Woodlands Fitness Centre

The Woodlands newsletter: Monday 6th May 2019

Monday 6th May 2019

Hi,

Some businesses in the fitness industry are offering little more than the modern equivalent of snake oil. Praying on the emotions of those looking for help and their willingness to grab hold of anything that looks like a magic bullet to quick success.

The problem is - when the industry is skewed by businsses selling fake promises accompanied with Z-list celebrity endorsements and unscrupulous marketing - that soon becomes the perceived norm and therefore the route that should be taken by anybody who is new to fitness, nutrition and weight loss. As such, I seem too spend a lot of time trying to battle, not profit from, these misconceptions.

What are people actually wanting to achieve? Your goals are whatever you want them to be. Within reason, of course.

Most of the time, people talk about weight loss. But is that really what they want? Generally speaking - and in my 10 year personal training / gym ownership experience - people want to look better. Or feel better. Although weight is a factor, the link between weight loss and getting in shape is far more tenuous than you might think.

I've been steadily losing fat for the last 6 weeks and I've actually gained 5kg. Does this mean I've failed? Well no, because I look so much leaner than I did 6 weeks ago. So what does this mean? Am I practicing the Dark Arts? If so, enter the Voldemort weight loss plan. If this is of interest, stop Pottering about and Slytherin for more information.

Weight loss isn't linear; you won't always lose weight proportionate to your calorie deficit. So don't be disheartened if initially you seem to be staying at the same weight or gaining slightly.

What are your goals? Losing weight? Getting in shape? Whilst some people join a gym for general exercise or injury rehabilitation, the vast majority join for an aesthetic goal. So let's use that as the basis of this next point: do you want to look good? Or do you want to weigh good?

Some people are always checking their weight. How accurate do you think weighing scales are? Honestly? Weighing scales are the worst measure of success.

Everyone's 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/retaining muscle and increasing your body water %.

Granted, a large weight reduction is a possible indication of success. But what about small changes? The average adult human body is 50% to 65% water. Based on the lower %, someone who weighs 10 stone (140 1bs / 64kg) would contain at least 70 Ibs (32kg) of water.

If this person were to increase their hydration by just 5%, their body weight would increase to 144 Ibs (65kg). So they've gained weight. But is that bad? Should they feel bad about this 4 Ib weight gain? No. Will they look any worse? No. So is weighing yourself a viable means of gauging success? No.

What is better? Measure yourself. See if your measurements are changing. Look in the mirror. Are you looking better? Are your clothes feeling looser? These are true indicators of success.

The following advice has already been posted on our Facebook and Instagram pages - but not everyone has succumbed to social media.

Advice should always be specific to the individual client - but to get in shape and look better, follow these basic rules:

70% nutrition:

A 20% calorie deficit will maximise fat loss, minimise muscle loss. If you're unsure how to calculate this, please just ask me.

You are what you eat - so it's important to eat good food in order to be healthy and fit. If you eat rubbish then you will look and feel like rubbish. Food provides us with a range of nutrients: vitamins, minerals, water, fat, carbohydrates, fibre, and protein. To get all your essential nutrients, eat a variety of vegetables, fruits, lean protein (fish, lean meat, beans or low-fat dairy foods), whole grains, and healthy fats, including nuts and olive oil.

Limit your intake of alcohol. Gin and wine: not fine.

Go easy on the biscuits, cakes and sweets, etc. Drink water instead of sugary drinks.

Does your diet rely on special bars, shakes, supplements, etc? If so, bin them, you absolute mug!

20% weight training:

Resistance training is an essential component of fat loss, as it builds muscle essential to your metabolism, increases 24 hour energy expenditure, and has health benefits beyond just doing cardio or lots of burpees.

If your training doesn't include weighted squats, then are you actually training? Think about it; if you do any form of exercise whilst watching TV or talking incessantly, then are you really doing enough?

Most people think that cardiovascular exercise on machines such as treadmills and exercise bikes burns more calories than lifting weights. But that isn't necessarily correct. Resistance training works your muscles as well as your heart and lungs. This will improve your overall health and help you drop a clothes size faster. Much faster.

Weight training is just as suitable for women as it is for men. From what I understand, a percentage of women fear that increased muscle results in increased masculinity. This is not the case.

Testosterone is a very important factor in the development of muscle shape. Women have much lower levels of testosterone - so their muscles develop differently. As such, resistance training will NOT lead to a bulky, butch physique. It's hard enough for guys to build lean muscle tissue.

7% HIIT

Burpees burn lots of calories. And it's all about the calories. If you have a finite amount of time, focus on what burns the most calories. Cardio machines just don't cut it. 2 x HIIT workouts, 5 to 10 minutes each, should be enough.

3% cardio:

Do 10,000 steps a day. More and more doctors and fitness experts recommend walking 10,000 steps every day as a way to maintain a healthy weight and exercise your heart. Get a pedometer or download a smart phone app.

