Woodlands Fitness Centre

The Woodlands newsletter: Wednesday 11th January 2021

Monday 11th January 2021

Hi,

Only four areas of England are still seeing an increase in Covid-19 cases, the latest NHS data show.

Of the 151 places listed by NHS Digital, only Plymouth, Torbay, Derby and St Helens saw infections rise over the latest period measured. However, these four areas have only risen by a relatively small amount.

These most recent figures are for the seven-day rolling average up to January 14, and the decrease is a comparison with the seven-day rolling average to the previous day.

The number in brackets is the number of cases per 100,000 people.
Where cases are still rising

Plymouth 7% (293.8 cases per 100,000 people)
Torbay 2% (234.1)
Derby 2% (648.7)
St Helens 1% (806.3)

At a regional level, cases continue to decrease across England, with London, the East and the South-East seeing drops of around a third.

London -34% (670.4 cases per 100,000 people)
East -32% (508.9)
South East -29% (485.3)
North East -24% (324.4)
Yorkshire and The Humber -22% (251.4)
South West -15% (326.8)
East Midlands -14% (393.0)
North West -13% (527.5)
West Midlands -11% (553.5)

The figures suggest the effects of lockdown are now being seen.

We're now more than a month into the vaccination programme and more than 3.2 million people have been given a jab.

By international standards this is impressive. What's more, according to yesterday's figures, the daily rate of jabs is now close to what is needed for the government to hit its goal. The end of this pandemic is now most definitely in sight.

Right, let's now talk about something fitness, lifestyle and diet related. How about food? Foods are grouped into 3 main categories:

1). Fats
2). Carbs
3). Protein.

Carbohydrate:

Many people immediately think of bread, pasta, rice and potatoes when someone says carbohydrate, and they're not wrong, but many other foods contain carbs too:

Bread, rice, pasta, oats, quinoa, couscous
Starchy vegetables (potatoes, corn and pumpkin)
Beans and pulses (chickpeas, baked beans, lentils)
Some dairy foods such as milk and yoghurt
Fruit
Sugar and honey

Carbohydrates are our bodies' preferred source of energy, so this macronutrient should make up a lot of our diet.

Protein:

Protein is mostly used in our body to build and repair muscle and tissue but has many other important functions as well. Protein foods include:

Meat and meat products (beef, chicken, lamb, pork or kangaroo)
Fish and seafood
Eggs
Dairy food such as milk and yoghurt (also carbohydrate)
Beans and pulses (also carbohydrates)
Nuts (also fats)

Fat:

Fats have been given a bad name - but they too are an important part of our diet. They're used by the body as energy, storage for vitamins, for production of hormones and as protection for our organs. There are different types of fats:

Saturated fats:

These should be limited, but not necessarily avoided. If eaten in large amounts they can be bad for your heart health. They are found in:

Meat fat
Butter
Full-fat dairy products
Coconut oil and products
Peanut oil, palm oil and cottonseed oil
Our occasional foods such as chips, biscuits and cake
Swapping to reduced-fat dairy, and trimming the fat off your meat before cooking it are good ways to reduce your saturated fat intake.

Unsaturated fats:

We should aim to include more of these fats in our diet, as they have the opposite effect to saturated fats, and can be beneficial for your heart health. They are found in:

Fish
Nuts
Avocados
Vegetable oils (olive, canola, sunflower, rice bran)

So your daily calorie intake should normally in the region of 40% carbs, 30% fats and 30% protein. Myfitnesspal will show these breakdowns.

Most foods contain a mixture of more than one macronutrient but are generally classified as the one they contain most of.

I hope all of the above makes sense but if you have any questions please come and ask me.


As there is a definite end to this pandemic in sight, here are some special offers to look forward to:


Offer 1:

2-4-1 Gym Only Membership

Join or Renew your membership with a friend or family member and enjoy a joint membership for the price of a single membership.

This membership includes:

✔Unlimited gym use for 2 people
✔Calorie target setting advice
✔Nutritional support
✔Discounted additional personal training sessions


12 months: £25 per month.
3 months: £27 per month.
1 month: £29 per month.

