Natural sleep/wake cycle

I cannot emphasize enough the benefits of getting to sleep by 10 bells!

Many of our hormones are produced in tune with the cycle of the sun. Stress/activating hormones are produced as the sun rises and peak around mid-morning. As the day progresses, the levels of stress hormones decrease. The body then begins to increase production of growth and repair hormones as the sun goes down. Our bodies are designed to wind down from sunset until about 10pm WHEN SLEEP AND PHYSICAL REPAIR SHOULD BEGIN. Psychogenic repair takes place predominately from about 2am to 6am.

Check out this great interview of Jen Heath with Craig Ballantyne, especially the last paragraph..Turbulence Training for Fat Loss

Enjoy your holiday weekend by...

"eatingclean-to-staylean" - BK

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Wildcats Back-To-Back Undefeated National Champions!!!

Saturday evening the CT Wildcats won their second consecutive American National Rugby League Title 22-18 before over 2000 spectators at the University of Florida.

We started out on fire racing in 2 converted tries in even time to lead 12 nil before the Ason Bulls scored their first try to make it 12-6 18 minutes in. Damien “Percy” O’Melveny our Aussie halfback who has been a standout this season tore ligaments in his knee around the 20 minute mark, with Danny Bull another standout straining his ACL not long after. The Bulls sensing plenty of weakness on our left side quickly scored soon after and we had a ball game at 12-10. The game developed into a slugfest with plenty of big hits and intensity from both teams neither one willing to give an inch. The score stayed the same at oranges and both teams retreated to the sheds for the halftime festivities.

Wildcats vs. Bulls [ click here for more photos]

The second half started the same as the first with plenty of big collisions with Will Brazier opening up his snorkel again with blood pouring everywhere and both teams really pouring on the gas trying to crack an opening in the opposition’s defense. We have been able to nail the opposition in the second half all year but our handling was really letting us down. We crossed the line at around the 50 minute mark and Tim “Whiz” Gee converted to get us out to 18-12.

With 24 minutes to go I had the pill and got tackled by a Bulls defender on the halfway line and I was fighting to get to my feet, pushing him in the face and I don’t think he took too kindly to that when he decided to start wailing at my head with a flurry of punches. The next thing I know Three is a pile up and I am covering up getting hit from all angles. I wriggled free and managed to get on to return the favour to the same fella…all good!

So, I get up and the ref decides to give me and the guy that started punching me a yellow card, 10 minutes in the sin bin. Not a happy camper was I.

Those 10 minutes were very hard to take on the sideline. Thank God there was no score while I was gone. Returning to the game the play went from end to end when 7 minutes to go we dropped the pill close to our line. The Bulls capitalized and scored in the far right corner. David Nuiy, the president of the League, kicked an absolute cracker from as far out as you can go on the footy field to deafening cheer from the grandstand at it was tied up at 18-18.

Percy hobbled back on with 5 minutes to go and somehow weaved his way across field to give Webby a great ball to see the young kid run 50 yards and score in the corner with 3 minutes to go and every one of us ran over to hug, kiss, jump all over the young fella.

The Bulls had 1 last crack at us after we dropped the pill again but our defense held on. The hooter went and we had won 22-18.

To say we celebrated is an understatement. In the dressing sheds we sang and drank champagne, sprayed champagne, drank beers and had the music cranking for a good 90 minutes. After we headed in to town and carried on accordingly.

The Bulls were very worthy opposition with David Nuiy leading them superbly and almost knocking us off. A few of the Bulls are retiring, but 1 guy who deserves special mention is Shayne Mains who is a phenomenal athlete and a great bloke. They don’t call him Chief for nothing and it’s wise to avoid his big shoulders on the field as he hits like a truck. He will be sorely missed by the Bulls, congratulations on a great career Chief with the Bulls and the USA Tomahawks.

I would like to thank everyone who came out and supported the Wildcats this year, especially my good friends up here in Milford who came out in droves to support the team at Jonathon Law and always lending encouraging support for the team.

To our sponsors Tri City Heating and Cooling (Seamus Warakomski) Great Date Now (Gary and Beth) Mari Kaszuba (Tranquility Day Spa) thank you very much for your support this year. We couldn’t have done it without you!!

"eatclean-staylean" - BK

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Hidden Super-Food Already In Your Cabinet

You would probably use more of this stuff if you knew that's it's not only a powerful antioxidant, but also helps improve your body's ability to control your blood sugar, and reduces heart disease risk!

So what is this common substance that may already be in your cabinets?

It's good old tasty cinnamon!

I've read numerous studies over the years about cinnamon and its powerful antioxidant content. To add to the benefits, I just recently read a study that involved giving diabetic patients 1 gram (about 1/4 - 1/3 tsp) of cinnamon a day for 6 weeks.

