My journal entry for March 15, 2015

Hello all,

Within the last week, I had been doing okay. On March 15, my friend Jerry came over and we had dinner at the diner on Clifton. And then he came over to the house and we chatted

On March 16, I went to my acupuncture appointment

Also on Monday, Lisa Cook, one of my neighbors and friend showed me some pictures of the new cat that I will be getting on April 26, 2015. I am quite excited to say the least. It is going to cost me $100, which I do understand because it is a rescue Siamese cat.

It is going to take place in Erie Pennsylvania and we will be going down the weekend of that date.

On Wednesday, I went to my hospice support group in Lakewood, I arrived a little late but got most of the conversation that was going on and I have been elected to call everyone for next Wednesday, which will be taking place at a restaurant to be named, more than likely it will be a Mexican restaurant that is local.

On Thursday the 19th I had a movie night with Melanie and David and we saw "Orphan", and it was very good. That seemed to be my week in its entirety.

My update on dealing with grief

It has been over a month since Dennis has left us and it has been a blur for me aside from the fact I still feel like it is a bad dream and I need to wake up.

Aside from that, good things are happening, my support system has been phemonomal

That includes family and friends who are making  sure I am safe and secure.I have also been seeing an  acupuncturist and went to my  first tai chi class last Wednesday.

I took tai chi  years ago when I was heavy into bodybuilding  but balancing those two disciplines was difficult. So tai chi took the back burner. I am happy to say the tables have  turned
My anxiety and nervousness has increased as it gets closer to the 20th where did the month go?

As I was writing this a doctor who knew dennis at metro health after his stroke dropped by with final draft  and  the extended bio for the program.

It is going to be a very emotional and eloquent recital for my best friend and lover dennis lang RIP

Until next time
Kirk Fontaine

My journey of grief and loss

Hello all my current and future  followers,

As you well  know I have had many challenges in the last 20 years  the death of my partner due to suicide in 2003, the passing of my mom in 2005, my diagnosis of prostate cancer in 2008, and now the recent passing of my current partner from kidney failure.

It obviously has been an emotional roller coaster, but it has made me a stronger person emotionally, physically and my spiritual  existence is I  believe building each challenge that I go through

. Today is one day that is challenging me the most since it is the time where most families gather to honor and thank each other  and  what ever god they worship for the many blessings they have and will  receive. And although some friends have asked me to join their famiy gathering it won't be the same it is to raw and too early to face that challenge .

Time is will be my healer I  know from experience

Thanks  for reading and happy turkey day to every one

Until next time

Kirk

Gymchat 207 - Body Transformation (with Jason Paris)

My Straight To the Bar Gym chat series (Latest video) July 25th

Gymchat 205 - Paleo Dieting (with Adam Farrah)

Here is my latest Straight To The Bar gym chat interview with Adam Farrah , a paleo diet advocate and coach  discussing the How to's of Paleo Dieting

Gymchat 204 - Training & Competing with Google Glass (with Chas Melichar)

Here is my latest  Straight To The  Bar Gymchat highlighting Triathlete and Pilot Chas Melichar sharing his experience with Google Glass , Great show Thanks Chas !!

How You Can Stay Fit and Healthy While Traveling

During the summer months, it is not uncommon for families to go on vacation with each other. Whether you just have a week off and are going to be spending it at home or you've actually made plans to go somewhere, your healthy lifestyle should not have to suffer because of it. Too many people put their exercise plans and diets on the back burner while they are on vacation because they feel as though the restrictiveness is going to ruin their holiday of the year.

The truth is that exercising and dieting while on vacation can actually help in more ways than one. For one, by exercising regularly and watching what you eat, you might find that it helps you stay in control and helps you to avoid the bloated feeling you often get when you eat too much. What's more, when you finally get back home, you will not have to be so surprised at the number on the scale saying that you gained a lot of week from a week's worth of not exercising and overeating. There is no reason for you to revolve your entire vacation on the food that you are going to be eating. Make healthy decisions and do not give up on your exercise while you happen to be there.

