Fitness

Yoga mats with a grip that is activated by the body heat

Yoga mats with a grip that is activated by the body heat
with Doreen Hing
Doreen Hing, the Founder & Creator of Plank, the only company that creates yoga mats with a grip that is activated by the body heat joins the show.
Listen to interview with host Eric Michaels & guest Doreen Hing discuss the following:
How did you get your start?
What is unique about a Plank Yoga Mat?
Your blog states yoga on a Plank Yoga Mats creates a "Ridiculous Body Awareness", what does that mean?
Who uses a Plank yoga mat typically or in general?
Would you recommend a PYM for me?


When Plank’s Founder, former shoe designer and full time fashionista, Doreen Hing, discovered the incredible benefits of yoga and how it positively affected other aspects of her life, she knew she had to share this fantastic sense of awareness and well-being with others the only way she knew how – through design.
Doreen set out to design a yoga mat in a style that reflected her attitude toward life and her unique sense of humor. She created four provocative, intriguing and conversation-starting designs including Plank’s Cobra Yoga Mat, Signature Plank Yoga Mat, Pills Yoga Mat, and Shag Yoga Mat.
While exploring the technology to imprint high-quality photo imagery onto the yoga mats, Doreen and the lab discovered the surface coating developed to protect the artwork had increased grip potential when body heat and pressure were applied.
Now, Plank develops and designs the only body heat activated grip yoga mat, a line of mat carriers, bags & purses for any yoga lifestyle, all the while promoting yoga as a vehicle for extraordinary well-being. We’re committed to creating yoga inspired products to enhance a person’s yoga experience visually, physically, physiologically and perhaps, thoughtfully too.
Inhale. Exhale. Enjoy. Plank.

Links: www.plankdesigns.com

Life By Design Fitness with Sandi Berger

Life By Design Fitness with Sandi Berger
Sandi Berger, an author, certified personal fitness trainer and lifestyle coach & Owner of Life By Design Fitness in Chicago joins the show.
Listen to interview with host Eric Michaels & guest Sandi Berger discuss the following:
How long have you been a trainer and lifestyle coach?
Do you classify yourself as an expert in one given area of health and fitness?
How did you come up with the name of your company Life By Design Fitness?
I hear you recently became a published author? What is your book FITNEVISION based on?
What do you mean by "what you do in this decade prepares you or the next"?


Sandi Berger is a certified fitness trainer and life coach. She is a force of high energy who is absolutely motivated to achieve success with her clients. Her 15 years experience in the health and fitness industry speaks for itself. She is very driven and very positive in her approach. You will walk away from each session with her wanting more!

Links: www.lifebydesignfitness.com

Resource for a Healthy Lifestyle - YourHealthWorks.com

Resource for a Healthy Lifestyle - YourHealthWorks.com
with Deborah Gordon
Deborah Gordon of YourHealthWorks.com, who has followed a decade in Family Practice, Migrant Health and Emergency Medicine with twenty years of an integrative medical practice joins the show.
Listen to interview with host Eric Michaels & guest Deborah Gordon discuss the following:
You've just started a website -- what was your practice experience that led you to start a website?
What makes Your HealthWorks different from other health websites?
How does the Consultation process work?
What has been the response to the website in general?
How do you expect the website to grow and change?


I chose a career in medicine because I like working with people and I believe in the body's ability to be healthy. My medical training (University of California at San Francisco School of Medicine and Family Practice Residency at Santa Rosa) was inspirational for its devotion to the sharing of human experience but disappointing for its miniscule glimpse into the makings of health. After graduation, my studies of nutrition, homeopathy and the existing medical research into lifestyle questions has enabled me to fashion an integrative medical partnership with my patients.
In both office-based and hospital care, from migrant and rural health clinics to emergency departments and private practice, I have integrated conventional medicine, alternative care, nutritional and lifestyle education for all my patients. In many cases the results were truly remarkable and I learned that there are many different routes to healing. In all cases, I like to focus on the partnership forged between the patient and myself. We agree that a key element to good health is the patient taking charge of his or her own health care.
Your HealthWorks is the result of my passion for vital health partnerships and it is my hope that through Your HealthWorks, I will be able to reach thousands more people than have attended my practice over the past decades and that they too will benefit from the many lessons I have learned in both my studies and my practice.
Many conventional medical practices—massive over-prescribing of expensive medicines, ignorance about basic nutritional information, unnecessary operations—do real damage to our people and our planet. Recent interest in alternative health will follow the same dangerous path unless we realize the difference between cheap, synthetic vitamins in heroic doses and the wise use of food as medicine, and food-based supplements as gentle health reminders to our bodies. I'm convinced that the kind of medicine I practice—integrative, healthy, organic—will make a huge difference to your life as it has to mine. At the same time, together we will be changing our families, our communities and our world.

