What a whirlwind!   The World IDEA 2010 featured a great Expo, top-notch sessions, an awe-inspiring event at the Nokia Theater, but BEST of everything was catching up with old friends… and making new ones too!  

 If I missed your name, reply w/ a comment and I’ll add it.  More photos of the event are coming!

Look for us in Booth #853 at the Expo Hall at World IDEA.  We’ll be there with our friends from Fitness Em / Empower, offering the equipment they are providing for Gin’s sessions at a huge discount! 

If you’re not attending IDEA but are in the area, you can download a free pass to the Expo Hall. 

Expo Hall Location: Los Angeles Convention Center, West Hall A
1201 South Figueroa Street, LA, CA 90015

Expo Hall Hours:

Wednesday, August 4th:  4:30 -8:00pm (Ribbon-Cutting at 5:300pm)

Thursday, August 5th: 10:30am – 3:30pm

Friday, August 6th: 12:15pm – 7:00pm (Friday Night Happy Hour at 6:00pm)

Saturday, August 7th: 11:30am – 2:45pm (Mario Lopez Book signing at 11:30am)

Here are the Empower products and special pricing that will be available:

Really? Seriously?

photo credit: foodswings 

The latest weight loss fad, although not exactly new, is the HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) pregnancy hormone diet.  With daily injections of the hormone and a restrictive caloric intake of only 500 calories, the diet promises a weight loss of 1 - 3 pounds per day – without exercise.  A dream come true?

Dr. Weil weighs in:

The trouble is, it doesn’t work. Over the years, a number of clinical trials have tested the diet both in Europe and the United States, and none has found that hCG has any positive effect. Sure, you can lose weight on this diet – but that’s because you consume only 500 calories per day, not because you inject yourself with hCG. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 1976 found no statistically significant difference in weight loss, percent of weight loss, hip and waist circumference, weight loss per injections, or hunger ratings among patients who were on a 500-calorie-per-day diet combined with hCG injections and those who were on the diet and received placebo injections.

The HCG hormone, FDA approved for fertility and other treatments but not specifically for weight loss, controls the metabolism in pregnancy and releases fat stores to ensure proper nourishment of the fetus.  The diet, often combined with other supplements of appetite suppressants and injections of vitamin B-12, requires strict adherance to what amounts to a no-fat starvation diet.  Proponents suggest that this method lowers the metabolic set point and hunger dissapates after a week or so and it’s the ‘reset’ that allows for success at the end of the treatment period.

Testimony to the effectiveness and amazing results abound across the internet - along with dubious offers promoting ’safer’ (non-injection) methods of ingesting the hormone like lotions and liquids. (If there’s a Google ad nearby, beware!)  You’ll find lively debates and threads that offer stories of success peppered with complaints of side effects including fatigue, dizzyness and severe mood swings.

As with the rise in popularity of any quick weight loss fad, nutritionists, medical doctors and fitness professionals are skeptical. 

Most doctors’ and dietitians’ views can be summed up in three phrases: placebo, peril and put-it-back-on.

“I don’t believe it to be efficacious. Either shots or drops, it’s a placebo,” says Dr. Craig Primack, a bariatric (weight-loss) doctor in Phoenix and a spokesman for the American Society of Bariatric Physicians. “Not many doctors commonly known as weight-loss doctors are using this.”

The 500-calorie diet doesn’t provide enough carbs or protein and will send the body into a state called ketosis. Ketosis is a natural appetite suppressant, Primack says, so he believes that is what banishes hunger, rather than HCG. In ketosis, the body burns stored fat, but if it’s extreme, it can lead to problems. The blood pH can change, making blood too acidic and essentially corrosive to internal organs.

“The short-term ketosis problem is bad breath,” says Keri Gans, registered dietitian and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. “Over an extended period, kidney stones and gallstones are common side effects, and also fatigue.”

