MP: Why are you very passionate about health and fitness?

Kerrie: I am passionate about health & fitness because it’s a very rewarding passion to have. I think it’s important to be conscious to live a fit & healthy lifestyle. When you feel healthy you perform at a more optimum level in all areas of your life.

MP: You and your husband Simon own Australian Sports Nutrition (ASN). You currently have 10 stores around Australia and have a very large presence in your country. For those people who are unfamiliar with your business, can you tell us a little bit about it?

Kerrie: Our company ASN is an Australian based company that my husband started in 2002. We are the leaders in Australia for our industry. We are always striving to supply the latest cutting edge supplements & we are extremely passionate about giving the best possible personalized advice. We travel to the States a couple times year to make sure we are as up to date as possible with the supplements that are coming out. Our amazing team & incredibly supportive customer’s base allow us to keep expanding and spreading the ‘ASN Love” all across Australia. We have 10x ASN stores now, but by the end of this year 2010 that number would have grown. We have a massive website: www.asn.com.au where you can shop online and gather a lot of useful health & fitness related information.

MP: How did you get involved with ASN? How has the business grown and where do you see it in 10 years?

Kerrie: I became involved with ASN when I started dating Simon. I had just come from working in the Caribbean on Cruise Ships for 5yrs and I was not sure about what I wanted to do since love had taken me back to living in Australia. I helped Simon open the 3^rd ASN store in Newcastle, NSW and from then on I was 100% focused and committed to ASN and helping to be an integral part to its growth. I do not see us slowing down at all. The potential for ASN is limitless..and with my extremely dedicated & ‘switched on’ husband Simon leading the way, literally anything is possible.

MP: As an expert of supplementation, what types of supplements do you prefer for general health and muscle building? What are their benefits?

Kerrie: As you can imagine I have access to & use a wide array of supplements. I do like to try all the supplements we sell as I love to give ‘first hand’ feedback on what I think a certain supplement is like. For general health of course protein powder is an essential. Whether you are hard into your training or you need something to assist with your daily overall nutritional needs, protein is crucial. I use Evolve “Diva Whey”, which is a women’s protein formula that we have formulated. I use a good quality Multi-Vitamin each day plus Fish & Flax seed oil. I love trying out fat burners & I do think they are excellent to use when trying to maintain or lose weight. For muscle building you can’t go past a great pre-workout, test booster & mass gaining protein if you are a hard gainer. There are a lot of products out there on the market to assist with muscle building, and of course my team is very knowledgable on getting our customers on the right muscle building ‘stack’.

MP: Besides a multi vitamin, what do you believe is the most important supplement that a female should take as she ages?

Kerrie: I believe Fish, Flax & Omega oils are important supplements that women (and men) should take as they age. Not only are these oils great for your hair, skin, nails & brain function, but they are also excellent to assist in weight management.

MP: There have been many studies that claim that protein powder can do a lot of damage on the body’s internal organs, especially since protein powder is most easily absorbed. This is because these organs, such as the liver and kidneys, have to work harder to remove the excess protein not being absorbed by the body. What are your thoughts on this?

Kerrie: I think anything in excess isn’t the best for the body. That’s why we should stick to the recommended doses of supplements. I personally have been using protein powder for years and I honestly couldn’t live without it. I have not noticed any adverse effects taking it & if it was that bad for the body then it would be banned or come with very heavy warnings.

MP: Do you believe all-natural foods (such as turkey or tuna) are a more effective muscle builder than protein powder? Why do you think this?

Kerrie: Certainly foods like Turkey & Tuna can help with lean muscle building, but you would need to consume a lot to get the same effects as to drinking one protein shake. I think a good balance of the right foods + supplements is the most effective way to go.

MP: What do you believe is the recommended dose of protein that one should have at a time? Why is this so?

Kerrie: For me personally I feel that 30g to 40g per serve of protein is all I need.

