If that isn’t enough to make you beg for some blueberries, a new study by the American Heart Association links blueberries to lowering the risk of heart attacks in women.

Study Highlights:

• Women who ate at least three servings of blueberries… per week had fewer heart attacks.
• Blueberries… contain high levels of compounds that have cardiovascular benefits. ¹

All of this hype over this indigo-colored berry is nothing new. Even in Colonial times, settlers believed blueberries to have “health-promoting effects.” Check out this article and podcast published by NPR yesterday about the more bang-for-your-buck blueberry.

We at Holistic Fitness strive to keep up with health news and apply it to our practice and products.

That’s why are proud to introduce our Famous Fat Burning Lemonade with Wild-harvest Blueberry Super-Food! Our Blueberry Powder is 100% Natural, Wild Harvested, Vegan, and Gluten Free. It’s then drum-dried to retain the amazing nutritional benefits of the raw blueberry fruit.

Check out Holistify® Fat Burning Lemonade Wild Crafted Blueberry today, and enjoy all of the benefits of our original Fat Burning Lemonade plus the benefits of the amazing blueberry!

All the best in health,
Greg
Holistic Fitness, Inc.

^{1. Strawberries, blueberries may cut heart attack risk in women. American Heart Association, 2013. http://newsroom.heart.org/news/strawberries-blueberries-may-cut-heart-attack-risk-in-women?preview=d47d}

CHAPTER 2: 
THE STAR TREATMENT

Here’s Demi Moore, trying to do the impossible: a set of one-armed push-ups – done properly, with her hand almost under her chin, instead of splayed way out in front – and it hurts just to watch.

We’re on the movie set of G. I. Jane and Demi’s tightrope-taut muscles are shivering like jello, but if any of these crew members standing around think she’s going to give up, it’s because they don’t know her like I do. The reason she’s so capable of projecting strength in her movie roles is because she’s got it: You can’t project what you don’t have, even in the movies. Especially in the movies, to be honest about it. The big screen is brutally revealing. Lesser actors can fake their way through little roles, but virtually all the blue- chip superstars look bigger-than-life onscreen for a very simple reason: They really are bigger than life. They are willing to do things, and to experience things, that would horrify the average actor.

There are thousands of actors who want to have what superstars have, but hardly any of them want to do what superstars do.

Such as: a set of one-armed push-ups. They’re hard enough for an athletic male to do. When Sly Stallone did some in Rocky, it was a big deal, and got used in a bunch of the movie’s publicity stills. But women just don’t have the anatomical composition of fast-twitch muscles that make repeated one-armed push-ups possible.

But Demi loves the fact that it’s next to impossible. She’s got no fear – doesn’t understand the meaning of the word, as the expression goes.

Even so, one-armed push-ups are so hard that the stunt coordinator goes off and rigs up this spring- loaded device that my client can wear over her arm, to give her a little help. But she takes one look at it and says, in so many words, no thank you.

Then we spend weeks building her up, doing extremely specific exercises to ignite the exact muscle groups she’ll need. At the same time, we’re doing all this Navy SEAL-style training, which is the polar opposite of prior work she’d done with me for glamour-type roles, such as Striptease. In the glamour roles, we’d trained her for sexy and svelte, with dancing, aerobics, and gymnastics. But now she needs a completely different type of body – an action hero body – so we’re locked into this torturous boot-camp regimen of doing sit-ups in the mud, jumping-jacks in quicksand, jogging underwater – that sort of thing. “Cold? Too bad! Get back in the water!”, as the SEALs would say.

Demi is very patient about all this, but the truth is, she’s been around the block with personal trainers and all of their demands. Most of what they’ve told her, she’s already heard, and most of what they know about, she knows more. She is as savvy about her own body as anybody in Hollywood. As I say, you don’t

become a superstar by accident. So if somebody like me says, “Get back in the water!” I’d better have a very specific outcome in mind, and a very finite timetable.

