Hello everyone.  I have now completed the penultimate week of the Slendertone 6 Week Plan and am back wit a weekly update on how it went.

Feedback on the Slendertone System-Abs Belt

This week I stuck to the following intensity levels on Slendertone System Abs:
- Monday (Day 1):- 60.
- Tuesday (Day 2):- 65.
- Wednesday (Day 3):- 75.
- Thursday (Day 4):- 75.
- Friday (Day 5):- 85.

As with the previous two weeks I also ensured that I did a focussed abdominal workout on top of the five Slendertone sessions.  I noticed this week just how much I have got used to the feeling of Slendertone System Abs.  Between Monday and Thursday I noticed the belt much less whilst wearing it.  However, when I reached Friday and increased the intensity level to 85 (the highest I have been) it was a different story.  This setting really squeezed my abs tight and I could feel every pulse that the belt made.

Feedback on my Exercise Routine

For the last two weeks my exercise routine has been really solid.  This week it was still very good but not quite up to the standards I achieved in weeks 3 and 4. I managed to do my usual three day weights routine but only managed one treadmill session (for the last 2 weeks I have been doing two).  Whilst I was dissapointed not to have done as much cardio it was still a productive week.  I managed four good workouts and overall I was happy with this.

Feedback on my Diet

My diet was similar to my exercise routine this week – good but not as impressive as previous weeks.  Between Monday and Friday I ate my usual healthy options of breakfast (oatmeal and fresh fruit or poached eggs on a wholemeal bagel), lunch (a homemade beef or chicken salad), a pre-gym meal (tuna, steamed vegetables and herbs) and tea (a hot meat dish with lots of fibre rich vegetables with fruit for snacks.

However, I was working for my friend at the weekend which meant I was was rarely in the house.  Because of this I had to grab food on the go and in a lot of cases there were no healthy options available.  Overall, it was still a good week despite the slight dip in the quality of the food I ate on Saturday and Sunday.  I still managed to eat some healthy foods over the weekend when I got the opportunity and between Monday and Friday my diet was almost immaculate.

Feedback on the appearance of my Abs

My stomach does look a lot tighter than it did before I started using Slendertone System Abs and overall I think my abdominal muscles have become quite strong and toned.  However, there is still some fat covering my stomach which I really need to lose before I start seeing some proper definition.  So overall like most weeks I am going to say the appearance of my abs has improved but they are not perfect.

Summary

After completing five of the six weeks it is now crunch time.  As I mentioned above I really need to lose some more fat from my stomach area to bring out the definition.  Next week I am going to be really strict with myself by cutting down on calories, cutting down on carbohydrates and increasing the amount of cardio I am doing even further.  My plan is to cut out my pre-gym meal (which should reduce my overall calories), stop snacking on fruit (which should cut out some calories and also drop my carbohydrate intake significantly) and do at least 20 minutes cardio per day (40 minutes plus on none weight lifting days).  Hopefully, this reduction in calories consumed and increase in calories burned during the final week will strip the final layer of fat from my stomach and reveal the definition underneath.

Related Posts

• June 22, 2010 — The Slendertone 6 Week Plan: Week 4 (1)
• June 15, 2010 — The Slendertone 6 Week Plan: Week 3 (6)
• June 10, 2010 — The Slendertone 6 Week Plan: Week 2 (0)
• June 3, 2010 — The Slendertone 6 Week Plan: Week 1 (3)
• May 29, 2010 — My First Thoughts on Slendertone (3)
• May 26, 2010 — I’m Doing The Slendertone 6 Week Plan (10)
• February 20, 2010 — The Real Deal on Losing the Paunch in Your Stomach: Four Myths about Getting Six Pack Abs (13)
• October 28, 2007 — 3 Stomach Toning Abdominal Exercises (14)
• September 14, 2009 — Be Healthily Ripped and Buff: Five Nutrition Tips for Getting those Six Pack Abs (9)

From my experience in the gym, everyone, and I mean everyone, needs to spend more time overhead pressing instead of lying on a bench like a fat, lazy powerlifter (before you powelifters get mad don’t forget that I am a powerlifter and I used to be fat). As I mentioned in a previous post, lifting weights is really just about picking heavy things up, walking with them, throwing them, or pressing them overhead.

