BodyForTheAges.org Blog

I feel like writing a few words about this guy, Pax Beale, who is on the Net with various entries – mostly regarding weight-resistance training, and his success in reversing his heart disease…

Around January 2008 I got an email from Pax Beale, President and Founder of Body for the Ages. He was looking for some dynamic website support. We emailed back-and-forth for a bit, and then I was finally introduced to Pax in person. Hearing his deep voice, and knowing that I would be the 5^th developer to attempt working on their website was a bit scary! But I can say that after 8 months, I did manage to satisfy some of his online requests!

The more I read about his life story, the more I like him. I think you would admire him as much as I do, if you got to know him. It’s encouraging to know someone could reverse his heart disease by pumping up his muscles with weight-resistance training! As an ageless bodybuilding’s Mr. USA, he dedicated his time to pursuing methods of helping others defeat heart problems. That’s why Pox launched Body For The Ages.

Well, I think that’s enough for today as I have to get ready to go to my weekly soccer game. I will continue on this subject soon, as I have decided to try one of his patented scientific supplements, Cardio MakeOver (Creatine/Pyruvate).

Ciao,
David

Because I’ve been feeling a bit stressed out today, I figured it would be a great time to talk about stress relief strategies. I am not an expert on this, but here’s a few things I do to relieve stress.

1. First, but I seldom utilized: eliminate the stressor. A project at work threatening to send you into a nervous breakdown? Maybe it’s time to ask for some help. Or time to find new employment. Friend or Family member got you wound up like a jack-in-the-box? Time to talk to them about what’s bothering you, or to just get a bit of a break. This strategy has its limits. We can’t eliminate everything that stresses us out- my mother-in-law for example.
2. Exercise is a great method for relieving stress as well. For me, I am the most relaxed about an hour after my workout. I lift weights so my stress relief strategy includes that. I change my clothes and pump up my ipod to get in the mood. As I work out, I visualize hanging my stressors on the weight I’m lifting. I imagine that as I lift the weight, my stressors are lifted off me and stuck on the weights, not to bother me anymore.
3. I also try breathing techniques. I find a calm place to sit, and make myself comfortable. I pull my back straight and my chest up, in order to open my body up for breathing. I then focus on making deep breaths. I try to limit my thoughts to only the act of breathing. I find after about 5 minutes I’m pretty relaxed.

I want to invite you to comment. What stresses you out in general terms? What strategies do you use for relieving that stress you can’t eliminate?

And for more stress relief tips click here!

There has been much concern expressed about the consumption of soy protein by men.  Supposedly, eating soy protein can reduce testosterone levels in men.

This claim doesn’t live up to scrutiny.  Here’s the basis of the concern: One man, in one study, saw a significant reduction in testosterone.  And he had a testosterone level 200% above normal.  Here’s a link to that study. No need to run around like Chicken Little.

A more recent study found NO decrease in testosterone.  Click here to read it.

So, one can make there own mind up.  Personally, I think that the issue deserves more study before one avoids soy protein, and we should see if soy may have testosterone regulation benefits.

Also, there is no dispute about the heart benefits.  The FDA has granted this health claim for soy: “25 grams of soy protein a day, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease.”

So, check out Pax’s protein, formulated to attack heart risks!

Pax Beale here.

I am no-nonsense about my passion to work with you as a team. However, my team has no laggards, quitters, or members who believe that “life just happens.”

We believe in the Body for the Ages Wellness Philosophy. Its rewards: a new you, greater self-esteem, and a hell of a lot of fun.

Bet you thought as a bodybuilder, I was going to show men how to put an inch on your arm, or women how to get rid of cellulite.

I want to show you more than that. Together we can change your life. My mission is to attack America’s number one killer: heart disease. And I do it through the Body for the Ages Wellness Philosophy.

But then, there is so much more that comes with it. Learn my protocol, and it can position you to become a millionaire, have success in your field of endeavor (not all life is based on the almighty dollar), to enhance your self-esteem, and/or you can have optimized success, health and happiness.

I’m not going to tell you the need to strangle America’s number one killer: heart disease. I want to show you how to do it.

Once done, it will affect your entire life. In the process I guarantee you will learn weight loss or weight control. I will show you how to get a body of your dreams. You will be exposed to the prospect of a complete, positive, remake of your life, from what you eat, to how you feel when you wake up.

