Essential Fit Talks with Wess Murray

Michael Munson is the Creator of Thrive Fitness and Wellness, based in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. With over 20 years of experience as a personal trainer, he is a certified Master Personal Trainer and Nutrition Consultant. He is also certified and teaches Mat Pilates. He is also certified in massage and yoga. Michael is a member of the American College of Sports Medicine as well as the Idea Health and Fitness Association In addition to his extensive background in Health and Wellness, he is also an experienced Chef. Michael’s deep passion for fitness and wellness along with his own personal journey of self exploration has helped him to assist his clients in attaining confidence and clarity of purpose with regard to their health and wellness goals.  

Amiel DeGuzman is a Nationally licensed Massage Therapist with additional licenses in Rhode Island and New York.  He has an Associates Degree in Occupational Therapy and over 11 years of hands-on Massage Therapy experience.   He has intense experience in several areas to include medical, sports, deep tissue, Swedish and chair massage techniques.    Amiel’s clients include individuals of all ages and walks of life.  He does see clients who would like to relax and maintain their health through massage but most are athletes or special needs clients with specific issues that require more intense work.  Amiel is extremely talented in locating the problem and addressing it properly, and often receives praises for relieving aches and pains that people have had for years before seeing him. Amiel currently works a full time position in Cranston, RI and travels to New York City, where he maintains a strong and growing private client base. Additionally, Amiel may be found at sporting events all year long.  He has a passion for fitness in his own life, and believes in the importance of providing professional massage therapy for others, at organized fitness events.  He has worked at the New York City Marathon; Iron Man in Lake Placid; The Long Island Marathon; The Oyster Bay Triathlon; The Beach to Beacon in Maine; The Maine Marathon, The 5 Borough Bike Tour and The Governor’s Cup in Boston. Amiel is a true believer that proper fitness and nutrition, combined with massage therapy on a regular basis are the basic tools for health.

Ever wondered if it was possible to mix your faith and your fitness? Tune in to learn how to incorporate your Spiritual beliefs into your health and wellness goals.   Our guest, Mary Riccardi, will provide helpful tips about weightloss, Fitness, Faith, and how to combine all three into a lifestyle that is empwering and works for you.   Mary believes in transforming the total person... body, soul and spirit.  She is passionate and dedicated to helping clients achieve their goals by truly honoring their bodies as God’s temple through health, nutrition, and fitness.     Mary's primary focus for her clients is to help them to build lean STRONG muscles that will inspire them to ACHIEVE more physically than they could ever imagine! As well as educating them about nutrition and the importance of an eating plan that they will be able to continue forever making it a lifestyle change.   ?

Accomplished, engaging and fun, Lisa is frequently asked to share her expertise regarding the benefits of healthy living with a wider audience. Her media involvement spans print work for Essence, Prevention, NY Times, NY Post and Fitness Magazine as well as TV segments on MSNBC, CBS, ABC. Of note, after appearing on the NBC’s Today Show, she was published in the book Stepping Stones to Success. Lisa shares this honor with the likes of Deepak Chopra, Jack Canfield and Dennis Waitley. After completing a five-segment Blog Talk Radio series, she now has a regular spot as a Holistic Fitness Expert on New York City’s WWRL AM 1600 talk radio with Dr. Fritz Galette, and was a featured speaker at the Essence Magazine’s Total Day of Health with over 400 women attending. An avid cyclist, Lisa had the honor in 2010 of being featured in Competitor Magazine as the first African American Woman to complete in the Race Across America, a 3005-mile team relay race across the USA. Lisa believes that integrating a balanced program with both “working out” (strength, cardiovascular and flexibility) and “working –in” (proper food choices and mental restorative practices) is the critical key to one’s ability to live their life to it’s fullest potential. Lisa acts as a holistic coach through her three-step approach of Fitness, Fuel and Focus. It helps clients view their lives more holistically and has them see the possibility of incorporating healthy choices every moment. The system was developed through integrating her experience in personal communication skills work in training & development with her studies as a Registered Yoga teacher, a Holistic Lifestyle Coach from The CHEK Institute, and Holistic health Coach in Ayurveda, as well as her multiple national fitness certifications.  