A personal trainer provides variety and creativity.

Personal Trainers are professionals who are well versed in making exercise "fun" and more interesting by offering a wide variety of creative exercises. Too many of us get bored with our gym routines and start finding reasons not to go. Keep it interesting!

The Woodlands Fitness Centre 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.

Each session will be a proper personal training session. These sessions will push you far harder than training on your own. So you'll get much better results.

Group Training membership prices:

Joint/Student:
12 months: £30pm
3 months: £35pm
1 month: £40pm

Single:
12 months: £35pm
3 months: £40pm
1 month: £45pm

Here is a list of our group training sessions:

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

Gym Only:

Single (per month):
12 months: £23
3 months: £25
1 month: £27

Joint/Student (per month):
12 months: £20
3 months: £23
1 month: £26

PT prices:

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

30 minutes: £13 (£17)
45 minutes: £19 (£23)
60 minutes: £25 (£29)

The price in brackets is for non-members.

PT offer of the week:

Buy 4 x 45 minute PT sessions and get 2 x 45 minute PT sessions free...

Yep, that's 6 x 45 minute PT sessions for the price of 4!

Only £76 (£92 for non-members).

Including:
4 weeks gym membership.
Calorie target setting advice.
Nutritional support.
All PT 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


Squats help with mobility and balance

Strong legs are essential for staying mobile as you get older, and that's where squats come in. Not only do they develop leg strength, they also work out your core, stabilising muscles.

These stabilising muscles help you to maintain balance, while also improving the communication between your brain and your muscle groups, which helps prevent falls.

A proper base in simple compound exercises training: squat, deadlift, lunge, press and row variations. Forget doing lots of isolation exercises for your arms.

Don't complicate it! Some of the strongest people in the world have only a barbell and a squat rack.
Some machines offer an added dimension to your training - but these should compliment the use of free weight exercises. Pec decks and leg extensions are great for accessory exercises.

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

Too much cardio. Too little strength training

But cardio burns more calories, right? No! Sure, an hour on the treadmill gives you that instant satisfaction of burning 400 calories. Or so that little blinking screen says.

Weight training is an excellent way of combating several symptoms we all face as we get a little older. Resistance exercise can reduce bone deterioration and build bone mass, preventing osteoporosis.

Working your muscles can also inhibit the affects of sarcopenia, the age related loss of muscle mass, strength and function. After the age of thirty there is a loss of 3 to 5% of muscle mass per decade. This will make day to day tasks gradually harder to perform and slowing down metabolism - increasing the risk of weight gain.

Research has shown that resistance training can greatly reduce a number of health risks. It has been proven to have a positive affect on insulin resistance, resting metabolism, blood pressure, body fat and gastrointestinal transit time, factors that are linked to illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

A quick strength training or metabolic training session, however, will get your heart rate up, burn calories, and develop your lean muscle mass.

Just two 20 minute sessions a week is enough to gain all the potential health benefits of strength training. Start slowly and work your way up. You can feel healthier and look better. This in turn will make you feel better about yourself and the benefits can last for the rest of your life.

Building muscle means that those muscles are able to work throughout the day burning more calories when you aren't working out.

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


Do you have dormant butt syndrome?

Dormant butt syndrome - having a weak butt - is pretty common and, unfortunately, is often the root of hip and knee pain.

The rear end should act as support for the entire body and as a shock absorber for stress during exercise. But if it's too weak, other parts of the body take up the slack and it often causes injury.

Dormant butt syndrome is often caused by inactivity (read: sitting too much) and the way we sleep. Sitting for extended periods throughout the day weakens the glute muscles and puts strain on other parts of our core, as does sleeping in the fetal position.

Since most of us have to sit at our jobs, and the fetal position is one of the most common sleep positions, we're basically all at risk of suffering from dormant butt syndrome.

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


Chicken and Chorizo stew

Ingredients:

2 tbsp sunflower oil
4 skinless chicken breasts cut into rough cubes
2 onions, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 red pepper, sliced
410g can chopped tomatoes
300ml chicken stock
100g chorizo, chopped
50g mixed olives

Method:

Heat the oil in a large casserole dish and fry the pork/chicken until golden.
Add the onion, garlic and red pepper and fry until the onion is tender, then pour over the tomatoes and stock.
Bring to the boil then cover and simmer for 35mins.
Add the chorizo and olives and simmer for a further 5 mins. or until the chicken is cooked through.
Serve with jacket potatoes.

Enjoy!


Useless Facts

Cats have over one hundred vocal sounds, while dogs only have about ten.

Niall Rhodes went skydiving and his parachute failed to open. So he took it back the next day for a refund.

Blueberry Jelly Bellies were created especially for Ronald Reagan.

Golden retrievers are actually really bad at locating and retrieving gold.

PEZ candy even comes in a Coffee flavour.












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