Most people think that stars have all the time in the world to make themselves look good. They just go to expensive spas and get the star treatment, right? I can’t count the number of times that the non-actor clients I train have said, “I’d look great, too, if that was my whole job.” Well, fitness isn’t an actor’s whole job. Their job is acting – learning roles and performing them with depth and artistry. Doing that at a world-class level is ridiculously time consuming. Likely as not, when a superstar arrives at my gym, his or her assistant will say, “We’ve got thirty minutes.” And if I start to complain, he’ll say, “We’ve now got 29 and a half.”

Time counts. For everybody. Including you, no doubt. That’s part of the reason my approach is now so popular in Hollywood – it achieves maximum results in minimal time.

Another reason this one-armed push-up exercise is such a challenge is because of the unavoidable pressure that always comes from studios, directors and producers. They invariably have hundreds of millions of dollars riding on my ability to get a star into the exact shape the role requires. Do you think they want to hear excuses? Do they want to deal with injuries? Exercise burn-out? Exhaustion? Weight that won’t be gone for another ten days?

They want one thing: results. Now. Or preferably, yesterday. That’s why my approach is so specific, detailed, and outcome-oriented. The movie business is just the wrong place for fuzzy philosophies and fake, feel-good exercise formulas. Because directors live and die by their shooting schedules, timing is everything to them, and now it’s time: time for Demi to do an unassisted, one-armed push-up.

I get down on the floor with her. I’m sweating, too – just from empathy. That often happens when I direct a workout, because I’m so wired-in to the client that I feel like it’s happening to me, too. Their energy is my energy.

I start breaking down the mechanics of a one-armed push-up in minute detail. Fitness is all about detail. If you’re not doing it right, you’re not doing it. You will see this line again and again throughout the book.

“A one-armed push-up doesn’t come from your shoulder,” I tell her. “It comes from your butt. From your stomach. Most especially, it comes from the big toe on the opposite side of your supporting arm. It’s all about distributing your power. It’s a support-system move, even more than a power move.”

I see the proverbial lightbulb click on in her head. This explanation is all it takes for her to get it.

She gets into position. Painfully lowers her nose to the floor. Fights to rise back up. Her tricep is twitching.

She’s hit the Breakthrough Moment – the do-or-die moment of muscle memory, in which all fitness occurs – or doesn’t, if you back off.

In that moment, as often happens in the Breakthrough Moment, I can see her own personal relationship with herself. It’s right there on her face. It’s very complex, and very positive.

She’s up!

She grins at me. “That was good,” she says, wiping her face with a towel.

“That was great!” I reply. “Yumi would be proud,” I say, referring to Yumi Lee, my specialist in Core Interval Training who helped with this move..

Yumi is one of several people in my personal training firm that make us the best in the world at what we do. I’m smart enough to surround myself with people who are smarter than me.

We shoot the scene, and it ends up being one of the most remembered sequences in the movie. It gets featured in a bunch of magazines, and Demi goes on Letterman, and does some there.

So here’s what I learned from all this: Even the impossible can be achieved, if you use the right approach. You’ve just got to know exactly what you’re doing.

You have to be smart about it. And that starts with breaking your beliefs in the myths that surround fitness.

BUSTING THE 6 BIG FITNESS MYTHS

Fitness doesn’t come from suffering.
Fitness doesn’t come from repetitive exercises.
Fitness doesn’t come from lifting oversized weights.
Fitness doesn’t come from being hungry.
Fitness doesn’t come from being dissatisfied with how you look. Fitness doesn’t come from putting your appearance first.

You know, I almost wish all these myths were true. Life would be simpler. Because it’s not that hard to do repetitive exercises. It’s not that hard to be hungry. It’s not even that hard to suffer. You just need some discipline to do those things, and almost all of us have discipline. The vast majority of us make ourselves go to work every day, whether we feel like it or not. All our lives, we hold ourselves back from the temptations of over-indulgence, promiscuity, and drugs. We take care of our kids, day after day, when we’re sick and when we’re well. Most of us are strong – plenty strong enough to be fit.

