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cxpfitness · 6 years ago

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These past few months I’ve had the privilege of attending a number of Live Webinars with Neal Spruce – CEO of dotFit, Chairman of the National Academy of Sports Medicine (a.k.a. ‘NASM’), and former Bodybuilding Champion.

Neal is always very candid in these sessions, and he knows his stuff! Not only is he always very thorough in the Q&A’s at the end, but he also invites us to reach out to him [personally] if we have any other questions that we think of (later on)… I frequently take him up on this! After all, why wouldn’t I pick the brains of the man who moulded the Personal Training Industry in America (as well as other aspects of the Health & Fitness Industry) into what it is today!?

But Q&A’s aside, there is something that he said in one of his most recent Webinars that really stuck out to me:

“I can out-formulate you, or out-advertise you… Which would you prefer?”

To sprinkle a little context in there, Neal was talking about why dotFit products are more expensive and why they’re not a) marketed through mass-media or b) available through major stores like GNC or Costco. Essentially, most companies plough millions into advertising, leaving pretty “tight margins”, thus meaning that the only real way to turn a profit is to under-formulate [and hope that no-one realizes!].

Meanwhile, dotFit sells direct to the Consumer and doesn’t waste millions on marketing, and so, are able to spend the extra on creating Supplements that have clinically proven doses and are verified via the most stringent third-party testing.

This got me thinking…

The top three Sports Supplement Companies/Brands that I absolutely believe in are:

dotFit / AthleanX / Jym Supplements

As we already know, dotFit is NSF Certified (with the majority of their products).

Athlean*RX* – the Supplement Line of Jeff Cavaliere (Founder of the massively popular YouTube Channel / Fitness Business – Athlean-X) – also happens to have NSF Certification! [Again, on most of his lineup].

Like Neal, Jeff also doesn’t spend tons of cash on Marketing; his YouTube Channel has *millions* of Subscribers, therefore, he has a Target Audience and can more or less market to them for free through his videos.

As for Jym Supplements (by Jim Stoppani – phD, Founder of Jym Supplement Science), his line may not have NSF Certification, but Jim has spent the better part of the last decade educating consumers as to the fallacies of the Supplement Industry, and the whole point of him finally coming out with a Supplement Brand of his own (by popular demand) was to set itself apart and provide those consumers with a top-quality product that actually works!

Therefore, for Dr. Stoppani’s Supplements *not* to be “fully-dosed” (as labelled) would be the biggest scandal in the history of Sports Supplements! So, I for one have total faith in the integrity of his products.

These brands serve as a stark contrast to the likes of one brand in particular that epitomizes the entire point of this article:

Muscle Pharm

This company is all great marketing, but a pretty lousy product! You know by now – I don’t usually call out specific brands or companies, but in this instance, it’s not “new news”; they made headlines in recent years when they wound up in a high profile class action lawsuit!

The gist of the lawsuit was that their Protein Shake listed 40g Protein on the Nutrition Label. This product was FDA-Approved, and so, seemingly reputable by default, no? Well, as it happens, this product underwent third-party testing, and the results showed that the powder was actually comprised of barely 19.4g Protein per serving – not even HALF of what they said was in it!!

See, the thing is, FDA Approval is not worth the paper it’s printed on! Putting it really crudely, all it means for something to be “FDA-Approved” is that they have established that it won’t *kill* you… i.e. it is ‘generally safe’.

But the FDA does not require these companies to actually contain the doses of the ingredients that are claimed; hence you will ALWAYS see [in addition to the ‘FDA-Approved’ “seal”] a disclaimer saying that the statements made on the product have NOT been evaluated by the FDA.

Soooo… They approve it because it is non-toxic and won’t necessarily *harm* you. But they don’t take the time to even evaluate the claims made. Pretty damn lax if you ask me!

This is where NSF Certification should be a Gold Standard when considering a Sport Supplement! They verify doses (which inherently substantiate claims when based on basic science), and are one of the only third-party testers that comply with the World Anti-Doping Agency’s strict standards.

