Just a quick question… What will you be doing on your 55th birthday? My friend Ellen Stein just turned 55 on Friday and in her honor I have finally gotten my butt in gear to post the video of her Record Breaking single rep squat at the IPA NJ Power Challenge on Jan 20th. Just look at her thighs in this video, they look like the thighs of a teenager! And let me tell you another thing: She only weighs 128lbs!
SO I don’t want to hear any more of that junk about how weightlifting makes you into some kind of giant. Get cracking in that weight room ladies it is the closest thing you will ever get to the fountain of youth. Heck it IS the fountain of youth.
In this blazingly fast talk from Dr. Dean Ornish you will hear something you probably already heard: Americans are getting fatter. But the there are two very interesting pints about this talk. One is that since we are exporting our culture we are also exporting the diseases we suffer as a result of carrying so much extra weight. Cardio vascular disease is now more prevalent in some places in Africa than the AIDS epidemic. And the part that I am fascinated with is the series of slides that show the rise in obesity in America by state in the 1990′s.
I first saw these slides at the NSCA convention in Las Vegas when Thomas Incledon gave his presentation on how his lab will analyze your blood work to determine your nutritional needs. But he went through them very slowly. Dr. Ornish blazes through them like the rest of his talk so you can see the rise in obesity bloom like a flower. It is fascinating.
The good news…by training with me you are actively participating in your health, and ultimately your wellness, staving off the ill effects of our country’s slow slide into inactivity.
I have been friends with Ellen for many years now and for the past several we have traveled together to the annual NSCA convention to learn as much about strength and conditioning as possible.
The video above is really just a goof. She could probably lift that thing 10 or 12 times, and she would have fun doing it.
She is the current world record holder in power lifting for her age and weight class. And her numbers are enviable for any age. Here is a copy of the e-mail she sent after her last meet:
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I had a near perfect day going 8 for 9, missing my last bench of 145.
All my lifts were also World records: 275lb squat, 140lb bench and 335lb deadlift
The squat & deadlift were meet PR’s for me.
I weighed in at 128lb as well.
I was awarded the Champion of Champions (best overall female lifter of the entire meet)
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The reason I put this video up is just to demonstrate a simple thing.
Ellen started lifting weights when she was 40 Years old.
So, just think about your life for a second and think about how you might like to live it. Whether you are 30 or 40 or 50 it is hard to not get inspired by Ellen as she is living proof that your body is yours to control.
***UPDATE***
So after I posted this Ellen e-mailed me and said:
“Wait! Don’t forget to tell everybody…”
About my training with Kettlebells and how that has gotten me even stronger and leaner.
The importance of good nutrition and how that has helped me to be as healthy and strong as I am-having suffered from an eating disorder….
Also we need to get my real lifting numbers up there, the ones I have done with gear (knee wraps, lifting shirt etc…) as they are considerably larger and therefore more impressive than the ones I did RAW this past weekend.
Best competition lifts are:
341lb Squat
184lb Bench,
418lb Deadlift
all at 128 lbs bodyweight!
(important to get how tiny I am in there-women shouldn’t fear getting big in order to be strong, yada, yada…)
Perhaps you should mention my World records in multiple federations (AAU, ADAU, IPF, 100% RAW)
And…that I am 6 time IPF Masters World Champion.
***
Well Ellen we were impressed already, But now even more so. Ellen is also a Personal Trainer and extremely passionate about training and living a healthy life. So if you live out in Brooklyn say hello she would love to hear from you, just tell her I sent you
That’s Right. I was on TV in New York. I was invited onto Fox Channel 5′s morning show: Good Day New York with Ron Corning and Jodi Applegate. It is a morning talk and news show that is on weekdays from 5am to 9am.
They asked me to come on the show and give them some tips on how to get through this holiday party season without gaining weight. Here’s a snapshot of what we discussed with a couple extras thrown in.
Make sure you have a game plan.
Having a game plan means you know that you want to drink at this party so you are going to have a couple drinks. Fine. Since you are watching your weight though tonight you will skip the desserts. It is either one or the other NOT both. That is a decent game plan.
Most times if you are not at a dinner party there are going to be some hors’ dourves so which ones do you pick?
Go for the leanest protein you can find.
Eating lean protein is how you get the building blocks you need to make muscle. And the more muscle you have the better your chances at burning fat and getting lean. Examples of lean meat like on the show are roast beef, turkey, salmon, chicken. So first thing is seek out those things and get them on your plate. If they are plated hors’ dourves then just stick with the meat ones like the chicken on a stick or grilled shrimp.
Where are those veggies?
The very next thing you want to do is get some green vegetables right next to your protein. Green Vegetables are the best source of phytonutrients you will find and all you need to know about that is they are really good for you and you probably don’t eat enough of them as it stands. So eat them at the party.
Please GOD some Chocolate
Dark Chocolate is typically 70% or more cacao. Meaning It is 70% of the actual bean that makes it chocolate. Did you know that the active ingredient in chocolate is theobromine which is similar to caffeine.
So the closer to 100% you get the less sugar you get and the more kick!
In other words the closer your chocolate is to its original source the more you get of what you want.
The brownies and fruit sorbets and gelatto and mud pies all might taste good but in the end will do you no good in your weight loss efforts. And if you think there is chocolate in there you are wrong. Chocolate Flavor. Not the chocolate that might even be good for you. That chocolate doesn’t come with anything else like flour, butter, sugar, eggs, it’s just plain chocolate.
But Don’t Deprive Yourself
Hey listen, if you really want it… You should have it. ONE. Not several. Remember our game plan? Well if it is a dessert night then fine let’s have dessert! ONE. And of course No drinks. Enjoy that dessert. If you did everything else right you can have it guilt free.
There’s plenty more in The Holiday Weight Loss Guide just sign up right next door >
AND she’s over 40 years old! She’ll probably kill me for saying that, but she really does lift a weight that most teenagers these days couldn’t even think about lifting. Moreover, she does it 3 times a week!
This is my client and we have been working together for many years. Her limited range of motion during this exercise is due to the pain she experiences during a fuller range of motion. During knee flexion at higher ranges she gets pain in her knees even at much lighter weight. So over the years we have experimented to come up with the best solution: As much weight as possible in a range of motion that is pain free.
Now it’s not like she just walked into the gym one day and started lifting all this weight, we have been steadily adding weight for many years. This is the result of what is known as a progressive weightlifting program. She calls it “trying” and that additude has brought her all the success in the world: “well, I’ll try” is practicaly her motto.
She also firmly belives in bettering her last and setting new records as often as possible. This has alowed her to control her weight and strength in the manner that she prefers and makes her happiest.
She has missed only a few sessions in years and years of training, something that continues to inspire me to this day.
And how can you not be inspired by these priciples?
> Try
You just never know until you try a new exercise, a different angle, or a heavier weight.
> Try to set a new record
The essence of any time spent in physical development embodies this principle. Your body adheres to a law that dictates it will adapt only to the level of stimulus it receives. So you must provide your body with new challenges every time you practice.
> Attend Every Session
You cannot argue with a 470lb leg press full range of motion or not. IN FACT if you want to see something truly amazing check out this Bodybuilder leg pressing 2,300lbs and notice that he gets about the same range of motion as my client! Guess which one of these two has missed a workout this past year? What about the past 2 years or 5 years? Neither.
One final note:
Weightlifting has been proven to offset and even prevent Osteoporosis and is especially beneficial to women of low bodyweight. Trainer Direct Specializes in safe and effective weightlifting programs that not only burn fat and build stong, lean, bodies but our programs also help stimulate the bone growth neccessary to avoid Osteoporosis.
