Fitness Trends for 2012

The top ten fitness trends predicted for 2012 are:

1. Educated and experienced fitness professionals. Given the large number of organizations offering health and fitness certifications, it’s important that consumers choose professionals certified through programs that are accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA), such as those offered by ACSM.

2. Strength training. Strength training remains a central emphasis for many health clubs. Incorporating strength training is an essential part of a complete physical activity program for all physical activity levels and genders.

3. Fitness programs for older adults. As the baby boom generation ages into retirement, some of these people have more discretionary money than their younger counterparts. Therefore, many health and fitness professionals are taking the time to create age-appropriate fitness programs to keep older adults healthy and active.

4. Exercise and weight loss. In addition to nutrition, exercise is a key component of a proper weight loss program. Health and fitness professionals who provide weight loss programs are increasingly incorporating regular exercise and caloric restriction for better weight control in their clients.

5. Children and obesity. With childhood obesity growing at an alarming rate, health and fitness professionals see the epidemic as an opportunity to create programs tailored to overweight and obese children. Solving the problem of childhood obesity will have an impact on the health care industry today and for years to come.

6. Personal training. More and more students are majoring in kinesiology, which indicates that students are preparing themselves for careers in allied health fields such as personal training. Education, training and proper credentialing for personal trainers have become increasingly important to the health and fitness facilities that employ them.

7. Core training. Distinct from strength training, core training specifically emphasizes conditioning of the middle-body muscles, including the pelvis, lower back, hips and abdomen – all of which provide needed support for the spine.

8. Group personal training. In challenging economic times, many personal trainers are offering group training options. Training two or three people at once makes economic sense for both the trainer and the clients. 

9. Zumba and other dance workouts. A workout that requires energy and enthusiasm, Zumba combines Latin rhythms with interval-type exercise and resistance training. 

10. Functional fitness. This is a trend toward using strength training to improve balance and ease of daily living. Functional fitness and special fitness programs for older adults are closely related.

Jennifer Nicole Lee America's Sexiest Fitness Mom Coined Top Sexercise Expert

Sexercise? Sounds crazy (combining something we love with something we loath) but studies have routinely found that the right workout can boost libido, increase stamina and boost body confidence. So we asked fitness expert Jennifer Nicole Lee for advice.

She gave us some tips from her new book, "The Jennifer Nicole Lee Fitness Model Diet: JNL's Super Fitness Model Secrets to a Sexy, Strong Sleek Physique."

Jennifer Nicole Lee has now joined the "Most Desirable Women" list as the mecca of news, CBS News.com named her com "America's Sexiest Fitness Mom", interview at JNLSexyFitMom.com. Yes, this motivational weight loss success story turned mega-super model mogul has many titles, now not only is she a bestselling author, highly sought after cover model, key note speaker, successful international spokes model, but now she is "America's" "sexiest" "fitness" "mom".

More than just your average fitness model, Jennifer Nicole Lee (JNL) is a name that needs no introduction. Famous for her inspiring 80-pound plus weight loss success story, JNL is now known as the top profile leader in the fitness and wellness industry as well as the esteemed CEO to her multi-million dollar empire, JNL, Inc.


It all started when JNL, who was reaching 200 pounds after bearing two children, miraculously lost 70 pounds that brought all eyes on her and later was crowned as “Miss Bikini Diva Universe” champion. She instantly became an icon for women and fellow moms across the world, who got very motivated by her weight loss success story. Everybody wanted to know how she did it, everybody wanted to know her secrets. Seeing this as a glimmer of opportunity to help others realize and achieve their lifestyle goals, JNL agreed to share her motivational weight loss success story when she was featured in The Oprah Winfrey Show, The CBS Early Morning Show, Fox & Friends, Inside Edition, and The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch, inspiring millions of viewers all over the globe.

This empowering experience has undoubtedly shot JNL into the health and fitness industry and gained her the respect of countless professionals. JNL started to appear in many television commercials, print ads and billboards in over 100 different countries, all thanks to her #1 global hit, the Ab Circle Pro, which is currently ranked #1 as the best selling exercise equipment to date worldwide. It is so successful that JNL, who is not only the spokes model for product, but also a partner, co-creator, and designer of the product, had to in fact, dub her voice into over 20 different languages just to put up with the product’s demand for various different countries.

That is when this mega-brand mogul initiated her brand new division to her empire on July 4th 2009, entitled JNL World Wide, Inc., which was inspired by Kathy Ireland – her mentor and idol that she so looks up to. Her newly created JNL World Wide, Inc. division again took the world by storm where she teamed up with her partners to create the exercise equipment of the future and made it successful on an international stage.

