Paul Chek In Action

This is one our favourite video’s of Paul Chek demonstrating an exercise routine, a great way to cover most body parts, and fire up the metabolism

1. Walking Lunges with an Indian Club, alternating sides each step, 20 x forwards, 20 x Backwards

2. Chest Press, x 10 reps, we use the cables as Paul does, 99 lb is my max each hand to date (21-02-2011)

3. Chins, x 10 reps, alternating hands to bring forehead to, always going to full extension

4. Dumbbell/Kettlebell Swing, we use a 20kg dumbbell or a 12kg Kettlebell (the largest we have at the moment) let the bell dictate the pace of the pendulum effect, letting go of the weight at the top of the movement makes this a far more dynamic exercise

5. Swiss Ball Balance, with begginers to using the Swiss Ball we offer time just balancing, usually 1 minute total, but incorporating a bodyblade again makes for an interesting effect for the nervous system

This routine would be repeated 4 x

Over Radiation Exposure

Dr. Salvatore J. A. Sclafani discovered that at the department he ran at Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, premature babies were being over-radiated. Dr. Sclafani had noticed that a newborn had been irradiated from head to toe, even though only a chest X-ray had been ordered.

In fact, technologists had given the same baby about 10 whole-body X-rays. And Dr. John Amodio, a pediatric radiologist, found that such full-body X-rays of premature babies had occurred often, that radiation levels had been set too high, and that babies had been poorly positioned.

Although Dr. Sclafani and Dr. Amodio stopped the practice, the hospital never reported the problems to state health officials as required.

The New York Times reports:

“The errors at Downstate raise broader questions about the competence, training and oversight of technologists who operate radiological equipment… ”With technologists in many states lightly regulated, or not at all, their own professional group is calling for greater oversight and standards…

“[But] Congress has yet to pass what has become known as the CARE bill because, supporters say, it lacks a powerful legislator to champion its cause.”

Dr. Mercola’s Comments:

This isn’t the first time negligent radiological practices have enraged conscientious medical practitioners and others who are proactive about patient safety.

In 2009, physicians at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles discovered some patients had received up to eight times the normal dose of radiation from improperly performed CT scans.The overdose was discovered when one patient lost patches of his hair after a brain scan, and upon investigation, it was revealed that more than 200 people had been overdosed on radiation during an 18-month period. It’s well known that increased radiation exposure increases your risk for cancer. But that risk is FAR higher for your little ones.

Infants and Children are Far More Prone to Radiation Damage than Adults

Infants and children are more prone to the damaging effects of radiation for the following reasons:

• Children are smaller with thinner bones, making it easier for the radiation to reach sensitive areas, like their midbrain.
• Children’s cells reproduce more quickly, so they’re more susceptible to aggressive cell growth, tumors, and DNA damage. The lens of the eye, thyroid gland, bone marrow and gonads are your child’s most radiosensitive organs. Exposing your child’s gonads to radiation can produce genetic defects in his offspring due to radiation-induced chromosomal damage.
• Your child’s immune system is not as developed as yours, so it’s more vulnerable to disregulation.
• Children face a far greater lifetime exposure to electromagnetic radiation, which is significant because the effects are cumulative.
• According to Dr. Klinghardt, radiation can flip certain genes in your child’s mitochondria. Your child can then develop a mitochondrial disorder, which can cause muscular atrophy or severe developmental problems.

Unfortunately, many parents are virtually unaware of these risks when they take their child in for a radiologic exam. Add to the “normal radiation risk” the additional risk of negligent overexposure, and you have a real recipe for disaster. It’s disturbing that radiation errors seem to be happening with increasing frequency, and it is truly tragic because they are SO preventable! Aside from the lack of regulation of radiological technicians, part of the underlying problem is the sheer number of medical imaging tests being performed today.

Radiation Exposure is Seven Times Higher Now than in 1980

Due to rapidly advancing technology and more radiation-intense scans, diagnostic imaging tests have increased Americans’ average radiation exposure seven times since  I was in medical school in1980,, according to the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements.

CT scans (and mammograms, for women) are responsible for a large part of our increased exposure. A CT of the chest delivers 100 times more radiation than a conventional x-ray. And a mammogram can deliver 1,000 times more radiation than a standard x-ray!

According to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), more than 62 million CT scans are now performed in the U.S. each year, compared to just three million in 1980. And about one-third of them are unnecessary, according to David Brenner, the lead researcher of the study. Brenner predicts that CT scans may cause three million cancers over the next 20 to 30 years.