Part of having a successful healthy holiday is staying at the right hotel. By doing the best research possible from your home computer, you can find out what types of gym amenities your hotel has within it. Most hotels do have gyms, but not every single one of them has this type of amenity, so it does pay off to look this information up before booking the actual room. Some hotels even offer yoga classes in the morning for their guests without you having to pay a thing. By doing research beforehand, it is going to be easier for you to stick with your exercise plans so that you can live a healthy lifestyle even when on vacation. On a recent trip to Maui I used a website called Gogobot in order to see all of the Maui hotels in a list where I could then search through and see which ones had 24-hour gyms. Due to this, I was able to workout early in the morning and not sacrifice any of my vacation plans.

There is probably nothing more frustrating than coming home from a vacation to find that you gained a ton of weight and are also finding it difficult to get back into an exercise routine because you were off of it for so long. Staying at a hotel with a fully-equipped gym or pool will help you to get in some much needed exercise so that you do not have to worry about excess weight gain. You will simply be able to enjoy your entire vacation without having to worry that you are going to go home and realize that you gained a ton of weight and need to start all over again with your diet and exercise plan.

By: Mike Manning of Manning's Musings

STB/HOA video gymchat series (playlist)

Here is my Straight To The Bar Gymchats Video playlist that broadcasts on Wednesdays at 9pm EST on Google Hangouts On Air
Please view , subscribe to channel and comment or suggest as well

Exercise Makes Cancer Treatments Easier

After someone is diagnosed with cancer, he or she may experience a range of emotions. Many people become depressed, scared, and concerned that this disease will be the end. Fortunately, researchers have found many cancer treatments, and more people are living full lives after their diagnosis. From breast cancer to mesothelioma, more people are being successfully treated because of this research. Although there have been many cancer breakthroughs, cancer patients can still take steps to help them positively respond to this disease. Exercise is one of the best ways for cancer patients to improve their health and their chances of beating the disease.

As with any new exercise program, cancer patients should be sure to get a doctor’s approval before they begin to exercise. After the patient has been participating in the program, he or she will notice improvements in his or her overall functions. The patient will begin to notice that he or she is gaining more strength, losing unnecessary pounds, reducing his or her blood pressure, and gaining more energy each day. Since fatigue is one of the main effects of cancer treatments, it is important for these patients to take steps to gain extra energy to continue to carry out their daily routines.

Since cancer and its treatment has the tendency to affect all parts of the body, the patients should make sure they are as healthy as possible. Exercise will allow the other parts of the body to fight off other diseases that could attack a weakened immune system. Exercising is an important way to limit the spread of cancer as well as reduce one’s susceptibility to other illnesses.

Cancer is definitely an emotional time for anyone who is affected. These emotions can range from guilt to complete anger. Therefore, patients should be sure to exercise to improve their mood. Since exercise will allow endorphins to be released throughout the body, the patients will begin to develop more pleasant thoughts and feel more relaxed throughout the day.

Cancer patients understand how difficult the disease and the treatment can be on their bodies. However, they should also begin to understand how beneficial exercise could be to help them throughout this entire ordeal. Patients should meet with their doctors and develop an exercise routine as soon as possible.

Upcoming HOA announcement of the video interview with Karsten Jensen

My Moustache is Gray !!

Here is my fourth video showcasing the progress of my mustache growth for the Movember drive
Please donate and save a life  it is going for a good cause finding a cure and better treatment for prostate cancer
here are my links for the fund drive info and instruction on how to donate
www.movember.com
www.movember.com/fitblogger

My Movember fund raiser Intro

Hello all my fellow followers,
I am participating in my third fund drive for the Prostate Cancer Foundation and Livestrong.com

It is a good cause to find a cure and more advanced  treatment and detection  for this disease.. I am a prostate cancer survivor myself so it is a personal mission for me.

 Below you will find more general information about the foundation and the fund drive.