HCG diet has backers, detractors ~ Arizona Daily Sun, July 18, 2010

Yea-sayers say it’s a jump start after a ’reset’ of the metabolism.  Nay-sayers say don’t waste your money.  Nevertheless, it’s still no secret that permanent weight loss requires real change in behavior with proper diet and exercise. 

References:

Dr. Weil: Pregnancy Hormone for Weight Loss

Scheve, Tom.  “How the HCG Diet Works.”  22 April 2009.  HowStuffWorks.com.   14 July 2010.

HCG diet has backers, detractors ~ Arizona Daily Sun, July 18, 2010 ~ Attributed: (c) 2010, Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Visit the Star-Telegram on the World Wide Web at http://www.star-telegram.com.  Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

32 Count Self Reversing Step Combinations by Melissa Layne

Melissa Layne resides in the outreaches of Metro Atlanta, where she is a College Professor. Melissa has had a long and diverse career in fitness and has quite the reputation as a choreography queen.

Gin will be presenting at this year’s IDEA World Fitness Convention at the Nokia Plaza in L.A, offering over 350 sessions by 150 industry experts.  Special guests at this years event include Mario Lopez (hosting the IDEA World Fitness Awards Show at the Nokia Theatre), Andre Agassi (Lifetime Achievement), and the US Surgeon General, Dr Regina Benjamin (Leadership Award). 

IDEA has extended their early bird registration thru June 2, or you can get a 10% discount using the code CA10PRES. 

Gin’s Sessions:

#132 – Thursday, Time Block D: 8:00-9:30 am — Empower Stepping 
EMPOWER your stepping workout with the use of soft, easy-grip resistance and Gin Miller’s new STEPLIFT workout! Come and experience an upper-body toning alternative that will raise energy expenditure, tone and shape the upper body and improve posture. The results are empowering!

#435 – Friday, Time Block N: 4:50 – 6:00pm — Empower Mind-Body
EMPOWER yourself by enriching your mind and body with Gin Miller’s new CIRCLEE’ workout. Learn all-new innovative sequences that will leave you inspired and energized. Completely original and liberating, this collection of movement patterns will enhance your understanding of how to transform the body through visualization, awareness and creativity.

#525 – Saturday, Time Block P:  7:30-11:50am (this is an extended session):  Starter Secrets to Becoming a Video Star! Gin with Christi Taylor and Tammilee Webb, MA
Explore your dream of becoming a fitness video star! You will learn how to develop the product itself, as well as pre-marketing, pre-production, production day, post-production and post-marketing. Furthermore, you will develop your own task list and timeline to keep you on task. Along the way, you will acquire valuable resources and professional contacts from each stage of the process. With this information, you will move swiftly and successfully toward your goal of becoming a video star! (Additional fee required for this extended session – see p. 42 of the brochure for more info.)

If you miss the early bird registration, don’t forget to use the coupon code for 10% off.  Also, there’s a $50 rebate if you refer a friend!

Link to Info
Link to Brochure PDF

Gin shot this short 35 minute step workout as a learning tool for her classes at Kaiser Permenente.  With many first time steppers, she selected music with a slow tempo of 110 beats per minute.  To provide a gradual progression, the workout was increased in speed by 5% in the 3 additional versions of the workout.  While we considered fully packaging this for retail, this workout confirmed that it was time to invest in a new camera! (The set was also in transition with a makeover for new dvds that we recently shot for Fitness Em – which we will also offer in the coming weeks!). 

So we decided to replicate this only on a disc and ship in a plain sleeve – and we’re offering it as a FREE BONUS (use the code ‘freebie’) with the purchase of select DVDs from the following categories:  New Workouts / Simply Series / Strength Workouts / Other Workouts.

Recognizing that many fans have ALL of Gin’s titles, you can also order this fun workout, for only $3.99 - with FREE shipping!  (US orders only. Please read the note on the product page regarding International shipping.) If you’d like to print your own cover, download it on pdf  - to print, select 100% instead of scale to fit.

