You could win $100,000!

How much is getting in shape worth to you???

$100,000????

Yah, you read that right. We are giving away $100,000 to two lucky Team Beachbody Members to be selected based on their success story or program results. Best of all, I will coach you for FREE!!!

$100,000!!!!

What do you have to lose....BESIDES WEIGHT????

Did I mention I will coach you for FREE?


The challenge kicks off Monday August 1, 2011. As your FREE fit coach I will give you the information, tools and support you need to succeed. I have helped literally dozens of people lose hundreds of pounds. You can do this and I want to help!

Are you ready to take back control of your life and your health? If so, and you're serious, then let's go. Send me an email now and let's get started!


To get started follow these 3 simple steps:

1. Become a FREE member of Team Beachbody. Click here.

2. Join the "Beachbody Challenge". Click here.

3. Send me an email to thebradleyhall@gmail.com. Send me a contact phone number, best time to reach you. You can also find me on Facebook.

*It is important that you follow the steps in order. When you contact me, I will send you more information and add you to my secret customer group on Facebook.

Let's do this, together!

Bradley

Bradley Hall is a firefighter and an Independent Diamond Beachbody Coach in Indianapolis, IN, who coaches people on health & fitness for free. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter or send him an email by clicking here

Read More

P90X: Round 5

On July 11, 2011 a large group of my customers on Facebook started doing P90X together on the same day. Most will do their workouts individually from home, some will do them together but all have committed to keeping each other motivated by posting the days events, results, set backs and triumphs in our group. The feeback has been tremendous and the encouragement is awesome!

So stoked!

This is my fifth round. First round I was miserably out of shape coming off brain surgery. I struggled through every workout. Second round was a little better. I felt more confident and could do most of them. Third round was the first time I could do the Plyometrics video all the way through. And round four was the first time I had ever done an unassisted pull up in my life.

This is the round of reckoning. It’s time. I’ve worked hard to get to where I’m at. I can see definition that I haven’t seen for a long time. Now, I’m going for a body I have never had. I’m going for shred.

Also, I’m carb cycling. Strength days are complex carbs with fibrous fruit. Non strength days are very little carbs with the exception of recovery drink and Shakeology.

I will post pictures at 30, 60 and 90 days. I will also make occasional entries about my progress. Please ask any questions you like. I’d be happy to answer them.

Phase 1

July 11, 2011

I again made great progress this round. I started out barely squeezing out real unassisted pullups. This in itself is a great milestone. Tall, with long arms, and carrying excess weight for the last 20 years, I had never done a real pullup in my life ever until the end of Round 4. Though I still wouldn't say I'm a pro, or even "good" at them yet, I definitely am well on my way to competantly doing pull ups forever.

I also made great strides in pushups. I did literally almost twice as many pushups on week 3 Chest & Back day as I did on week 1! Very pleased with the size gains as well. I went for low reps, higher weight and on Leg & Back day I added a 5 x 5 bench and squat routine to help gain mass. Who says you can't gain mass on P90X? Tell them they are wrong!

Also, I do have to say that Michele and I made a switch. We are not doing Yoga X. Instead we ordered Deepak Chopra's Advanced Yoga video. It is still a great workout for strength and flexibility that makes you sweat but it's about 30 minutes shorter and much more relaxing. We combine it with other physical activity throughout the day. Some call it cheating, I call it realistic. We had gotten to where we just absolutely dreaded Yoga X (and we both love Yoga). This minimizes the risk of skipping the thing altogether!

Phase 2


Phase 2 has started out well. The benefits of muscle confusion by the change in routine is still evident even after 4 rounds! Sore is the word of the first week in each new phase.

Got away from the carb cycling this first week. Also missed Legs & Back (and bench & squat 5 x 5). Not happy about it but lack of sleep and a busy schedule interfered. Rest is just as important as the work. It's important to take care of ourselves. So, I'm going to catch up on my rest so Monday I can hit the ground with scorching speed and make great strides in week 6 (week 2 of phase 2).

