Category Archives: Personal

Red Bull Health Effects

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red bull health effects

My Addiction..

For more than 7 years, Red Bull was my crutch. When I was feeling down, I drank a Red Bull. When I was tired, I drank a Red Bull. When I was stressed, I drank a Red Bull.

And it didn’t stop there. I drank Red Bull ALL the time! Most days I had 2 and every so often I would have 3..

Because my health has always been so good, I never really put much thought into the effects that drinking so much Red Bull might have. At 120 calories per can, what’s the big deal, I thought.

The good news was that I have a lightning fast metabolism and seem to burn calories at an extraordinary pace. I figured that after drinking one, I would easily burn off the Red Bull within the hour..

My only real issue with it was the cost. I was spending upwards of $70 per month on the stuff. Yes, Costco was my friend…

Quitting

After multiple failed attempts at getting off of Red Bull, it finally happened.

Actually, I hadn’t planned on it at all. It was just another day filled with caffeine and I was halfway through my second one for the day.

And then my body just said “no more”! I literally couldn’t put the can to my lips for another drink of it. That had never happened and I realized then that my body was so toxic from the years of this stuff that it finally had enough.

And then I got sick…real sick. For three days I felt like death was closing in on me and could barely get out of bed. This was a blessing in disguise because I had no interest in any food or drink, let alone another Red Bull.

My head was pounding from a combination of dehydration and caffeine withdrawal, but I managed to make it through ok.

That was it. I decided that I would not put my body through that ever again and committed to myself that I would not have another Red Bull.

8 Weeks Later

That was in early December and as of the writing of this post, I can officially say that I am done with Red Bull and actually feel just fine. I do miss opening that can first thing in the morning or that feeling of getting ready to drink one in the mid afternoon, but I have made my decision.

Red Bull still sells billions of cans annually and I’ve seen kids as young as 10 drinking the stuff. I know it’s not good for us and although I chose to ignore it for so long, I still feel compelled to write about the effects of this stuff.

Red Bull Health Effects

I’ve decided to get to the bottom of the issue of exactly how bad this is for people, so I have done a bit of research. I’ve found that there doesn’t seem to be a great deal of (good) information about Red Bull health effects, so I thought I would try to break it down myself.

The Ingredients

I guess a good place to start would be a list of the ingredients in one of these things. Here they are in order:

  1. Carbonated Water
  2. Sucrose
  3. Glucose
  4. Citric Acid
  5. Taurine
  6. Sodium Citrates
  7. Magnesium Carbonate
  8. Caffeine
  9. Glucuronolactone
  10. Inositol
  11. Niacinamide
  12. Calcium-Pantothenate
  13. Pyridoxine HCL
  14. Vitamin B12
  15. Natural and Artificial Flavors and Colors

If you’re still reading, good for you. I’m sure I’ve bored a few people already….

The savvy marketing squad at Red Bull loves to talk about the amino acid, taurine that is in each can. Here is an excerpt from their website:

“Taurine is involved in vital functions of the human body. It acts as a detoxifying agent by binding with harmful substances and thereby accelerating their excretion from the body. Taurine is also involved in neurological processes and positively influences the performance of the heart. Further, taurine plays a role in thermoregulation.”.

I won’t deny that taurine has an important role in the human body, but to say that there are health benefits associated from getting your dose of it from a Red Bull is ridiculous.

The second ingredient, sucrose, is nothing more than table sugar. I’m sure you’re not surprised. We all know that an excessive intake of sugar is directly related to all kinds of health problems like obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, hypoglycemia, not to mention rotting your teeth.

The caffeine content is high, and contains about 3 times as much as the same volume of Coke. And while caffeine has many health and ergogenic benefits, it also is a diuretic. Meaning that it draws water from our bodies.

Red Bull is marketed as beneficial to sports and exercise related activities, but other than the boost from caffeine and initial blood sugar spike from the sucrose, it’s not doing anything except dehydrating us.

We know that caffeine is a diuretic, which strips water from our bodies. How is this beneficial to athlete?

I could go on for another 2,000 words, but I will leave it at this. Although it’s addictive, laden with sugar, and delicious, it still is a product that should probably be avoided. It does not add anything positive to our daily diets, which are already horrible beyond comprehension.

Take it from me, don’t start drinking this and if you already are, then do your body a huge favor, and quit right now.

 

10 Things I Hate About Gyms

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Being in and around health clubs for the last 18 years, I have seen my share of idiots at the gym.  So I’ve decided to compile a list of things that piss me off about pretty much every gym I’ve ever belonged to.

