A Sad Passing In The Fitness Family

There was a sad passing in the fitness world
yesterday. Jack LaLanne passed away at 96 years of
age.

Jack was a fitness icon introducing fitness to men
and women long before it was considered cool.

Jack influenced the lives of thousands. He was a
walking example of health. He taught the benefits
of fitness and nutrition throughout one's life and
even joked a few years back, "I can't afford to
die. It would wreck my image."
With all the fitness advice that's available
today, including my own, I think Jack sums it up
perfectly.

"The only way you can hurt the body is not use
it," LaLanne said. "Inactivity is the killer and,
remember, it's never too late."Jack's contribution to the health and fitness
industry will likely never be matched. He was the
ultimate trailblazer. And he not only talked the
talk, but he walked the walk.

When he turned 43 in 1957, he performed more than
1,000 push-ups in 23 minutes. At 60, he swam from
Alcatraz Island to Fisherman's Wharf in San
Francisco, handcuffed, shackled and towing a boat.
Ten years later, he performed a similar feat in
Long Beach harbor.

The guy was a health and fitness stud. And he'll
be missed.

Rest in peace Jack.


Tim Chudy

10 Dirty Secrets Your Fitness Club Doesn't Want You To Know

I was talking with a friend the other day and she
asked me whether she should join a gym, buy a
treadmill, or hire a trainer. I hear this question
a lot. Especially around the new year.

But what do you think my answer is going to be? Hire a
trainer of course! ;-)

But a trainer isn't for everyone. I certainly know
that. But neither is a gym. So I gave my friend a
report I wrote a couple years back called, "10
Dirty Secrets Your Fitness Club Doesn't Want You
Know".

I want to give you a free New Year's gift to you
too! You can download it by clicking here.

There's a lot you should be aware of at big box
gyms. And you won't be told any of this info by
the guy or gal that signs you up for a membership.
Having been in the industry for over 10 years and
worked in big fitness clubs I discovered these
secrets. And you can learn them all in this report.

Furthermore, it helps to think about what joining
a gym really is. It's simply a place to
workout. A membership gives you access to equipment,
a pool, weird stares and more. It is NOT a solution.
Don't expect to get a support system, accountability, personal
attention from people that know you and your name,
and many, many other components for weight loss
and fitness success.

Of course the important thing is that you're doing
something to improve your health and fitness. It's
just always smart to make sure that something
actually works.

You can download the free report by clicking on
this link. No name or email is required.

To your health and fitness success,

Tim Chudy

P.S. I realize you may have already joined a gym
by now. If so, this report is even more important
for you to read. And if you still need to start something,
download our info-pack after you've read through this
report. Then you'll be ready to make an informed decision.

One More Thing To Making Your Resolutions STICK

Oops! I forgot to mention something.

My earlier post gave you 6 tips to making your New Year's Resolutions STICK. I'm assuming you made at least one resolution. But probably more. These 6 tips are applicable to any area of your life; health and fitness, finances, diet, career, and many others.

But I forgot to mention one BIG thing.

And it's important.

What is it?

Excuses. You must drop ALL your excuses.

Excuses keep your life stagnant. Nothing postivie comes from excuses. As a personal trainer I've heard them all. Some so bad they're on the same level as 'My dog ate my homework.'

When you drop your excuses, you are really giving yourself permission to change. Because let's face it, change doesn't come easy. We'll avoid change til we're blue in the face. But when you make a decision to change, drop your excuses, and take action, you really tap into your true potential. And YOU WILL SUCCEED.

Drop your excuses. Make a change.

Make it a great year,

Tim Chudy

Tips For Making Your New Year's Resolutions STICK

Happy New Year!

As you probably know, at the start of every new
year Americans seeking a better quality of life
will make a healthier lifestyle and losing
weight among their top resolutions.

It's almost a given. The holidays give you an
added guilt trip and all then it's time for
a resolution. What perfect timing.

Since most people try to adopt a healthier
lifestyle and lose weight for the new year, AND
most people drop those resolutions somewhere
between February and June, I thought some tips
for making those resolutions STICK would be helpful.

Allocation: You cannot expect to make ANY change
with your health, fitness, or weight without
setting aside time. Joining a gym only gives you
access to a facility. It won't help you lose
weight. Buying the newest bestselling diet book
only informs you about the diet. It doesn't prevent you
from eating junk food.

You must block out time, and preferrablly set
appointments, to take the needed action. When
it comes to exercise, accountability is the
biggest secret. For diet, it's preparation.

Priority: Everyone has priorities. Usually family
and work rank at the top. If you don't make your
resolution a high priority, it will quickly fall to the
bottom of your list.