The fitness guru, lifestyle consultant, fitness model and most importantly devoted wife and mother who authored the “The Mind, Body, & Soul Diet: Your Complete Transformational Guide to Health, Healing & Happiness”, states that it is indeed a blessing to be in the position that she is in right now.

“I have been able to turn my passion for fitness and motivating people into a lucrative business on a global level. My team and I are busy making plans already for the future, well into 2011 and beyond. I just wrapped shooting and filming for The JNL Experience, which is the 2010 – 2011 swimsuit calendar. This truly does mark the new era for JNL Worldwide, Inc. and JNL, Inc. I can’t thank all of my fitness friends and fans for their support.”

JNL has indeed succeeded to walk her talk. She really believes that everyone deserves to increase the quality of their life and that with healthy diet, exercise and a fierce determination, anything is possible. When she is not busy running her empire, JNL can be found making monthly appearance to over 90 million households on the #1 interactive shopping channel. Her second book, “The Jennifer Nicole Lee Fitness Model Book” is now available.

She is now sharing her top super fitness model secrets in her bestselling books with other women, so they too can be sexier and fitter. Her latest literary work is fittingly entitled "The Jennifer Nicole Lee Fitness Model Diet: JNL's Super Fitness Model Secrets to a Sexy, Strong, Sleek Physique"

And just take a look for yourself at the sexy photo gallery of JNL that CBS News.com showcased, along with the breaking news at JNLCBSNews.com and JNLSexyFitMom.com.

Additional Resources:

Download:  The Jennifer Nicole Lee Fitness Model Diet.

Next-Generation Paleo Diet Signals Change

After the success of her first Paleo Cookbook series, Nikki Young is back with a second cookbook entitled, ‘Simple Paleo Recipes’. This innovative collection of recipes signals another landmark for the increasingly popular paleo diet which is fast becoming a global lifestyle choice.

The paleo diet follows the ancestral hunter-gatherer diet which excludes processed foods, grains, dairy, sugar and preservatives. The paleo diet sticks to a natural pathway, only consuming foods for which the human body was designed to digest; lean meats, nuts, fresh fruits and vegetables, with no grains, salt, sugar, legumes or dairy products allowed.

The next-generation paleo adaptation brings the paleolithic diet into the modern day by molding the diet to a contemporary lifestyle without compromising on quality of food or deviating from a high nutrient content. Rather than chasing wildebeest across the plains in the summer and scavenging for berries and seeds in the winter, modern paleo followers barbeque lean meats, roast vegetables and concoct colorful salads.

Due to proven reports of better health, and faced with the compelling reality that a modern day diet plagued with chemicals, additives and processed sugars will destroy the body, paleo popularity has soared to extraordinary levels across the globe. Those undertaking a paleo diet have reported an absence of headaches, improved sleep, increased energy, drastically reduced illness and natural, sustainable weight loss. These surface benefits are immediate and apparent, yet long term, paleo has the ability to ward off life threatening illnesses and maintain a high level of internal health well into old age.

This latest paleo cookbook release by Nikki Young comprises 200 brand new recipes, and is themed around simplicity with the intention of increasing accessibility to delicious foods that are simultaneously kind to the body. Speaking on the release of her new cookbook, Nikki Young comments, “The Simple Paleo Recipes cookbook is designed to cater for a person’s entire diet. These recipes follow the staple foundation of a paleo diet which incorporates the nutrients and vitamins required by the body for optimum health. I have included a variety of protein sources, vegetables and fruits, as well as incorporating essential fats through the use of various nut oils; these oils also contribute greatly to the delicious taste of a number of the recipes."

For hundreds of thousands of years the paleo diet has been responsible for keeping the human race strong, alive and fighting illness naturally. It is by no means a contemporary fad diet, but a way of living that is innate to human beings. There is no real effort involved, only the application of instinct to eat foods naturally engineered for the human body to remain healthy.

To assist paleo beginners in getting acquainted with the diet of mankind, the cookbook incorporates a number of useful features. Most notable is a color coded meal recommendation indicator which helps the reader decide for which meal time the recipe is best suited. The PDF formatting provides immediate kitchen accessibility via computer or a mobile device and also ease of access for those wanting to print off a single recipe or the entire cookbook. The reader is helpfully given a shopping list and weekly meal planner so ingredients can be noted down and purchased accordingly. The cookbook also contains a conversion page for global measurement alternation.

