Woodlands Fitness Centre

The Woodlands newsletter: Monday 18th March 2019

Monday 18th March 2019

Hi,

There are some general guidelines, rules of thumb, and ways of viewing a diet program that will allow you to decide, once and for all, if it's the right diet for you. You may not always like what I have to say, and you should be under no illusions this is another quick fix, "lose 100 lbs. in 20 days," guide of some sort.

If you are sick and tired of being confused, tired of taking the weight off only to put it back on, and tired of wondering how to take the first steps to deciding the right diet for you that will result in permanent weight loss, then maybe these newsletters could change your life...

Do you need to be a scientist to apply what you will learn here? No. A mind reader or clairvoyant? No. A nutritionist or medical doctor? Not at all. What you need to be is open-minded and willing to learn a few key concepts that will allow you to sort through the confusion.

You will be able to apply what you learn in these newsletters to any diet you are considering and decide if it makes sense, once and for all! The process - however - is neither easy nor quick per se, but I never promised you either of those things...

The newsletters I'll write going forwards will not look at specific diets. Instead, I will write about taking a logical approach and apply some common sense to choosing a nutritional plan for life long weight loss.

A personal trainer will help you to set realistic goals.

Everyone wants to achieve their goals straight away, whether its weight loss, six pack abs or Herculean strength. But these are not always achievable - and if you don't hit them then you may be discouraged and backslide.

A Personal Trainer will not only help you set realistic goals that you will be able to achieve - if you put in the effort, of course - but they will also be able to keep you on track to hit those goals. For example, if your goal is to achieve a 'bikini body' for summer, it's not just about doing 100 crunches a day for a month to work your abs. It's about altering your diet to eat the correct foods, mixing cardio and weights to work the right muscles, and setting a timeframe in which this can be achieved.

The Woodlands Fitness Centre now offers Unlimited Personal Training:

* There will now be 43 group sessions per week, including: Condition, Total, Upper, Lower, Core, Circuit and HIIT.

* Introducing new '30m' groups: these 30 minute groups are condensed versions of our normal groups, designed to pack in high intensity exercise to push you to the next level and really make the most of your time here!

* We now have a 5pm Group on every weekday!

* The Tuesday 6.45pm Group is now Circuit.

* We have added a second Group class to Sunday morning to accommodate the increasing demand

* Groups are now strictly limited to 6 people, not 8 like before! This is to ensure you get a higher quality of coaching and support.

* All of our groups are £7 to non-members. Membership prices start at just £30 per month. No contract options available Message us for details.

* Gym Only direct debit members can upgrade in 3 month blocks for just £41 (works out at just £14 per month). Your direct debit amount will not change.

* We always prefer an informal approach - so we will be maintaining the booking forms in the gym. All bookings can be made in the gym, by phone, e-mail or via social media. How you book in isn't important; we just care that you attend regularly.

Group Training membership prices:

Joint/Student:
£30pm for 12 months, £35pm for 3 months and £40pm for 1 month.

Single:
£35pm for 12 months, £40pm for 3 months and £45pm for 1 month.

Each session will be a proper personal training session.

Here is a list of our group training sessions:

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

Gym Only:

Single: £23pm for 12 months, £25pm for 3 months and £27pm for 1 month.
Joint/Student: £20pm for 12 months, £23pm for 3 months and £26pm for 1 month.

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 & classes membership.

Opening Hours:

Monday: 7.30am - 9.00pm
Tuesday: 9.00am - 9.00pm
Wednesday: 7.30am - 9.00pm
Thursday: 9.00am - 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, 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


Adjust Your Sodium and Potassium Intake

You Probably Need to Adjust Your Sodium and Potassium Intake. Why? Because Sodium and potassium intake affects fluid levels in the body.

Sodium is a mineral that brings water into cells, which is why eating large amounts of it can cause a large increase in water retention (or "bloating"!). You've probably seen this the morning after eating a large, salty restaurant meal. This is also why when you sodium intake decreases lead to water retention decreases.

Potassium is another mineral that has the opposite effect on cellular fluid levels. Whereas sodium sucks fluid in, potassium pumps it out. This is why research shows that restricting potassium intake can increase fluid retention.

Chances are your diet is probably very high in sodium and quite low in potassium. Your sodium intake could be at least 50% higher than the recommended levels of about 2.3 grams per day (or 1.5 grams for individuals with hypertension, diabetes, or chronic kidney disease and individuals ages 51 and older).