But beware of *falsely labelled* NSF Certified Products – you should check the NSF website to verify first!

PBfit is a curious example… See, their Organic PBfit product has the NSF [Certified Gluten Free] logo on the tub, and the pbfit.com site shows it too; however, their parent company – Better Body Foods – states on *their* [separate] website that, ‘PBfit® is a gluten-free product but is not certified by NSF’…

In checking the NSF Listings, neither PBfit® or Better Body Foods appear, so it could be that they *were* certified by NSF in the past, but have failed to maintain the compliance standards, and thus, lost the certification… Who knows?

Then we have Body Fortress®…

I was given a tub of their Super Advanced Whey Protein by a friend who didn’t want it, and was pleasantly surprised to see the NSF [Certified for Sport] logo (see picture below – to the right of where it reads ‘Whey Protein’). Strangely enough though, none of the pictures on their actual website show the tub with the logo…

So, given a bit of due diligence, I looked the product up on the NSF Listings (pictured above), and they DO appear there (with several other Body Fortress® products)… I’m not sure what the deal is here, but as long as NSF says they’re certified, I believe they have a decent product!

The problem nowadays is that we get absolutely sucked into Marketing. We allow big companies who employee Marketing Geniuses to sell us virtually anything; they understand Psychology better than most of us do… They get that there are masses out there who have the same recurring problem, and so, they pluck away at that pain-laden heart-string – not in a bid to help, but to sell you on the notion that they have the solution to your problem.

Sadly, in most cases, they do not have the solution. There’s almost never a “one-size-all” solution to our problems. After all, if we are all *unique* individuals sharing the *same* problem, then you could say that we each have to take a unique approach to overcoming the problem.

Let me give you an example:

Take Ian and Nigel (don’t ask – I literally just pulled those names outta nowhere!)…

Say they’re best buds from High School, both about the same height (5’10”-ish), and both put on not only the infamous ‘Freshman 15’, but an additional “Post-College 30”… i.e. The two of them are 45lbs overweight!

We’ll imagine they used to weigh a reasonable 170lbs, but now, they’ve “ballooned” to 215lbs…

Likelihood is, they may not even want to lose 45lbs – say they make a pact to set out on a new ‘Weight-Loss Journey’ together, and lose 30lbs; for an average man, 185lbs is pretty decent (as long as Body Fat Percentage is in check!).

Thing is, Ian has Leptin Resistance, and Nigel is Vegan. One is an additional problem, the other – while actually a very healthy lifestyle choice – simply has some slight restrictions, but it is far easier to work with.

They’re both Overweight – and this is their common problem. Heck, going off of their Body Fat Percentage, they even classify as borderline *Obese* (say they’re both sitting around 30ish% BF). However, Ian’s Leptin Resistance is a significant Health Issue – in short, his body lacks the ability to respond appropriately when Leptin is secreted [to signal that he is / should be *full*], and therefore, he has regularly overeaten over the years, thus resulting in the excessive weight-gain.

He has soreness in his Joints too (possibly the developing stages of an Arthritic Condition), so he is worried that exercise will worsen this…

Nigel – conversely – has no such Health Complications. In fact, by all reasonable judgement (medical or otherwise), his Weight is the only negative aspect of Health, but his Doctor feels that – if left unchecked – it could develop into a Health Issue.

Unlike Ian, Nigel put on the weight as a result of having fallen in love with Middle Eastern food after a Semester Abroad in Dubai as part of his Business Degree. A food-driven lust of Hummus, Tahini and Baba Ganoush as well as trying a Vegan version of the Keto Diet and having far too much Coconut Oil and Avocado led to unexpected weight piling on in a shorter period of time than Ian…

Fact is, they cannot take the SAME approach to losing the weight. Exercise-wise, Nigel could benefit from High Intensity Interval Training, however, for Ian and his sore Joints, this would likely aggravate the issue.

