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

Looking For More Great Health & Fitness Tips?

We hope that you have found our blog helpful and beleive, you, me -- it's just begun!

Now, we want to hear from you! Please tell us what about some of the health and fitness issues you face or request a topic for our up and coming blogs. Consider this your personal source for all of your health and fitness needs. In the near future, you will be able to benefit even more when we launch our FitSmartz website. It will be jam-packed with awesome information that you can apply immediately to achieve a healther "life-style".

We realize there are a lot of choices out there when it comes to health and fitness sites, so we plan to up the anty with all sorts of great tools and interactive resources that will impact your life NOW; it will soon change the way you LEARN, GROW and Thrive!

Stay tuned!

In the mean time, please feel free to e-mail us at fitsmartz@gmail.com with all your requests. We promise to address them promptly.

Until then, keep that blood flowing!

What's All The Hoopla Over Trans Fat??

A trans fatty acid (commonly shortened to trans fat) is an unsaturated fatty acid whose molecules contain trans double bonds between carbon atoms, which makes the molecules less kinked compared to those of 'cis fat'. (Hint: If you don't understand it, it's probably not good for you!) Research suggests a correlation between diets high in trans fats and diseases like atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease. The National Academy of Sciences recommended in 2002 that dietary intake of trans fatty acids be minimized.

Trans fats can be natural or artificial. Small amounts of trans fat occur naturally in beef and dairy foods. Artificial trans fats are made when hydrogen gas reacts with oil. They can be found in cookies, crackers, icing, potato chips, stick margarine and microwave popcorn. About 80 percent of trans fat in American’s diet comes from factory-produce partially hydrogenated vegetable oil.

Why are They Bad for You?

Trans fats pose a higher risk of heart disease than saturated fats, which were once believed to be the worst kind of fats. While it is true that saturated fats -- found in butter, cheese and beef, for example -- raise total cholesterol levels, trans fats go a step further. Trans fats not only raise total cholesterol levels, they also deplete good cholesterol (HDL), which helps protect against heart disease.

What Harm do They do to the Body?

The stiffer and harder fats are, the more they clog up your arteries. Artificial trans fats do the same thing in our bodies that bacon grease does to kitchen sinks. Over time, they can "clog the pipes" that feed the heart and brain, which can lead to heart attack or stroke risk.

According to the comprehensive Nurses' Health Study -- the largest investigation of women and chronic disease -- trans fats double the risk of heart disease in women.

Why Have Trans Fatty Acids been Put in So Many Food Products?

No human body has any need for these man-made fats. Food manufacturers started putting them in products because they allow for a longer shelf life. Crackers, for example, can stay on the shelf and stay crispy for years in part because of the hydrogenated fats in them.

Are Trans Fats Bad for Kids?

Trans fats increase the risk for heart disease. Therefore, children who start at age 3 or 4 eating a steady diet of fast food, pop tarts, commercially prepared fish sticks, stick margarine, cake, candy, cookies and microwave popcorn can be expected to get heart disease earlier than kids who are eating foods without trans fats.

While a person may not get heart disease until they are in their 40s, some of our research here at the University of Maryland has shown that kids as young as 8, 9 and 10 already have the high cholesterol and blood fats that clog arteries. By starting healthy eating habits early, parents can help their children avoid heart attacks and stroke.

Learn the categories of foods that are likely to have trans fats:

*Fast foods - fried chicken, biscuits, fried fish sandwiches, French fries, fried apple or other *pie desserts
*Donuts, muffins
*Crackers
*Potato chips
*Many cookies
*Cake, cake icing, & pie
*Microwave popped corn
*Canned biscuits

Be a smart shopper

Don't shop when you're hungry because you're more likely to make poor choices and buy on impulse when you shop on an empty stomach. If you take the children with you, give them a satisfying snack before you go. Stand firm in your plans about what you will and will not purchase.

Shop the perimeter of the store. Most of the processed foods, which contain a lot of trans fats, are on the inner isles of the supermarket.

Have a plan for quick meals, snacks and lunch items you plan to purchase. Buy foods that you can fix quickly at home such as stir-fry packages, rice or couscous, chicken and salmon you can grill.

When you do purchase processed foods, choose the lower fat versions of crackers, cereals and desserts.

Finally, remember that you are responsible for the quality of the foods you bring into the house for your children. Children eat the foods that are available to them.

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.

Are You a Big Loser?

Catch the premier last night?

I saw bits and pieces as I was spending time with the family. I was incredibly impressed with Grandpa Jerry, the 62 year old guy who won the desert race! I mean, this older gentleman blew everyone away, many of which is he over 30 years their senior. Was it good genes? Deep internalized determination or perhaps a little of both!?

The point is, these types of goals can be achieved, I don't care how old you are. Personally, I've been adhering to a healthy lifestyle for the past 25 years. It's one of the only things in my life that I can actually control. Think about it, no one puts that fork your mouth but YOU! No one makes you get out there and exercise but you! My folks used to laugh at me and tell me that there is no way I would be able to continue to workout as my career and family begin to grow. True, there are far more distractions, but I've always found time to exercise even if it means going to bed earlier so I can wake up early to workout or go for a run. Keep it in your blood and it will help you sustain those periods of time where you just can't seem to manage your schedule. Get right back on that horse.

At 44, I look and feel better than I ever have. I will continue to apply these principles for the rest of my life and constantly "vision" how I want to look and feel.

Personally, I re-engineer my body every so often, whether it be detoxifying my system, taking the best supplements (i.e. Amalaki Juice, multi-vitamins and other antioxidants) eating impeccably well for a long stretch or putting myself through my own exercise boot camp. Change it up and keep it interesting. Your health is everything! Make all the money in the world, but hurt your back or even something more significant like getting a heart attack and that money does nothing but pay for the hospital bills - whoopy!

Eat several small meals a day (i.e. 4-6 meals), chew your food slowly and well, exercise daily and connect spiritually - whatever that may mean for you and....feel great!

Till next time...

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.