If you are serious about getting stronger, spend more time pressing over head. You will build more muscle, burn more calories, and improve your shoulder health by spending time standing up and putting heavy things over your head. Besides, why go to the gym to sit and lie down on benches, you are there to work!

Anyways, enough of me ranting, here is the workout I did today to help get ready for the King of Kensington Strongman Contest in Calgary.

• Bottoms Up Military Press
• standing, chain supported
• worked up to a max single
• dropped the weight to 70% and worked back up to failure
• Pull-Ups
• varying the grip each set
• did 1 set between each set of military presses
• Heavy Kettlebell Clean and Press
• 4 x 5
• 1 Arm Dumbbell Row
• 3 x 8
• Dips
• 3 x 10
• paired with the dumbbell rows

If you think you are good enough at overhead pressing already, just watch the video below!

Looking for a personal trainer in Calgary? I can help you lose weight, get in shape, or build muscle. Whether you are an athlete or just getting started, I can help. Email me at nathan@kettlebellplanet.com to learn more.

method laundry: You may remember an earlier post about ‘Toxins in the home‘

‘In short, every room in almost every house in the United States is likely to contain at least one of these chemicals, many of which did not exist a century ago.‘

Here’s a chance to try out a free sample of a new laundry washing clothes wash liquid that ticks all the boxes on your environmentally friendly kinder to the planet and your health wish list.

A very easy way to cut out some of the unecessary chemicals in your home that you keep close to your skin.

Grab one now - see top right flash - Free Products

Nutritionists London

method laundry: You may remember an earlier post about ‘Toxins in the home‘

‘In short, every room in almost every house in the United States is likely to contain at least one of these chemicals, many of which did not exist a century ago.‘

Here’s a chance to try out a free sample of a new laundry washing clothes wash liquid that ticks all the boxes on your environmentally friendly kinder to the planet and your health wish list.

A very easy way to cut out some of the unecessary chemicals in your home that you keep close to your skin.

Grab one now - see top right flash - Free Products

Nutritionists London

muha…

“Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

As the sun comes out and we are spending more and more time outdoors there is a need for some sort of protection from the sun. I have tried to stop using sunscreen for a while now due to its supposed negative effects. Sunscreen has been linked with the following:

• Not being as effective as advertised (not living up to its SPF rating)
• Accelerated development of skin tumors and lesions
• Blocking Vitamin D
• Vitamin A which is a common ingredient in sunscreen is shown to cause cancer
• Disruption of the bodies hormonal system

Now this also goes back to the post I wrote about the dangers of conventional body products, as sunscreen is full of PABA, Oxybenzone as well as a host of other chemicals. The main reason I stopped using sunscreen is that we need Vitamin D and most of us are deficient so the very fact that sunscreen totally blocks off our absorption of Vitamin D is a pretty killer deal. This is not to mention its cancer causing potential and false claims most sunscreens carry.

Do not forget the sunscreen industry is huge and they will go to huge measures to pump fear into the public about skin cancer and the dangers of spending time in the sun. Funnily enough Vitamin D deficiency is a leading cause for skin cancer…..

To me it is a case of being sensible with the sun, as they say “The Difference Between Medicine And Poison Is The Dose” which couldn’t be more true when it comes to the sun. So what are our alternatives when it comes to maximising the benefits, while negating the risks?

Get your dose - Don’t forget that getting 10,000-20,000IU of Vitamin D only requires about 20 minutes of midday sun on an exposed body, And even less time than that for the very lightly skinned. I think this is something we can all manage a few times in the summer without getting burnt.

Natural Mechanisms - Our body has a natural mechanism to get us out of the sun when we have had too much. Ever notice how the sun feels great at first but after 20 or 30 minutes it becomes uncomfortable and too hot. This is our body telling us enough is enough and that it is time to go seek some shade. Listen to your body when in the sun, this by itself will help you avoid the overdoing it.

