Coming Soon!

Thank you for continuing to visit out blog. This month we are in the process of a complete blog make over that will offer more information, audio, video, newsletters and more.

We are anxious to share with you the new blog and expect to unveil in by the end of this month.

Wishing you continued good health!

Peter & Sy Cianci

Why We Must Stretch Before & After Exercise!

Athletes under the age of 30 can easily perform without much preparation. If they have 30 minutes to run, they run for 30 minutes. Muscles seem to tolerate the stresses of workouts, races, and games; therefore, the need to do more seems to be worthlessly unimportant.

The truth is that preparation, even as a youngster, is not only necessary, but critical. The duration and level of achievement is ultimately directly related to the amount of warm up and preparation done on a continual basis throughout the formative years. Muscles, like overall health, improve over time. To educate and condition young muscles properly, with a consistent and thorough warm-up, makes radical differences in adulthood.

Unfortunately, our entire educational system is based on doing something only after a crisis has arisen. We're backpedaling when we need to be strategizing. The offensive approach has to occur on the individual level. Here's my point; You Must Stretch

For maximum everything, from performance to injury prevention to injury recovery, you need to stretch. If you don't, you're limiting your capacity. Without starting with a stretch, you may end up paying sports doctors looking for the magic cure or taking time off for injuries that only exist because you're unwilling to do what it takes, as in stretching.

These 4 components are necessary for peak muscular response:

Stretching
There is nothing magical about stretching. All you have to do is hit that switch in your brain that will allow you to be consistent and disciplined.

Strengthening
Strengthening naturally occurs as hill and speed work are done, but for total and improved conditioning, a weight-training program adds to any running program. Also, muscles that are not primary muscles in the running gait, such as side-to-side muscles, don't gain the strength that front-to-back muscles have in running. Needless to say, those muscles that are primary can gain even greater strength through a weight-training program. Finally, the stronger the upper body muscles are, the more glycogen storage and ultimate energy your body produces for runs and workouts.

Eating "Clean"
By this I mean, what we put into our bodies effects how our bodies react to certain physical situations, like exercising. If you are eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, you are not only keeping your muscles hydrated properly but the phyto-nutrients continue to protect the muscle tissue as they are literally ripped when we exercise. As our bodies natuarlly repair itself more fibers grow to strengthen the areas that were just "torn" - hence, giving you a stronger more toned body. I also recommend lots of fish that are high in Omega fatty acids, as the fatty acids help keep your muscles and joints more flexible.

Supplementing
The body-building sports nutrition industry has become a multi-billion dollar enterprise. Do runners not have specific nutritional needs? If you run, you lose minerals with exercise, with improper nutritional intake, and with alcohol and caffeine consumption. Minerals make a major difference in keeping a muscle healthy and strong.

Conclusion
Pay now or pay later. I blew out my back a year ago after squatting weight without stretching. It was a hard lesson since I am still experiencing occasional soreness as a result. After learning the important of proper preparation, including stretches and good nutrition, I feel stronger, faster, and better.

Core Training For a Six Pack

A few facts about getting a six pack.

You hear a lot about core training these days. There is a lot of truth to what you are seeing however as per most things in the media, its getting a little far out. Almost daily in the gym I see trainers getting people onto swiss balls, standing on one foot, rubbing their tummy with one hand and patting their heads with the other. Well not really but you get the point.

The fact of the matter is that without a strong core, you have to power and are susceptible to injuries. The methods to getting a strong core however are a lot less complex then some people are making it.

Core training in of itself is a simple concept. You are working the diaphram, multifidus transverse abdominis, and pelvic floor deep inside. On the exterior you have the prime movers. These are the more visible ones that everyone wants to see.

If you work movements such as the overhead lifts that directly involve the spine you are on the fast track to productive core training. Yes, the stability ball has its uses but there are limits and when the complexity of the movement exceeds the effective results you can stimulate with it you are heading down the "fad/gimmick route".

Looking out at the gym floor and watching the infomercials you can see that it's getting crazy. Granted, most of the movements are a hoot to try and fun to play with on an off day, but that in itself does not make them the most effective methods. It makes them fun to do with a beneficial side effect.

Is training your core the fastest way to getting a six pack of attention grabbing rippling abs? Absolutely not. Core training makes your core stronger, more conditioned and more muscular. This is a great thing and everyone that wants pain free optimum performance needs a strong core. However, getting your abs to show in the mirror is a result of getting the fat off them. Take off the fat blanket and voila, there are your abs.

Do you think a 359 pound Olympic lifter that can pull 551 pounds from the floor and then stand up with it overhead has a strong core? The answer is yes without a single doubt. Does that lifter have a set of strong and well developed abs? Again the answer is yes. Now for the kicker. Can you see them? Nope. Not even a hit of a six-pack to be seen anywhere.

His abdominals are covered by a layer of fat.

So then if fastest way to getting a visible, beach ready six pack is through fat loss, then how do we do that?

You burn off fat by creating a small calorie deficit through several factors including a proper eating plan, exercising your WHOLE body with multi joint, muti dimensional movements like the clean and press or overhead squat and including some high intensity cardio.

If this is really the case, then why is everyone and their dog selling core training? Answer: Because everyone and their dog is willing to buy a promised shortcut to the land of easy six packs.

Really effective training is simple, but simple doesn’t mean easy.

Fit Over 40!

You can do this! I highly recommend Jon Benson's Fit Over 40 course!
http://www.fitover40.com/aff/fitsmartz

The "Lean Cusine" Diet!

Happy Labor Day!

All lot of people ask me how I stay so lean well into my 40's?! I used to be very big in to weight training and packing on the muscle in my 20' & 30's, weighing in at over 220 on a 6' frame. All well and good if you have the time and "youth" to carry that kind of weight.

As soon as I turned 40, I realized that I had to peel off some of that weight that was turning into unsightly FAT! I liked the idea of eating 6+ meals a day to keep my metabolic rate in high gear, but that "system" just made me FATTER! Now, as "girly-man" as this may sound, portion control was key, which leads me to the "Lean Cusisne" diet. I started buying those types of frozen dinners purely out of convenience and noticed a signficant decrease in my weight appetite and increae in both physical and mental energy!

Nice huh?

Try applying this to your diet and eat them for lunch and dinner along with some snack bars in between and watch what happens. As you become satisfied with your progress, begin preparing your own "small, small portion" meals and watch your energy sore! The key is small portions multiple times per day. This is exactly what Jenny, WeightWatchers and all those other plans preach - they make their money on the prepared meals they sell - please! Do it yourself and save THOUSANDS!

Hope this helps, now go apply it...well, not today =) Today....we EAT!

God Bless,
FitSmartz

P.S. E-mail us at fitsmartz@gmail.com and receive a F.R.E.E. eBook on "The 7 Keys To Fitess Success Over 40!" If you are under 40, that's fine since I have applied most of the techniques and strategies since I was 20.