Starting Off Your Day

Upon rising, most people start off their day with some type of caffeinated beverage like coffee or tea, and in some real extreme cases a soda or "energy drink" like Red Bull to get them going. I too partake of the caffeine ritual by having a small cup of black coffee, but there is an additional way one can start their day.

Water as we know is vital to our bodies. It enables our cells to carry nutrients and energy to them and helps dispose of toxins and metabolic wastes. Based on the fact that our bodies are made up of approximately two thirds water and has such an important role in maintaining a healthy body, we must supply our bodies with enough H2O to help keep our bodies in balance. Exercise and other stresses of life demand our bodies to continually be hydrated to support normal functions so it is important that one consume enough water daily. I usually accompany my cup of Joe with 24 ounces of water to start my day and I have found that consuming water early in the day gives a boost to the metabolism and helps in getting things "flushed out".

Since our bodies are ~ 66% water, lets use a factor of .66 to determine the amount of pure water one should consume in a given day. When I say "pure" water what I mean is not including the additional means of hydrating yourself via herbal teas, fruits and vegetables, just plain old fashioned water. So, using a 170 pound person as an example we calculate .66 x 170 = ~ 112 ounces of water for the day.

In the beginning the amount of water will seem a bit overwhelming to you - especially for your bladder, but your body will quickly get in the habit of drinking and you will become accustom to drinking that much fluid.

Here's a little trick in getting your requied amount of water. Like I suggested earlier, consume 24 or more ounces of water upon rising and then drink 12-16 ounces every hour on the hour until you reach your quota for the day. Our 170 pound individual who needs 112 ounces will start the day with 24 ounces which will leave him 88 left for the day. If he drinks 12 ounces every hour he will achieve his hydration goal in about 7 hours.

Make drinking water a focus for a while, I think you will be amazed at your increased level of energy and may even find that your physqiue appears leaner.

"Train With A Purpose"
www.premierepersonalfitness.com

Fred Fornicola

The High Intensity Training (HIT) I Remember

"The HIT I remember was a group of guys and a few women that trained as hard as we could, became friends and understood what we were doing. Today we have new factions of HIT everyday, arguments on discussion boards by lab geeks about rep speed, TUL (Time Under Load), who trains the hardest and on and on about things that really don't matter when you ACTUALLY work out. Nautilus History is being rewritten to suit todays experts and much of the real History will be forgotten. Now we have lab coats and stopwatches replacing the strength training equipment in so called HIT Gyms. Endless arguments about Free weights vs. Machines by experts with more time on the computer than in a real gym with free weights, machines, power racks, strongman equipment, sleds, and sand bags. Stuff that matters." - Jim Bryan

Editors Note: Jim Bryan was fortunate to be one of those who worked directly with Arthur Jones in the early days of Nautilus where he learned how to work hard and efficiently. Hard work and efficiency, along with a emphasis on safety are the same training principles used here at Premiere Personal Fitness. www.premierepersonalfitness.com

A Great Exercise Combo for Upper Body Development

I have been strength training for a number of years and have found few greater exercises than the standard push up and the under hand chin up. These two exercises work every muscle in the upper body and if done in a back to back fashion for multiple sets can also get the heart beating as well. To often these exercises are overlooked in a strength building program, possibly because they are classified as “beginner” exercises, or because they don’t use fancy exercise machines, or simply because they are just to challenging for the average Joe or Jane. I will tell you that these exercises can be adapted to any fitness level and provide a challenging workload for a large number of muscle groups, which is why they rank very high on my exercise choice list. Whether you can perform 1 repetition or 10 repetitions that’s only a starting point, each workout try to add a repetition or two, you will be surprised at the fitness level you can achieve. - Doug Scott, Strength Coach

Dumbbell Training

I just received my monthly report today from our publisher and I'm happy to announce that the book Matt Brzycki and I released a few month's ago entitled "Dumbbell Training for Strength and Fitness" is doing quite well at the online and retail bookstores.

For an in-depth look at what the book is about, please visit
http://premierepersonalfitness.com/_wsn/page2.html .


"Train With A Purpose"
www.premierepersonalfitness.com

Fred Fornicola

Welcome to the Premiere Personal Fitness Strength and Fitness Blog

Premiere Personal Fitness has created this blog to share random thoughts and ideas on numerous aspects of becoming stronger and improving ones level of fitness. The approaches to training expressed here are based on safe, effecient and effective principles without being exclusive to any one protocol. Thoughts and recommendations on nutrition, conditioning, health, wellness and any other topics are based on many years of experience as well as personal opinion.

I hope you find the information offered here to be beneficial to your strength and fitness.

"Train With A Purpose"
http://www.premierepesonalfitness.com/

Fred Fornicola