Coconut Oil - I have been experimenting with this myself, now that the sun is out regularly I try to spend some time in the sun daily and have been testing out Coconut Oil as sunscreen. I would suggest reading this article about using coconut oil as sunscreen.

I spent many days hiking and FULL days at the beach swimming and NO BURNS. Now, yes, I got pink, but no  painful burns and the best part is that they all mellowed the next day into the slightest brown. For a white girl, that was just unbelievable!!!!!

Pretty impressive stuff and it is similar to what I have found. A few weeks back I was out in the park with friends wearing nothing but shorts and spent a few hours in the sun, now my skin burnt slightly and I was a bit sore and red the next day. This was totally my own fault though as I didn’t seek shade or wear any protection.

Since reading the article above I have been trying out coconut oil as sunscreen, I will basically coat my body in a thin layer and go get some sun. I can confirm that after spending prolonged periods of time in midday sun with coconut oil on I experienced no burns of redness what so ever and I seem to develop a much nicer light brown tan, so I am a believer….

Diet - Our skin seems to have a direct correlation with the types of fat we eat. As anyone who has eaten a low fat diet will know skin becomes pretty dry…. The opposite seems to happen when we eat heat resistant fats and reduce our consumption of less heat resistant Polyunsaturated fats our skin becomes softer and tougher.

Most people find that when they reduce their consumption of PUFA’s (Peanut butter, Veggie oils, Cooking with olive oil) and replace these fats with more saturated and heat resistant fats like Coconut and Dairy fat their skin becomes much more resistant to the sun and burns far less easily. It is interesting that mother nature provides these fats as the main source of energy to tribes who live in the hotter parts of the world like the Masai (who drink plenty of milk and have a diet with virtually no PUFA’s) and the Kitavans who love their coconut and sweet potato (and again eat practically no PUFA’s) this seems to give them a natural sun coping mechanism.

This seems to be especially important in summer. We can all learn from these guys by replacing the majority of Polyunsaturated fats and using things like coconut, and macadamia nuts while cooking with heat resistant fats like butter, ghee, coconut and palm oil.

Go Natural - There seems to be a growing range of natural sunscreens on the market today which claim to protect from the sun without any of the negative effects of conventional sunscreen. They work by acting like a mirror and reflecting off the sun instead of absorbing the UV rays like normal sunscreens. The link below reviews some of the most common brands…

Should You Switch To Natural Sunscreen?

Most contain Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide (both ‘natural‘ sunscreens) as well as things like Shea Butter and Sesame/Macadamia oil (which is known for its sun blocking effects). These seem pretty effective to me and when I go on holiday this summer I plan to pickup a few bottles and give them a try……

So as you can see there seem to be some pretty easy changes you make if you want to try going SPF free this summer, please comment if you have any experience making the most of the sun without having to resort to sunscreen……

My wife and I decided to visit friends in Banff National Park this past weekend. Banff is a beautiful place with mountains, rivers and amazing wildlife. It’s also a great place to hike, haven an impromptu strongman workout and then bbq a lot of meat!

 On Saturday we went for a 3 hour hike which was a pretty tough workout for me but the scenery and wildlife made the effort worth while.

On Sunday, my buddy Chris and I hit the river for some fun stone lifting. Stone lifting is a great way to work all kinds of muscles while really hitting your grip at the same time. After we got tired of moving rocks around, we busted out his 20 year old mini-van and pushed it distance. The first truck push was done on gravel with a slight incline. It was really tough so we moved the truck over to a paved road with more of an incline. This was done as a finisher and so was one set to absolute failure.

One the way back down the mountain we came across two young black bears! I tell you, it is hard to beat a weekend of excersising in the great outdoors in the company of mountains, rivers, sun and wildlife. If your training needs a spark, just get outside and find some nice scenery for a change!

Here is a video of the workout we did in Banff.

Here is a video of the nature I filmed between workouts! Talk about a productive weekend!

Looking for a personal trainer in Calgary? I can help you lose weight, get in shape, or build muscle. Whether you are an athlete or just getting started, I can help. Email me at nathan@kettlebellplanet.com to learn more.