Of those 62 million scans done annually, at least four million are performed on children. According to one large study, the average American child undergoes seven radiation scans by the age of 18. Even more disturbing, CT scans of children are typically calibrated for adults, so children absorb two to six times the radiation needed to produce clear images. These are diagnostic exams—not senior portraits—so upping the dose of radiation (along with the risk) just to get a “pretty picture” makes no sense at all.

Some Dental X-Rays Have Nine Times More Radiation than Necessary

For children and teens, routine dental and orthodontic visits are a major source of excessive radiation. Most dentists use outmoded x-ray film, called D-speed film, which requires about 60 percent more radiation than faster films. It’s unclear to me why some dentists don’t upgrade to lower radiation film for the benefit of their patients—or better yet, digital x-rays that reduce radiation exposure by 80 to 90 percent.

Part of the problem is, there has been no push from state dental boards toward practitioners to convert to safer imaging technology.

Contributing to the radiological load on children, orthodontists are now using a new CT-like scanning device that generates 3-D images, called a cone-beam scanner, which emits far more radiation than older devices. It’s not uncommon for a teen to receive one to four cone-beam scans during the course of his orthodontic treatment.

The problem with these scans is they subject your child to hundreds of times more radiation exposure than conventional x-rays, and there is absolutely no grounds to justify the risk. In fact, orthodontists could simply use a digital camera image, which requiresno radiation, to get many of the same images—it just takes a little bit longer. The point is, with so many x-rays and other radiological diagnostics being done, there is a huge opportunity for errors—errors that can have dire consequences for you and your child.

40,000 Medical Errors are Made Every Day in the U.S.

It is a sad reality about our medical system that more than 40,000 medical mistakes are made every day in the U.S., according toHealthGrades, which has been studying the quality of care in the nation’s hospitals since 1988. A 2008 study reported that one in seven Medicare beneficiaries are harmed by the medical care they receive while hospitalized. Forty-four percent of these medical errors were deemed “clearly or likely preventable.”

Here are a few more statistics that may shock you:

• The U.S. ranks 49th in the world for both male and female life expectancy, down from 24th in 1999.
• The U.S. is 41 places behind other countries in infant mortality.
• If you are 45 or younger, your number one risk of dying is from being treated by a physician!
• There are about 450,000 preventable medication-related adverse events in the U.S. each year.
• Between 1976 and 2006, 62 million death certificates attributed cause of death to inpatient medication mistakes.

Federal Oversight of Medical Radiation May Be on the Horizon

It is much harder to nail down the number of radiation errors occurring each year because most states don’t require radiation errors to be reported. And even when errors must be reported, there is no penalty (or penalty enforcement) for those who made the error. The medical imaging industry has been largely self-regulated—until now.

On February 26, 2011, a hearing in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce opened the door to federal oversight of the medical radiation industry. This was largely sparked by increasing reports of radiation nightmares, like the one in the New York Times articles above. At the hearing, multiple witnesses testified to the lack of training and licensure among people who operate these machines—technicians, physicists, and others. In 17 states, licensing is not required for radiation technicians, and only four states require medical physicists to be licensed.

In many states, hairdressers are more tightly regulated than radiation personnel!

Machines are becoming more complex, while training remains lax. There is no such thing as “point and shoot” in the x-ray department—although obviously, there are lazy, ignorant, or incompetent technicians who are operating x-ray equipment as if it were a pocket camera.

Hopefully, the growing awareness in Congress and increased media attention will lead to positive changes that will increase your safety, such as passage of the CARE bill (HR 3652: Consistency, Accuracy, Responsibility, and Excellence in Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy Act of 2009). In 2010, the Seattle Times reported the FDA might have suppressed evidence of the dangers of CT scans. Only public awareness and pressure will shine the light on corruption like this, and eventually bring about the needed regulatory changes.  But in the meantime, you need to be your own radiation safety advocate.

Suggestions for Minimizing Your Medical Radiation Risk

Do not simply consent to x-rays that seem unnecessary or excessive. Remember, there is no safe dose of x-rays, so the less you have, the better. The UC Berkeley Wellness Letter offers some good suggestions about questions you should ask before undergoing any diagnostic scan, and this includes dental X-rays or cone-beam scans:

Is the test really necessary?	Is the facility accredited by the American College of Radiology?
What difference will it make in my care?	Will the test use the lowest level of radiation for adequate imaging? (Will it be adjusted for my size, or my child’s size?)
Is there a non-radiation alternative, such as ultrasound or MRI (or digital photographs)?	Will the scan be limited to the indicated area, and will nearby areas be shielded

Ask your dentist to use digital x-rays to radically reduce your child’s radiation exposure. And avoid the new radiation-intense CT x-rays at all cost. Ultimately it is your body, or your child’s body, that will be receiving the radiation from a diagnostic test, so you need to be fully informed and certain that the benefit will truly outweigh the risk, before you consent.