Nutrition-wise… Ian would need to consult a Dietician/Nutritionist to be prescribed the best natural methods to help deal with his Leptin Resistance before trying to focus solely on the weight-loss; though as a result, he’d likely lose some weight anyway as it would be a “two-birds-one-stone” kind of situation. Nigel probably just needs to readjust his Macros, and then assess his Calories-In / Calories-Out so as to ensure that he burns more than he consumes!

While the examples of Nigel and Ian are 100% fictitious, they are absolutely realistic, and there are plenty of people out there with similar issues. But the Food / Beverage / Supplement Industry takes NONE of these intricate details into account when trying to sell to us.

As a result of this and the lack of standards imposed (or *not* imposed) by the FDA, someone like Ian could buy a Protein Shake that is supposedly low in Carbs and high in Protein – in a bid to help with his Leptin Resistance – but end up with a Supplement that is the complete opposite in its composition (similar to that Muscle Pharm Shake), and end up doing more harm than good as his Condition gets exacerbated!

On a similar note, Nigel could end up inadvertently consuming a Supplement that is supposedly Vegan, only to find that there are trace amounts of Shellfish or Dairy by-products… Clearly, NOT ideal!

Don’t be sold on some fanciful idea of what a Company’s Product *could* do (but probably won’t?)… Be diligent! Put in a bit of effort to research what you’re putting in your body. And choose a GREAT *product* over smoke & mirrors (a.k.a. Corporate Marketing).

That’s all for today’s post – I hope you have enjoyed this one!

I’ll catch you next time, but until then, remember: Train Hard, and Train Smart!

Yours in Training,

Chris Atkinson | Master Personal Trainer, SDO

Great Marketing… Or a Great Product? You Choose! These past few months I’ve had the privilege of attending a number of Live Webinars with Neal Spruce – CEO of dotFit, Chairman of the National Academy of Sports Medicine (a.k.a.

#Edge #Health #Mindset #Performance #Recovery #Supplements

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cxpfitness · 6 years ago

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Nutrient Programming – An Athlete’s Approach (Part 2)

Last time here on CXP Nutrition we discussed the simple concept of Nutrient *Pairing*, whereby we combine our macros in pairs – favouring Protein & Carbs OR Protein & Fat – so as to optimize macro uptake. This week, we’re looking at the notion of “Nutrient Programming”…

Really, this is even simpler than Nutrient Pairing, but as with most of my articles here on Nutrition, you can expect me to…

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#Athlete #Health #Intermittent Fasting #Keto #Macros #Nutrition #Paleo #Performance

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cxpfitness · 6 years ago

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Over the past few years there has been an ever-trending movement in the direction of “Tech-4-Fitness” (I may have just coined that specific term!). Granted, we’ve had the likes of FitBit around for over a decade now, but as technology has advanced we have seen the dawn of a new era of Wearable Tech and other fitness “revolutions” occurring.

Apple first launched their Apple Watch just three years ago (in 2015), and you have the likes of Myo Armband and LVL [Hydration Monitors] that are truly taking Wearable Tech to places we couldn’t have imagined at the turn of the century/millennium! (To be fair, Myo Armbands aren’t geared towards the Fitness Industry, but I can foresee ways in which their particular tech could be applied).

Anyhow, I don’t have any real “beef” with wearables – after all, I use them also, and I believe they provide many huge benefits. I have a number of my Clients using MyZone Belts during our workouts so as to accurately gauge what Heart Rate Zone they’re working in, and the device has proven to be an invaluable tool!

The “techy” side that I wanna go all ‘kid-on-a-piñata’ up in here with is related to those so-called Virtual Trainers/Classes. You may have heard of them (maybe even taken part in them?): you have a pre-recorded class projected onto a wall, or if your Club really opened up their wallet, you might even have a full on OLED / HD / 4K / Super-Screen setup…

So, there’s a room full of people ready to roll, and the projection (usually played on a loop) just plays through and everyone goes along for the ride…

But let’s rewind a little.