Max has been modeling and more recently acting, for 10 years, specializing in fitness, physique, and action-sports print and infomercials. TEN years builds a lot of experience and credibility, boosts confidence, and proves consistency.  Max is at ease in front of the camera.  He began his career as the Road Runner Sports ‘Underwear Guy’, and is currently working with Hoist Fitness Systems, an international commercial and home gym manufacturer based in San Diego. Max has worked with & consulted for Nature's Sunshine Products, Intensity Nutrition, Next/Designer Proteins, Labrada Nutrition, and NutritionExpress, been featured on numerous covers of Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, Maximum Fitness magazines & www.Exercise.com and worked with many other clients in the fitness industry.  Max has been profiled in 'Men's Workout', 'Exercise and Health', 'Exercise for Men Only', 'Maximum Fitness' & 'Healthy Living' magazines because of his sincere healthy, balanced lifestyle & because he is well rounded. He as also worked with Muscle Wolf Productions & Fitness Model International & Icon Men, joining ranks of the best men's fit-models in the industry.  Max also has competed in several fitness-model competitions: a side-by-side way to benchmark himself against other top models, and always placed in the top 3 competitors. Lately Max has found his new niche as 'subject-matter-expert' for TV interviews and consulting, appearing on Spike-TV and TLC networks, and for independent fitness and nutrition companies.  Most recently Max is consulting for www.naturessunshine.com weight-loss product line & Exercise dot com.

Patricia O’Flynn is a certified health coach and personal trainer and the creator of Finally Fit and Healthy coaching. She uses an individualized holistic approach that addresses effective behavior changes to help people realize optimal health. She is passionate about providing guidance and support to others on their own journey to improved well-being. As a result, her clients experience reduced stress, increased energy, weight loss and better fitness levels. Prior to launching her own coaching business, Patricia spent over 10 years working in mental health, fitness and health education. An experienced and popular speaker, Patricia’s areas of expertise include stress management, nutrition, fitness, and grief. But Patricia spends her spare time volunteering in projects such Samaritans Inc. of Boston, and even as a Park Ranger! OK, you piqued my curiosity with that one. Patricia is an avid photographer and keeps a blog of her travels at A Trish Out of Water. She also loves the outdoors, and organizes and leads hikes and walks throughout New England.

Xavior Ross Qvistgaard Is a fitness professional, group exercise instructor and the creator of Xtra Fit based in Manhattan, New York.  If you live in the big apple, chances are you’ve had the opportunity to take a class with this dynamic and energetic man.   He has been Accountable for designing and implementing training programs in places such as the Sports Club LA, NYSC and even the Supreme Court in the Bronx. These classes consist of various drills to enhance strength, stamina and power as it relates to boxing, speed, agility and strength. In addition, Xavior also Conducts practical, hands on training sessions using various methods of strength, cardiovascular & flexibility training. Xavior has been dubbed one of the most enthusiastic and exciting instructors in New York City.

Obi found his love for fitness by being involved in sports. He is a former top Division I collegiate sprinter at Cal State Fullerton.    After suffering hamstring injuries during half of his collegiate career, he decided to get involve in sports modeling. Being a natural athlete allowed him to succeed as a sports model quickly. With over a decade of being a sports model, his resume spans currently with over 12 national commercials and over 15 national print ad campaigns in his belt.    He broke into the fitness industry in early 2008 and has taken the industry by storm by his quick rise to success. In only two years in the fitness industry he has established himself as one of the top three male fitness models in the world. In only 2 years in the fitness industry he has landed more than seventeen fitness covers.     Some of the major milestones in his fitness career are the following: In three years in the fitness industry, Obi has landed more than 24 magazine covers He made history by being part of the first African-American male male and female on a U.S fitness magazine for Max Sports and Fitness as well as the first black male and female on a Canadian fitness magazine for Inside Fitness. First American male fitness model to be featured in Oxygen, Australia magazine First American male fitness model to grace the cover for Australian Natural Bodz which is the only natural bodybuilding magzine in Australia The first American male fitness model to land a Middle Eastern Cover for Physique Magazine.

45 Years old. Vegan Bodybuilder. How does she do it?   Eating no meat,processed or cooked foods to get the body you want. Living on fruits,veggies,seeds and nuts...

Born and raised in Saint Clairsville, Ohio, Dave Shutler started weightlifting when he was in junior high school.Not only was Dave overtraining, but also he was also not taking the right supplements and eating poorly. It was not until he got into college that things changed. Dave started reading books and researching everything and anything about health, fitness, bodybuilding, nutrition, and any other related topic. After graduating from Mercyhurst College in Erie, PA with a degree in Intelligence Studies, Dave went to Washington DC to work for the Secret Service for 3½ years, while continuing his training and being certified as a personal trainer. Dave has entered many natural bodybuilding and fitness competitions in the past couple of years. He has entered Fitness Model America competitions in NYC, Miami & Vegas and placed 12th out of 75+ competitors in Miami, 15th out of 45+ in Vegas, and 3rd in NYC. He has also won the novice class in the OCB Yorton Cup Natural Bodybuilding Championships in 2009 in Washington DC, and in every other bodybuilding show, Dave has competed in; he has always placed in the top five. Dave believes that fitness is a personal thing and to each his own, but his preference is to be in shape all the time. His workout routine is usually at the gym 4-5 days a week lifting weights and doing cardio 3-4 days at least. He takes one day completely off and rest, and the other rest day involves some light cardio or walking on a treadmill. Dave is not only a certified personal trainer, but has recently graduated from massage therapy school and is also a licensed massage therapist, which he will combine with his personal training. Dave currently resides in Alexandria, Virginia.