Stay tuned
8/14/11

Read More

Meal plan for a typical day for me

A lot of people have asked me about my diet. It varies from time to time and as anything in life should be, constantly evolves because I never stop trying to learn. But here are some highlights of how I try to eat on a daily basis:

First and foremost, I try to eat clean. (Refer to Michi’s Ladder for a quick reference guide on clean foods). Just because when you eat something and you don’t get sick immediately and/or die does NOT mean it isn’t poisonous. Sometimes we poison our bodies and aren’t aware of what is happening (see entry on “Coke”). Organic and natural eliminates\ the risk of toxins, primarily pesticides) meant to kill insects. (If it can kill an insect, don’t you think it causes some kind of damage to humans?) and hormones and steroids (still be sure to carefully read any and all labels. Lobbyists pay big money to have congress change food laws to dupe consumers). Also, look for grass fed beef, free range/vegetarian chickens, etc. (For a massive eye opening experience please rent and watch the documentary, “Food Inc.”

Also, stay away from anything processed as much as possible, ESPECIALLY anything with high fructose corn syrup, enriched flour and MSG (also labeled as “natural flavors”. Remember what I just said about the lobbyists???)

Fresh or frozen is really the only way to go.

So, on a typical day I may eat:

Breakfast:

Cup of straight, black coffee and 4 egg whites with one whole egg, omelets

Mid morning meal:

Oatmeal with REAL maple syrup (1/8 cup)
6 oz glass of REAL orange juice

Lunch:

Shakeology (with peanut butter or fresh fruit)
Banana

Mid afternoon meal:
Handful of almonds and/or cottage cheese
Apple

Dinner:Chicken breast, grass fed beef, or cold water fish
Salad (with olive oil & vinegar)
Fibrous vegetable (i.e. Cauliflower, broccoli, asparagus, etc)
Occasionally wild/brown rice mix
Glass of red wine or micro-brewed dark beer

Dessert:
Fruit (i.e. Fresh strawberries with banana and whipped cream or mixed fruit)

In addition, I try to drink 1/2 gallon to one full gallon of water throughout the day with either a small pinch of Himalayan Salt or fresh lemon juice. Occaisonally have green tea. I have the P90X Results & Recovery immediately following my workout. Occasionally, I will eat more or less of certain foods, including protein bars or shakes, depending on the numbers in my food diary. I use www.myfitnesspal.com to track my foods eaten and thus caloric intake and vitamin levels.

Bradley Hall is a firefighter and an Independent Diamond Beachbody Coach in Indianapolis, IN, who coaches people on health & fitness for free. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter or send him an email by clicking here

Read More

Ever wonder how the body reacts to a soft drink (ie. coke or pepsi)?

I have no idea who the original authoer of this information is or I would credit them for sure. However, this is information that everyone should know. Be responsible about what you put into your body.

•In The First 10 minutes: 10 teaspoons of sugar hit your system. (100% of your recommended daily intake.) You don’t immediately vomit from the overwhelming sweetness because phosphoric acid cuts the flavor allowing you to keep it down.

•20 minutes: Your blood sugar spikes, causing an insul…in burst. Your liver responds to this by turning any sugar it can get its hands on into fat. (There’s plenty of that at this particular moment)

•40 minutes: Caffeine absorption is complete. Your pupils dilate, your blood pressure rises, as a response your livers dumps more sugar into your bloodstream. The adenosine receptors in your brain are now blocked preventing drowsiness.

•45 minutes: Your body ups your dopamine production stimulating the pleasure centers of your brain. This is physically the same way heroin works, by the way.

•>60 minutes: The phosphoric acid binds calcium, magnesium and zinc in your lower intestine, providing a further boost in metabolism. This is compounded by high doses of sugar and artificial sweeteners also increasing the urinary excretion of calcium.

•>60 Minutes: The caffeine’s diuretic properties come into play. (It makes you have to pee.) It is now assured that you’ll evacuate the bonded calcium, magnesium and zinc that was headed to your bones as well as sodium, electrolyte and water.

•>60 minutes: As the rave inside of you dies down you’ll start to have a sugar crash. You may become irritable and/or sluggish. You’ve also now, literally, pissed away all the water that was in the Coke. But not before infusing it with valuable nutrients your body could have used for things like even having the ability to hydrate your system or build strong bones and teeth.

One other piece of information: Phosphoric acid is the major component responsible for carving out Mammoth Cave in Kentucky.

So it's not just about extra calories or extra caffeine. It's literally a destructive force to your body that robs it of vital minerals and nutrients. And day after day, year after year, it will have long term disastrous affects. I recommend that you drink water, unsweetened tea (or natural sweeteners such as stevia or honey), or REAL fruit juice.

