Woodlands Fitness Centre

The Woodlands newsletter: 14th March 2018

Wednesday 14th March 2018

Hi,

The biology of muscle isn't, in fact, rocket science. At its most basic level is the SAID principle, an acronym for "specific adaptation to imposed demand". When a muscle contracts against a large amount of resistance, it adapts by getting bigger and stronger. Likewise, if a muscle is regularly forced to contract for long periods of time, it becomes more resistant to fatigue.

When you lift weights, you cause tiny tears in your muscle fibres. This accelerates a process called muscle-protein synthesis, which uses amino acids to repair and reinforce the fibres, making them resistant to future damage. And although this happens at a microscopic level, the effect becomes visible over time in the form of bigger arms, broader shoulders, and a thicker chest.

Muscle-protein synthesis is elevated for up to 48 hours after a resistance-training session. So if you work out on Monday at 7 p.m., your body is in muscle-growth mode until Wednesday at 7 p.m. After 48 hours, though, the biological stimulus for your body to build new muscle returns to normal.

This subject is explored later in this newsletter.

We now offer Unlimited Personal Training for just £6.92 a week.

The premise is simple: 48 sessions every week. Share the sessions with up to 5 other people. Come to as many sessions as you like. Each session will be a proper personal training session.

Our Unlimited Personal Training membership offers professional coaching, support, motivation, accountability and results at a fraction of the cost of 1-to-1 Personal Training.

The 45 minute sessions are designed for people of mixed ability. Sharing the workout enhances the experience for participants. Having someone exercising with you can push you a little harder than you might do on your own.

Both the trainer and participants are there to help you get through the workout. Exercising with friends can definitely be fun. When you stick to a training routine, you will get the results. Research shows that members that are involved in programs are more likely stick with it.

We have 2 main membership options:

Gym Only:

Single: £25pm for 12 months, £27pm for 3 months and £29pm for 1 month.
Joint/Student: £22pm for 12 months, £24pm for 3 months and £26pm for 1 month.

Unlimited Personal Training membership :

This membership includes:

✔ 48 sessions available every week.
✔ Share the sessions with up to 5 other people.
✔ Come to as many sessions as you like.
✔ Each session will be identical to a 1-to-1 personal training session.
✔ No contract

Unlimited Personal Training prices (paid monthly):

Single: £10.99 a week
Joint: £6.99 a week

http://www.woodlandsfitnessrowsley.co.uk/blog?aid=12525

Here is a list of our classes / group training sessions:

http://www.woodlandsfitnessrowsley.co.uk/group-exercise

PT prices:

Here are a few examples of our most popular PT packages:

8 x 30 minute PT sessions
£112

4 x 45 minute PT sessions
£80

4 x 60 minute PT sessions
£107

All sessions must be used within 4 weeks. We use time limits with our personal training packages to encourage frequent and consistent training. Packages can be designed to your individual needs. We can adjust the time limits in advance to take into account holidays, business trips, etc.

All of our PT packages include full gym & Unlimited Personal Training membership.

Opening Hours:

Monday: 7.30am - 9.00pm
Tuesday: 8.30am - 9.00pm
Wednesday: 7.30am - 9.00pm
Thursday: 8.30am - 9.00pm
Friday: 7.30am - 8.00pm
Saturday: 8.00am - 2.00pm
Sunday 8.00am - 2.00pm


We always want to know what you think of the Woodlands Fitness Centre - the gym, classes, prices, personal training, group personal training, and anything else. Please speak to us at the gym, email any feedback and suggestions to the email address at the end of this newsletter.

Thanks,
GW


Training Frequency

I don't set out to be controversial; I just report the facts as I see them.

One of bodybuilding's hotly debated subjects is how often to train. It's up there with how much to eat and what exercises are best.

I've got theories about the World around is and some of these theories relate to the fitness industry - and I wonder if secretly the major forces in the sports and food supplements industry do not want you to grow because they would go out of business.

If people stay small then they can be relied upon to buy the latest 'miracle' supplement and those in power can push their new supplement as a 'key' to getting big or sell a new type of machine or system that builds muscle.

People who follow effective routines get massive and massive people do not need to buy over hyped supplements or equipment. They also get informed - and this is dangerous for sales indeed.

When people know the truth they wonder how they could ever have swallowed such nonsense - but it is natural and we approach what we read with an honest naivety believing that, surely, those who write the words we devour in mainstream magazines wouldn't lie to us.

Short, frequent and intense workouts will make you soar above those that will never amount to anything because they have their heads buried in the sand.

It is not the ONLY way - but there are many ways up the mountain. You can enjoy the view on a nice leisurely walk - or you can grit your teeth and race to the top! I've seen enough trees and mountains.

The body responds pretty much the same in those that follow these routines because they are based on the science of how training affects the body. If we were all so different then the science of medicine and nutrition would be useless.

If you train long, you train with less intensity. If you train too long somewhere along the line you hit your body's ability to recover from the workout. Also you must be holistic in your reps to cover all the muscle fibres (I'll cover this in another newsletter).