MP: A lot of people try to resort to supplements for fat burners. What is your take on this and which supplements do you recommend to burn fat? Are they healthy?

Kerrie: Fat Burners some people feel are a quick fix solution to weight loss. There are so many on the market, some ‘dodgy’ ones, and some excellent ones. I’ve tried most of the leading brands so I feel I’m quite equipped at working out what fat burner is right for our customers. Fat Burners do certainly assist with weight loss. Of course one shouldn’t treat them like a ‘magic pill’. If you mis-use them, then of course there can be side effects. When used in conjunction with exercise & eating right, fat burners are an incredible tool. My favorite fat burner at the moment is one that’s made in the USA, “D-Fine8” by Musclewerks. We at ASN stock it and it’s a huge favorite with our customers.

MP: What are three specific exercises that a female should do on a daily basis? What makes them so important?

Kerrie: Stretching is key! Especially for me as I’m at my computer all day long. Stretching is something you can basically do anywhere at any time. Other exercises that are great for females to do are lunges or squats…as every girls wants tighter buns..lol. Lunges or squats can be done around the house as you are doing chores.. you can even do squats and stationary lunges as you brush your teeth.

MP: Do you believe in Jack LaLanne’s theory that humans should not be drinking milk from other animals?

Kerrie: I personally feel that diary doesn’t suit me that much. Simon & I both drink Lactose free milk as we feel it sits better in our system. I do like to have low fat yogurts and cheeses, but just not in excess. Feedback from our customers point to a lot of them having some kind of diary or lactose sensitivity or allergy. A good quality WPI protein would be the suitable choice for someone with a diary or lactose sensitivity. One like our Evolve “WPI” protein would be great.

MP: If a woman wants to lose as much weight as possible in a week, how much healthy weight can she drop? How should she do this?

Kerrie: This is a question that I get asked a lot. I personally feel that 2-3kg’s (4.4-6.6lbs) of weightloss in the first week would be ok, anything more than that is too much of a ‘crash’ diet and would probably just be a water weight loss and also any fat loss lost would probably just pile back on at a later date. If someone needed to lose weight fast in a week, I would take a good look at their diet to see any area’s that need tightening up. I would also up the cardio schedule and of course introduce a good fat burner, protein powder, l-glutamine and vitamins like a Multi, fish oils and some magnesium & b-vitamins.

MP: When people say that they lost 10 pounds in a week, explain why the weight that they lost is not healthy weight that will remain off for good?

Kerrie: Losing 10 pounds in one week is a lot of weight to lose. Someone that is quite overweight may experience this amount of weight loss in the first week of a diet or increased training schedule but for the average person that wants’ to tighten up and shed some puppy fat I feel this is too much. Losing weight like that fast is too much of a shock to the body. You need to be kind to your body and help it lose weight the right way..otherwise, yes your body will just gain that weight back faster than you lost it. When we at ASN get asked questions about weight loss, we are all careful to ask the right questions and gather information to best work out a plan of attack for our customers.

MP: What do you like better: a man’s six-pack or his ripped arms?

Kerrie: Ohhhh..well my husband always has the most ripped six-pack.. so I would have to say his abs. But then again he has awesome arms as well. I’m a fan of any muscular body part. I’ve always liked a more muscular physique on a guy..sorry to all you skinny guys out there, lol.

MP: What do you enjoy doing in your spare time whenever you aren’t working or training?

Kerrie: I enjoy spending quality time with my husband in my spare time. We do spend every day together but we are both very pre-occupied with work, so it is nice to try to switch off and take time out for ourselves. I really enjoy taking my dog for a walk on the beach. I’m lucky enough to live near some of the most beautiful beaches in Australia, so getting to the beach is really nice.

MP: What are your future goals?

Kerrie: My future goals are to continue to spread the knowledge about supplements and how that can benefit just about anyone’s lifestyle. 

Buy a wide variety of supplements at Australian Sports Nutrition (ASN): www.asn.com.au