Ammonia Friend or Foe

Ammonia, the big bad chemical of hair color, is what they would have you believe. I have been explaining this one for years, and am going to give it one more shot, in light of the recent entry to hair color L’Oreal’s Non-Ammonia Hair Color ….INOA. To me? I feel the entire issue is just a misunderstanding and the very low rating of the current professional hair color by L’Oreal used the misunderstanding to introduce this new line and give it a (hopeful) boost in the race of Professional Hair color lines. Waiting until the initial flurry of advertising, analyzing,  and reviewing was over with, I’m ready to give you the exact same report as I predicted.

To begin with (as I always do) I went to purchase and run it through some of my own personal tests, that have showed me over the years how reliable they are.  I look for a well balanced (violet-based) “blond”, great Gray coverage, 1 gorgeous brunette with the more color selections –in both LEVELS and TONES - -the better.

The Color Line I am reviewing must have certain ingredients in the accompanying “developers” > that (to me) is a sign the company “gets it” as far as quality and how hair color affects the hair’s health. The ingredients I feel must be in the developers are mandatory for moisturizing, conditioning, and lipid-replacement during the hair-coloring ‘development process’. This is the one and only time the cuticle of the hair is open — THE ONE  AND ONLY > > > TIME! ( so you may change the internal structure of the hair – whether it be for ‘re-conditioning’ or ‘re-coloring’ even ‘re-moisturizing’ by using a premium Developer.

Too many hair stylists {to save money} will purchase giant drums of cheap Developer and then put that developer in the “other” Premium bottles. Just like they do with ketchup in restaurants ( my daughter told me they fill up Heinz ketchup bottles with giant vats of crappy ketchup-) same difference. You know what is even MORE embarrassing ? Sassoon had us do that in Academy, it was one of the first things we learned - - how to dilute developer down. Sassoon was an Academy, it did not have “repeat clientele” we did everyone’s hair once. So there was a lot for me to learn about managing my own hair color business, once I got out on my own. Sassoon did not care about the health or strength of a clients hair, because they never experienced the ramifications by clients complaining about the condition of their hair.

THAT CHANGED when I went on my own. . . with the clientele I acquired in Malibu, California…my number #1 GOAL needed to be the health of the hair. These people were back in my chair 4-5-6 weeks later and on-going for years… so that was something I had to construct myself, I wanted it to be the best in the business. I used to tell my clients, I didn’t ‘need’ business cards for my hair work. THEY were my business cards - - what better business card than a walking 3-D one?! I would get more referrals from random people asking my clients who did their hair, that was always the highest compliment, in my book.

The whole Ammonia – in….Ammonia – out controversy started 10 years back, at that time I was not educated in Cosmetic Chemistry, and what chemicals and ingredients do ‘what’ to the hair. When I went to purchase L’Oreal’s INOA, they wouldn’t sell it to me……..why? You are required to take a “class” in order to purchase it…they wouldn’t even sell it to me! I was furious, I told them………..GOLDWELL tried that 6-7 years back with their color called ELUMEN.

Do you see ELUMEN on the shelves now?

No you don’t  - - - - -  that little trick doesn’t work

Colorists of the upper caliber – whom are the ones that will give your line the publicity it needs to become popular…don’t have time to take a $25.00 class (PLUS - they want to charge you to take a class in order to purchase this new color product they are trying to launch !) – are you kidding me?! After looking it over and reading some of the literature… there was HUGE RED #2 :

NO BLONDE’s!

So for that to be  part of its secrets . . . well, that is not a good one.

What is ammonia? what does it do in hair color?

Ammonia has LLLLLLong been used in permanent hair coloring.

  Ammonia sets the stage for the hair color to penetrate the hair strand by opening up the surface of the hair strand so that the dye can get through.Then, it effectively LIFTS OUT THE NATURAL HAIR PIGMENT so that the artificial hair color molecules can penetrate and deposit. That’s when you see the new shade, so essentially, ammonia is largely responsible for hair color’s ability to alter hair tone – without washing out.

What is ammonia-free color and how does it work?