Links: www.yourhealthworks.com

Motivating yourself to exercise, despite a busy schedule with Kodjo Hounnaké

Motivating yourself to exercise, despite a busy schedule
with Kodjo Hounnaké
Kodjo Hounnaké of KodjoWorkout.com teaches how you can stay in shape right in the comfort of your homes joins the show.
Listen to interview with host Eric Michaels & guest Kodjo Hounnaké discuss the following:
How long have you been leading a healthy life?
What is your workout philosophy?
How do you motivate yourself to exercise, despite your busy schedule?
Tell us a bit about your blog and what people can expect to find on it.
Anything you're currently working on?

My name is Kodjo Hounnaké, and I manage the health blog full time, and work at a Hedge Fund as an investment analyst, also full time (life’s short so multi-tasking is what get you to accomplish your goals faster).
My story is a bit a typical. I’m originally from Togo, a nice little French-speaking country off the coasts of West Africa (grew up there most of my life), and decided to come to America years ago, to attend college and broaden my opportunities. So I took it upon myself to learn English (believe it or not by watching the Oprah Winfrey shows, lots of CNN, CSPAN, Cartoon Network, you name it). I bought a ton of English self-learning audio tapes, and through self-discipline and impregnable resilience, conquered the beast, against all odds!!
So with English now part of my arsenal, I came to the United States and started off in Atlanta, Georgia, attending Morehouse College (this is the same school Martin Luther King graduated from years ago). In any event, I studied finance, and later moved to New York City to work as an investment banker. I later migrated into the world of private equities, and now work at a hedge fund trading stocks and helping manage a multi-billion dollar portfolio of assets.
Working so many hours, it is so easy to unearth plenty of excuses to skip a workout for a day (make it a week; Nah, actually just shut it down completely). Being busy would have been an excellent excuse! But I realized soon enough that I was only fooling myself. Because without health, there’s no paycheck, for without health, there’s no work to go to…Sigh!! So I took it upon myself to devise a strategy to keep me motivated to exercise, and eat healthy.
I thought, a gym was a great way to work out in an environment full of other like-minded people, BUT… a gym could give me an excuse to skip workout (especially in the cold winter months). So I decided to learn a few home exercise routines called bodyweight workout, that I can easily perform at home, and that would be challenging enough to yield effective results. Also, these routines had to be done in less than 30-min because of my busy schedule.
So in the course of working on my new goal, I realized that 1) your body is your best and most reliable gym equipment and 2) your mind is your strongest muscle. Armed with this knowledge, I began to design workout routines that would focus on short-burst, super high intensity segments that push the body to its limit.
But it doesn’t stop there; you also have to incorporate healthy eating into your daily life, so I began to learn to understand the healthy, the not-so-healthy, and the downright junk! As a result, I quit eating McDonald’s (cold turkey), several years ago. It only took a documentary called Supersize Me, to give me enough willpower to break my ties with the red & yellow McDo’ clown!
Then I learnt that soda was toxic due to its aspartame content; and I learnt to stay away from white flour, and to drink at least half my body weight in ounce of water (that means at least 75 oz of water daily, since I weigh about 150lbs). I also learnt to walk more, and drive less, and take regular stairs instead of escalators. I learnt to watch less TV and sleep more.
These are just some of the positive things I learnt on my road to wellness, and I am looking forward to taking in as much more knowledge as I can handle. To all of you out there seeking to make positive healthy changes in your life, ask yourself the following question: If not now, then when!? Be healthy for the people that love you, but most importantly, be healthy for YOU! If you were wondering what some of my home workout routines look like, the below video is an example! Stay well and good luck!
VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OV70mwQd0ug