Shelby Starnes is a national level bodybuilder, powerlifter, nutritionist, and trainer who has helped  hundreds of athletes reach their fitness goals. His personal bodybuilding  and powerlifting accomplishments include:   2011 NPC Jr Nationals Light Heavyweight - 1st place see below 5th place Light Heavyweight – NPC Junior Nationals, 2010 2009 NPC Central States Championships - 1st place Middleweight and Overall 2nd place 198-lb class – 2004 APF Michigan State Powerlifting Championships Overall Novice Champion – Motor City Bodybuilding Championships, 2005 2nd place open middleweight- Motor City Bodybuilding Championships, 2005 (nationally qualified) 5th place middleweight – NPC Junior Nationals, 2006

Gail Blanke is founder, president, and chief executive officer of Lifedesigns, LLC, a company whose vision is to empower men and women worldwide to live truly exceptional lives. A best selling author, Ms. Blanke’s last book, In My Wildest Dreams, Living the Life You Long For was published by Simon & Schuster in June 1998. The book has appeared on Amazon.com’s Best Selling Books list and the New York Times Business Best Seller List. Ms. Blanke was the sole guest on the Oprah Winfrey Show in October 1998 where she used concepts from her book to help empower audience members to live fulfilling lives. Her column, “The Motivator” appears monthly in Real Simple magazine and she is featured as a Business and Career Coach on AOL Coaches. Considered one of the finest motivational speakers in the country, she has delivered keynote addresses for scores of corporations including GE, MasterCard, JPMorgan Chase and UBS. In addition to the Oprah Winfrey Show, Ms. Blanke has appeared on CNN, FNN, CNBC and FOX TV. Articles about Ms. Blanke and her company have appeared in Newsweek, Business Week, The Wall Street Journal, Reader’s Digest, Ladies’ Home Journal, Redbook and Self. Ms. Blanke is a past president of the New York Women’s Forum and the first member to hold that position for two terms. She is a past chairman of the board of Fashion Group, International. In 1997, she was elected a corporate director of Sweetheart Paper Holdings, one of the country’s leading paper suppliers. Ms. Blanke has received the Women Who Make A Difference Award at the 1999 International Women’s Forum Conference, the 1994 Matrix Award for Public Relations presented by New York Women in Communications, Inc. and the 1994 Star Award presented by the New York Women’s Agenda.

Professional Football player , personal trainer, fitness model and competitor Ivan Rosado will be on Essentially Fit Radio to talk about what it takes to be a fitness model. He will also help dispel a few myths surrounding the fitness model lifestyle. ***In addition, we are having a special conversation just for the Dads.***  We’ll be talking about ways Dad can get and stay in shape, even with the demands of raising kids and having a job.  Make sure you call in with a question. Ivan and Coach Wess will even give one on one coaching over the phone. We want to hear from YOU!  So make sure that you tune in. This Sunday at 5PM, EST

Tired of starving yourself thin? How about going to the gym 8 days a week -- to quote Dr. Phil, how's that workin' for you? What if there were a regiment that let you ditch your diet, get your drink on (gotta accommodate Handler, right?), and still eat out at restaurants? In The New York Times bestsellerBODY CONFIDENCE: Venice Nutrition's 3-Step System that Unlocks Your Body's Full Potential(HarperCollins), Mark MacDonald, NC, CPT and CEO/Creator of Venice Nutrition spells out the real secret to getting healthy: stabilizing your blood sugar levels. This is the secret to preventing your body fromstoring fat or burning muscle. It's how to ditch fat and gain the lean body mass that turnyou into a calorie-burning machine. Balanced blood sugar also cures the body of the hunger pains and cravings that can easily derail dieters.

Mary Kay is a Self-Transformation success story. Growing up with low self-esteem and poor body image, she constantly struggled with weight and slef acceptance. An emotional eater, Mary was teased as a child and teenager. As an adult, she was constantly yo-yo dieted. After giving birth to she first child, she became sad, withdrawn and anti-social. 'I didn't have any clothes that fit and I hit a point where I didn't want to look in the mirror. I decided it was time to make a change. I said, “Enough is enough!” She completely changed her body and in the process became a Figure competitor. She is a Model/Athlete to show what’s possible. When you see it you can believe it. She believe's in walking the talk.' A Motivational Speaker, Mary Kay encourage others to live a healthy lifestyle which includes your mind, body and spirit. She speaks at schools, colleges, corporations, and events.