  1. Guys who wear their sunglasses while working out. You’re not outside, you’re not playing poker (take off your glasses here too), you are in a gym. Even if you wear them on the back of your head, take them off, stupid!
  2. Dudes who think they’re MMA fighters. These guys walk around the gym trying to look bad-ass. Their whole closets are filled with TapOut shirts and I’ll bet that 95% of them couldn’t last 30 seconds in the ring with the worst fighter in the UFC.
  3. The upper body only guy. We all know this guy. He has foremarms like Popeye and legs like Olive Oil. His exercise routine looks like this: Day 1: Chest and arms. Day 2: Arms and chest. Day 3: Chest and arms…you get the idea..
  4. The no warm-up people. This is the person who walks in off the street and heads right to a piece of equipment. No warm-up, no stretching, just right to it! I cringe when I think of what might happen to them one day. Can you say injury??
  5. Guys who work out in jeans and/or work boots. What are you thinking? Are you that busy that you can’t take 1 minute to change into shorts? Do you  think exercise looks cooler when you’re sporting your acid wash Levi’s? Or are you really hiding those chicken legs?
  6. The wanna-be pro bodybuilder. This is the enormously large block of meat who shows up with a deep tan, a heavy duty weight belt, and a gallon jug of water. Just get the f**k out of his way as he stomps over to the squat rack…
  7. Dirty locker rooms and showers. I realize that my current gym is far from a high end establishment, but can you please clean the f***ing showers?? I feel like I’m going to contract the Ebola Virus every time I go in there. Finding the remains of the last guys shaving frenzy makes me want to puke. I swear some of these guys shave their chest, back and God knows what else in there and leave all the hair for me.
  8. The skinny punks who wear wifebeaters and think they’re jacked. Most of the time it’s some piece of white trash who doesn’t have a clue how to build muscle.
  9. Rude staff and poor management. This infuriates me. The last time I checked, front desk people were supposed to be friendly and actually acknowledge you. I realize that your job sucks and that you are earning slightly more than minimum wage but if you want to be an asshole all the time, go work for the Maryland MVA.
  10. Egotistical trainers. You’ve seen them…they stand around in their extra tight polo shirts reading the latest issue of Men’s Fitness Magazine and hoping that someone comes up to them and wants to hire them on the spot. They are more concerned about looking good than they are about actually helping the members. Now go clean some equipment…

I’m sure I’ve missed a few so feel free to add to my list.

The Pursuit Of Happiness…..

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I hadn’t thought much about turning 40 until last week, which was my 39th birthday. I have always thought that I would look and feel young forever, but as it turns out, that’s not the case at all. Having young children, being in a desk job I detest, and trying to run a fitness business have aged me much more quickly that I could have imagined.

After my birthday, I gave my future some serious thought and I have decided to make a major change in my perspective on life. I realize that I have let myself basically drift through life and have ended up in a place that I do not want to be. And that place is being a uptight, humorless, high strung, and grumpy (soon to be) old man…Not good….

Most people I know probaby don’t see those things when they think of me, but it’s how I feel most of the time. I have a wonderful wife, two absolutely beautiful daughters, a well paying  job, a successful personal training business, and some great friends. Sounds good, right? Well, it is good but all I can seem to see is the negatives in my life. That stops today!

If I am ever going to make a change for the better and live life on my terms, I have to take action immediately! Many people are living their lives like they are just trying to get by. They work at dead end jobs their entire lives just to earn a paycheck and are miserable. That’s how I feel. I feel trapped in a job that is a complete mismatch for my personality and passion. To spend my remaining 25 working years doing something I despise is like a death sentence to me.

There is more than enough opportunity in this country for anyone to be successful and live their life how they choose. The problem is that most people find it very difficult to take complete control of their lives and make it happen. I have been one of those people as well.

I’ve recently read a book called Crush It by Gary Vaynerchuk and it got me thinking deep. The major theme behind his book is that we all have the ability to live our dream and it’s done through finding our passion!

Here are his 3 secret rules for success:

  1. Love your family (Done)
  2. Work superhard (Pretty darn close)
  3. Live your passion! (Insert buzzer sound)

I am about as far away from living my passion as one can be. Working in a tiny, windowless office and staring at spreadsheets all day is pure hell for me. I love fitness, health, the outdoors, and being active. I seem to have trapped myself in a job which is completely wrong for me (8 years now) and if I don’t make a change, I don’t know if I will ever be at peace.

I am giving myself until my 40th birthday to turn my life into something I can get excited about. That means working for myself and having time to spend with my family. It’s vitally important to me that I see my girls grow up! No more missing dance recitals, swim classes, or birthday parties. Seeing your kids an hour a night is so sad to me, yet millions us are doing just that.

My goals are simple:

  • Work for myself allowing me the freedom to be with my family
  • Be in the best physical shape of my life
  • Be energetic, passionate about life, and HAPPY!