The real problem, for most people, is that they just don’t know how to be fit.
I know how, though.
I’ve made it my life’s work to know how. I’ve been fascinated by fitness ever since I was a kid, and I’ve worked on it ever since. I’ve figured out the formula.

FITNESS REQUIRES:
 A COORDINATED EFFORT ON EVERY LEVEL OF YOUR LIFE.

THE PHYSICAL LEVEL, THE MENTAL LEVEL, THE SPIRITUAL LEVEL

If you try to leave one level out, you’ll end up feeling like a three-legged stool with one leg missing. You’ll fall. You’ll fail.

And let’s get even more honest with ourselves – painfully honest. To get all three of these areas working together – as a single, synchronistic, functional unit – you’ve got to participate in a multifaceted program that addresses all three.

I have developed a program that does this. I call this program my One Body, One Life program. It is a multifaceted program that brings your body and your life together, into a single, powerful life force.

When your whole being is united, there is practically nothing that you cannot do.

Unity is power. With it, you can achieve the hard things in life, including fitness, naturally – without much strain, and without fighting yourself – because you will be ….

How do I say this without sounding all New Age and woo-woo? …Aligned with the forces of the universe? (No, too woo-woo.) …In touch with the natural rhythms of the earth? (Oh, please!) …At peace with yourself? (That’s closer.)

How about this? You’ll be somebody who has more energy. That’s what it boils down to.

When you get yourself together, instead of staying compartmentalized – with your mind at work, your body in the gym, and your spirit at church – you’ll have more energy.

And when you have more energy, you’ll use it. Because it’s harder to sit on energy than it is to burn it off. When you use it, you’ll get fit.
My One Body, One Life program consists of four connected elements: the Four Elements of Fitness.

THE FOUR ELEMENTS OF FITNESS

Element #1: The Mind and Spirit: getting your head right.


Element #2: Power Food: eating for your body, not your mouth.

Element #3: Cleansing: cleaning out the toxins that weigh you down.

Element #4: Exercise: getting the most out of the body you’ve got.

These Four Elements of Fitness will give you power over the one body that you have, and power over the one life that you have. If you use these Four Elements of Fitness on a daily basis nothing will stop you from getting the body, and the life, that you want. If you can integrate these four simple elements into your life, as so many other people have, you will be a star – playing the lead role in the story of your life.

Enjoy this chapter is from Greg’s best-selling book, “One Body, One Life”? Buy the e-book!

Going into her training with Greg, she said, “I want to get strong, get fit and get self-empowered. I want to own my body like I do my acting.” And we did it!

See the video at SHAPE.COM.

I haven’t been able to find anything in the guide about meat? Am I able to eat any kind of meat?

Thank you!
Brenda

Hi Brenda,

Yes, do not eat solid proteins while performing the cleanse. Your protein comes from the greens and quinoa grain .

Proteins take a lot of energy to break down, and they take away from the body’s ability to cleanse. You won’t burn muscle or anything like that. You won’t shut your metabolism down, just giving the body a different fuel source while on the cleanse .

Being lean on protein is fine. I am a big believer of proteins, just not while on the cleanse.

Coming off the cleanse try not to eat red meat for a couple of weeks, even 30 days if possible. Introduce other proteins like chicken and fish slowly by having less than 6 ounces per serving and chewing the food really well so that the enzymes in your mouth maximize your assimilation, breakdown and absorption of the protein .

Hope that helps!

Greg

I recently finished the 5-Day Smoothie Cleanse last week with excellent results.  I feel great, my skin looks healthier, and I lost 5 lbs (and have even lost more weight after the cleanse)!  I am so happy I stumbled upon your website and have started using your products.  Thank you!