Historically healthy cooking has appeared complicated to the masses who have succumbed to a diet of ready meals and fast food takeaways. But rapidly the world is becoming increasingly conscious of food-related illness and the daily suffering caused by a poor diet. Simply by providing an abundance of natural, nutrient rich foods, the paleo diet reduces the risk of lifestyle related diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and cancer.

The Simple Paleo Recipes cookbook opens up the doorway to healthy eating for all, not just those already useful in the kitchen. As Nikki Young explains, “I wanted to make this cookbook as easy as possible to follow and for people from all walks of life to enjoy. I am passionate about helping people achieve good health and well being by eating the right foods. This new cookbook harnesses that passion in its presentation and content.”

Additional Resources:
Paleo Food List
Paleo Brands
Everyday Paleo
Paleo Momma

Paleo Diet Update to Our Previous Article: Paleo Diet The food of Champions

After a month on the Paleo diet – big chunks of meat, no ketchup, cereal, chips or alcohol – Globe reporter Dave McGinn is ready to stuff his inner Neanderthal back in the cave.

read the full paleo diet article here:

Trying the Paleo diet? Be prepared for Caveman crankiness 


Other Resources:


Paleo Diet Recipes


Should you be eating like a cave man?


Guide to the paleo diet for athletes 

Paleo Diet The food of Champions

It is common knowledge that athletes follow strict diets to achieve sporting greatness, but what if there was a diet that required little effort at all, yet could take you from a rank outsider to the top of your field.

In just 4 years, female rower Ursula Grobler went from a learn to row class, to winning the Head of the Charles which is the largest regatta in the world. In early 2010, Ursula took the world by storm by becoming the world record holder for the fastest lightweight woman on the Concept 2 Ergometer. But besides being very talented, how did Ursula Grobler condition her body to shave an incredible two seconds off the previously held record?

While her fellow athletes wolf down heavy carbs in the form of pasta and oatmeal, Ursula maintains the required weight for her class and the power needed to be a champion by following the diet of our hunter gatherer ancestors. Ursula Grobler was introduced to the Paleo Diet by a fellow athlete, and nutritionist Neil Stephenson to guide her along the Paleo path, she shed the weight needed to become the leading lady in her class.

Ursula immediately noticed the effects of switching to Paleo eating, she explains, “the first thing was my recovery. I came to training the next day feeling energised. I could perform well with less sleep and I was more focused, I felt more stable and a sense of better wellbeing in general”.

Listening to the world champion speak, Paleo living is clearly a no brainer. Citing berries, nuts, sweet potatoes, salads, salmon, lean steak, steamed veggies, mangoes and bananas as part of her daily diet, it becomes apparent that the rest of us would also benefit from focusing our taste buds on these everyday foods.

Ursula Grobler’s success is of course down to hard work and dedication, but there is no doubt that Paleo eating has facilitated her ability to maintain the weight and power needed to excel beyond her competitors. When asked about her secret to breaking the World Record for Lightweight Women at the annual Northwest Indoor rowing competition in Seattle, Ursula simply says; “My diet stayed mainly the same. Lots of fruits and veggies. I was a little more conscious of my nuts and changed my lean protein source to mainly fish”.

Could the difference between successful and average really be down to something as simple as food?

The proof as they say is in the pudding, and ironically the Paleo Diet does now have its very own dessert options. Paleo Diet enthusiast Nikki Young has devised 310 scrumptious Paleo recipes which include multiple snack, main meal and dessert options. Eating like a champion is now not only easy, but tasty.

You may not want to become a world class rower, but undeniably the majority of us want to look as lean and healthy as Ursula Grobler does. Previously, looking as fit as an athlete was something the majority of us could only fantasize about whilst flicking through diet magazines in the doctors surgery, but those days have passed. By eating a natural diet, free of preservatives, processed sugars and high salt volumes, we can maintain a healthy weight, increase our energy levels, sleep better, boost our immune system and live longer.

With the help of a Paleo Diet, Ursula Grobler is busy training for the 2012 Olympics. A shining example of what can be achieved with the correct dietary knowledge and a diligent attitude, Ursula Grobler is living proof that Paleo eating not only works, but can dramatically change us into successful, high achieving individuals.

Have you or are you on the Paleo Diet? Tell us about your success by leaving a comment

Consuming Nutrients at the Right Time

Consuming nutrients at the right time and in appropriate amounts can take fitness and performance to a new level. The complex science behind nutrient timing, however, requires the help of sports nutritionists, usually restricting the practice to elite athletes working with professional ‘food coaches’.