In that time, the subjects significantly reduced their triglycerides and LDL bad cholesterol. Not only that, but they also reduced their average blood sugar levels displaying cinnamon's power in helping to improve your body's glycemic control.

And you know what that means... more steady blood sugar levels means it will be easier to lose body fat.

So don't be shy in using the cinnamon shaker in your daily meals/snacks. Keep in mind that this does NOT mean that cinnamon buns are healthy... they'll only lead you down the road to blubber-town.

Instead, here are some healthy options for including cinnamon in your diet...

1. Add cinnamon to cottage cheese with apple slices and stevia for sweetness
2. Add cinnamon to oatmeal with raisins or apple slices
3. Add cinnamon to your coffee or tea
4. Add cinnamon to protein smoothies. Try adding cinnamon to a vanilla protein smoothie...it's delicious.
5. Sprinkle cinnamon on your cold cereal or any hot cereals
6. Sprinkle on whole grain or sprouted grain toast with almond butter and raisins or fruit slices.
7. Add cinnamon and walnuts to vanilla yogurt for a unique flavor.

Alright, hope you enjoyed this quick little tip today on another super-food you can add to your arsenal. I plan to keep giving you ideas for more super-foods in the near future.

"eatclean-staylean" - BK

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CHEK Exercise Coach

Spending 5 days in Boston last week learning the CHEK mantra was one of the most rewarding gigs of my life. Yves Ethier a stocky French Canadian from Montreal (CHEK LEVEL 4) was our teacher and he took on a Yoda type status, let me tell you.

The 5 of us that were the class were a little beaten up; there was Cheyney a mother of a 4 year old from Chicago who competes in Ironman Triathlons, Justin was from Boston and was part owner in a holistic health facility, Don who was assistant Director of fitness at Harvard and PT part time. Then there was Leslie from Massachusetts who was a dancing major at college and had danced all her life.

Justin, Don, Yves, Leslie, and Cheyney

Here were our ailments:

• Cheyney - abdominal wall looked awesome 6 pack abs, but no strength in the abdominal wall from Cesarean and a few other abdominal operations.
• Justin - Flat footed and a bad lower back
• Don - martial artist who had some postural imbalances (Kyphotic Posture/rounded shoulders forward head
• Leslie - Dancing since very young had some lower back problems and forward head posture at 21 years old.
• Then there was me - beaten up over 30 years playing footy, I don’t need to go into detail.

Three wise men and me

The days were loaded with lectures and practicals and Yves would periodically call us out to do corrective exercises/stretches and perform circus like acts with the body. The guy was phenomenal, a wealth of knowledge and I found myself bombarding him with plenty of questions about everything and anything health and wellness. I learned more over the 5 days than I have in a year.

Level 1 in New York is next up for me in March and I cannot wait.

"eatclean-staylean" - BK

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Back To Back Undefeated National Champions?
Jacksonville here we come!!!!

Last night at the ungodly hour of 11pm the final whistle blew and we had defeated the Warriors 42-18 to advance to the USA national rugby league final at the University of Florida next Saturday night.

At a time when I am normally fast asleep we kicked off the match and 5 minutes in the team thought I was asleep when passing the ball to a teammate when standing over the tryline (end zone) and seeing him drop it cold. The words coming out of the boy’s mouth, I could not print here.

For the first time this year we found ourselves under the gun and chasing the Warriors scoring first and rattling our cages with some big hits. Will Brazier our tank like front rower, got absolutely smashed by the warriors and had to leave the field 3-4 times with blood pouring out of his snorkel, but this kid is one tough cookie. He returns to the field looking like Hannibal Lector with tape wrapped around his nose all the way around his head and wearing headgear to boot. The more you rattle this fella, the more he loves it.

At the half we are down 14-12 and played the worst we have all year. Timmy gives us the pep and tells us to be patient and it will come. Come it did in the second stanza with the Aussie right side duo of Matty and Percy nailing some big plays and bringing us home big time. Personally I was very glad to get thru unscathed, with no further injury to the back…cant wait for next week!

The games against the Warriors this year I could write a story about but, the bottom line is here we have two very skilled competitive teams willing go to great lengths to get the cash for the team. We are glad we have seen the last of em for this year...especially their unstoppable lock forward Siose!!

Congratulations to Adam Hamon and Blair Wards with the success they are having in New Haven. CT is really setting the benchmark for Rugby League in the AMNRL and the competitive rivalry between our two great clubs is fantastic for the game.

"eatclean-staylean" - BK

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Connecticut Wildcats vs. New Haven Warriors

This Saturday at Brian McMahan high school in Norwalk we face off for the third time this season against the Warriors from New Haven in the American National Rugby League Semi final at 5.45 pm.