Your potassium levels could be at least 50% lower than the recommended levels of about 4.7 grams per day. This mineral imbalance contributes to water retention - but it's a lot worse than that. People with the highest ratio of sodium to potassium were twice as likely to die of a heart attack and had a 50% higher risk of death from any cause than people with the lowest ratio. However, people that sweat regularly may need more sodium to offset losses through sweating.

Here are some good rules of thumb for keeping your sodium intake under control:

1). Look at the sodium content of canned or pre-packaged foods. They're often loaded with sodium as a preservative.
2). Avoid deli meat. For the same reason.
3). Cut back on salt and certain seasonings. Use salt sparingly and if needed, use a potassium-based salt substitute.
3). Watch out for mixed seasonings as well, like chilli or pizza seasoning. They can contain quite a bit of sodium.
4). Watch out for sauces and salad dressings. Many are very high in sodium.
5). Be wary of cheese. Just one ounce of cheese could have nearly 500 milligrams of sodium.

The best way to raise your potassium intake is to include potassium-rich foods in your meal plans, such as beans, dark leafy greens, banana, potato, squash, yogurt, salmon and avocado, mushrooms. This list is not exhaustive.

You don't have to track sodium and potassium intake forever. Instead, track at first to see what works and what doesn't and then just use common sense in maintaining good habits going forward.

Your sodium and potassium intake will fluctuate. Make sure your intake is stable in the right range most of the time and you'll be fine.

If you need any further information or advice, please come and talk to me.


Throw out your weighing scales!

Why are some people always checking their weight on the old trusty weighing scales?

Seriously, how accurate do you think they are?? Apart from being motivational killers and always being disappointed when stepping off them, the weighing scales are the worst measure of success.

Your actual weight on a scale will tell you nothing about the amount of actual fat you have lost if you have been training correctly and have a healthy diet. As everyone knows, well I am assuming everyone knows, muscle weighs heavier than fat.

You could be training well have the perfect diet and according to the scales you could be putting on weight - but really this is all beneficial to your overall health. You will be simply losing the unwanted fat whilst building muscle.

The scales do not measure the most important things:

1) Fitness level.
2) Energy levels.
3) Confidence.
4) Sense of achievement - which can leave you on a high all day.
5) Happiness.

Taking photos of yourself at different stages of your training are a really good way of monitoring how your body changes. You can see the immediate effect the diet and training has on your body. Lots of people tend to think that mirrors are a good way of checking but as we all know we can go to say M&S changing rooms and we all look super sexy but we get home and check in our own mirror and think OMG, what were we thinking.

Just focus on becoming fitter and stronger, be happy in yourselves and remember you can be stripping the fat and creating lean muscle and your weight will go up but you will look fabulous.

Everybody's body is different we all change and work out at a different pace, enjoy it and have fun.

If you need any further information or advice, please come and talk to me.


Slow cooker lamb shanks

Ingredients:

4 lamb shanks
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp tomato purée
250ml light red wine (such as pinot noir)
2 tbsp plain flour
500ml stock, vegetable, chicken or lamb
2 carrots, chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled
2 bay leaves
2 thyme sprigs
1 bunch parsley, leaves chopped separately to the stalks

Method:

If you need to preheat your slow cooker then turn it on now. In a large hot frying pan, add half the oil and brown the lamb shanks all over, then transfer them to the slow cooker. This will take you about 10 mins and you may need to do it in batches. Add the remaining oil to the frying pan and fry the onion gently until it starts to turn translucent, then stir in the tomato purée and flour and cook for a minute.

Add the red wine and bring it to a boil, stirring the flour and purée into the wine until you have a smooth sauce around the onion pieces. Tip into the slow cooker. Pour the stock into the same pan and bring it to a boil, then tip into the slow cooker. Add the carrots garlic, bay leaves, thyme and parsley stalks to the slow cooker and put the lid on. Cook on low for eight hours or on high for four hours. Turn the shanks over at some point during the cooking.

After eight hours the lamb should be tender and starting to fall off the bone. If the sauce is too thin lift out the lamb and carrots and tip the sauce into a pan, boil it rapidly until it starts to thicken before adding the parsley.

Enjoy!


Useless Facts

If you have three quarters, four dimes, and four pennies, you have $1.19, the largest amount of money in coins without being able to make change for a dollar.

People will provoke you until they bring out your ugly side and then play the victim when you go there. This was my justification for attacking Alex Talbot with a French bread baguette.

In Aspen Colorado, you can have a maximum income of $104,000 and still receive government subsidized housing.

Joel Wafula can build a snowman out of rain.

Honking of car horns for a couple that just got married is an old superstition to ensure great sex.








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