Links: kodjoworkout.com

Changing the way we perform bodyweight training with Bryce Taylor

Changing the way we perform bodyweight training with Bryce Taylor
Bryce Taylor, a practicing Physical Therapist, certified Pilates instructor, and fitness enthusiast in Indianapolis, Indiana joins the show.  Aside from treating orthopedic and sports medicine patients, he develops integrated core training exercise content, in collaboration with other fitness professionals for his invention, the Halo Trainer.
Listen to interview with host Eric Michaels & guest Bryce Taylor discuss the following:
What is the Halo and why was it invented?
How does it work?
Why would you want to stabilize a ball—isn’t that the point, to be unstable?
How long has it taken for your product to move from conception to the marketplace?
Where is the Halo Trainer available and how does somebody find out more about it?
TIP: The Halo Trainer is a uniquely designed handlebar apparatus to augment traditional equipment such as the stability ball, BOSU, or even TRX to make exercises easier or harder, and always appropriate.

Bryce Taylor is a practicing Physical Therapist, certified Pilates instructor, and fitness enthusiast in Indianapolis, Indiana.  Aside from treating orthopedic and sports medicine patients, he develops integrated core training exercise content, in collaboration with other fitness professionals for his invention, the Halo Trainer.  He has created over 300 progressive exercises for the Halo, a unique and versatile handlebar apparatus that will change the way we perform bodyweight training.
Bryce has been a lecturer for national conferences and meetings for Physical Therapy, Sports Chiropractic, and Sports Medicine.  He looks forward to introducing an element of rehab into mainstream fitness to exercise enthusiasts and casual exercisers from competitive athletes to active aging, and even our frequently ignored older adults.

Links: halotrainer.com

The 80/10/10 Diet with Dr. Douglas Graham

The 80/10/10 Diet with Dr. Douglas Graham
Dr. Douglas Graham, known as one of the fathers of the raw food movement has authored 5 books including the bestseller The 80/10/10 Diet and joins the show.
Listen to interview with host Eric Michaels & guest Dr. Douglas Graham discuss the following:
What is The 80/10/10 Diet?
Why the focus on raw food?
What benefits typically accompany a switch to the 80/10/10 diet?
Don't you miss all the foods you were raised on?
Can athletes use this program? Who shouldn't try it?

Dr. Douglas Graham, a lifetime athlete and 30+ year raw vegan, is an advisor to elite athletes and trainers from around the globe. He has worked professionally with top performers from almost every sport and field of entertainment, revitalizing and extending their careers through nutrition, lifestyle, and his unique brand of fitness training.
Recognized as one of the fathers of the modern raw movement, Dr. Graham has shared his strategies for success with audiences at more than 4,000 events and gatherings worldwide. He gives keynote presentations and seminars guaranteed to educate, motivate, and inspire. He has served on the boards of over a dozen international health organizations.
Dr. Graham is the creator of “Simply Delicious” cuisine and director of a Health & Fitness Week & Fasting Retreats, annual events that provide world-class training and nutritional guidance to people of all fitness levels in beautiful settings around the world. He is living proof that eating whole, fresh, ripe, raw, organic food is the nutritional way to vibrant health and vitality.

Also by Dr. Douglas N. Graham
The 80/10/10 Diet
The New High Energy Diet Recipe Guide
Nutrition and Athletic Performance
Grain Damage
The Perpetual Health Calendar
The Cause of Health (audio series)
For information about Dr. Graham’s books, articles, lecture series, Health & Fitness Weeks, and more, visit www.foodnsport.com.

