30 Years 30 Health & Fitness Tips Part II

If you missed Part I, I listed the first 10 of 30 health and fitness tips in this series. Here’s Part II, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I am not a nutritionist or dietician. I do not provide meal plans or claim to be a nutrition expert. I only make recommendations on what foods to eat or avoid based on past experience and my education.

RenegadeDietBook3DA 11. According to the Perfect Health Diet, most can benefit from intermittent fasting (IF). We all do it (no eating over night while sleeping and breaking the fast in the morning with breakfast). IF involves extended periods of fasting longer than the normal overnight fast.

There are various protocols out there – I like the 16/8 method, which is fasting for 16 hours and eating within the next 8. I’ve done the Renegade Diet for 4 weeks now and have lost fat all over, particularly in my torso. I’ve also lost 6 lbs. IF will teach you the difference between emotional and true hunger. You’ll also learn that missing meals isn’t the end of the world. Leangains.com, John Berardi’s free IF ebook, John Romaniello and Dan Go’s ebook Fat Loss for Ever and the Perfect Health Diet are other great resources on IF. A more in-depth blog post will be written soon on my experience with IF.

Read more about the Renegade Diet HERE.

12. The 2 most common lower body movement patterns performed in the gym are the squat and hip hinge. Strive to be able to squat like a baby for the rest of your life and learn the difference between hip flexion and spinal flexion – you’ll save yourself a lot of stress later in life.

13. Finding an excuse to workout is ridiculous. Invest in a coach/trainer and learn how you can use stuff around the house for home workouts. You don’t need much and you’ll be surprised how much you can kick your ass with just body weight exercises and a few pieces for equipment.

14. Look at weight training as loaded stretching. Using perfect effective form in the gym will not only build stronger bigger muscles, but will move your muscles near their full range of motion…that is unless you perform 1/2 reps for everything. As Nick Tumminello said last weekend at the Personal Trainer Development Centre Hybrid Training Conference “It’s not rocket surgery,” referring to keeping mobility while participating in a resistance training program.

15. Get fit to run and don’t run to get fit. Your unfit body can’t handle the pounding and high repetition of jogging. Guaranteed, you’ll eventually develop an overuse injury from inefficient biomechanics over time. Resistance and strength train to build tissue tolerance to the pounding. Lose weight with better nutrition – take the load off your joints and soft tissue. You’ll thank me later.

16. Organic sugar is just as bad for you as non-organic sugar. Don’t be fooled! High fructose corn-syrup is terrible for you and is not like regular sugar as the commercials proclaim.

17. Time your carbohydrate intake around your workouts and limit your carb intake the further you get from your workout. Minimize your carb intake on non-workout days. This is known as carb-cycling. It’s worked wonders for me, as I haven’t seen my abs this well since I used to run track. Note: this picture is before I started IF.

18. Eat more fat. Fatty fish, coconut oil, olive oil and organic dairy butter are great sources. Saturated fat has recently been shown to not be linked with heart disease as was originally thought. Read the meta-analysis HERE. Remove trans-fat from your diet and minimize your PUFA consumption. The Perfect Health Diet recommends a diet with 60-65% fat – astronomically high compared to the recommendations by the Canadian Food Guide.

19. Don’t count calories. Eating real food takes care of this. Remember, anything packaged is not real. Even protein powders aren’t truly “real” and should be eaten in moderation.

20. Today’s wheat is shit, so take it out. Check out Wheat Belly by Dr. William Davis for more. Gluten-free options aren’t much better in comparison. Take out all artificial sweeteners, MSG, and margarine. MSG is an excito-toxin that prevents you from getting full. Think about this: there are no naturally occurring fat mice in nature, so researchers have to use MSG to fatten up these poor animals for testing (imagine what it can do to you!). Try to eat organic meats and dairy products. Skip on the farmed fish and drink organic coffee. Eat seaweeds and organ meats – something my wife and I still yet to try. Liver and onions anyone?!

Well, that’s it for part II. Stay tuned for part III.

Thanks for reading.

Please LIKE and share on Facebook and Twitter. Also add me on Facebook if you haven’t already.

