The Fitness Buff Show

In the now famous research from The China Study, co-authored by father-son duo T. Colin Campbell, PhD, and Thomas Campbell, MD, we learned that a whole-food, plant-based diet is linked to lower rates of chronic disease. The groundbreaking results (published in 2005) revealed the optimal diet: A diet comprised of fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains with minimal to no meat, dairy and processed food is the most powerful action you can take to lose weight, prevent disease, and feel better overall. In his new book - THE CAMPBELL PLAN: The Simple Way to Lose Weight and Reverse Illness, Using The China Study's Whole-Food, Plant-Based Diet, Dr. Thomas Campbell shows readers how to make the transition to a plant-based diet with practical guidance and a simple plan to make a whole-food, plant-based lifestyle easy and sustainable. Dr. Campbell joins us on this episode of The Fitness Buff Show.

In this episode, we talk with Raibeau Mars, creator of the "21-Day Superstar Cleanse," a just-released book that chornicles the program she has used with celebrity clients such as Woody Harrelson and David Duchovny.

The Baddest Mud Run quickly has emerged as one of the premier obstacle races in Central Florida, standing out among a crowded field. In this episode, we speak with BMR founder Daniel LaPlaca about the success of the event and what he has in store for athletes for the latest edition of the race, coming April 12, 2014 to Brooksville, Florida.

For more than 20 years, Vasa swim trainers have helped top swimmers perform at the highest levels of the sport. In 1989, company founder Rob Sleamaker walked into the American Swim Coaches Association (ASCA) World Clinic with an unconventional new product. It was the Vasa Trainer, a swim bench that unknowingly would change dryland swim training forever. Already an acclaimed exercise physiologist and author, Rob had seen the effects of intensely focused dryland training firsthand with Olympic level Nordic skiers—but would the world’s most respected swim coaches be interested in training their swimmers outside of the pool on such a device? Indeed they were, and today the product is a key training device for swimmers, triathletes, and stand-up paddlers. We talk with Rob Sleamaker about the latest in Vasa technology in this episode of The Fitness Buff.

As founder and president of EXOS (formerly Athletes' Performance), Mark Verstegen has trained the world’s top athletes in sports including the NFL, Major League Baseball, and worldwide soccer powers, along with the most elite “tactical athletes”—U.S. Special Operations Forces personnel. More than a decade ago, Verstegen’s groundbreaking book Core Performance revolutionized the fitness industry and made core conditioning and functional training mainstream. In his just-released book, Every Day is Game Day, Verstegen presents his most hardcore program yet: a demanding system that challenges readers to perform at the highest level in all aspects of their lives. Fitness Buff Show host Pete Williams has had the honor of writing both books (along with four others) with Verstegen, one of the world's leading performance coaches. In this episode, they reveal how athletes can improve their performance on and off the field. Life isn't just about practice, after all. Every Day is Game Day.

Dr. Mike Moreno, who authored the No.1 New York Times bestseller THE 17 DAY DIET has a revised and updated "Breakthrough" edition. "This book is my attempt over the last two years to tweak the original 17 Day Diet so tha tyou can lose weight even faster, keep it off longer, and stay healthy and fit your whole life," says Moreno, who joins us in this episode of The Fitness Buff.

According to internist John La Puma, men have a metabolic advantage over women in the weight wars, one that can be lost by making lifestyle and food choices that don't work for their unique biology. In his new book, REFUEL, La Puma has created an easy, 24-day eating plan designed specifically for men to restore optimal testosterone levels, eliminate dangerous visceral fat, and improve sexaul performance. We speak with Dr. La Puma in this episode.

Fitness Buff doubleheader. First we talk with Whit Lasseter, creator of the Pump N Run, a new Tampa event where athletes bench press all or most of their weight and then do a 5K. For each rep on the bench, they subtract 30 seconds from their time....Next up: Dr. Diane Roberts Stoler's life changed in the blink of an eye when she suffered a concussion after being involved in a head-on auto accident. Although outwardly she sustained only minor cuts and bruises, she found herself fighting to regain her old self, suffering many of the symptoms of post concussion syndrome. Without any guidance from her doctors, it took her years to understand the life-altering consequences of her brain injury. In her new book, COPING WITH CONCUSSION AND MILD TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY, Stoler offers practical tips - backed up by research - to deal with concussions and sports-related brain injuries. She joins us for this episode of The Fitness Buff.

Kimberly Fowler talks about her new book Flat Belly Yoga, produced with the editors of Prevention Magazine. Flat Belly Yoga combines muscle strengthening, improved flexibility, and interval training exercise. "Yoga is known for relaxation and flexibility benefits, but it's also a full-body workout that strengthens and lenghtens your core muscles," says Folower, founder of YAS Fitness Centers. "When you add light weights, you'll amp up yoga's belly-firming power by boosting calorie burn, revving metabolism, and building calorie burning muscle mass, all of which add up to a leaner tighter core."

The Tarpon Springs (Fla.) Triathlon (Sept. 7) is one of the oldest and unusual multisport events in Florida. Starting at Fred Howard Park, athletes exit the Gulf of Mexico for a bike ride through the streets of the historic Sponge Docks, which feel very much like riding through a Greek Island. The event helps the local Rotary Club raise funds to award college scholarships to local students. We're joined on this episode by race director Celia Dubey to preview the event.

Lynne Cox has held open-water swimming records all over the world, for among others, the fastest crossing of the English Channel (at age 15), the Santa Catalina Channel, the twelve-mile Oresund between Denmark and Sweden, and the Kattegut between Norway to Sweden. Cox was the first woman to swim across the Cook Strait in New Zealand, the first to swim across the Strait of Magellan, the Beagle Channel between Argentina and Chile, Lake Baikal in Russia, and around the Cape of Good Hope. In her latest book, OPEN WATER SWIMMING MANUAL, she provides "an expert's survival guide for triathletes and open water swimmers." She joins us on this episode of The Fitness Buff Show.    

Think walking is a leisurely workout? Think again. The new book "Walk Your Butt Off: Go from Sedendary to Slim in 12 Weeks with This Breakthrough Walking Plan" shows you how to lose wait and become active through walking. We're joined in this episode by one of the book's co-authors, Leslie Bonci, who is the director of sports nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. She counsels clients ranging from individuals struggling to lose weight to scholarship athletes at Pitt who need to eat for better performance.    

Rachel Cosgrove is the author of DROP TWO SIZES, a proven plan that will help women shrink their thighs, tone their abs and arms and tighten every inch of their bodies in 12 weeks or less. With an easy-to-follow workbook, Cosgrove - co-foundeder of Results Fitness in California - guides readers through invaluable goal-setting skills, helpeful strategies, and behavioral techniques that they can use daily to achieve success. She joins us on this episode of The Fitness Buff.

With clinics in Southern California, nutritionist Haylie Pomroy is highly regarded in Hollywood and in the medical community for her abilty to effect rapid, healthy weight loss. Her client list includes Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Lopez, and Robert Downey Jr. Pomroy's new book, The Fast Metabolism Diet: Eat More Food & Lose More Weight, is sitting atop the Amazom.com bestseller rankings. She joins us in this episode of The Fitness Buff.

The Easter Mud Hunt is the latest entry into the booming world of obstacle mud races. Held the day before Easter in Ocala, Fla., and featuring hidden golden eggs worth $1,000 apiece, it's also one of the more lucrative ones. We talk with race director Chris Mohling about the event.