Links: www.foodnsport.com

Yankees Nick Swisher is a fan of gHP Sport (aka SomaSport)

Yankees Nick Swisher is a fan of gHP Sport (aka SomaSport)
with Michael Cooper
Executive Vice President of SomaLife Michael Cooper joins the show to talk about how SomaSport is doing miracles.
Listen to interview with host Eric Michaels & guest Michael Cooper discuss the following:
There are so many products on the market for athletes. Can you tell us a bit about Somalife and what makes your products different?
How long have you worked in supplements and what makes you so passionate about Somalife?
What kind of results can a weekend warrior realistically expect from your products?
There is so much marketing on the scene today. I think actual testimonials from athletes & everyday users are important. Do you have any you can share?
Do you take your own supplements? and can you share your personal story & the results you've achieved.
Who is a good candidate for SomaLife products?
Listen for "SPECIAL OFFERING"!


Michael was born and raised in Australia, and in 1982 came to the United States on a tennis scholarship to become the number one ranked N.J.C.A.A. tennis player in the country.
Upon graduation, and working in the tennis management field, Michael embarked on a diverse entrepreneurial career that has included such endeavors as conceiving and implementing one of the first sports career job boards, as well as inventing and patenting a golf training aid.
Michael’s passion however has always been sales and business development, which is where he began his career with SomaLife in 2006 before being promoted to Executive Vice President in 2009. Michael is a polished public speaker and trainer who understands how to grow and manage a large sales organization. This insight and his athletic background were a large part of the conception that brought gHP Sport to the marketplace.
Now, retired from tennis, Michael is an avid golfer. He also played ‘Australian Rules’ football and was once invited to represent the U.S. in an international cricket match.
Michael holds a B.A. from the University of Florida and an M.B.A. from Florida International University.
He now resides in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, with his wife Trish and their two sons, Cameron (15) and Matthew (13).

Links: SomaSport.com

Increasing your energy, vitality and health

Increasing your energy, vitality and health
with Randi Dukoff
Randi Dukoff, owner of Core and More Health & Fitness and Partner at Vital Advantage Consulting joins the show.
Listen to interview with host Eric Michaels & Randi Dukoff discuss the following:
How do you define health?
What are your top 5 recommendations to increase your energy, vitality and health?
Are there any tests you recommend people have run during their annual check-ups?
Do you think Food can really effect a person's health and energy levels?
What are your top 5 foods to increase your health?