Any hair color without ammonia most commonly contains MEA ( mono-ethanolamine ). MEA is effective at performing the first step of a color application – OPENING the cuticle. However, because the MEA molecule is 3.5 times larger than ammonia, it cannot penetrate the hair as effectively. So, in my opinion, I feel it cannot be as efficient at lifting the natural hair color OUT-OF-THE- Hair Strand & depositing the artificial hair color deep into the strand. 3.5 times bigger in a molecule is more than enough to render it not NEARLY as effective. Covering gray will not be nearly as long lasting, sufficient lightening {required to produce amazing blond and red shades} will just not be there.

Having tried MEA in a few hair color tests a few years back, I noticed that it didn’t rinse out of the hair as well either, which led to progressive darkening and dulling.

Ammonia has a distinctive odor, which if you ask me. . . is the true objection to it. Personally, I like the ingredient that WORKS…the one that allow me to achieve the tone of hair color I am seeking and leaving the hair in good condition. I have always found ammonia to do the best job in achieving the proper tones – mainly because of the size of the molecule. The molecules must shrink to go “inside”…if they are too big - - they all will not fit. There is a layer of “common sense” here to hair coloring.

ALL Permanent Hair Color and Demi Permanent Hair Color consists of:

• an oxidant
• alkalizer
• Dye

and that’s it.

Damage that may happen during the hair color process is caused by free radicals formed when the alkalizer reacts with the oxidant. Ammonia and MEA are both alkalizers.

One of the known problems of MEA is how hard it is to get it out of the hair strands when the color process is finished. One of the reasons for that “extra- training” they claim we need ? ? ? To explain how important it is that we not only rinse well, but shampoo TWICE with a Special shampoo that will be sure to get the MEA out of the hair strands, followed by 2 RINSES.

Knowing that, the most appropriate type of hair color for the MEA Alkalizer? Demi permanent.

When it comes to permanent hair color {which includes all blonds of any hue} In all tests I have studied, scientists have reported ammonia-based formulas provide longer-lasting color, more intense vibrancy, and superior gray coverage. As long as that are the results, I know for a fact, that anyone that has ever sat in my chair, cares more about 2 things:

1. The end outcome of the hair color
2. The health of their hair after it

10 out of 10, have never questioned ‘how’ I got their hair color to that point. If its healthy, that shows them I cared enough to make sure the hairs health was also in the equation.

TCE is getting very close to opening. Don’t give up on us, it has been much more time consuming and riddled with various issues that we have been tackling one by one.

Just a little bit longer . . . I hope the wait will be worth it, I feel it will.

Happy Summer KillerStranders

Killer Chemist

Cutting salt and fat levels in food could save thousands of lives, says NICE:

NICE ( NHS - National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) criticized European MP’s for voting against the FSA (Food Standards Agency) Traffic Light labelling scheme.

Paul Lincoln, Chief Executive of the National Heart Forum and a member of the guidance group said: “There is substantial evidence to support the use of the traffic light system. It was the best reported scheme in terms of the peer-reviewed scientific evidence, and its use would not demonise foods but help people to choose healthy options. We know that this scheme will not widen health inequalities.
“However, the EU has voted to go for the guideline dietary amount scheme instead of the traffic lights. It’s regrettably that it does not include the colour coding.”

London Nutritionist Yvonne Bishop-Weston agrees “The people of Europe have been badly let down by MEPs on this labelling issue, it was a good opportunity to educate people how to avoid joining the list of thousands of people who die from preventable chronic disease. MEPs have done nothing less than sell out to the demands of irresponsible food manufacturers who fear an educated public waking up to manufacturers cheap cheats to sell nutrient depleted processed food.”

In their latest report and Press release NICE claim “Up to 40,000 deaths from heart disease and stroke could be prevented each year by reducing the levels of salt and saturated fat in our food.”

Cardiovascular disease is one of the biggest killers in the UK, with nearly three million women and three million men currently living with the disease. Every year, there are 300,000 new cases of cardiovascular disease, with those living in deprived areas three times more likely to develop the disease.
But despite the prevalence of the disease, around 90 per cent of deaths are largely preventable and can be tackled by making changes to diet, giving up smoking and increasing levels of physical activity.”