Terms & Conditions:

Minimum term applies. The free member cannot have been a member of this gym for at least 3 months. Non-transferable.


Offer 2:

2-4-1 Supervised Gym sessions Membership

Join or Renew your membership with a friend or family member and enjoy a joint membership for the price of a single membership.

✔Unlimited supervised gym sessions for 2 people
✔Unlimited gym use for 2 people
✔Calorie target setting advice
✔Nutritional support
✔Discounted additional personal training sessions

12 months: £40 per month.
3 months: £43 per month.
1 month: £46 per month.

Terms & Conditions:

Minimum term applies. The free member cannot have been a member of this gym for at least 3 months. Non-transferable.


Offer 3:

10 x 45 minute PT sessions.

This package includes:

✔10 x 45 minute PT sessions (worth £21 each)
✔10 Weeks Unlimited Supervised Gym sessions
✔10 Weeks Unlimited gym use
✔Calorie target setting advice
✔Nutritional support
✔Discounted additional personal training sessions

ONLY £135 (£165 for non-members)

Only 10 available. All PT sessions must be used within 10 weeks.


Offer 4:

20 x 30 minute PT sessions (2x per week)

This package includes:

✔20 x 30 minute PT sessions (worth £16 each)
✔10 Weeks Unlimited supervised gym sessions
✔10 Weeks Unlimited gym use
✔Calorie target setting advice
✔Nutritional support
✔Discounted additional personal training sessions

ONLY £185 (£225 for non-members)

Only 5 available. All PT sessions must be used within 10 weeks.


Offer 5;

10 x 45 minute PT sessions worth £210 FREE when you join for 7 months.

This package includes:

✔10 x 45 minute PT sessions per month (worth £21 each)
✔Unlimited gym only membership
✔Calorie target setting advice
✔Nutritional support
✔Discounted additional personal training sessions

ONLY £25 per month.

Minimum term applies. All PT sessions must be used within 10 weeks.



Gym Only memberships:

JointStudent (per month):

12 months: £20
3 months: £23
1 month: £26

Single (per month):

For single prices, please check our special offers:

http:www.woodlandsfitnessrowsley.co.ukspecial-offers

Student prices are only for students in full time education.


Supervised Gym Sessions

As conventional classes are temporarily on ice, we are offering supervised gym sessions instead. Turn up at the usual times, get a workout and one of us will be around to help you.

There will be 43 supervised gym sessions each week. Let me know in advance if you want to train a specific body part.

We can offer 30m workouts: these are condensed versions of our normal sessions, designed to pack in high intensity exercise to push you to the next level and really make the most of your time here!


Here is a list of our supervised gym sessions:

http:www.woodlandsfitnessrowsley.co.ukgroup-exercise

Supervised Gym Sessions membership prices:

This membership includes unlimited gym use.

JointStudent:
12 months: £30pm
3 months: £33pm
1 month: £36pm

Single:

For single prices, please check our special offers:

http:www.woodlandsfitnessrowsley.co.ukspecial-offers

Personal Training:

The benefits of personal training outweigh your fears by a long shot and we can really help you achieve your goals. At Woodlands, we want to maximise your fitness experience.

30 minutes: £13 (£17)
45 minutes: £18 (£22)
60 minutes: £21 (£25)

The price in brackets is for non-members.

All of our PT packages include:

GROUP PT membership.
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.

At least 24 hours notice of cancellation is required for all appointments - just so we have sufficient time to rebook the slot. Notice of less than 24 hours will incur a full payment of the session fee. These are standard terms for all good PT's.

We can adjust the time limits in advance to take into account holidays, business trips, etc.

All of our PT packages include full gym, group personal training & 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


BMI Is a Big Fat Scam (part 1)

Body mass index is used to sell weight loss drugs, set insurance premiums, and counsel patients.

There's just one little problem.

It wasn't so long ago that fat people were considered healthy. Doctors were far more worried about underweight people, many of whom were too poor to afford enough calories. But as farms industrialised and food became cheaper, the tables began to turn.

Shortly after World War II, it became clear that eating too much food led to just as many problems as not eating enough. Insurance companies noticed that their fattest policyholders were significantly more likely to die early than those of average weight. They searched for a way to measure excess fat.