About Randi Dukoff
Twelve years ago, my picture was very different.  To begin, I was 30 pounds heavier than today. I suffered from sinus infections at least once a month a long with a prescription for antibiotics. I had horrendous seasonal allergies and would often feel tired.  I was burning the candle at both ends.  I would wake up early with my three young children and then stay up until between 12:00 and 1:00am getting “stuff” done, that never got accomplished during the day.  I convinced myself that I was a night owl.  My second wind would come around 9:00 pm every evening, even though just hours before I could barely keep my eyes open.  My diet was the SAD (Standard American Diet)  I was a huge meat and pasta eater.  My vegetables consisted of iceberg salads with a creamy dressing or Chinese broccoli in brown sauce.  I didn’t drink “coffee” but I did love Frappacinos every afternoon.  The only fish I ever ate was tuna salad, shrimp and smoked salmon.  I enjoyed fast food, did not cook a wide variety of dishes and I had joined at least 7 gyms and exercise programs but would never go to workout.  I would tell myself, I just don’t have enough time.
The thing is I seemed to make time for everything else, except me.  I was the type of person who would say yes to just about anyone who needed help.  At one point I was a PTA President, running a charity tennis tournament, fund-raising chairperson and class mom for 2 of my three children (all at the same time).
Let’s flash forward to today.  My life, health and world is very different.  The changes were not drastic, they were gradual.  Each positive change that resulted in my feeling better and getting results, led to more.  I lost the extra 30 pounds in less than 18 months.  The best part is that the weight has remained off for over 10 years. Now, I can’t wait to get to the gym and workout, but I only have to go 3-4 times/week.  My diet is completely different then it used to be, but I do not have to deprive myself of foods that I love, I just opened up to including more of what I had been missing. I don’t watch what I eat and I don’t count calories.  You won’t have to do those things either. My cardiac profile and blood fat levels also changed for the better.  My energy levels soar (I don’t have to hit the snooze button in the mornings), my stress has decreased and my productivity and time for my family has increased.  Health is about getting connected to your body.  Really listening so you can understand, what it is asking for.
When you take the time to slow down, tune in you naturally begin to make different choices.  Choices that will lead to having a Flatter Belly, less digestive issues, more energy, better body definition, more stamina, a stronger libido, no more weight issues, more mental clarity, less stress, more financial opportunities and the ability to be more present with the people you love.
I received my training from the C.H.E.K Institute and the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, where I was trained in more than one hundred dietary theories and studied a variety of practical lifestyle coaching methods. Drawing on this knowledge, I will help you create a completely personalized “roadmap to health” that suits your unique body, lifestyle, preferences, and goals.
Randi Dukoff of Core and More…Health & Fitness has years of experience in supporting and coaching Corporate Clients and busy professionals/parents how to decrease their stress, increase productivity by having more energy, and lose enough weight to fit into their “favorite, sexiest jeans” again, all without the frustration of dieting or the danger of popping pills. I have developed a network of referral specialists, to use when necessary. I specialize in Celiac Disease and Gluten Intolerance, getting you back into your “Skinny, Sexy Jeans” , and getting overworked/time-pressed professionals back to the point of less stress, a flatter belly and the mental clarity needed to have even more productivity and even better relationships. My goal is to get you out of “pain” and back into the zone of HEALTH & ENERGY.  I have incorporated everything I teach into my own life with success.  I understand how important support is on the path to health.  I live what I teach and am living proof that is not difficult to achieve your health goals.
I began my career as a personal trainer through NASM and ISSA in 2003. I later became certified as a C.H.E.K. Nutrition and Life Coach in 2004 and a C.H.E.K. Exercise Coach in 2008 and as a Golf Performance Specialist in 2011. Within a short time, I realized that exercise was just part of the equation. What and when people ate, how much sleep they got and how they manage their Stress levels had a bigger impact on health then we realize. When broken down, exercising 3 times per week could not make up for the minimum 28 times a week we eat. This prompted me to return to school to study nutrition, anatomy & physiology and motivation.
Whatever your health goal is, I am here to support you! If you are ready and willing to make a wonderful change in your life, I will motivate, inspire and empower you to reach your goals.

Links: finalstoptohealth.com
Note: The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinions or beliefs of the show host or it's owners.

Mind Over Matter, Specializing in In-Home fitness

Mind Over Matter, Specializing in In-Home fitness
with Joshua Margolis
Joshua Margolis, the Founder of Mind Over Matter, New York's finest fitness professionals specializing in In-Home fitness joins the show.
» Note: Refer to audio player below to listen to this episode!
Specializing in In-Home fitness, Mind Over Matter is dedicated to providing fitness programs that will get you looking and feeling your best. Our approach to a healthy lifestyle will help you lose body fat, better your appearance, boost your energy levels and improve your overall health.

 Mind Over Matter invites you to work with New York City's finest fitness professionals. We design fitness plans that meet your individual goals and inspire you through motivation and guidance. By understanding the mindset and obstacles that New Yorkers face daily, our team is prepared to adjust to your schedule and environment.  Mind Over Matter is also featured on Talking Alternative.com in a weekly radio show about all things health and fitness.
Joshua Margolis, founder, is a fitness consultant with a Bachelors Degree in Sports Psychology. He holds certifications from A.C.E., N.A.S.M, and is also prenatal and postpartum certified. Joshua has been working in the health and fitness arena for over 10 years designing personalized fitness programs which incorporate motivational techniques to enhance performance. Joshua is also the fitness model in “THE DUKE DIET”: world renowned health and fitness book. His fitness philosophy: "Your self image and habits go hand in hand; change one and you will automatically change the other." Contact direct joshua@MindOverMatterNYC.com.

Listen to interview with host Eric Michaels & Joshua Margolis discuss:
What is Mind Over Matter/What do you do?
What separates Mind Over Matter from other fitness related services?
Why did you decide to get into fitness/start Mind Over Matter?
What are the advantages of In-Home fitness?
Why don’t New Year’s resolutions stick when it comes to fitness?

Links: www.mindovermatternyc.com