So what's more important than your workout? I'm
not suggesting to miss your daughter's piano recital.
But because it's during your normal workout time, it
doesn't mean you should skip it all together. You must
reschedule. Our clients that train in the morning are
always the most successful with their schedules.
Obviously not much can pop up at 6 o'clock in the
morning. Well, other than more sleep. But who needs that.;-)

Measurement: There are no overnight success
stories when it comes to weight loss. No one just
loses 100 pounds. You lose 100 pounds 1 pound
at a time. Once you have your big picture, chunk
it down and measure often. At Fitness Together we measure once a month. Seeing progress stimulates your motivational engine. As momentum builds, your
confidence grows, commitment gets stronger, and this
entire process gets easier.

On the flip side, if you are going in the wrong
direction you can quickly realize it and change
course. Measuring your progress will ensure your success.

Don't rely on yourself: Let's be honest, sometimes
you just have a sh@*#y day. Everyone has them.
It is on these days that a coach and motivator
help pick you up and keep you on track. Don't go
it alone. There's no sense in that. Get a coach. (For
more info on our coaching programs click here)

Numbers: Don't make 10 resolutions. You won't
stick to 'em. Make 1 good one. Or if you're
feeling really determined make 3. But don't
overload yourself. You'll overwhelm and burn out.
One successful resolution is better than 5
unsuccessful.

Commitment: I have a saying, "If you're
interested, you'll fail. If you're committed,
you'll succeed." Only you can decide if you really
want to be healthy, lose weight, and feel good
about yourself. Doing so for others, by pressure,
or any other false pretense will result in
failure. Commit. But ONLY because you want to.

Print this out and post it where you can see it daily
along with your written resolutions. You're chances of
success will rise exponentially!

To your health and fitness in 2011,

Tim Chudy
Fitness Together

P.S. If you'd like help getting fit and healthy, losing
weight, feeling good, and making 2011 your best year ever
then request a consultation here.

"3 Holiday Strategies and 1 Heckuva Sweat"

Before I dive into the formula we need to address your 'Holiday Indulgence Factor'. Because it's different for everyone.

You must first determine your starting point. If you need to lose 40 pounds, you're 'Holiday Indulgent Factor' will be less than someone needing to lose 10 pounds.

If you need to lose weight, sacrifices must be made. And indulging during the holidays will be one of them. So, for some, it might be best to skip the parties, throw out the cookies, sip on light egg nog and look forward to ringing in 2011.

But if you do allow yourself to indulge, then follow this formula.


3 Holiday Strategies

It's time to party! Between work, social, religious, and other groups you probably have a few Holiday parties to go to. I have a buddy who goes to at least 8 or 9 every year! Sometimes there's no way around it. Follow these 3 strategies to make holiday parties your friend, not foe.


1. Eat before you go.
Nothing new or fancy here. Just DON'T go to a party hungry. Failure is for certain! Eat a healthy meal with lean protein and veggies 30-60 minutes before the party. You'll have a chance to satisfy your sweet tooth with something small, but you won't go overboard trying to make a meal out of bon-bons.

2. Drink one, then drink another.
No, no, no. Not another in quantity. Another in type!;-) Have a tasty libation, but switch to water or club soda with a lime afterwards. Do this with every other drink. Pace yourself and drink moderately. Remember, everyone makes fun of the company drunk. No one really wants to be them.

3. Be Balanced.
If you know you have 3 parties this coming weekend, don't go out for a burger and fries everyday at lunch. Nutrition isn't as easy as 'banking' calories (this is one of the flaws with the Weight Watchers point system). But during the holidays it's not a bad strategy to follow. Eat a couple of light meals on Saturday before your big Holiday party. Be balanced and don't go overboard every chance you get this season.

I assure you these 3 strategies will prevent the average holiday weight gain. But we're not finished with the formula.

Now it's time to work up one heckuva sweat. Go sweat your butt off! Go get after it. I'm not talking about walking the dog or reading a magazine on the stationary bike. Go hard, go intense. Go chase your kids in the backyard. Go wrestle with them in the snow. Do a high intensity interval on the elliptical. Do something. And do it hard.

I remember one of our clients had a T-shirt that said 'Go Animal or Go Home!'. That's good to keep in mind as you work up your sweat!

And if you really want this to be effective, do this before and/or after your party. Get your metabolism cranking and burn off the extra sugar and calories.

Put this formula into play. I'm certainly going to. And I'm also going to eat the cookies my trainer and his girlfriend made!:-)

Happy Holidays,

Tim Chudy


P.S. Do you have any other holiday fitness or weight loss tips? I'd love to hear them and so would the others reading this blog. Post them below.

P.P.S. John started the Holiday Kickstart last week. His wife Connie is jumping on the Fitness Holiday bandwagon tomorrow. That means it's not too late for YOU!