Now, renowned sport nutritionists Heidi Skolnik and Andrea Chernus—who work with elite athletes from New York Giants football players to Julliard School dancers—break down the nutrient timing issue for all types of athletes in a hands-on guide. In "Nutrient Timing for Peak Performance" (Human Kinetics, June 2010), they advise when to eat what so nutrients have their greatest impact on athletes’ bodies.

“The timing of nutrients can have a big impact on an athlete’s energy,” claims Skolnik. “Plus, when and how much you eat can help not only with muscle hypertrophy but also with immune function.” She adds that staying well fueled can also reduce the risk of injury.

Skolnik and Chernus explain in layperson’s terms the science behind nutrient timing and detail nutrients like carbohydrate, protein, smart fat, essential vitamins and minerals and the role of fluids and supplements. With that base of information, they provide the strategies, plans and sample menus to help people develop their own individualized Nutritional Blueprints incorporating the Nutrient Timing Principles (NTP).

Before exercise, for example, the authors suggest specific strategies for ingestion of carbohydrate, protein and fluids. Carbohydrate before exercise provides a “topping off” of fuel reserves and blood sugar, says Skolnik helping athletes stamina, concentration and skill remain strong. Pre-exercise protein, meanwhile, may be difficult to tolerate, but small amounts may aid in reducing muscle soreness. Strength athletes, specifically, benefit from a small amount of high-quality protein to aid insulin release, inhibit muscle breakdown and facilitate muscle repair. However, “it need not be immediately before exercise in any special form,” adds Skolnik.

Fluid needs vary by individual, but the authors generally advise drinking 17 to 20 ounces of fluids two to three hours before exercise to supply optimal fluid to muscle tissue in advance of the workout and for any excess to be excreted. They also advise drinking 7 to 10 ounces of fluids 10 to 20 minutes before exercise. “This will help ensure that blood plasma is hydrated,” explains Chernus. “This timing strategy also ensures that there is some fluid in your stomach so that as you drink during your training, absorption will be faster than if you began with an empty stomach.”

The authors go on to provide advice for fueling during and post-exercise, and they give specific guidelines for strength and power athletes, endurance sport participants and stop-and-go athletes.

“Our goal is to help athletes formulate an eating plan to meet their goals,” says Skolnik, “whether they are male or female, compete seriously, participate for fun, or are training for health, well-being and aesthetics.”

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Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico, EPA Responds

EPA Responds to the BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico


Since the BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico on April 22, 2010, EPA has mobilized resources to support the U.S. Coast Guard and protect public health and the environment.  Our Emergency Operations Center at headquarters has been activated, trained EPA responders are working on the scene, and special mobile equipment has been sent to the Gulf area.
We have several online resources available:

1) We're posting updated data and other information on our BP oil spill site (www.epa.gov/bpspill):

• Get air quality and water data
• Find answers to common questions
• Submit technology solutions

2) Connect with us on social media sites:

• Administrator Jackson's personal account of the response to the oil spill: Facebook and Twitter
• EPA's announcements about our response: Facebook and Twitter

3) Please subscribe to our oil spill updates at http://service.govdelivery.com/service/subscribe.html?code=USAEPA_389.
You can also visit the coordinated government response site (www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com) for:

• Information about the spill and efforts to stop the oil from flowing
• Hotlines to report oil on land or injured wildlife
• Details of how you can volunteer

Do you think the Federal Government is doing all it can to help stop the oils spill in the Gulf of Mexico?  Let us know by leaving comments.

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Oil Spills Gulf Coast, Keep Drilling Baby

Keep drilling for oil offshore! The latest oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has really brought offshore drilling to the forefront. Now, why would we want to increase our drilling for oil offshore. By increasing offshore drilling, will the increase, increase the chances of another oil spill?

Now the Coast Guard states they will have to start controlled burns to burn off spilled oil too save the coast lines. What impact does burning the oil spill have on air quality for the Gulf Coast?

Tell us what you think by posting your comments below.

How Aware or Concerned is the American Public in  Regards to"Oil Spills" in the last 30 days?


See The Results here

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Cost to Clean Up The Oil Spill in the Gulf Coast


Do a search on  Google News for Oil Spills for the Past Month.  The results are astounding,

View all News Articles for the past month on "Oils Spills"

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See NASA Video of the Oil Spill

How to get fit at work: Cubical Boot Camp

Tell us how you stay fit at work by leaving a comment.