At ‘Fit for You’ we have associates that we can refer to in the fields of physiotherapy, chiropractic, massage & osteopathic therapies, so you are completely taken care of.
A lot of our clients simply require; posture, flexibility & strength training, which our process of personal training and core development covers to a very high standard.
Please feel free to contact us to book an assessment or enquire about our services

Obesity & Cancer can be prevented by reducing weight

Academics have said thousands of Britons are being diagnosed with cancer as result of being too fat

By SOPHIE BORLAND HEALTH REPORTER

PUBLISHED: 00:12, 4 October 2012 | UPDATED: 00:13, 4 October 2012

Being obese or overweight heightens the risk of at least seven types of cancer, researchers say
More than 22,000 Britons suffer cancer every year because they are too fat, claim researchers.
Being obese or overweight heightens the risk of at least seven types of the disease, including breast, bowel, pancreatic, womb, kidney, oesophagus and gall bladder.
Academics from the World Cancer Research Fund say that excess fat is the second biggest cause of cancer after smoking.
They have calculated that being overweight or obese is directly responsible for 22,138 cases every year.
This toll includes 7,752 cases of breast cancer, 5,753 of the bowel and 2,978 affecting the womb.
The figure is far higher than previous estimates, which have linked being obese or overweight to 17,000 cases annually.
Last year just over 320,400 people were diagnosed with cancer, according to figures from Cancer Research UK.
The latest calculations mean that 1 in 14 cases are caused by being overweight.
Professor Alan Jackson, chairman of the WCRF panel which calculated the figures, said: ‘A significant number of cancer cases could be prevented by people maintaining a healthy body weight.
‘Through keeping levels of body fat low, a lot of people will avoid getting cancer in the first place – forestalling the pain and anguish associated with the disease.’
The WCRF is carrying out an ongoing study looking at existing research to try to estimate how many cancers are caused by people’s lifestyles.

Risk: Almost two thirds of Britons are classified as being either overweight or obese
Academics are particularly concerned at the number of cases of pancreatic cancer caused by being overweight because it is so difficult to treat.
Just under 8,400 Britons are diagnosed with this type of tumour every year and only 4 per cent are likely to survive.
The researchers estimate that 1,257 cases of pancreatic cancer a year are caused by being overweight and are therefore preventable. Nearly two thirds of Britons are classified as being either overweight or obese.
Obesity is defined as having a body mass index above 30, while someone is classified as overweight if it is over 25.

More…
Sunbeds ‘raise risk of ALL skin cancers’ especially among those who use device before age 25
The agony of PRE-NATAL depression: It strikes one in eight pregnant women, but many of us don’t even know it exists
This figure is essentially an estimate of body fat and takes into account a person’s weight compared with their height.
Last year, a study found that 134,000 cases of cancer could be prevented every year through simple lifestyle changes.
Smoking was found to be the biggest cause and was responsible for 61,000 cases last year, according to academics from Oxford University.
But they calculated that obesity was linked to only 17,000 cases of cancer.
They admitted their calculations were probably ‘conservative’ however and it is likely that excess fat triggers many different types of cancer.

People who are overweight or obese are increasing their risk of being diagnosed with cancer, scientists have warned
At the time, Dr Rachel Thompson, of the WCRF, said: ‘We hope this helps to raise awareness that cancer is not simply a question of fate and that people can make changes today that can reduce their risk.
‘Thousands of cases of cancer in the UK could be prevented by maintaining a healthy weight, being regularly physically active and eating a plant-based diet without too much salt, alcohol or red and processed meat.’
The WCRF has previously warned that the number of Britons diagnosed with cancer will double by 2050 unless urgent action is taken to stem the rising tide of obesity.
It is thought that high levels of fat can ‘feed’ cancer by disrupting the body’s delicate balance of hormones.
For example, the female sex hormone oestrogen is known to fuel breast cancer.
Fat stored around the waist is particularly dangerous and is strongly linked to bowel cancer.
It is predicted that, if nothing is done to tackle obesity, around half of men in England will be obese by 2040 with women not far behind.

Workout Diary!