Of course there are exceptions but those are often the genetic elite that will grow just by looking at weights or simply by uttering the word like Arnold. You know him. That guy who made a few films and ran California for a bit.

But we are almost doomed into doing more training than is good for us because the bodybuilding mentality easily slips into the 'more is better' frame of mind mainly because that is what we are told is the key.

Not gaining? Take more supplements. Still not growing? Then you are not training long enough or not doing enough exercises. Just take more supplements and this will sort out your lack of gains - or so we are told!

The first bodybuilders trained three times a week, for up to an hour or so a session. They followed basic exercises often no more than one or two per body part and typically no more than three to four sets, and they grew fast. Chemical "assistance" in most cases did not come into the picture in those golden days of bodybuilding.

Performing workouts with compound movements three times a week is the most effective way to gain muscle. Unfortunately, that advice directly contradicts what most guys actually do. The idea is to divide the body into specific muscle groups, or body parts, and dedicate an entire session to working each individually.

You might perform exercises for your chest on Monday, back on Tuesday, shoulders on Wednesday and so on. Even though you're training daily, each muscle group is targeted only once a week. So, in essence, those muscles grow for just 2 days out of every 7. With total-body workouts, though, you work each muscle more often. When you train a muscle 2 or 3 times a week, it spends more total time growing.

Only when bodybuilding turned into big business that we suddenly had more machines and barbells and supplements that were advertised as having to be used to get anywhere and did routines get longer and longer.

If something doesn't work then why keep at it? There was one episode of the Simpsons when Homer asks Moe how to get out of the hole he had dug himself into. Moe replies, "Keep Digging!" If you are not seeing changes at least on a monthly basis then you owe it to yourself to step back and re-assess what you are doing. Do not carry on digging.

This article is not to preach. However, apparently I do have a tendency to waffle. How else would I fill 3 sides of A4? If what you are doing isn't working then consider changing your routine. If you try shorter training sessions, chances are you will reap the benefits. It is all in your mind that your muscles will shrink or you will not gain as much if you train less.

People always grow when they start training regardless of what 'system' of training they do. When they plateau they think it's because their body is 'used to it,' and they therefore have to add another set to the twenty they already do for their biceps.

Life is too short to waste it on unproductive ventures. A year following the wrong system through ego or pig headedness is a year you could have added 10 lbs of muscle and an inch or more onto your arms by simply training less.


Lentil Walnut Burgers

Ingredients:

1/2 cup chopped red onions
1 clove of garlic
1/4 inch ginger
1/3 cup walnuts
1/4 cup packed cilantro
3/4 tsp salt or more depends on if the lentils were salted
3/4 tsp each of ground cumin coriander
1/2 tsp garlic
1/2 tsp cayenne hot! or use sweet paprika + a good dash of black pepper for less heat
1/2 tsp garam masala
3-4 basil leaves optional
3/4 cup cooked brown or white rice
1 1/2 cups cooked brown lentils or 1 15 oz can. I used Indian brown lentils
2 tsp ketchup or BBQ sauce
1 tsp oil
1 flax egg 1 tbsp flax seed meal mixed in 2.5 tbsp warm water, let sit for 2 minutes
3-4 tbsp breadcrumbs

Instructions:

In a processor, process onion, garlic, ginger, walnuts and cilantro until finely chopped. Alternatively, cook the onions and garlic in 1/2 tsp oil until they are golden and then add to the processor.

Add the spices, salt, basil, rice, half of the cooked lentils and pulse a few times until well combined. Transfer to a bowl with the rest of the lentils.

Add ketchup, oil, flax egg and mix everything until evenly mixed in. Mash a bit if needed and mix in. Taste and adjust salt, spice, herbs if needed. Add in the breadcrumbs or flour and mix in. Let the mixture chill for 10 minutes.

If the chilled mixture is too wet, add in more flour or breadcrumbs. The amount needed depends on the moisture in the veggies, the kind of lentils and just general mood of things in the mixture. Add more breadcrumbs or flour if too sticky wet. Add another flax egg if too crumbly to make patties.

Shape into 4 large patties. Pack well. Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Add a drizzle of oil and spread it around. Place patties on the skillet and cook for 4 to 6 minutes per side.

Serve with a ranch or mayo or ketchup, mustard or other dressing of choice. Add some caramelized onions or other toppings.


Useless Facts

Right-handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left handed people.

Katrina Signey went into a maze. And the maze got lost.

Ten percent of the Russian government's income comes from the sale of vodka.

Carlo Pancaro can pull a hat out of a rabbit.

In the United States, a pound of potato chips costs two hundred times more than a pound of potatoes.


The Woodlands Fitness Centre Ltd
A: Unit 27, Molyneux Business Park, Darley Dale, Derbyshire, DE4 2HJ
T: (01629) 733 123
E: woodlandsfitness@yahoo.co.uk
W: www.woodlandsfitnessrowsley.co.uk