So what new trends in fitness are we going to see in the year 2012?  Knowing the answer to this important question will keep you on the cutting edge when implementing your fitness  program. In order to answer this all important question I have turned to the 2012 exercise trends report from the ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine).  A survey of over 2600 fitness professionals revealed what is hot in fitness in 2012, and what is not.

As a fitness consumer you must be aware that the top spot goes to educated, and experienced fitness professionals. This is good news because consumers are not just hiring any personal trainer, but prefer the ones that have an exercise physiology/kinesiology degree, and/or certification from an organization accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA). The top trend implies that health, and fitness consumers are getting smarter about what the industry has to offer. This means unqualified trainer Joe will soon be taking a backseat to qualified, and experienced Eddie.  As the exercise field becomes even more competitive the most qualified, and experienced pros will be the most sought after.

When looking for a personal trainer make sure the pro values continuing education. There are more opportunities available today than at any other time in history. Hire an educated, and experienced fitness professional. You will quickly realize the value.

Strength training is the number two trend on the list.  I don’t care what age you are, if you are not incorporating strength training into your workout program, then you are making a big mistake. Weight training, or resistance training is even more popular now than ever before. It is not just about bodybuilding, but functional strength. Fitness research comes out frequently addressing how important strength training is to all populations.  Is resistance training part of your workout program?

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You are moments away from discovering who fitness pro Jim O’Connor really is, and what Wellness WORD is actually all about. Carefully watch the video below as I open the book regarding my crazy life.

At Wellness WORD we feel it is important to be transparent for our valuable subscribers, and customers. Therefore, I created a very personal video message describing what really makes me tick. Being a fitness expert in Beverly Hills, California, I have many stories to tell. Life is never dull. You will see!

Take the time, right now, and carefully watch the video. It will be an honor introducing myself to you. After all, I feel it is extremely important for you to get to know the person who will be helping you shatter your fitness goals.

Without further adieu, watch as I open the book on myself, and my company. I look forward to getting to know you, and am anxious to help you reach your fitness goals.

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In my most recent fitness survey one of our valued members asked about the best way to keep focused on fitness exercise program goals. Well, I have the answer for you in the video below. You can accomplish your workout goals if you approach them in the right way. Follow the advice, right now, in the video below.

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Is is a good idea to take in sugar during your exercise training session to improve athletic performance? How does it pertain to power, and endurance? These are the big questions of the day! Should you, or shouldn’t you ingest sugar during your aerobic, or anaerobic fitness training session?

There has been a recent study completed in Copenhagen, Denmark that showed sugar consumption during exercise increased endurance, and power.  The study was published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, June 2009.  There were two groups of men studied. Group 1 was given a solution of 6% sugar to consume during an extended endurance training session. Group 2 was given an artificially sweetened drink to consume during their leg of the endurance exercise.

The sugar supplemented exercise leg had 14% more power, and a 30% greater time to exhaustion. Therefore, if you want to improve athletic performance, it is important to consume sugar throughout your training session. This is especially true for endurance training workouts. Therefore, taking in carbohydrates throughout your endurance training session will increase power, and endurance.

Now the whole key towards increasing  aerobic performance is your bodies ability to preserve stored sugar in cells. Ingesting sugar during your training session will do this. Also, taking a caffeine supplement  30 – 60 minutes prior to exercise will  cause a preservation of stored blood sugar in cells.

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Wellness Word Newsletter
November 7,  2008

After a bit of a layoff, we are back in full effect with a gigantic fitness tip! I missed sharing fitness information with you!

You are probably asking where did I go, and why?

Well, I had a good thing, and a bad thing happen. First off, I had to dedicate more time to the completion of my personal trainers’ project I had been working on for the past 6 months. I am proud to say it is kicking butt, and helping a lot of trainers generate personal trainer residual income.

If you are a personal trainer, or want to become a fitness pro, this is a MUST SEE personal trainer business product.

And now for the bad – during the product creation process, my computers motherboard decided to “kick the bucket!” One Saturday night at around 11:00 pm I tried to turn the computer on, and NOTHING! Talk about breaking out in a cold sweat. 

It was a scramble to diagnose the problem, get a new computer, and transfer everything from XP to Vista. To make a long story short, it wasn’t easy, and took almost 10 days to complete.