I know that there are a lot of folks out there that are in the same boat as I am and need a wake up call. I have a very busy life and have a hard time even finding time to post on this blog, but there always IS time if you’re committed to something. Just do it, I am!

Updates

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There is a lot going on these days and I’ve been slacking with posting on the blog…

Things are going well for Roy Fitness…very well. My outdoor boot camp has been a success so far and I’ve received a lot of compliments and positive feedback. For those of you who are considering joining, please come and check it out. I don’t think you will be disappointed!

I will be running a second boot camp beginning on August 2 and hopefully the weather will cooperate with us this time around. It’s been rough exercising in the sweltering heat and humidity, but the boot campers have held it together nicely.

I am also planning on holding a 13-week women’s fitness challenge, which will most likely begin in early September. I am working with a local marketing firm, Bring It To Fruition, to help me put everything together. It’s going to be a comprehensive training and nutrition program and I’m really looking forward to it.

Bad Marketing…..

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I came across this site by accident and was none too pleased with what I saw. This website promotes rowing machines and has numerous articles about the health benefits of using these machines. I don’t have a problem with that at all. Rowing machines are great for engaging your whole body while getting a good cardiovascular workout.

What bothers me is that this fitness ‘expert’ claims that treadmills and elliptical trainers are useless as a means of exercise and a complete waste of time. I understand that there are better ways to burn calories and certainly more exciting ones that trotting on a treadmill for an hour, but useless? I don’t think so.

The real problem here is not that the author is slamming treadmills and elliptical machines, because everyone is entitled to their opinion, but rather that this donkey is actually SELLING them on his website. Not only that, but his ads are plastered all over the very article that is talking you OUT of buying a treadmill..

This isn’t uncommon, but it really infuriates me to see people trying to make an easy buck and who have no real interest in doing the right thing or helping people.

P90X-Take 2

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Back in September of last year, I decided to try out the increasingly popular workout DVD, the p90x. At the time, I thought I was ready to make the commitment, but as I soon found out, I wasn’t. I ended up staying on the 90-day program for about 40 days.

The program was tough and I wasn’t physically (or mentally) up for the challenge, but things have changed and it’s time for another go. I have decided to try my hand at Tony Horton’s workout program once more and have set my goals.

I am planning on doing only the first 2 phases of the program (3 weeks + 3weeks + 1 week of recovery in between) to drop 10 pounds and then plan to switch to a heavy lifting schedule to add back the weight with muscle. My start weight is 178.5 pounds.

I will not be chronicling my progress this time, so feel free to submit a comment and I will be glad to share my progress.

10 Things You Should Know About Second Hand Smoke

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As a trainer and a representative of the fitness industry, I am obviously part of the anti-smoking movement. Most of know very well all of the health risks associated with smoking cigarettes. This post is not intended to bash THOSE people, but rather will focus on the harmful effects on us non-smokers. I will tell you that there are more than 250 harmful chemicals in a cigarette and at least 50 that cause cancer.

I grew up in a small apartment with my mother, who was a heavy (indoor) smoker, and unfortunately was subjected to massive amounts of second hand smoke. Growing up in the 70′s and 80′s was different than it is now, for sure. Rarely did you hear negative news stories about smoking. I’m sure a lot of us can even remember all the television and print advertisements about how cool it was to smoke.

Now, I’m not bitter about growing up in a smoke infested room (can’t you tell??) and thankfully I have not seen any symptoms from all of this. I do, however, want to share some information about second hand smoke and maybe open a few eyes. There are still plenty of people out there who choose to light up around their children or others.

  1. There is NO safe level of second hand smoke
  2. It causes lung cancer and coronary heart disease
  3. Roughly 125 million non-smokers in the U.S. are exposed to second hand smoke at home or at work
  4. Approximately 50,000 non-smoker deaths are attributed to second hand smoke each year in the U.S.
  5. Non-smokers have up to a 30% increase in risk for getting lung cancer
  6. In pregnant women, it causes low birth weight
  7. It causes SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome)
  8. 40% of children are exposed to second hand smoke
  9. 30% of all deaths related to second hand smoke are children
  10. Children exposed are up two times more likely to start smoking

These facts are astounding, yet people continue to smoke around others. It blows my mind…

If you’re reading this Mom, I don’t hold it against you.

The Flat Belly Diet

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flat-belly-diet-sm

My wife decided last week that she was going to do the Flat Belly Diet. Being supportive of her is good, but actually doing the diet with her and working as a team is better. Now I’m doing it too..

My metabolism has always been high and if I tweak a few things in my diet, I can drop weight very quickly. Doing this diet (or any diet) does not get me particularly motivated, but doing it with someone who is really excited about it, does. That is why I have committed to spending the next month following the Flat Belly Diet.