This latest public health guidance from NICE focuses on food production and calls for a reduction in salt intake, aiming for a maximum intake of 6g per day per adult by 2015 and 3g daily by 2025. This action alone would result in 15,000 - 20,000 fewer deaths from heart disease and stroke every year.

Nutritionists London

Cutting salt and fat levels in food could save thousands of lives, says NICE:

NICE ( NHS - National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) criticized European MP’s for voting against the FSA (Food Standards Agency) Traffic Light labelling scheme.

Paul Lincoln, Chief Executive of the National Heart Forum and a member of the guidance group said: “There is substantial evidence to support the use of the traffic light system. It was the best reported scheme in terms of the peer-reviewed scientific evidence, and its use would not demonise foods but help people to choose healthy options. We know that this scheme will not widen health inequalities.
“However, the EU has voted to go for the guideline dietary amount scheme instead of the traffic lights. It’s regrettably that it does not include the colour coding.”

London Nutritionist Yvonne Bishop-Weston agrees “The people of Europe have been badly let down by MEPs on this labelling issue, it was a good opportunity to educate people how to avoid joining the list of thousands of people who die from preventable chronic disease. MEPs have done nothing less than sell out to the demands of irresponsible food manufacturers who fear an educated public waking up to manufacturers cheap cheats to sell nutrient depleted processed food.”

In their latest report and Press release NICE claim “Up to 40,000 deaths from heart disease and stroke could be prevented each year by reducing the levels of salt and saturated fat in our food.”

Cardiovascular disease is one of the biggest killers in the UK, with nearly three million women and three million men currently living with the disease. Every year, there are 300,000 new cases of cardiovascular disease, with those living in deprived areas three times more likely to develop the disease.
But despite the prevalence of the disease, around 90 per cent of deaths are largely preventable and can be tackled by making changes to diet, giving up smoking and increasing levels of physical activity.”

This latest public health guidance from NICE focuses on food production and calls for a reduction in salt intake, aiming for a maximum intake of 6g per day per adult by 2015 and 3g daily by 2025. This action alone would result in 15,000 - 20,000 fewer deaths from heart disease and stroke every year.

Nutritionists London

Cutting salt and fat levels in food could save thousands of lives, says NICE:

NICE ( NHS - National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) criticized European MP’s for voting against the FSA (Food Standards Agency) Traffic Light labelling scheme.

Paul Lincoln, Chief Executive of the National Heart Forum and a member of the guidance group said: “There is substantial evidence to support the use of the traffic light system. It was the best reported scheme in terms of the peer-reviewed scientific evidence, and its use would not demonise foods but help people to choose healthy options. We know that this scheme will not widen health inequalities.
“However, the EU has voted to go for the guideline dietary amount scheme instead of the traffic lights. It’s regrettably that it does not include the colour coding.”

London Nutritionist Yvonne Bishop-Weston agrees “The people of Europe have been badly let down by MEPs on this labelling issue, it was a good opportunity to educate people how to avoid joining the list of thousands of people who die from preventable chronic disease. MEPs have done nothing less than sell out to the demands of irresponsible food manufacturers who fear an educated public waking up to manufacturers cheap cheats to sell nutrient depleted processed food.”

In their latest report and Press release NICE claim “Up to 40,000 deaths from heart disease and stroke could be prevented each year by reducing the levels of salt and saturated fat in our food.”

Cardiovascular disease is one of the biggest killers in the UK, with nearly three million women and three million men currently living with the disease. Every year, there are 300,000 new cases of cardiovascular disease, with those living in deprived areas three times more likely to develop the disease.
But despite the prevalence of the disease, around 90 per cent of deaths are largely preventable and can be tackled by making changes to diet, giving up smoking and increasing levels of physical activity.”

This latest public health guidance from NICE focuses on food production and calls for a reduction in salt intake, aiming for a maximum intake of 6g per day per adult by 2015 and 3g daily by 2025. This action alone would result in 15,000 - 20,000 fewer deaths from heart disease and stroke every year.

Nutritionists London