Your life changes and as a by-product, you will reduce or reverse your heart disease risks.

It’s all based on the Body for the Ages Wellness Philosophy.

I’ll leave you this week with a true story. My friend Elaine Pedersen was flying to Portland, Oregon, and on the plane she met former football coach John McKay of the University of Southern California. The USC team was to play Oregon that Saturday. Upon departing, Elaine said to coach McKay, “good luck on Saturday.” The coach turned and paused for a moment. He looked at Elaine and said, “I suppose that has something to do with it.”

The moral of the story: having a plan, like the Body for the Ages Wellness Philosophy is what wins football games, not luck. The same applies in life.

Work was loong. At five o’clock, with the beginnings of a headache nudging behind my eyes, all I could think about was going home, putting my feet up, and vegging out.

But… I had Pax Beale’s workout schedule in front of me. My first, since joining the Body for the Ages Online Wellness Program. It was time to learn what it meant to be a Member of Team Body for the Ages.

I checked over the personal email I’d received from Pax, noting how amazingly in-tune he was, regarding my wellness needs. He was warm and encouraging, yet just strict enough to keep me heading for the gym, rather than making a bee-line for home.

Pax had strongly suggested that I print out the personal workout schedule he’d sent, and bring it with me to the gym, as a guide. “Consistency,” wrote Pax, “is key. You probably wake up at the same time day. You probably eat lunch at the same time every day. It’s important to work out at the same time every day, as well. This way, you train your body, and you “trick” your subconscious into believing that no day is complete without a workout at its normal time.”

So, with my guide in hand, I entered the Body for the Ages Health Studio. I had no idea what I was doing.

But guess what — I made it through. I followed my workout schedule. I sweated and breathed and laughed and at one point I had to sit down and rest… (”Baby steps!” Pax had written in his email, advice that echoed in my head as I got ready to begin again.)

Halfway through my workout, I noticed something wonderful: I could feel my muscles. All of them, it seemed. I was stretching, bending, straining, relaxing muscles that felt like they hadn’t been used in years, and it felt so good to be conscious of my body. Sometimes we forget what a wonderful machine it is.

When I’d finished the workout, two things struck me:

1. My headache had vanished.

2. Though I’d been dreading visiting the gym, because of my long work day and lack of energy, I was suddenly filled with energy. My visions of going home to vegg out had vanished along with my headache.

I walked out the door, and into the sunshine, wondering what I’d do with the rest of my day.

Current research suggests that a blood pressure reading from simply an arm cuff may not give a full picture of one’s arterial health. A new study suggests that getting an ankle brachial index test might give doctors a better view of what’s going on in one’s body. Click here for a description of the study.

Essentially, measuring an ankle brachial index is simple. One measures your blood pressure with a blood pressure cuff on both the arm and ankle and comparing the systolic pressures between the two.

The index allows doctors to better understand the peripheral cardiovascular health the legs. The closer the ratio is to 1:1, the better your cardiovascular health.

A large difference between ones arm and ankle systolic pressure might signify poor cardiovascular health. A recent study found that a “low” ankle brachial index meant double the ten-year mortality rate from a coronary event.

We should emphasize that all studies describe the ankle brachial index as a tool for more accurately measuring ones cardiovascular health along with other tools, like the Framingham risk score. But, it might be worth while to ask your doctor about getting an ankle brachial index at your next physical.

For more information on the ankle brachial index click here.

In the past, I saw fitness as a hobby. (A strange, painful activity done by strange people.) I’d see friends head to the gym in the evenings for a workout, and think, “Run on a treadmill? Lift weights? No thanks. Not for me.”

I’ve lately begun to notice that in this day and age, a “not for me” attitude, when it comes to fitness, leaves you lacking in many areas of life, including job security. With health insurance rates rising, companies are beginning to take active measures to insure their employees are health-conscious assets to their companies, rather than costly burdens.

So I guess you could say I jumped on the bandwagon out of fear. Once the seed had been planted, though, I began to think more about it. Faced with the opportunity to join the Body for the Ages Online Wellness Program, I asked myself what such an undertaking really meant to me. Well, of course it may seem obvious: a healthier lifestyle… Duh. But I think it’s easy for us to lump the terms “health”, “fitness”, and “wellness” into an abstract idea - a chore or an obligation, like when we’re little and we hear “Eat your vegetables” at the dinner table every night.