Sent to me by a client…..??? I’m not sure what they were getting at ???….. If you read this without laughing out loud, there is something wrong with you. This is dedicated to everyone who ever attempted to get into a regular workout routine

Dear Diary,

For my birthday this year, my kids purchased for me a week of personal training at the local health club.  Although I am still in great shape since being a high school football cheerleader 43 years ago, I decided it would be a good idea to go ahead and give it a try. I called the club and made my reservations with a personal trainer named Christo, who identified himself as a 26-year-old aerobics instructor and model for athletic clothing and swim wear. Friends seemed pleased with my enthusiasm to get started! The club encouraged me to keep a diary to chart my progress.

MONDAY:

Started my day at 6:00 am. Tough to get out of bed, but found it was well worth it when I arrived at the health club to find Christo waiting for me. He is something of a Greek god– with blond hair, dancing eyes, and a dazzling white smile.  Woo Hoo!! Christo gave me a tour and showed me the machines.. I enjoyed watching the skillful way in which he conducted his aerobics class after my workout today. Very inspiring! Christo was encouraging as I did my sit-ups, although my gut was already aching from holding it in the whole time he was around. This is going to be a FANTASTIC week!!

TUESDAY:

I drank a whole pot of coffee, but I finally made it out the door. Christo made me lie on my back and push a heavy iron bar into the air then he put weights on it!  My legs were a little wobbly on the treadmill, but I made the full mile.  His rewarding smile made it all worthwhile. I feel GREAT! It’s a whole new life for me.

WEDNESDAY:

The only way I can brush my teeth is by laying the toothbrush on the counter and moving my mouth back and forth over it.  I believe I have a hernia in both pectorals.  Driving was OK as long as I didn’t try to steer or stop. I parked on top of a GEO in the club parking lot. Christo was impatient with me, insisting that my screams bothered other Club members. His voice is a little too perky for that early in the morning and when he scolds, he gets this nasally whine that is VERY annoying. My chest hurt when I got on the treadmill, so Christo put me on the stair monster.  Why the hell would anyone invent a machine to simulate an activity rendered obsolete by elevators?  Christo told me it would help me get in shape and enjoy life.  He said some other shit too.

THURSDAY:

A***ole was waiting for me with his vampire-like teeth exposed as his thin, cruel lips were pulled back in a full snarl.  I couldn’t help being a half an hour late– it took me that long to tie my shoes. He took me to work out with dumbbells. When he was not looking, I ran and hid in the restroom.  He sent some skinny b*** to find me. Then, as punishment, he put me on the rowing machine– which I sank.

FRIDAY:

I hate that bastard Christo more than any human being has ever hated any other human being in the history of the world. Stupid, skinny, anaemic, anorexic, little aerobic instructor.  If there was a part of my body I could move without unbearable pain, I would beat him with it. Christo wanted me to work on my triceps.  I don’t have any triceps! And if you don’t want dents in the floor, don’t hand me the damn barbells or anything that weighs more than a sandwich. The treadmill flung me off and I landed on a health and nutrition teacher. Why couldn’t it have been someone softer, like the drama coach or the choir director?

SATURDAY:

Satan left a message on my answering machine in his grating, shrilly voice wondering why I did not show up today.  Just hearing his voice made me want to smash the machine with my planner; however, I lacked the strength to even use the TV remote and ended up catching eleven straight hours of the Weather Channel..

SUNDAY:

I’m having the Church van pick me up for services today so I can go and thank GOD that this week is over.  I will also pray that next year my kids will choose a gift for me that is fun– like a root canal or a hysterectomy. I still say if God had wanted me to bend over, he would have sprinkled the floor with diamonds!!!

Send this to a friend who needs to laugh.  We all need a good laugh

Thanks Pamela & Amanda for sending me this….when is your next session ???

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fit-for-You/186491634711303

We Wanna Make You Sweat

This exercise session was designed to fry the body, it will make a great demand on your nervous system, you can use this as a circuit routine or use the exercises individually in your training programme.

The session includes; Clean & Jerk x 6, Renegade Rows with 2 x 6kg Kettlebells, 10 x Hanging Toes To Bar, 6 x Handstand Press-Ups, (we actually started each round with 2mins of boxing pad work each) repeated 4 x WOW!

Note : If you experience any pain or discomfort in your back or groin, please stop and contact us or your local professional trainer

What Doctors Don’t Tell You – 30 March 2011

Medicine has got it all wrong when it comes to testing (test or not) for prostate cancer, a new study has discovered.  Elderly men – who get no benefit from the tests – are being screened every year, while those in their 50s are often not being tested at all.
Around half of all men aged 70 and older are having a PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test every year, which is around double the rate of those in their fifties who are having regular tests.  Even men aged 85 and older were being screened as often as men in their fifties, say researchers from the University of Chicago.
But it’s all a pointless exercise.  Men who develop prostate cancer in their 70s will die with the disease, and not from it.  Worse, a positive test could trigger aggressive treatment that is unnecessary and damaging, say the researchers.
(Source: Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2011; doi: 10.1200/JCO.2010.31.9004).