See, this all evolved from the online Laptop-to-TV setup that you had with the Insanity workouts (for example). What a brilliant idea, right? You’ve got Shaun T rockin’ on with his mini Tribe of über-fit bodies behind him; ebbing and flowing with the appropriate track tempo (with the music), you even had the visuals on-screen with a timer that illustrates how long you have left for that round (and the rest of the workout). Well produced. Sharp-looking. Professional. Clearly, it’s been a success over the years and people have gotten results.

Heck, I had a friend lose about 20lbs doing it, so I borrowed his copy for a day to give it a go… and I got in a pretty good workout.

So, what’s my problem? Ya wanna know my biggest one?

It’s pretty simple: how are we supposed to know if we’re doing it right!? Form. Technique. There’s no-one in the room with you to tell you if you need to correct your positioning [so as to avoid injury]. Now, while my friend did lose 20lbs, he also developed a little back pain with it (though, only temporary)…

I asked him to show me how he’d been performing some of the exercises, and his spine was just bending in ways he shouldn’t have been bending for a bunch of them (namely Planks and Squats – letting the hips droop heavily in his Plank, and rounding his back [like a hunchback] during his Squat).

When I did it, it was awesome! But I’m a Fitness Professional – I know good form! Heck, I don’t even need to see an exercise on a screen – I can listen to a workout and perform it with great technique. If you’ve seen my Instagram videos showing Metafit / MetaPWR workouts – it’s all done to a Music Track (that gives instructions throughout), but I’m a Coach for those workouts, so of course, I know what to do.

Don’t get me wrong – there are *some* of these Virtual Classes that make perfect sense, and I can’t poke at them for this same reason… Take the Spin / RPM / Cycle Classes, for example: you’re sat on a bike doing a repetitive linear movement that takes almost no technique whatsoever. Great! Have at it!

And to be fair, playing a recording on repeat all day long is a good way to cut down on costs! 10k/year on licence fees for a class you can run 20 times per day, 365 days of the year is way more cost efficient than paying a Group X Instructor by the hour who can probably only take about 4 per day [owing to physical exertion].

Keep in mind, a Club would have to pay that same Instructor at least *double* [so, 20k/year] just to run the class 4 times per day, Monday thru Friday, for just 48 weeks out of the year…

So, we’ve evolved from Laptop Streaming/Downloads to Pre-Recorded Virtual Classes, and even Live In-Club Streaming… but again, even if I am “Live” with an Instructor – they can’t see what I’m doing from all angles and give me real-time advice on how to correct my form.

The most worrying development for me is the latest tech that takes us all back inside our homes once more…

The Mirror Interactive Home Gym (which serves as a free-standing or wall-mounted mirror when not being used for your Workout):

Photo Credit: Uncrate

Let me begin by saying that the tech is beyond impressive! And the concept is straight out of a sci-fi movie – it is truly taking us leaps and bounds in a positive direction [ultimately], but still with a couple of caveats. While it is very cool to see yourself in said mirror – alongside a Virtual Coach – and receive tons of cool data all right at your fingertips, it still comes down to Form & Technique for me.

You do have access to a Live Instructor who is supposed to give real-time instruction, but without a 360° view of YOU, how accurate can their feedback really be?

But hey, I’m not here to say that everyone has lousy form unless they’re a FitPro. To be honest, I’ve met plentyyy of FitPros who actually have crappy Form – perhaps the most disturbing of all!

So no, fact is: there are vast numbers of people who have decent awareness of their bodies and how to position themselves properly when performing various exercises. So, I certainly don’t want to base this all off a single-point argument…

The other major caveat is the Accountability Factor! And this even goes for that Virtual Spin Class! If you’re there pedalling away and start to get lazy, who the heck is gonna stop you from turning the resistance down (not that Instructors will ever STOP you from doing that); but also, what if you just stop pedalling for a few minutes? Chances are, you’ve probably got “more in the tank”, but without someone to hold you accountable, you’re likely to slack off a little! (Or a lot!)