It’s important, though, to stop and think about how wellness is connected to our life’s most cherished goals. I got out a pen and paper and asked myself what exactly I wanted from the Body for the Ages Wellness Program.

What will you bring me, health? I asked in big letters at the top.

Underneath, I listed:

More energy
A sexy body
The ability to keep up with my children
A long, happy life

I stopped and read over what I’d written. Each item on my list was non-negotiable. Now that my list of wants was there in black and white, staring me in the face, I couldn’t crumple it up. I couldn’t toss it in the trash and say “not for me”, and head home to my couch and a few mindless hours of television, to end my day.

So after work, I headed over to the Body for the Ages Health Center instead…

…Check back next week to hear about Day One on Team Body for the Ages.

When scanning the New York Times website this morning, I found this great article by Michael Bicks who recently survived a severe heart attack. Luckily, he was able to recognize his symptoms thanks to recent media coverage of Tim Russert’s death.

We should all remember the symptoms of a heart attack, which you can find here at the American Heart Association’s website: chest discomfort, discomfort in other areas of the upper body, shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort, and other signs may include breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness.

But Mr. Bicks’ description of the life implications of his heart disease struck me most:

This is one of those times that defines your life, like the death of a parent or the birth of a child. In a split-second, you cross the invisible “before and after” line and realize that nothing is ever going to be the same. For that moment my life had been removed from my hands…

It made me think about a story Sophie wrote about Pax’s recovery. Pax brought one of his surgeons with him to work out. The intensity of Pax’s workout shocked him. The surgeon told Pax that by working out with that intensity, he risked exiting the gym in a body bag.

Sophie describes Pax’s reaction like this:

Initially this concerned Pax. In fact, his spirits were dampened and he didn’t work out for a few days after that evening. Then one morning he woke up and said, “If I can’t do the things I enjoy, what is the meaning of my life?” He went straight to the gym with renewed vigor, recognizing that the quality of life meant more to him than quantity.

That was ten years ago. Today, Pax is the most fit 78 year-old you might meet. He still hits the weights every day. Certainly, Pax adjusted his workout to benefit his heart. But he never allowed his heart disease to “redefine” his life.

Lesson: a cardiac event isn’t an excuse to redefine your life. It’s a call to wake up. To wake up to the joys of life, and to what makes you, you. And it’s a call to action. To get fit, and to pursue a healthy lifestyle with renewed vigor.

Heart health is in the news again – actually, it’s there just about every day – but now, the message has really hit home for me. Not just one, but two of our culture’s pop icons are gone, each of them lost to the nation’s Number One killer: Heart Disease.

Cut down in the prime of life…. Tim Russert and his wife just celebrated their son’s graduation last month, and now, in the prime of his career, he’s gone in a heartbeat. Literally.

The sardonic wit of George Carlin is another voice that has been silenced by this deadly disease.

And last week, in a newspaper no less prestigious than the New York Times, an article appeared about how to help your heart stay strong and healthy with weight resistance exercises…

Here is the link to this article.

This article states the case clearly:
“Regular participation in aerobics, strength training and balance and flexibility exercises can delay and may even prevent a life-limiting loss of physical abilities into one’s 90s and beyond … Recommendations for older adults from the American Heart Association and the American College of Sports Medicine … are expected to match new federal activity guidelines due in October from the United States Health and Human Services Department.”

This is the exact message that Pax Beale has been delivering all along… for more than a decade!

Pax is walking, talking, living, breathing proof that his Wellness Philosophy works. It is exceptionally well written in his detailed book, Body for the Ages: From Heart Surgery to Bodybuilding Champion (ya gotta read this book! It’s empowering!), and it is also readily apparent online at the comprehensive website: http://www.bodyfortheages.com

This 412-page hard cover book is a veritable bible of health care, and provides detailed explanations as to how to strengthen your own heart (after all, the heart is a muscle, you know), has a message whose time has come — once again.

I urge you to take a look at the easy-to-follow, step by step plan that Pax Beale has so carefully put together on his website, and then let me know if you find it as great as I do!