-JK

Dane Woodland

Personal Strength Training by Jon-Erik Kawamoto

I came to JKC through recommendations from my peers from lululemon. As a current ambassador, I’ve been introduced to legacy ambassadors, like Jon, and I knew a bunch of other people from the store were working out here so I wanted to give it a go. I often dread lower body workouts so I started coming here to do legs. I’ve had such great progress that I now come twice a week— and, I no longer hate leg day!

I’ve never experienced this sort of hybrid between group workouts and personalized service. Many group strength training services offer a sort of one-size-fits-all workout for the general population, which has never been of interest to me, because I want my workout tailored to my needs! I LOVE that you can be in a group setting while doing your own personal program; I love the camaraderie and community at JKC, and, I’ve seen incredible results thus far! Jon is always so attuned to what I need.

Annette Howard

I am 62 years young and I started training with Jon in 2013. I originally came to join JKC as a recommendation from other family members that were onboard with Jon. Their enthusiasm for the gym experience was quite evident. I was not to be outdone, so I decided to join as well. JKC, in my mind, certainly stands out from the crowd. I feel it’s a combination of the skill and passion the coaches have for their job and their clients. Each client is treated with the upmost respect and given time to explore their fitness journey without any pressure. JKC is certainly not a cookie cutter gym.The coaches customize your fitness program to suit your needs and your fitness level. This certainly makes sense because no two clients are alike. This is where JKC excels! Jon, Thomas, and Craig keep the atmosphere at the gym light, but productive. A great combination that obviously works and makes the clients want to come back. Lastly, the camaraderie at the gym is everything. Meeting likeminded people who make you feel you are not alone in your fitness journey is everything.

Amanda Shea

I’m 35 and I started at JKC in November of 2019. I was coming off the win of the Royal St. John’s Regatta in 2019, and our crew was chomping at the bit to be stronger and faster for 2020. The reputation of JKC leached into our group and away we went! Unfortunately the regatta was cancelled due to COVID-19, but I just loved JKC so much I stuck around. JKC is different from other gyms because the level of experience the team has is unparalleled. Jon, Thomas and Craig all mesh well together and mentor me in a way that I know they love what they do and are genuinely excited to guide me towards my goals (and beyond). I really enjoy the atmosphere, the sense of community and all the positive vibes that I experience in every session. There’s never a time I don’t want to go because I’m motivated by the team’s coaching style and I get results.

Lloyd Hussey

I started at JKC in January of 2014 and I’m 67 years old. When I had my Initial Assessment, I knew – almost immediately – that Jon knew what he was doing and what he was talking about. I was overweight, out of shape, and in serious need of someone, like Jon, who could get me back on a fitness/conditioning routine that suited me, my age, my less than acceptable physical condition, my sometimes intermittent RA, and my need for a structured, consistent and yet flexible training and conditioning program that would work for me.

Fundamentally, if I made a choice at all with respect to JKC – it was to continue to come back each week. I have not been in a lot of gyms. To be honest, they used to intimidate me. What makes JKC different is their approach to each and every one of their clients. Jon and Thomas – and now Craig – tailor each training regime to the particular needs of each client. That ensures that the training regime will suit each client upon the start of training and changes as the client improves. It adjusts for any physical setbacks such as injuries and it adjusts for success. It is just that simple.

It is also the consistent encouragement that comes from Jon, Thomas and Craig. That voice that comes to you while you are in the middle of a particularly difficult set – rear-foot elevated split squats comes to mind immediately – that says “good job” or “keep it up” or “just a couple more reps.” To know, in that moment, that you are not alone and the trainer is paying attention to what you are doing. That is priceless for me.

Nic Capps

Personal Strength Training by Thomas King

I’ve been weight training on and off for years but never really had a specific goal or target in mind so routinely stalled out, plateaued or stopped training all together. Before I joined JKC I was definitely in a fitness slump and needed something to motivate me and get me back on track. I did a bit of digging online, looking at various personal training options and gyms around town but JKC seemed like the best option by far. I’ve tried big box gyms and other personal trainers in the past but none of them have had the perfect combination of goal specific fitness programming, welcoming and supportive environment, and the knowledge and passion to back it all up that you’ll find at JKC. Jon and Thomas are great to work with, they know how to motivate you if you’re having an off day and are well versed in all the different ways to make your muscles burn! I also have noticed some major improvements in my deadlifts since I started with JKC and was really happy with the result.

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