In 1832, a Belgian statistician, mathematician and astronomer: named Adolphe Quetelet hit upon a simple formula: simply divide a person's weight by the square of his height. This formula, known as body mass index (BMI), spread from insurers to health researchers and finally - in the 1980s - entered the clinical realm.

Today, BMI is still one of the most commonly used measures of health. When primary-care physicians record your height and weight, as required by law, the electronic record they see displays your BMI. Insurance companies use it to set premiums: in 2013, one insurance provider found that people with BMIs in the "obese" category paid 22 percent more, on average, than those in the "normal" range.

More next week...

I hope all of the above makes sense but if you have any questions please come and ask me.


Weight training with Tabata to burn more fat

When it comes to resistance training, it's not always about weight. Sometimes it's about the number of sets, reps and rest periods.

When results seem to plateau, you need to think outside the weightlifting box.

That's why I constantly mix things up with my unique programming approaches. One way to take weight training outside the box and take the muscle burn to new levels is with Tabata interval training.

What is Tabata Interval Training?

It's a method of interval training where you alternate 20 seconds of exercise with 10 seconds of rest for eight cycles. This circuit-style training isn't just for cardio; it can be adapted to any exercise for any muscle group. Leave it to me to design a Tabata interval weight training program that's so effective yet so brutal that you'll thank me while hating me.

The extremely short rest periods and seemingly constant reps with Tabata protocol make it a perfect way to melt off fat. Despite the lighter weight you'll use, Tabata can also take your muscle growth to new heights.

How can Tabata help you?

This workout is for people interested in gaining lean muscle for aesthetic purposes and greater strength.

Tabata has multiple benefits for you too. It enhances endurance and boosts your body's ability to burn more fat. It enhances explosive energy—the kind you'd use in a typical set of bench presses - it can help you increase your rep range or max weight. That spells muscle growth, but the benefits don't end there.

Because Tabata calls for fairly high reps and very short rest periods between sets, you increase the amount of blood vessels you have feeding your muscle fibres. This helps to get more nutrients, oxygen, and anabolic hormones to your muscles. These added nutrients means your muscles will have more energy during workouts and better recovery and growth after the workout is over.

The best benefit of all may be the fact that because you're essentially training anaerobically and aerobically with Tabatas, you don't need to do cardio. Or you can really maximize fat burning by adding 4-8 full-body exercises at the end of each workout. Of course you'll do these full-body exercises Tabata style.

Learn how to target each muscle group

Perform 2-4 exercises per muscle group. Each exercise is done for 8 sets of 20 seconds, with the goal of getting as many reps as possible in those 20 seconds.

You rest only 10 seconds between the 20-second sets. Once you complete 8 sets, you rest for 1-2 minutes or, if you have a training partner, rest for the 4 minutes it takes him or her to complete the 8 sets. Then move on to the next set.

Timing can be tricky if you train solo. I suggest you try the Gym Boss. It allows you to set interval times and beeps to let you know when the 20-second set is over.

Make Sure You Use Sufficient Weight

I suggest you start light and work your weight up each week. If you find a weight which allows you to complete 20 seconds of reps for the first five or six sets, but leaves you at failure for the last two to three sets, stick with it. This way, you can set a goal to complete the 20 seconds of reps for all eight sets before moving on to a heavier weight.

Your goal should be to increase the weight you use or the number of reps you complete in those 4 minutes each week. I suggest you follow this Tabata based weight training program for about 3-4 weeks before returning to a more normal style of straight-set training (which should coincide with a return to the gym).

Here's an example of a 4-day Tabata weight workout:

Rest 1-2 minutes between exercises. Take no rest between rounds.