I will be doing a review of this diet upon completion, so I will keep my (already forming) opinions to myself for now. This is a very popular diet plan, so I hope to shed some light on it and offer some good insights into how and why it works (or doesn’t).

About the diet

This book was written by Liz Vaccariello, who is the Editor-in-Chief at Prevention Magazine. Given that fact that they have more than 11 million readers, she does have a modicum of credibility.

This 32-day diet is based on targeting belly fat. More specifically, visceral and subcutaneous belly fat. According to Liz, this is the only diet on the market that helps you lose belly fat specifically. The diet claims that you can lose up to 15 pounds in 32 days, never feel hungry, and drop up to 5 3/4 inches in the first 4 days.

The first four days consist of the Anti-Bloat Jumpstart which is not so much a detox, but rather a way to see quick results and sparks your emotional commitment to the entire program. It also is designed to:

  • Flush Out Fluids
  • Reduce Water Retention
  • Relieve Digestive Issues

The second part of this diet is 28 days and is based on the idea that eating  monounsaturated fats (or MUFA’s), is the only way to minimize both visceral (surrounding your organs) and subcutaneous (visible) fat simultaneously. According to Liz, no other nutrient can do this. The diet focuses on reducing visceral fat, which is linked to a number of health problems, such as:

  • High Blood Pressure
  • Diabetes
  • High Cholesterol
  • Breast Cancer

How do you determine how much visceral fat you have?? Well, according to the National Institutes of Health, an effective means to measure this type of fat is by looking at your waist measurement. A measurement above 35 inches for women and 40 inches for men, regardless of how much you weigh, is an indicator of unhealthy levels of visceral fat.

There are other means of determining your visceral fat, which must be administered by your physician. These include MRI testing, Sonograms, CT Scans, and Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis.

The highlights of this diet
  • Eating four small meals per day, each including MUFA’s
  • 1600 calories per day
  • Learning to change your eating habits
  • Changing how you think about food
  • An exercise program consisting of 30-60 minutes of walking per day and a very light core and strength training regime

The diet also discusses managing stress, the importance of staying hydrated, keeping food logs, and motivation tips.

I will offer up my thoughts about this diet in 33 days….

6/29/10-UPDATE

Well, it didn’t last long, that’s for sure. We began the diet with great intentions, but after four days of eating 1,200 calories and drinking a terrible tasting water mixture, we had had enough! We were both starving all day and were in terrible moods mainly due to lack of carbohydrates. We decided to scrap the diet and try our hand at something a little more sustainable at a later date.

My Vice…

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red bull addiction

I know I’m far from being alone on this one, but I think that if I make this public, I have a better chance of quitting. I’m talking about something that I’ve been unable to give up for any length of time and find myself craving every morning when I wake up. That something is Red Bull energy drink and I am addicted! I must admit that I have had 1 or 2 Red Bulls per day for almost five years now. I have quit from time to time but always end up back at Costco buying it by the case.

Whenever I tell someone that I drink it so often, they can’t believe a ‘trainer’ would be putting this into their body. I fully understand that this product is basically just sucrose (table sugar) and caffeine with a few amno acids thrown in there. There also seems to be no real health benefit to the Taurine amino acid that’s advertised on the can. Although it kinda tastes like a mixture of a sweet tart and Robitussin, I still prefer its taste to any other food out there. Pretty sad, I know…

There are, of course, all the stories out there about people dropping dead from heart failure after drinking a few cans of Red Bull. You will find that the majority of cases are when it’s mixed with vodka or the person already had an issue with their heart. Also consider this: a Starbucks Grande cup of coffee has 330 mg. of caffeine while a red bull only has 76mg. How often do you hear about people dying at Starbucks?

Back To It…

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Well, I’ve taken some time off from writing and unfortunately, exercising. A number of months ago, I began blogging about my p90x experience and actually ended up stopping the program about halfway through. I’ll be honest, it’s hard…..really hard. First of all, if you’re not in excellent cardio shape, you’re screwed! The program has you jumping from one exercise to the next quickly and doesn’t stop. Leg and back day for example has 25 or more different exercises to plow through in under an hour. Not an easy task at all. I was in decent shape when I started and had a very difficult time for the first few weeks (damn those pullups)…

After I stopped the program (early), I was burned out and sick of eating 2,400 calories per day. Eating 9 ounces of lean meat/chicken/fish several times daily is NOT easy…So I did what most people do after making progress and losing weight, I stopped exercising and promptly gained 10 pounds of fat.

I actually have been exercising again recently, mainly because my size 32 pants are too tight. I have to sit at a desk all day and when your pants are crushing your stomach fat, it makes for a looooong day.

As a side note, I came across a very interesting and informative website, www.charleslloydfitness.com which actually inspired me to start blogging again. Check his website out if you want good, honest fitness info and need a good laugh. His blog is hilarious.