I noticed you have a really good deal on the new Power Cleanse.  Since I just finished the cleanse, I am guessing that I should at least wait a month to do another cleanse?  I am new to cleansing so I am not sure about when I should do another cleanse. If I ordered the product now, and stored it in the pantry for a month, would it be okay (wouldn’t lose its potency)?

Also, would I need a juicer to perform this cleanse?  I noticed juice in the description.  I have been thinking about buying a juicer anyhow, but just want to make sure.

Thank you for your time and all of your help.  I really appreciate it!

Sincerely,
Heather

Hi Heather,

Such good news and so happy you enjoyed the smoothie cleanse!

The new All-in-One Power Cleanse is a different cleanse from the 5-Day Smoothie Cleanse. It’s a little more strict and is a deeper cleanse. It’s still totally doable but just the next level, so to speak. Waiting a month is fine, or you can go right into this one .

If you decide to order the Power Cleanse now and wait a few months, the shelf life will be fine. BUT I am going to keep this special going for awhile, so no worries there.

Juice is a part of the cleanse for sure. You can choose to make your own juice, or depending on where you live, you can probably get high quality juice from a local market. These days it’s everywhere! Cold press juices are great as well.

If you want to purchase a juicer, just know that there are the spinning juicers that everyone sells, and there are the chewing juicers. Look up “Sampson”  juicers. These are pretty great and not too expensive. The juicing process takes a bit longer, but you will retain a lot more of the enzymes when using chewing juice rather than a spinning juicer due to the heat of spinning.

Please contact me anytime, especially if you do this next cleanse. I recommend the 7-Day All-in-One Power Cleanse.

Take care.

All the best in health,
Greg
Holistic Fitness, Inc.

Message from the Doc

I have a pretty good sense of why this occurs, but just to be sure I decided to check in with DR. ROBERT ABBATIELLO, author and formulator of the cleanses that I market. His response was as follows:

• The skin becomes clear during the 11 Day Power Cleanse because the body is able to rid itself of toxins.
• The skin is an organ of elimination. When your body is overburdened with toxins, it uses the skin as a dumping ground.
• When the liver can’t handle the toxic load it sends the extra to the lymph when the lymph becomes overburdened the lungs and skin take a more active role in elimination.
• Bad skin, bad breath, toxic body.
• By reversing this trend and elimination toxins the skin clears up.

Dr. Abbatiello went on to say, “The skin is generally either first or last to clear-up, so if your skin doesn’t clear up don’t think that you’re not cleansing, it is a process. Mostly though people during the cleanse generally have a fantastic glow about them with excellent skin tone.”

That explanation matches up perfectly my own experience.  It’s what I am hearing and seeing, too.

All the best in Health!

I am approximately 20% BMI, at 5’1″ and 110 lbs.  But, according to a scale that measures body fat percent, I am 26% which sounds terrible to me but probably because I’m thinking in terms of BMI. —Linda

Answer:  Hi Linda, 
great question and thank you for taking the time to write!  Your exact BMI for your height and weight is 20.8. The healthy BMI range for you is 18.5 to 24.9 so you are right in there and very healthy according to a BMI measurement.


What Is Adult BMI?


Body Mass Index, or BMI, is based on your height and weight.  Doctors often use BMI to determine if a person is underweight, at a healthy weight, or is overweight.

While BMI is accurate for most people, it doesn’t work for everyone.  That’s why other tests should be taken as well and your body composition/fat test is a smart second test, Linda.

Body composition is simply the ratio of lean body mass to fat body mass.

Too much fat can lead to health problems like heart disease, diabetes, high cholesterol and other serious conditions.  If you keep your body fat within a reasonable level, you’ll be healthier and, of course, slimmer.
 For women, a body fat of 10-12% is essential, 14-20% is considered a healthy range for athletes, 21-24% is healthy for fitness, 25-31% is considered an “acceptable” range and anything above 32% is considered obese.