Monday: Shoulders & Calves:

Front delts:
Overhead dumbell presses: 8 x 20 seconds work : 10 seconds rest
Medial delts:
Dumbbell lateral raises: 8 x 20 seconds work : 10 seconds rest
Rear delts:
Rear delt dumbbell flyes: 8 x 20 seconds work : 10 seconds rest
Traps:
Barbell shrugs: 8 x 20 seconds work : 10 seconds rest
Calves:
Standing calf raises: 8 x 20 seconds work : 10 seconds rest

Tuesday: Rest

Wednesday: chest & biceps

Chest:
Incline barbell bench press: 8 x 20 seconds work: 10 seconds rest
Flat dumbell bench press: 8 x 20 seconds work : 10 seconds rest
Dumbbell chest fly: 8 x 20 seconds work : 10 seconds rest
Biceps:
Barbell curls: 8 x 20 seconds work : 10 seconds rest
Incline dumbbell curls: 8 x 20 seconds work : 10 seconds rest

Thursday: Quads & Hams

Quads:
Squats: 8 x 20 seconds work : 10 seconds rest
Step ups: 8 x 20 seconds work : 10 seconds rest
Hams:
Semi stiff leg deadlifts: 8 x 20 seconds work : 10 seconds rest
Reverse Lunges: 8 x 20 seconds work : 10 seconds rest
Abs:
Fitball Crunches: 8 x 20 seconds work : 10 seconds rest

Friday: Back & Triceps:

Back:
Pullovers: 8 x 20 seconds work : 10 seconds rest
Bent over rows: 8 x 20 seconds work : 10 seconds rest
Single arm rows: 8 x 20 seconds work : 10 seconds rest
Triceps:
Close grip bench press: 8 x 20 seconds work : 10 seconds rest
Lying tricep extensions: 8 x 20 seconds work : 10 seconds rest

Vary the exercises depending on what equipment you have available at home. Resistance bands, for example.

Saturday: rest

Sunday: rest

Doing very high reps with light weight for short periods can help you blow past plateaus and build lean muscle. The extremely short rest periods and seemingly constant reps with Tabata protocol make it a perfect way to burn calories and shred fat.

I hope all of the above makes sense but if you have any questions please ask me.


Exercise of the week: Squat hold to reverse lunge

Stand with your legs slightly wider than hip-width apart, your feet parallel.

Bend from your hips and bend your knees, lowering down to a sitting position.

Step the right leg back into a reverse lunge.

Return to the squat hold position.
Step the left leg back into a reverse lunge. Return to the squat hold position.
Repeat.

Do:
30 seconds work.
30 seconds rest.
10 sets (5 sets each leg).

To progress the workout, reduce the rest period to 15 seconds (50% of the work duration) in 5 second increments. Alternatively, increase the work duration in 5 increments up to 60 seconds.

I hope all of the above makes sense but if you have any questions please come and ask me.


Chilli Beef Nachos recipe

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
250g/9oz beef mince
1 tsp hot smoked paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp chilli powder
½ 400g tin black beans, drained
200g/7oz lightly salted corn tortilla chips
150g/5½oz cheddar, grated
100g/3½oz cherry tomatoes, quartered
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

To serve:

4 spring onions, finely chopped Coriander (optional)
Sliced chillies (optional)
Lime wedges
Soured cream

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6. Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat, add the onion and cook for 3-5 minutes until soft and translucent.

Increase the heat and add the beef, paprika, cumin and chilli powder. Cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the beef is browned.

Reduce the heat to medium and add the black beans, stirring gently, until the beans are heated through. Season with salt and pepper.

Line the base of a 1.5 litre/2¾ pint ovenproof dish or baking tray with a single layer of tortilla chips, then top with half of the beef mixture, then half the cheddar and half the cherry tomatoes.

Add a second layer of tortilla chips, then top with the remaining beef and cheese. Transfer to the oven and cook for 8-10 mins, until the cheese has melted.

Remove the nachos from the oven and top with the remaining cherry tomatoes, spring onions, coriander and chilli, if using.

Serve hot with the soured cream and lime wedges.

Enjoy!


Useless Facts

Every year 11,000 Americans injure themselves while trying out bizarre sexual positions.

If we had the same mortality rate now as in 1900, more than half the people in the world today would not be alive.

On average, Americans eat 18 acres of pizza everyday.

Researchers at the Texas Department of Highways in Fort Worth determined the cow population of the U.S. burps some 50 million tons of valuable hydrocarbons into the atmosphere each year. The accumulated burps of ten average cows could keep a small house adequately heated and its stove operating for a year.





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