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Wellness Word Fitness Newsletter
July 31, 2008

Stop Wasting Your Valuable Workout Time!

There was lots of drama in the gym today. MTV was shooting a comedians reality show. See what you have to endure if you live in Southern California. There was even a great big bulletin posted on the gym entrance stating anyone entering the gym could possibly be on television. Therefore, train at your own risk. Too much drama for me!

 Lately, I have noticed one troubling issue in the gym. People are completely unfocused, and only getting a small percentage of the results they could be getting, in half the time. They walk around wondering what is coming next. They don’t seem to have a purpose. Their intensity is far below the level to achieve sizable results.

It is sad because they are not getting maximum results for the time they are investing in the gym. Why? There are a lot of reasons, some of which I touch upon in the audio below.

After witnessing this trend, I felt I needed to address this in my next audio. After all, I don’t want a Wellness Word subscriber walking around lost in the gym. I want you to have focus, desire, and purpose.

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It seems everyday I check the national news HGH, or Human Growth Hormone is mentioned. Right now we are in the middle of crackdown on HGH usage in Major League Baseball. Aging Hollywood celebrities are coming out and admitting growth hormone usage in an attempt to preserve their youth. It sure seems to be a hot topic these days!

What exactly is HGH? Does it work? What are the risks? These are important questions that need to be answered immediately because athletes, bodybuilders, and indiviudals trying to preserve youth are injecting themself daily.

Human Growth Hormone stimulates the growth, and cell production in the body. An understandable example is when boys transition through puberty. They have a very high HGH level at this time. It is responsible for increasing muscle mass, decreasing bodyfat, and speeding up recuperation time between workouts.

Even the anti-aging clinics are jumping on the bandwagon promising a restoration of energy, vigor, strength, and even an increase in sex drive.

All sounds good, right?

Not so quick. There may be a huge price to pay! Read More…

Do you know all diet and exercise results begin in your mind? Without the proper thinking, results can be limited. What I mean by thinking is the way your perceive exercise, and the benefits received from it.

Inorder to achieve significant fitness results it is important to put yourself into the proper frame of mind. That being a positive mental attitude. Those that achieve great fitness results have a very positive mental attitude when it comes to exercise.

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How to lose weight naturally requires an understanding of energy balance. Energy balance is when you consume the same amount of calories your body burns off for energy. Forget the weight loss pills, and potions, and focus on the simple concept of negative energy balance. Another words, your body burns off more calories than are consumed. With that said, you will lose weight naturally.

When your energy balance is negative enough to burn off 3500 calories, you will lose one pound of bodyfat.

You body burns energy in 3 ways.

1. Basic metabolic functions of your organs and system (60%)
2. Physical activity (30%)
3. Thermogenic effect of foods eaten (10%)

Now how to lose weight naturally involves understanding your energy balance numbers. That is, how many calories are needed to maintain your body weight.

A real quick estimate of this number can be found the following way:

Men – Body Weight X 10 + Double Your Body Weight
Female – Body Weight X 10 + Your Body Weight

With that number determine your activity level. If you exercise to lose weight for more than 1 hour each day add 400 to that number if you are a man. For women, add 300.

The sum of this number will be an approximation of your energy balance. This is the amount of calories you should take in to maintain your weight. Now to lose, you must decrease your calories, or increase your activity in order to enter the negative energy balance. To gain weight, increase your calories to the appropriate level. This will bring about positive energy balance.

So the next time you wonder how to lose weight naturally, you can begin paying attention to your energy balance in order to maintain, lose, or gain weight.

To discover how you too can lose weight quickly while working out in only half the time visit Wellness Word.

A diet research report was released this week as a result of studying 31 weight loss studies. Researchers concluded two thirds of dieters gain all their weight back, and even more, five years after going on a weight loss diet. Thus, after a fat loss regimen, participants gain back more weight than they lost.

The study concluded most people fall into the yo yo dieting plan category. This, in turn, can be bad for your health showing an increase in heart disease and stroke. Accoring to studies, it would be better not dieting at all, than going up and down, up and down.

Weight loss enthusiasts really need to think lifestyle. Your eating habits need to change from today through the rest of your life.  That is what works. Think healthy eating for a lifetime. Exercise was shown to be the best “pill” for maintaining weight loss.