Bradley Hall is a firefighter and an Independent Diamond Beachbody Coach in Indianapolis, IN, who coaches people on health & fitness for free. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter or send him an email by clicking here

Read More

5 Foods That Keep You Thin

Apples

You've heard the term, "an apple a day, keeps the doctor away". And with good reason. Apples are not only rich in anti-oxidants, vitamin C and flavonoids, but also high in dietary fiber.

Apples get a bad rap sometimes because of the recent war on carbs (that's another topic completely!). Apples do contain fructose (fruit sugar) and sucrose (table sugar) but at 75 calories it would take over 25 apples a day to satisfy a typical 2,000 calorie diet.


But more importantly, the high dietary fiber also means that the sugar is absorbed slowly, thus stabalizing blood sugar and decreasing risk for Type 2 Diabetes. Dietary fiber is extremely important for a healthy digestive system and helps reduce cholesterol. It also keeps your hunger more satisfed than say a snack cake with the same calorie amount.

I recently read about a study in the journal "Appetite" that reported that women who added either three apples or three pears to their daily meals, they lost more weight than people who added three oat cookies to their diets -- despite the fact that the apple and the cookie contained the exact same amount of dietary fiber.

And there may be something to the crunchiness according to Alan Aragon, a nutritionist and author of "Girth Control: The Science of Fat Loss & Muscle Gain". He states that the crunchiness of a food may sent signal to the brain satisfiying hunger.



Almonds

I have almonds almost every single day. This is another food that has gotten a bad rap. I hear people say to me all the time, "Those have a lot of fat". I just laugh.

Almonds have shown in studies by "The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" to minimize risk of weight gain. Now I know many people are saying, "but I want to lose weight". Well, this is a good place to start. Adopt almonds into your diet and then burn more calories than you take in. Once you're at optimal weight, stay with the almonds and balance your calories.

An ounce of this food contains only 167 calories, but has 6 g of protein and 3 g of fiber, both nutrients that satisfy hunger. Also, remember the cruchiness factor I mentioned above? Doesn't get any crunchier than almonds!



Salmon

Fish seems to be gaining ini popularity recently, and that is good. However, I still often hear, "I don't eat fish". That, I don't think I will ever understand.

Seafood can be part of a healthy diet. Salmon, and other similar fish, in particular cold water fish, "can boost satiety levels", says Aragon. According to a study published in the "International Journal of Obesity" those who ate salmon a few times a week lost about two more pounds than those who didn't.

Salmon is also low in calories (3 oz serving has just 175 calories), high in protein and rich in Omega fatty acids which help with cardiovascular disease, Depression, Type 2 Diabetes, fatigue, dry & itchy skin, brittle hair & nails, concentration and joint pain.


Eggs

Eggs, are a necessary staple to any healthy diet. (Some controversy exists over if foods that contain cholesterol actually increase your cholesterol. If you have high cholesterol check with your physician and simple seperate the white from the yolk!)

A recent study in the "International Journal of Obesity" studied a group who ate two eggs for breakfast for five days out of the week, they lost 65 percent more weight than those who consumed a bagel each morning. In addition, starting your day off with a high protein meal is believed to help curb your appetite for the rest of the day.



Tomatoes

First and foremost, a tomato is NOT a vegetable, it is a fruit. This puts in on par more witht he apple than with the carrot. However, the point here is that tomatoes are extremely good for you and can be eaten by themselves as where most vegetables require some type of dressing (Hopefully not doused with dirty ranch dressing. Might as well put ice cream on it. Salad dressing should be oil based, in partiular olive oil. That's the way it was for thousands of years until about 30 years ago).

So tomatoes, are a delicious, low calorie option (only 45 calories) that are a source of vitamin C, vitamin A, calcium, iron and dietary fiber.


There are great tasting, wholesome, healthy options out there, that sadly have been almost forgotten in the past few decades of processed convenience and gluttony. It may take a little effort to get back on the path which we were intended, but by slowly adding foods like these back into our daily routine, we can once again begin to feel good about ourselves.

Bradley Hall is a firefighter and an Independent Diamond Beachbody Coach in Indianapolis, IN, who coaches people on health & fitness for free. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter or send him an email by clicking here

Read More