If You're Over 40, Do This EVERYDAY

Warning: This post is NOT intended to be medical
advice. This is simply based on an interpretation
of a study. Please see my disclaimer below my
welcome message in the right hand column. As
always, consult your physician before taking any
medical advice. Now that we got that out of the way...

I bet you know taking a daily aspirin will
help prevent some cardiovascular incidences. That's
SMART prevention. But new evidence shows aspirin having a much greater
benefit than preventing a heart attack or stroke.

A long term, low dose aspirin has shown to
dramatically cut the risk for a wide array of
cancers. This new finding published in
The Lancet comes from a fresh analysis of 8 studies
and over 25,000 patients.

The scientists discovered these results while
initially looking for the protective potential
on cardiovascular disease. However, as the
patients were tracked, up to 20 years after the
initial study, more cancer preventing benefits
were found.

Overall cancer death risk plummeted by 21 percent
for those taking a low dose aspirin. At 5 years
out death due to gastrointestinal cancer dropped
by 54%! Furthermore, after 20 years of a low dose
death risk dropped by 10% among prostate cancer
patients, 30% among lung cancer patients, 40%
among colorectal cancer patients, and 60% among
esophageal cancer patients.

Those in their late 40's and 50's stand to benefit
the most and can likely lower your risk of death
from cancer. If you're over 40 I would talk to
your doctor and get on this pronto.

I've talked with a lot of people over the years
that are afraid of either heart trouble or cancer.
This study is good evidence a low dose aspirin may help both.

To your health,

Tim Chudy

P.S. You know what also has been shown to prevent
heart disease and cancer? Exercise. It's the best
cure-all you can do. And we can help you. More
info here.

Inspiration from Hollywood and a Catholic Nun

If you think you're old, think again.

Sister Madonna Buder became the oldest female to
complete the famed Ironman race last year at age
79. In fact, they had to create a separate age
bracket for her! She just wrote a book, 'The Grace
to Race' and will be featured with 16 other
triathletes in a book honoring them and the
Triathlon sport.

Very impressive. And hopefully inspiration to you.
I know most of the readers of this blog are
younger than 80. If Sister Madonna can do an Ironman,
then certainly this is inspiration to accomplish
some of your goals. It's amazing what a little
shift in perspective can do.

Moving on to Hollywood...

We have another Hollywood weight loss story. A
simple trip to the check out line at the grocery
store will reveal dozens of these stories every
month. With most being hype, I felt this one
was instructive and inspirational.

Kelly Osbourne, daughter of Ozzy and Sharon
Osbourne, has always struggled with her weight.
She recently donned a red bikini showing off her
new hot body. Not only has she lost weight, but
she's fit and healthy too.

Her weight loss has not been easy. Her mother had
gastric bypass and Kelly had considered that as an
option. But ultimately she knew that wasn't for
her.

"I was looking for a quick fix or a pill I could
take. I even thought about getting the band on my
stomach. My mother had that surgery and I watched
her lose a lot of weight. But we decided it would
be better for me to try and slim down naturally."

To date Kelly has lost 50 pounds.

She credits her Dancing with the Stars partner for
turning her onto her new lifestyle. "He made me
eat turkey burgers and salads and explained to me
that a high protein, low carb diet would keep me
energized. Then I started losing weight and
realized, 'Oh, it's true what they say; diet and
exercise really work!'"

Kelly has realized that it's not easy losing
weight. "At first it wasn't easy. It hurts so
much. But when you walk out of there, you're like,
'I can't believe I just did that and my body looks
this good.'"

I expect Kelly to keep her weight off. I say
that based on her response to seeing herself in a
bikini on the cover of Shape magazine. "It was a
bit of an emotional roller coaster because I never
thought that would be me or I'd ever look like
that." Emotion is the fuel that feeds your fire.
And it's a must have when committing to
your goals and accomplishing them.

I also get the sense she's caught the exercise
bug. It happens to most people when they make such
a significant transformation. Debbie, one of our
clients in Des Peres comes to mind. She comes into
the studio 5, if not 6 days a week for training
and cardio. She caught the bug long ago and
has lost 52 pounds! Probably more since I last
looked. Her bug bit so hard she's gearing up to
become a trainer!

Have a great Thanksgiving holiday. No nutrition
advice from me today. Enjoy your time with family,
friends, and food. But come Friday, be sure to get
back on the wagon. ;-)

By the way, it's not too late to start your
Holiday Kickstart Program. Sue, Jeanne and Angie
all started yesterday. Sign up now before the
holidays come and go.

To your holiday health,

Tim Chudy
Fitness Together


P.S. A couple weeks after the diet pill Meridia
was pulled from the market, the FDA shot down
another weight loss drug called Lorcaserin. This
one had "marginal effectiveness and cancer
occurred at higher than usual rates." Gee, that
one sounds great. If you want to lose weight, burn
fat, and boost metabolism withOUT pills click
here.