thursdays every week at 6pm
in the gym. For John to eat more I recommend he begins by adding one
balanced meal for the first month. In this case I'll will suggest him adding
a balanced pre-workout meal so he will have more energy in his workout. Then
the next month I'll have him add another balanced meal where he'll be
getting a minimum of four balanced meals per day. This slow progression will
help increase John's long term eating success. Now John feels more confident
in his new eating plan and he has more ENERGY to get through his busy day
and workout!

REMEMBER all the calories of each balanced meal in the day must add to your
personal total daily caloric requirements.

For each balanced meal to provide a good energy source it must be balanced.
A balanced meal consists of a combination of good quality protein,
carbohydrates/fiber, healthy fats, vitamins and minerals. Pre-workout and
post-workout balanced meals are very important part of your daily calories
because they provide ENERGY and exercise recovery, a big part of your
fitness results. The best pre-workout balanced meal consists of complex
carbohydrate and quality protein plus vitamins and minerals one to two hours
prior to your workout. Example, whole pasta with lean beef. The best
post-workout balanced meal would consist of simple carbohydrates and quality
protein plus vitamins and minerals within one hour after your workout,for
example: blueberries, rice milk, and whey protein powder shake. After your
workout your body needs to replace all your used glycogen stores from the
simple carbohydrate while the protein, vitamins and minerals is needed to
rebuild your muscles. Your body is like a "dry sponge" once you've completed
your workout. So all these nutrients will be shuttled within minutes in the
needed areas of your body. Avoid all fats on the post-workout balanced meal
because this will slow down the absorption process of the needed nutrients
in your body.

Drink plenty of water throughout the day. Carry a water bottle so you'll be
assured to drink plenty of it, especially during your workout. You should be
drinking at least a half of gallon of water everyday.

As Hippocrates once said, "Let food be your medicine."

Until next time, continue training towards your goals, and most of all have fun!

Christian

"My heart and soul is vibrating like a volcano, and I am breathing like a dragon, The Fire of Life."