Again, the Live/Online Trainer might be a fix here, but that’s not available through Laptop Downloads or the Pre-recorded Workouts being projected onto Studio walls.

In-Person Training – whether it’s Group X or Personal Training – will always be King in my eyes! Someone to lead you. Someone to share their expert tips on how to improve not just your Form, but heck, your *Performance*! A *real* person in front of you to make sure you give it everything you’ve got!!

That’s irreplaceable!

I have no doubt in my mind as to where “Tech-4-Fitness” will go next with all of this, and I believe that there will be an attempt to develop A.I. that can analyze your movement and give you on-the-spot feedback for all sorts. For example: to track your knees inline with your toes (to avoid Knee Valgus) during that Squat, or not to throw your back into it when doing those Biceps Curls (a little cheeky advice to tell you to use a Lighter Weight would be stellar!).

When technology can give me a complete rundown of my movement [from all angles], give comprehensive advice on how to fix it (if needed), hold me accountable if I need to step it up, keep my ego in check if I need to tone it down, and ultimately give me the motivation and personal touch that another human can… Well, maybe then I’ll come around. Until then, I believe all those factors (and more) serve as my USP’s versus a Machine any day of the week.

Technology – when integrated with Fitness – is a modern day miracle, and can help everyone from Elite Athletes to Gym Warriors achieve great things with their Health & Fitness. But I don’t think it will ever be an adequate replacement. Unless iRobot becomes real and we have a bunch of Robot Trainers named Sunny putting us through our paces and asking us about our day!

Anyhow, that’s all for today’s post. I hope you found it thought provoking! If you’ve got an opinion or comment – feel free to engage! Leave a comment below, hit me up on Facebook, or find me on Instagram! I’d love to hear your view!

In the meantime, I’ll catch you in the next one, but remember: Train Hard, and Train Smart!

Yours in Training,

Chris Atkinson | Master Personal Trainer, SDO

Can A.I. Ever Replace Face-to-Face Personal Training? Over the past few years there has been an ever-trending movement in the direction of “Tech-4-Fitness” (I may have just coined that specific term!).

#Fitness #Performance #Personal Trainer #Technology #Workout

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cxpfitness · 6 years ago

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Early Bird or Night Owl - What's Your Chronotype?

Early Bird or Night Owl – What’s Your Chronotype?

Chronos – in Greek mythology is the personification of Time. For the watch connoisseurs out there, you’ll no doubt be familiar with the term “chronograph” – the additional element found in more “sporty” watches that tracks time. So, what is a ��chrono-type’? Well, on a more abstract level, you could say it is the “type” of time we are more inclined towards; in other words, if we are morning…

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#Health #Recovery #Zen

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cxpfitness · 6 years ago

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Probiotics for Improved Health

Gut Health has become something of a “buzz term” the past 5+ years, and there a myriad of “Gut Gurus” cropping up out of nowhere who are quick to tell you that your diet is ruining your ‘gut biome’ – the environment within your gastrointestinal tract where billions of bacteria reside.

Now, while I agree that there is a degree of truth to a lot of what is said, there is also a fair amount of…

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#Edge #Health #Nutrition #Organic #Paleo #Supplements

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cxpfitness · 6 years ago

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Nutrient Pairing – An Athlete’s Approach to Nutrition If you Google the term ‘Nutrient Pairing’ you can bet that 90+% of the results that show up will refer to *Micronutrient* Pairing.

#Health #Macros #Micros #Nutrition #Performance

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cxpfitness · 6 years ago

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If you’ve read any of my CXP Edge articles, you’ll know that I am heavily critical of the Supplement Industry and the untold number of infractions and infringements that largely fly under the radar.