Back Cover:

Have you ever attempted a step workout and ended up feeling totally uncoordinated – like you have 2 left feet?  Unless you started stepping back in the early 90’s, it can be difficult to jump right into a step workout and feel successful.  The good news is, it’s not necessarily you!  It’s more than likely just a matter of REACTION time.

With stepping typically performed at higher rates of speed today, there’s little time to mentally process and react without feeling like you’re tripping over your own feet. In learning any new activity, your brain has to process what may be unfamiliar  terminology and then send a message to your working muscles to execute the patterns.  

Gin Miller’s Step Reaction gives you a chance to get up to speed and feel like you can succeed!   This 35 minute* workout offers 4 different beats per minute (BPMs) to allow you to start slow as you learn, then gradually increase in music tempo over time. 

In fitness progression, it is recommended that you adjust one variable at a time – the variables for increasing intensity are range of motion, step height and speed.

At slower speeds, you should first increase range of motion and then increase step height.   When you advance in speed, you may need to lower the step height and decrease range of motion initially – but as you adjust to the new tempo, you can again increase range of motion followed by an increase in step height.

Workout 1 – 110 bpms   Novice
Workout 2 – 116 bpms   Beginner
Workout 3 – 122 bpms   Intermediate
Workout 4 – 128 bpms   Advanced

*Workout times & BPMs are approximate

Download From DJ Earworm’s Site

Features Billboard’s Top 25 of 2009:

The Black Eyed Peas – BOOM BOOM POW
Lady Gaga – POKER FACE
Lady Gaga Featuring Colby O’Donis – JUST DANCE
The Black Eyed Peas – I GOTTA FEELING
Taylor Swift – LOVE STORY
Flo Rida – RIGHT ROUND
Jason Mraz – I’M YOURS
Beyonce – SINGLE LADIES (PUT A RING ON IT)
Kanye West – HEARTLESS
The All-American Rejects – GIVES YOU HELL
Taylor Swift – YOU BELONG WITH ME
T.I. Featuring Justin Timberlake – DEAD AND GONE
The Fray – YOU FOUND ME
Kings Of Leon – USE SOMEBODY
Keri Hilson Featuring Kanye West & Ne-Yo – KNOCK YOU DOWN
Jamie Foxx Featuring T-Pain – BLAME IT
Pitbull – I KNOW YOU WANT ME (CALLE OCHO)
T.I. Featuring Rihanna – LIVE YOUR LIFE
Soulja Boy Tell ‘em Featuring Sammie – KISS ME THRU THE PHONE
Jay Sean Featuring Lil Wayne – DOWN
Miley Cyrus – THE CLIMB
Drake – BEST I EVER HAD
Kelly Clarkson – MY LIFE WOULD SUCK WITHOUT YOU
Beyonce – HALO
Katy Perry – HOT N COLD

Gin’s best selling and fun step training workout, Simply Step Classic Moves, is now available to rent thru You Tube!   Prior to renting, watch the pre-class guidelines posted below the preview clip.

Simply Step Preview:

Simply Step Pre-Class Guidelines

Rent Simply Step Classic Moves on You Tube

OR Buy Simply Step Classic Moves on DVD – ginmillerdvds.com

Note:  To share this page, SCROLL down the page until the share button is at the top of the window to allow script to pop below the share icon.   If the share link is at the bottom of the window, it will pop up under the You Tube clip. 

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We are pleased to announce that a select few favorites of Gin’s workouts are now available to rent on You Tube! First up is Gin’s “how-to” step workout – a top seller – for learning the basic patterns of step training. Gin, known as the creative force behind the step revolution, teaches most of the patterns used in step aerobics.

Preview Clip:

Everybody Steps is now available to rent - prior to renting, you need to watch the pre-class guidelines:

Rent Everybody Steps - thru You Tube

OR Buy Everybody Steps by Gin Miller on DVD – www.ginmillerdvds.com

Note:  To share this page, SCROLL down the page until the share button is at the top of the window to allow script to pop below the share icon.   If the share link is at the bottom of the window, it will pop up under the You Tube clip. 

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