Phil Cordell’s response

I often hear of medical tests done on people where there is no real benefit.

More often is the case that it causes unnecessary worry for the patient and their family, and brings ill health to the attention of the individual.

A few years ago, a client of mine took up the Metabolic Typing with us, and had been doing very well on it, his visual signs of health had improved, as well as how he felt. So, based on our intentions being to deal with reality and have this persons body less reliant on symptom masking drugs, we suggested he go back to the doctor to see if they would reduce some/all of the 14 different items of medication he was on, if his test results confirmed our observations.

A report from the tests the doctor performed, showed his blood sugar levels had lowered (he had Type2 Diabetes) his blood pressure & cholesterol levels were lower and his overall wellbeing had improved, great! You’d think…

The report that he got from the doctor listed these results and commented ‘If they can be believed’

No attempt was made to reduce the prescription at that point until my client insisted that they take the results seriously, pointing out that if they had said things had got worse, the doctor would not have hesitated to increase or add to the prescription (that was how he got to the 14 items on his prescription sheet)

With or without a positive result, the system seems to encourage medication and just to ignore any real positive changes in the patients condition, especially with a view to reduce or stop taking medication.

If you look for something hard enough you’ll find it, but what are the benefits?

What will be the result of a test? If you don’t want to medicated, don’t have the test, if there are no benefits at your time of life, don’t test.

You can post response to this article by using the contact us on this site

I am going to share with you here, a number of observed ways to gauge an individual’s fitness.

Listed below are just some of the main areas that require developing, balancing & maintaining to consider an individual ‘Fit’;

Posture – The true definition is ‘ The position of the body before and after movement.’ How this can be explained is that the body has an optimum standing position of stationary, in this optimum position, the muscles are doing very little to stay upright, this would be correct posture. If you were to drop a shopulder forward, or allow your weight to go to one side, hunch your back or tilt your head, this would be incorrect posture and the muscles will be working more than they should to hold you in that position, if your normal posture involves any incorrect position, you will require a combination of Flexibility and strengthening work to correct.

Flexibility – The optimum amount of muscle movement within every joint

Muscle Endurance – The ability to carry out basic tasks/exercises for an amount of time

Muscle Strength – The required amount of strength ot carry out an individual task without harm to the muscle or other soft tissues

Body Composition – The optimum healthy amount of body-fat for your body taking into consideration any specific sporting requirement or level

Cardiovascular Ability (VO2) – The ability for your heart and lungs to work together and deliver oxygenated blood to your muscles and organs, and remove carbondioxide

Mental Balance – A certain emotional levelness

Balance/Equilibrium – Being stable standing on one leg, or feeling in control standing on a moving object

Motor Skills – The ability to react physically to environmental change, i.e. can you bring your arm up quick enough to stop a ball hitting your face, or, can you jump out of the way of a dog running at your legs

In addition to the above we must also have the ability to;

Run – With ease and for a certain amount of time at a certain pace

Jump – Standing jump up, as well as distance

Push – Using chest, shoulder and arm muscles

Pull – Using back and arm muscles

Bend – Sideways forward and back, standing and sitting without risk or discomfort to your back

Twist – Evenly to each side, standing and sitting without risk or discomfort to your back

Lift – Using legs as main strength, and holding a weight with arms

Squat – Evenly, with feet pointing in the same direction as the knees, at least to thigh being horizontal, and keeping your nose behind your toes

Lunge – Confidently, keeping torso uprigh and with feet pointing in the same direction as the knees, at least to thigh being horizontal

The hierarchy of priority for the average individual is, Posture & Flexibility

A lot of people choose to run to get fit, most are not fit enough to run, and running may only address 3 of the above areas.

All of the above must be in balance, otherwise you would not be classed as fit.

If you are a participant in a specific competitive sport, then you would need to adhere to the above, ‘plus’ the specific requirements for that sport.

Now, Do you consider yourself ‘fit’?

Your training should address the weakest areas of the above list 1st! !

Working with Fit for You, we assess all of the above areas, and program your training accordingly

Author – Phil Cordell is an ex-serviceman, now a professional personal trainer to find out how he can help you with finding out what areas you need to prioritise, feel free to contact us