So Linda, if your scale measures 26% that is a bit high.
I am curious, what scale do you have?  Many scales out there are bio-impedance scales; they tend to be very inaccurate and have an error ration of -5 to 8%.  The best way to test your body fat is the Hydrostatic Method. But this is @ a lab weighing you under water, so it’s not the easiest way, but definitely the gold standard with an error ratio of only 1.5 %.  This could be fun to do one day if you really want to know exactly where you stand.

I think it’s best to take your body fat again and make sure it’s first thing in the morning and don’t drink anything before, OK?  Also, write down what you ate the night before.  Now, take this measurement as a call to action to workout and eat better, but not a label of “Oh my gosh, I am fat!” Don’t focus on the number!

Try to work out and eat healthy and don’t get on that scale again for two weeks, OK?  Just put it away.  After two weeks, measure again and repeat the exact circumstances before your first test.  Same time in the morning and same liquids. Also, remember the meal the night before, and unless it was really unhealthy have the same type of foods.

Note:  Salt can also throw the numbers off as well.  Even your body temperature can, so really try create the same conditions before each test.

Now this measurement should be true value!  You need to focus on the movement of body fat, plus or minus, not the number.  If your dropped 2% that would be great.  Remember, you lost two % not the actual overall number because it’s probably not accurate.

Repeat this cycle until you feel good with where you’re at and how feel.  Then decide to maybe get a proper test or not.

Remember it’s simply a measurement and motivator.

All the best in Health everyone!
—Greg

Here is some further information to check out.

Power Cleanse Powder

The primary role of Power Cleanse Powder is to facilitate the cleanse process by enhancing the livers ability to eliminate toxins. Also, the toxins coming of out the fat cells into the blood stream get shuttled out more efficiently, thus reducing irritability during the cleanse process.

Other important functions of the Power Cleanse Powder:

• Stabilizes your blood sugar
• Naturally suppresses your appetite
• Gives you energy
• Gastrointestinal Support

Active Ingredients

• Aloe Vera (Leaf Extract 200:1)
• Cat’s Claw (bark)(
• Uncaria tomentosa)
• Chamomile (
• Matricaria chamomilla)
• Citrus Pectin
• Deglycyrrhizinated Licorice
• Folic Acid
• Vitamin B12
• Biotin
• Pantothenic Acid (as calcium D-pantothenate)
• Calcium Iodine (as potassium iodide)
• Magnesium (as magnesium glycinate)
• Zinc (as zinc ascorbate)
• Selenium (as L-selenomethionine)
• Copper (as copper gluconate)
• Manganese (as manganese citrate)
• Chromium (as chromium picolinate)
• Molybdenum (as sodium molybdate)
• Sodium
• Malic Acid
• Betaine
• Inositol
• Inulin (from chicory root)
• Taurine
• Glycine
• L-Tyrosine
• glucomannan fiber L-carnitine
• L-Glutamine
• Marshmallow (root)
• Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM)
• Mucin
• N-Acetyl Glucosamine
• N-Acetylcysteine (NAC)
• L-Serine
• Choline Bitartrate
• Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana)
• Leaf Extract 15:1
• Grape (Vitis vinifera)
• Seed Extract  standardized to contain 95% polyphenols, including procyanidolic oligomers (PCOs)
• Boron (as sodium borate)
• Okra (pod)
• Hibiscus esculentus
• Prunus (Concentrate)
• Quercetin
• Slippery Elm (bark)
• Vitamin A
• IU (55% as beta carotene 4,500 and as retinyl acetate)
• Vitamin C (ascorbic acid)
• Vitamin D (as cholecalciferol)
• Vitamin E (as d-alpha tocopheryl acetate)
• Vitamin K (as phytonadione)
• Thiamin (as thiamin HCl) (vitamin B1)
• Riboflavin (vitamin B2)
• Niacin (as niacinamide)
• Vitamin B6 (as pyridoxine HCl)
• Zinc-Carnosine