Boot Camp Team Training

What is core strengthening and why is it so important?  First of all, when people hear the words, "core strengthening" or "core exercises", we often just think of abdominal exercises. But that is just part of the equation.  The "core" of the body is just that.  It's the center where all your power comes from.  It is made of the upper and lower abdominals, obliques, and lower back.

As one of the latest fitness fads, people have repackaged their played out ab routines as core training so they can label it as functional training.  But again, the missing ingredient is the much neglected lower back.  In an age of countless fly by the night six-pack developing gadgets, there are still droves of people, mostly casual fitness enthusiasts, incurring lower back injuries.

Core training has been around for decades before all the misinformation and outright lies within the fitness industry.  From the early days of physical culture, the importance of real strength and health weighed far more important than seeking the coveted "six pack."  The staple of the lifts in the 1800's were that of the deadlift (also known as the "health-lift" by Theodore Roosevelt), and two hands anyhow.  The best tools of the trade were and still are vintage barbells and kettlebells.

In this day and age of easing discomfort from strenuous hard work and shortcuts, the masses have strayed far away from this style of training.  There always seems to be something new to take the effort away and solve the problem.  But we have had the solution with us the entire time.  The solution is not for the faint of heart or slackers.  "Core" and functional training, including deadlifts, overhead squats, windmills, sots presses and the like require focus and dedication.  The path of real strength and fitness has no place for shortcuts.

But after preparing yourself with "core" training, you will be ready to take whatever life throws at you...from shoveling snow from the driveway to playing with the kids at the park.

Here at Punch Gym South Bend we train for exactly that-LIFE!  That is what separates us from the pretenders.  So come try out our bootcamps, kettlebell 101, or Wild Ropes classes.  For the month of July we are running a "BO-GO" special of buy one term and get a second half-off.  Come join us and experience true strength and fitness!

Best in health and life,

Ben Eaton

The American Dairy Association and milk processors invest millions of dollars each year to get us Americans to drink milk and eat dairy products.  Everyone is wearing the Milk mustache!  Gorgeous models, movie stars, professional athletes, even a United States President has posed for the milk advertisement.  We've all been duped into thinking milk and other dairy products are healthy; essential even, to a healthy lifestyle and meeting daily Calcium requirements.

American women drink an average of two pounds of milk or eat the equivalent milk in dairy products per day- mainly because Doctors recommend calcium intake for increasing and maintaining bone strength and bone density.  Girls we're drinking more milk than ever and osteoporosis is on the rise!  Over twenty-five million American women have osteoporosis. Drinking milk does not prevent osteoporosis.  milk contains calcium.  Bones contain calcium too.  When we are advised to add calcium to our diets we tend to drink milk or eat dairy foods.  Such Flawed thinking!  In reality, Milk is an extremely poor source of Calcium because of its low magnesium content.

I challenge you to find proof that drinking milk prevents bone loss.  In fact, one study conducted at the Harvard Medical School showed a direct correlation between the amount of milk a country consumed and the number of hip fractures.  Exactly the opposite of what our marketing system has lead us to believe.

Where do the COWS get calcium for their bones?  FROM PLANTS! The calcium they consume from plants has a large amount of magnesium...necessary for the body to absorb and USE the calcium.  The calcium in cow's milk is basically useless because it has insufficient magnesium content.  Again, where do cows get the calcium required to build their strong bones? By eating plants, not drinking milk!  Good sources of magnesium include beans, green leafy vegetables like kale and collards, whole grains and orange juice.  Non-dairy sources of calcium include green leafy vegetables, almonds, asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, oats, beans, parsley, sesame seeds and tofu.

But what about Calcium supplements?  ...."For the last few years American women have been buying calcium supplements to the tune of over a half a million dollars a year.  And what do we have to show for it?  Not much and certainly it won't help you if your lifestyle of poor quality food is robbing your body of calcium and other minerals.  I recommend that you think of mineral supplements in the this way:  Minerals are rocks.  Humans are not designed to eat rocks.  However, plants eat rocks and convert those minerals to organic nutrients that the human body can digest and assimilate."  Says Neller.

The absolute BEST Sources of calcium are plant based foods, Plain and simple.  Got Milk?...I hope not!

Mike Neller has a Master of Science Degree in Holistic Nutrition from the Clayton College of Natural Health, is board certified in Nutritional Wellness from the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians, and holds a Mast Herbalist Certification.  Mike is our Nutritionist here at Punch Gym South Bend.