Issues such as Protein Spiking, Proprietary Blends, Under-dosing, and the use of low-quality ingredients… they have been prolific [around the world] for decades! But fortunately, there are one or two Companies out there that are trying to change all that. One of them is: dotFIT

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I was skeptical when I first heard of them! After all, they’re not in ANY of the major retail stores (like GNC or Holland & Barrett), you’ll certainly never find them at Costco, and the only place online where you’ll find their products sold [*officially*] is through their own website…

There’s a good reason for this. They’re a Direct-to-Consumer product that is sold solely by Practitioners (including Dieticians, Physicians, Nutritionists, Licensed Gyms and Certified Trainers). Basically, you get the product from a source that actually knows about the thing that you’re buying.

The problem with Supplement Stores and Wholesale Retailers (like those mentioned above) is that the employees at these stores often barely even have a “scratching-the-surface” level of knowledge about the ingredients in the products they’re being paid to sell.

So, what sets dotFIT apart? Well, there’s the fact that the majority of their product line is NSF-Certified [for Sport] for one.

Thing is, virtually all Supplement Companies have “FDA-Approval”. But that doesn’t really count for much – the FDA will pretty much slap a stamp on anything as long as it has passed a few [barely] rudimentary lab tests. As for claims made – you’ll notice that a plethora of Supplements will have fine-print saying that their claims haven’t been FDA-approved (even though the product has been)…

The NSF (National Sanitation Foundation) is a third-party group that has some of the most stringent bio-chemical testing in the world! They test for heavy metals, toxicity, purity, safety [of ingestion], and scores of other factors to ensure that it meets the highest standards possible!

What you might not know is that several of the world’s biggest Sporting Leagues / Associations won’t let their Athlete’s take supplements that don’t have NSF-Certification! This is because the NSF are one of the only third-party screening labs that meet the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) strict requirements.

In my mind, if a Supplement has been through that gauntlet of tests, come out the other end checking every single one of the boxes (and then some), and is good enough for Elite/Pro Athletes… Why wouldn’t I want to be taking the same thing!?

Here’s Shaquille O’Neal endorsing dotFIT a few years back:

As always, he’s “Shaq’tin a Fool”, but even with the big man’s cheeky humour and hilarity, he knows what works!

Even the guys getting ready for the NFL Combine fuel up with dotFIT:

So, if you’re ready to ditch the cheap fluff you’ve got sitting around that you casually tossed in the cart at Costco. If you’re ready to start taking a [line of] Supplement(s) that can actually deliver what it promises… Click the dotFIT logo below:

This link will take you to the dotFIT website where you can setup a profile and gain access to a bunch of awesome resources including:

Food Tracker

Nutrition Menus

Supplement Guide

and MORE!

Once you’re profile is complete, you can access the Supplement Store* where you’ll automatically have a nifty discount applied to anything you buy!

*While you can access the Store without setting up a Profile, you won’t be able to benefit from the Discount and Resources without getting one setup.

The last note I want to make here: when setting up your Profile – where you create your Username/Password/etc…

You will notice that it asks if you’re a Member of a Club affiliated with dotFIT – the default options are: Edge Family Fitness and *Me* (Chris Atkinson – as your Trainer).

You should leave those the same as I am a Certified Practitioner and you do not need to physically be a member of the gym that I work at to benefit from setting up your profile online.

(NB: Creating a dotFIT Profile will *not* make you a Member of Edge Family Fitness!)

I hope you put your trust in dotFIT – as I have! I have scrutinized every possible aspect of their business, and the CEO – Neal Spruce – as well as VP [of Education] – Rob Rettmann – have both been very open, transparent and informative. I have 100% trust in them as individuals, and dotFIT as a Company. I know that you’ll start seeing great results using their awesome range of dotFIT Supplements!

dotFIT If you've read any of my CXP Edge articles, you'll know that I am heavily critical of the Supplement Industry and the untold number of infractions and infringements that largely fly under the radar.

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