I do apologize for the lengthy session , I tend to drag on some conversations and I am working  on that issue :)


Here are some links to my donation page and more general information about the disease

http://mobro.co/fitblogger
http://us.movember.com/about/

Gymchat 186 -Metabolic Typing with Stephen Duncan

This is one of my video projects that was recovered by Google. I am hosting a show every Wednesday at 9 PM Eastern standard Time called The Straight To The Bar Gymchats Hangouts On Air  and they showcase various health and fitness professsionals that want to promote and educate the public on their specified field of expertise within the Health and Fitness Industry Please view and comment

I will be posting videos I hope every week that showcase these guests.
The video below is an interview that took place on Sept 26th and the discussion reported on  the principles and philosophy of metabolic typing 

'Gymchat 185 - Training for Marathons & Triathlons (with Chas Melichar)

 Here is my first video project .please comment and suggest It ail be a weekly show  based on various health and fitness topics  'Gymchat 185 - Training for Marathons & Triathlons (with Chas Melichar) (by Kirk Fontaine)

Hyponetrmia What is it?

Hyponetrmia What is it?

Since we are in the midst of a hot summer , the issue of water intake during intense outside activity needs to be addressed. so here is my research on a condition called hyponetrmia which afflicts many of our athletes but it can affect the general population as well 

In terms of sodium intake and exercise, I learned that you need the sodium and other minerals to generate electrical activity in order for the neuromuscular system to function properly. During any intense activity, the body excretes certain amounts of sodium through sweat, urine and a percentage through fecal matter and it eventually has to be replaced through food, water, and certain energy drinks that contain sodium such as Gatorade. 

During my research, I was also astonished by learning about  how too much water can cause the kidneys to become overloaded and shut down and if not treated then eventually could lead to  death.

In terms of the amount of sodium intake one should ingest on a daily basis, the basic understanding is that too much sodium will cause the body to withhold water that may have implications on one’s overall health when referring to conditions such as high blood pressure. 

Therefore, the rationale is to cut back on salt in any form to daily levels below 2400mg. However, the research is different for athletes based on their activity level and the environment that these athletic events take place. 

Athletes are encouraged to begin exercise well hydrated and to consume sufficient amounts of appropriate fluids during exercise to limit water and salt deficits. (Maughan, & Shirreffs, 2008).

Available evidence suggests that many athletes begin exercise already dehydrated to some degree, and although most fail to drink enough to match sweat losses, some drink too much and a few develop hyponatremia a condition that affects the way the kidneys excrete water (2008). 

There is a tendency to replenish the water due to the initial sensation of thirst and by then the body is severely dehydrated. The athlete then tries to make up the perceived deficit by ingesting fluids over a shorter period of time, which leads to the stated condition 

A water loss equivalent to 2% or more of body mass appears to reduce endurance exercise performance in both temperate and hot environments especially when the duration of the exercises is around 90 min or more. It has been reported that oral replacement of even 50% of a 4% body mass loss during a 20­min break was effective in restoring exercise capacity (2008)

According to Anastasiou, Kavouras, Arnaoutis, Gioxari, Kollia & Botoula, Exercise-associated hyponatremia may result in confusion, disorientation, nausea, vomiting, pulmonary edema, cardiorespiratory arrest, coma, and even death'. (Anastasio, Kavouras, Arnaoutis, Gioxari, Kollia, Botoula, et al, 2009)

A study is done involving thirteen healthy, physically active, untrained men (age = 24.5 ± 2.1 years, height = 178 ± 8 cm, mass = 77.9 ± 10.4 kg. body fat = 17.4± 5.4%). (2009)

The purpose of the study was to examine the effectiveness of drinks with different sodium concentrations in maintaining plasma volume and preventing hyponatremia during long-duration exercises in the heat when fluid supplementation matches fluid lost to sweating (2009)

As of 2007, The American College of Sports Medicine suggested that fluid intake during prolonged exercise should be sufficient to limit body mass loss to less than 2 % body mass pre-exercise 

Therefore, water should not be ingested to the point that they gain body mass during exercise, but those principles do not apply to the athlete that is already dehydrated before beginning exercise.  

