Hey Everyone,

As you know, Extra Lean has become a New York Times Bestseller, and we’re getting some good love in all sorts of magazines. Lopez and I did this interview last month. Please check it out at the link below or grab it off the newsstands at GNC (the magazine itself has a picture of yours truly). Enjoy!

http://www.muscleandbodymag.com/article.php?ArticleID=5638

Thanks for the support and encouragement. It was a great project, and I’m so thankful to Lopez for allowing me to collaborate with him.

God bless everyone, and please keep up with me at http://prayfit.com. Remember, our first edition comes out December. Pre-order yours today!

http://www.amazon.com/Prayfit-Guide-Healthy-Stronger-Faith/dp/0830756515

Help us make Prayfit a bestseller too.

Jimmy

http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/kids/news/story/0,28277,1057681,00.html

I was so encouraged when I heard that Gov Huckabee and President Clinton were joining forces to combat childhood obesity, because it’s only through dedicated people that the fight can be won. But are we really trying to win a fight? Actually, are we even fighting? Sure, Gov Huckabee and President Clinton are, but what about the rest of us? Are we really fighting? Because in light of an epidemic, what we’re doing as a country to combat obesity is like fighting a lion with a toothpick. America is not serious.

When a boxer prepares for an upcoming fight, he studies his opponent, so that when they get in the ring, he knows what to expect. I’m not sure we truly understand the size of the opponent, no pun intended. We can spit out facts and figures about the onslaught of this tragedy, but what good is it to identify the height and reach of our opponent if we do nothing to block the blow? America is not serious.

And even more troubling, obesity, despite being as evident as this morning’s sunrise, is as invisible as time. Oh, we see the effects of time upon the earth and each other, but time itself is untraceable. Obesity is the same way. It’s a gradual occurrence. Kids don’t just walk in the house one day morbidly obese. No, it’s a slow fade. And speaking of time, obesity will make sure that kids have less of it, since the kids born today will be the first generation in history to not outlive their parents. America is not serious.

The other day I was driving home and I saw a couple of kids throwing the football in the street. Let me ask you, when was the last time you saw that? Can you recall the last time you saw a street game of ball? As kids, when we found a nice park or clearing, our first thought was, “man, if I only had a football”. but it’s not that kids don’t like the game of football, its just, they don’t even notice the grass. America is not serious.

You might as well be talking Yiddish when you ask kids to go play outside. But the look you get from kids is not confusion, it’s borderline disbelief. “Yeah right!”; as if you’ve just asked them to walk into a burning building. Quite the contrary, when you send them outside, you’re getting them out of one. America is not serious.

More to come….but send me your thoughts and better yet, let’s begin to create real solutions. I’ll start: Let’s set timers on video games and computers. When the time is up, kids go outside to play. Sounds too easy, right? Yeah, if the solution is so easy, what does that mean?

Pena

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28471780/

Saving money while staying fit can be a tricky balance, especially if during these tough economic times, a gym membership is no longer an option. But you can bring the gym home with you. Here are a few strategies to consider.

Invest in Elastic Bands- Bands are great, in that they provide increased resistance throughout the range of motion, unlike free weights. Plus you can hit all muscle groups.

Bodyweight Exercises- Few people realize how important manipulating your own body is to achieving the physique you want. When was the last time you tried a set of pushups and bodyweight squats to failure?

Try this: tomorrow morning, jog in place for 1-3 minutes, then do as many pushups as possible without stopping. Do the same with squats and situps. Repeat the sequence 3 times and log your numbers in a notebook. The next day, make sure you do at least one more repetition of each exercise than you did the previous day. After 30 days, you’ll be asking yourself, “Who needs the gym?”

Neighborhood accountability: Even though you workout at home alone, ask friends to join you on this bodyweight challenge. Compare numbers and encourage each other. It’s a neighborhood watch program (everyone keeps an eye on their waistlines).

Let me know how you’re doing and send me your questions.

Pena

While taping this week for NBC’s EXTRA, I was asked why I advise never to train abs before legs. And it’s a good question. Simply put, you want and need your abs and core fresh during you entire training session, especially during bent over moves (like Romanian or Stiff-Legged Deadlifts) and during all types of squatting moves. And that goes for both men and women!

Many of you might be working with a trainer who has you going from an abs move into a bent-over move or squat-type of exercise in superset fashion, and I realize he or she is doing it to keep your heart rate up, to keep it fun with lots of variety, etc. But realize that you could be putting yourself at risk of injury by doing so.

During squatting moves or bent-over moves, your core and abs work to stabilize your spine (think of them as an inner weightlifting belt) but if they’re weak and fatigued, you won’t be able to generate the necessary pressure in your abs to hold your spine in perfect alignment.

Don’t buy into the notion that you “fire up” the abs and core by training them first. That makes no sense and it won’t help you achieve your goals and worse, could be promoting injury.

And finally, you won’t be as strong on your bigger muscle groups if you fatigue your abs and core first. And why put anything in a situation where you won’t be at your very best. You can always fatigue your abs last, when the need to have a stable core is not imperative.

During an intense training session, you need fresh abs.

Friends,

I wanted everyone to know that I am no longer with Muscle & Fitness. What a great 10 years of service (3 as the fitness director) it has been.

But stay tuned for more updates here at jimmypena.net!

Stay strong and keep your eyes on the prize.

http://extratv.warnerbros.com/2008/12/lifechangers_fitness_tips.php

Thanks for stopping by. I am thrilled to launch this new site and I look forward to becoming your personal resource for online, training, nutrition and advice. I am proud to announce that I have joined forces with my good friend Dr. Jim Stoppani to begin serving clients here in Los Angeles. Dr. Stoppani has mentored me throughout my career and together, we’re confident we can help you achieve all of your fitness goals.

Over time, we will be providing diets, programs, tips, intensity techniques and more. And as we grow this website and mold it into the best service-driven fitness and training site on the web, we hope you reach out and grow with us.

Jimmy