Doug Jackson’s Fitness Blog

Wow…

The last 8 days have been a whirlwind. Since Emily and I’s daughter, Sophia, was born last Tuesday, approximately five weeks before her anticipated birth date, she was placed in Memorial West’s neonatal intensive care unit.

The staff told us that she’d be there one to two weeks and it ended up being eight days. We brought her home late last night and we ended up getting about four hours of sleep.

This morning I cranked out a quick 25-minute strength training workout to burn off some stress and maintain my own fitness level. I wanted to share that routine with you today:

Completed two sets of each in circuit fashion with 30-45 seconds between exercises:
1: Jump rope
2: Walking lunge
3: Pushups
4: Chinups
5: Romanian Deadlifts (with dumbbells)
6: Shoulder side raises (with dumbbells)
7: Stability ball crunches
8: Dumbbell bicep curls
9: Bodyweight dips

That’s it. Nothing too fancy. But I tell you what… workouts like this are (and always will be) better than any drug when it comes to staying health and feeling good.

Don’t let time become a major obstacle for your fitness program. Just pick the right exercises, get in the right frame of mind, and get it done!

If you need help getting started, download the Personal Fitness Advantage Ultimate Exercise Guide for FREE.

Yesterday after giving a talk to a Cub Scout den about the benefits of staying fit, I swung by the local Whole Foods and picked up three food items that I wanted to share with you today.

1) Quinoa:

Although you may have read about this food before, I’ve found that many people have tried it. In fact, the first time I tried it was after a local dietician pushed me to add it to my diet. Quinoa is a seed that cooks and functions much like a rice, but it has more nutrition.

Quinoa was a main food source for the Incas and is one of the very few grains that is also considered a complete protein source (great for vegetarian-types). According to Dr. Jonny Bowden in the book The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth, along with being high in iron and fiber, quinoa has “lower sodium content and is higher in calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, potassium, copper, manganese, and zinc than wheat, barley, or corn.”

2) Kefir:

The same dietician suggested that I try kefir. Kefir is a fermented milk drink that’s sort of like a “drinkable yogurt”. Some websites claim that people that are typically allergic to milk products due to lactose intolerance seem to tolerate kefir. It’s also promoted as being more nutritious than yogurt although I haven’t been able to substantiate that claim. Due to the fermentation process, it has active “probiotics” which are generally good for gut health. I like to mix kefir into my protein shakes. I might use 5 oz water, 3 oz kefir, and a scoop of protein powder.

3) Freshly-ground flaxseeds:

Flax seeds are a healthy source of essential fatty acids (fats that are actually required for human health). I prefer grinding fresh flaxseeds rather than buying the popular flaxseed oil due to concerns about rancidity due to the unstable molecular structure of omega-3 fatty acids. Freshly ground flax seeds also have a measurable amount of fiber…something you won’t get if you are just using the oil. I typically use ground flaxseeds on oatmeal or mixed into a protein shake.

A last note on all of these: while each of these is healthy in its own right, they should be used as just small parts of your total nutrition program. I won’t tell you that any of these is a magic cure and you should overload on any single food. But give them a try. It can’t hurt to start taking out less healthy foods that you eat and replacing them with healthier choices such as the three foods I’ve written about today.

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I don’t take on too many new clients anymore.

But I took one on almost two months ago now.

I took the client on because I felt I could make a difference.

She was a young mother with over 100 pounds to lose.

During our first meeting, I was very honest with her.

I told her “Look, I don’t mean to be harsh, but if you don’t start getting on the right track, you will die at a young age.”

I wanted her to truly understand that the weight gain on the outside was just a sign of the deterioration on the inside.

I’m happy to say that she made almost unbelievable changes in her dietary habits - probably quicker than I had ever seen someone do it.

She went from a typical dinner of lots of pizza, cookies, and ice cream, to things like chicken breast, potatoes, and veggies in just two weeks.

Now she typically strength trains twice per week and walks for 45-minutes, approximately five additional days per week.

She went back to her doctor for a physical after her first four weeks of working out.

I’m not exaggerating when I say the doctor was astonished. For years, her weight had gone up considerably during each visit.

This time, she was twenty pounds lighter.

And addition to clothes starting to fit differently, things were changing on the inside as well.

Her diastolic blood pressure dropped a massive twenty points as well (I, too, was amazed how quickly that happened!)

And when she went in to see a specialist a few weeks later, the doctor told her that it was the first time in years that her thyroid hormone levels had stabilized.

Nowadays, we talk about big pharma.

Well, once again we see that the vast majority of best-selling drugs could be replaced with positive changes in eating habits and getting a sweat going most days of the week.

And the side effects? Well, there are plenty with the drugs.

The side effects with her lifestyle changes? How about increased confidence, improved relationships, and a new sense of empowerment?

That, folks, can change lives.

There is a reason that one of my main client groups is doctors. The doctors see sickness and they see health. They know what it REALLY takes to be healthy.

So I have some great clients who are doctors that are really promoting healthy living by leading by example.

I congratulate both my new client on her dedication to making some really big changes, and my clients who are doctors that realize that changing exercise and nutrition habits heals people as well.

I have two options for you today:
1) If you are South Floridian finally ready to get fit, I’ll be happy to do an initial consultation with you to see if I can match you up with the right trainer for your goals. Simply fill out the form on: http://www.south-florida-personal-trainer.com/VIP-fitness-consultat…

2) If you aren’t in South Florida or personal training isn’t right for you right now, I invite you to download my complimentary Ultimate Exercise Guide at: http://www.UltimateExerciseGuide.com