Individualized strategies have to made to educate athletes on how to hydrate before, during and after intense endurance activities, No single recommendation will work for every one. 

References

Anastasiou, C. A., Kavouras, S. A., Arnaoutis, G., Gioxari, A., Kollia, M., Botoula, E., et al. (2009). Sodium Replacement and Plasma Sodium Drop During Exercise in the Heat When Fluid Intake Matches Fluid Loss. Journal of Athletic Training 44(2), 117-123.

Maughan, R. J., & Shirreffs, S. M. (2008). Development of individual hydration strategies for athletes. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab, 18(5), 457-472.

To Supplement or Not

Do you think fitness and/or health care professionals should recommend supplements?

I don’t think fitness and health care professionals should be recommending supplements of any kind unless they are qualified to do so, for example, if they hold a dietitian’s or nutritionist’s certification and/or license to prescribe individual diet plans based on their client’s goals.

With recommending pro hormone supplements, here is my opinion on that as well. 

I do not think hormone supplements such as testosterone, and fitness professionals of any level or discipline should not recommend some of those other banned substances because they are considered illegal to use in most states in the union 

 You are putting yourself at risk legally if someone takes these supplements based your recommendation. I have seen and heard of the many pro hormone supplements that advertise and market their product as ergogenic aids to dupe the consumer along with celebrity endorsements to further validate their claim.

 I believe with a sound diet and fitness plan you can attain the same benefits as the pro hormone supplements without the adverse effects. The process for practicing this methodology is slow but healthier and maximizes the benefits of your hard training and diet adherence.

 

The supplement question that I receive a lot is regarding the differences between whey and soy protein and their effectiveness in increasing lean muscle mass. 

The debate regarding whether whey or soy protein is better for non athletes and athletes for building lean muscle mass can be simplified to knowing that according to current research it was hypothesized that whey protein would be more effective compared to soy protein during resistance training. It was also hypothesized that protein supplementation, independent of source, would be more effective than resistance training alone. (Burke, et al, )

Also results across studies suggest that consuming additional dietary protein during resistance training, independent of source, may be responsible for the greater increase in lean tissue mass.

It was speculated that whey protein would lead to superior gains over soy protein. However, their findings did not support this hypothesis. One possible explanation for the lack of greater gains in the whey protein group was the duration of the resistance-training program. (Burke, et al) 

On a general note, the most asked question concerning protein supplementation is how much to take once you decide what type and brand one chooses.

According to my research findings, future studies will need to determine precise recommendations, current research indicates that as long as energy intake is adequate a daily protein intake of 1.2–1.4 g/d for individuals participating in regular en- durance exercise and 1.6 –1.8 g/kg for their counterparts involved in strength exercise should be sufficient and based on this finding, the client has to figure in their chosen protein supplementation with this formula along with the dietary protein he should be ingesting on a daily basis.(Lemon,2000)

Burke, N., C., Burke, D., G., Candow, D. G., & Palmer-Smith, T. (2006). Effects of Whey and Soy Protein Supplementation Combined with Resistance Training in Young Adults. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 16, 233-244

Lemon, P., W.R. . (2000). Beyond the Zone: Protein Needs of Active Individuals [Journal]. Journal of American College  of Nutrition Vol.19.

Exercise Adherence-What does it mean?

Adherence means in my opinion, creating and committing to a passion even if it poses great challenges and of course exercise ,whether it is hourly ,daily ,weekly or god forbid monthly, will with some consistency bring about positive changes in the body in a holistic fashion. 

Why is it so hard to commit to something that we all know will change our lives for the better. The intent is always there. Just talk to someone about health and fitness in reference to exercise and they will state they have the intent but not the drive.

 To rationalize that argument they stated various reasons why they cannot exercise , "No Time" is the usual   excuse for why they cannot become involved or committed.

Warm weather or designated dates have a way of calling attention to the importance of achieving healthy fitness levels for ourselves and our families.

Many of us have  spent at least the better part of our previous two or three seasons making the attempt and fallen short.

According to Adam Stone ,a writer for William Penn Life ( June 2012)

“Understanding the science of exercise is important for every single person participating in a fitness program”. 