Our team is rested and raring to go after cooling our heels for 3 weeks. This Saturday the winner progresses to the University of Jacksonville, Florida for the National Final the following Saturday. The loser hangs their boots up for the season.

We haven’t gone 9-0, to turn up Saturday and get dusted. The game is going to be volatile as their is no love lost between the two teams ,so if you want to see some brutal physicality and breathtaking displays of athleticism get down to Brian McMahan Saturday arvo....

It’s gonna be a cracker!!

Exit 14 off '95

"eatclean-staylean" - BK

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These last 2 weeks have been hectic.

My footy team, the CT Wildcats, is cooling its heels after running thru the competition 9-0. We play the winner of New Haven Warriors vs. New York (who play Friday night) in Norwalk on the 18th at Brian McMahon High for the chance to hit Jacksonville on the 27th of August for back to back National Championships. The boys are amping to get their claws on either team in Norwalk and really show our dominance. We will have had 3 weeks without a game and all the boys are freshening up and raring to go. The game will be late afternoon; I will post info as it comes to hand.

For the last 3 months I have been busy completing Scientific Core Conditioning, Scientific Back Training and Program Design, which were prerequisites before CHEK Exercise Coach (Corrective High Performance Exercise Kinesiology) certification.

Tomorrow I head to Boston for 5 days of intense learning at a state of the art complex Sports Club LA. The certification is the first of 4 that I plan to take over the next 3 years, educating me to become the very best practitioner in my field. There is a maximum of 8 students and I cannot wait to envelop myself with this group of likeminded professionals. When I locked in for Boston I didn’t realize that the first week of the semi finals were on this weekend so there was extra incentive to roll thru the comp, as 1 and 2 get a bye first round. Never in doubt!

Top Fitness Professionals Are Teaming Up To Present A Very Unique Challenge To Filmmaker Michael Moore

Love him or hate him, Michael Moore carries a lot of influence. He is a national figure and the amount of publicity he generates can undoubtedly do a great deal of good for the United States and the world.

Jim Labadie has issued a personal challenge to Michael Moore and I need your help.
Let’s bring more awareness to the issue of prevention. That’s right, preventing illness, heart disease, diabetes and so many more ailments that can be greatly reduced or prevented by simply eating better and exercising!

Let’s make a difference together. And please forward this page to everyone you know.

Visit www.MichealMooreHealthChallenge.com and get involved today.

"eatclean-getlean" - BK

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Interval Training vs. Aerobic Excersize

While the mainstream fitness media still insists that aerobic exercise is a great way to lose weight, Turbulence Training users know that interval training is the better way to burn body fat.

Still not convinced?

A recent study published by the North American Association for the Study of Obesity, subjects aged 40 to 75 were instructed to do 60 minutes of aerobic exercise per day for 6 days per week for an entire year.

Given the amount of exercise, you'd expect weight losses of 20, 30 pounds, or more, right?

Well, the surprise findings showed the average fat loss for female subjects was only 4 pounds for the entire year, while men lost 6.6 pounds of fat over the year. That's over 300 hours of aerobic exercise just to lose a measly 6 pounds of blubber. Not time well spent, in my opinion.

So what's the better way? Stick with Turbulence Training, using interval training and strength training to get better body sculpting results. With intervals, you'll achieve more fat burning results in less workout time.

The next time you are out exercising, perform a session of interval training. If you are walking or running outside, find an incline that can challenge you for 60 seconds, then walk down for 60-120 seconds, and repeat up to 6 times.

If you walk or run on a treadmill, adjust the incline or speed to safely increase the challenge for 60 seconds, then return to the normal pace for 60-120 seconds, and repeat up to 6 times.

You can also use a rowing machine, bicycle or stationary bike, or even an elliptical machine to do intervals.

But whatever you do, stay away from boring, ineffective cardio exercise workouts and stick with INTERVAL Training for your fat burning program.

"eatclean-staylean" - BK

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Memorial Rugby Foundation &
Scholarship Fund

The Scott "Boz" Pressler Memorial Rugby Foundation & Scholarship Fund, which I support & ask you to do the same, is holding a benefit raffle. The grand prize includes airfare, $5k in cash and tickets to the final & both semi-finals of the 2007 Rugby World Cup in Paris for 4. 2nd & 3rd prizes are of a similar caliber.

If you win one of the prizes it becomes your property to use however you wish - go to the Rugby World Cup in Paris with 3 of your friends, sell the match tickets on eBay, use the airfares for any flights you like, throw a bash with the cash!

Please support this raffle, it supports area youth rugby and the prizes are fantastic - http://www.rwcticketraffle.com - the drawing will be 10pm Sept 20, 2007 (New York Time) & ONLY 5,000 raffle tickets are available.

"eatclean-staylean" - BK

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