One consideration is exercise referral, which is the practice of referring the person from primary care to a qualified exercise professional who uses relevant medical information about the person to develop tailored programs of physical activity usually lasting from 10 – 12 weeks. 

The purpose is to increase opportunities for exercise but the access to facilities & activities in the notion that it will encourage long-term exercise behavior can become a tricky situation

It could turn into a very complex issue for the person who has been referred by their doctor or  another health professional. Studies are still inconclusive as to how effective this practice is.

What is your opinion on the relationship between exercise adherence and referrals from your doctor?

My Post Graduate Experience from College

I am not real sure why I have this fear of failure but I have been trying to repress this feeling  and it always rears it ugly head when I get into situations that may trigger it such as what happened with my last job situation in 2011 beginning on Halloween Day

I am a recent graduate from a online college. I just earned my Master’s in Exercise Science and Health Promotion from California University. It was a intense  year-long Master’s program with a Post-graduate NASM certification  Afterwards I got some tips that several places were hiring ,and I took the first job opportunity where for all intensive purposes was the perfect job in reference to location and the type of job I was applying for.

I went through two interviews (one was via the phone and the other was in person) . As far as I know both  of the interviews went fine. Subsequently I was set to role play an intake session with one of the trainers at the facility and it went ok , he indicated what I am lacking in and it was duly noted. I needed to brush up my marketing and sales strategy skills .

 Ok so I was told that I will be contacted by the owners to set up a time to shadow a trainer so that I can find my “niche” therefore i will be matched with potential clients based on my marketing and sales skills. The first week passed with no notification from them , I then proceeded to contact them via email and phone and got no reply from them. The second week I proceeded to do the same thing and still no response.  So I just figured I was written off because for some” unknown reason “ I was not the perfect fit for their  company. Maybe I was overqualified since I just earned my second Master’s,(my other was a Master of Science  in Information Technology)

This was a wake up call and lesson for me since it has been several years since I worked and I know there has been changes in the world of the employed. Some changes are good as well as bad. - The message I get from this is timing is everything and you must keep your expectations high in spite on what may happen in the process of looking and securing a job. It could of been my worst case scenario but I doubt that. I was quite bitter ,embarrassed and  confused for a long time but I am still actively looking and I am sure that great job will come as long as I am vigilant in my search.

Thanks for reading

Unitl next time

Kirk Fontaine

The unemployed but content Personal Trainer :)

New Year Thoughts

Hello all I have been waiting until more events materialize before I start blogging for the new year. My hope was to be preparing for my transition from one college degree to enrolling in another one to complete another degree. It is not happening unfortunately at least not until July when the summer term start at CAL U I have earned my Master's from Capella University in Information Technology as of December 12, 2009, and was getting ready for my start in another Master's Program in an online college called CAL U to pursue a degree in Exercise Science, but unfortunately I missed the application deadline. Because I believe that everything happens for a reason I am concentrating on other areas that are important in my life. such as family issues which I may or may not go into unless it is of an informational nature to the community at large(that would include email, Facebook and twitter contacts ) My heath and fitness goals remain the same but with little fluctuations happening over a period of time. Consistency seems to be an issue with me but I am working on it .Self awareness of how my subconscious mind affects my consciousness in order to be more consistent with following my passion which ,was and still is bodybuilding and everything that entails. I enrolled in a new year fitness initiative sponsored by the infamous Cleveland Clinic to enable some health facilities to offer a 90 day free membership and found out that it is already overwhelmed with ton of interested parties. So i might have to wait a little longer than I expected, In the meantime I am exercising with my standard equipment me, myself and I LOL I do have dumbbells ,and an exercise wheel for my midsection as well I did find there are tons of videos on how to exercise with just simple bodyweight exercises inside the home. That is right up my alley NO EXCUSES at all for naught doing something and most of these exercises dont require any expensive equipment. Just time ,preservation,motivation and focus are all that are needed. Use that God given gift to accomplish whatever your passion maybe

Until next time KIrk