Woodlands Fitness Centre

The Woodlands newsletter: Monday 27th September 2021

Monday 27th September 2021

Hi,

When choosing a diet, always use the "Can I eat that way for the rest of my life?" Test. I know, it does not exactly roll off your tongue, but it gets the point across.

The lesson here is: any nutritional plan you pick to lose weight must be part of a lifestyle change you will be able to follow - in one form or another - forever.

That is, if it's not a way of eating you can comply with indefinitely, even after you get to your target weight, then it's worthless.

Many fad diets you see out there will fail the "Can I eat that way for the rest of my life?" Test.

The question is not whether the diet is effective in the short term - but if the diet can be followed indefinitely as a lifelong way of eating.

Going from "their" way of eating back to "your" way of eating after you reach your target weight is a recipe for disaster and the cause of the well established yo-yo dieting syndrome.

There are no short cuts. There is no free lunch. Only a commitment to a lifestyle change is going to keep the fat off long term. I realise that's not what most people want to hear, but it's the truth.

Like it or not.

The first article is: Should you use a single working set per exercise. This is part 2 of 4 articles.

The second article is about Cruciferous Vegetables. This is part of our articles on the 20 Most Weight-Loss-Friendly Foods on the Planet.

The exercise of the week is a ball dumbbell chest press progression.

The recipe of the week is a Roasted Sweet Potato, Veg and Feta.

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


I hope you enjoy these articles but if you have any questions please come and ask me.


Gym Only memberships:

Joint/Student (per month):

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

Single (per month):

For single prices, please check our special offers:

www.woodlandsfitnessrowsley.co.uk/special-offers

Student prices are only for students in full time education.


Unlimited Personal Training:

How would you like to have personal training every single time you attend Woodlands?

Well now you can!

Our Unlimited PT membership offers an appointment controlled personal training system where a personal trainer will train up to 6 members at any one time.

We offer a variety of group exercise sessions throughout the day to help you achieve you build fitness, strength, co-ordination and flexibility whilst burning fat.

Group sessions are strictly limited to 6 people:

* There are 36 group training sessions per week, including: Condition, Total, Upper, Lower, Core, Circuit and HIIT.

* We also offer '30m' groups: these 30 minute Classes Group training sessions are condensed versions of our normal 45 minute 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 have a 5.15pm Group on Monday, Wednesday and Friday!

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

These shared personal training sessions are strictly limited to 6 people! This is to ensure you get a higher quality of coaching and support.

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.

Here is a list of our group training sessions:
www.woodlandsfitnessrowsley.co.uk/group-exercise


Unlimited PT membership prices:

Joint/Student:

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

Single:

For single prices, please check our special offers:
www.woodlandsfitnessrowsley.co.uk/special-offers


2 x 45membership:

This membership includes:

✔2 x 45 minute PT sessions per month (worth £23 each)
✔Unlimited SHARED PT sessions
✔Unlimited gym use
✔Calorie target setting advice
✔Nutritional support
✔Discounted additional personal training sessions

12 month: £43pm
3 month: £47
1 month: £51

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.


Personal Training Packages:

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 mins:

3 weeks x 2 per week
6 x 30 mins: £72 (£89)

5 weeks x 2 per week
10 x 30 mins: £116 (£144)

45 mins:

3 weeks x 2 per week
6 x 45 mins: £95 (£120)

4 weeks x 2 per week
8 x 45 mins: £125 (£120)

60 mins:

4 weeks x 2 per week
8 x 60 mins: £156 (£178)

The price in brackets is for non-members.

All of our PT packages include:

SHARED PT membership.
Gym membership.
Calorie target setting advice.
Nutritional support.

All PT sessions must be used within time periods listed above.

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 - 8.45pm
Tuesday: 9.00am - 8.45pm
Wednesday: 7.30am - 8.45pm
Thursday: 9.00am - 8.45pm
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



Should you use a single working set per exercise (part 2)?

Consider these reasons to reduce the number of working sets per exercise to just one.

Anybody who actually reads these newsletters will know that I love a quote. So here's a treat for you; Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, a German philosopher, cultural critic, composer, poet, philologist, and a Latin and Greek scholar, said:

"All things are subject to interpretation. Whichever interpretation prevails at a given time is a function of power and not truth."

Lifting weights should hit the fast-twitch muscle fibres. Motor unit recruitment shows that as long as you use a heavy enough weight to avoid fatigue in the energy systems related to endurance rather than strength, effort matters the most. By training to failure, you ensure involvement of the fast-twitch muscle fibres.

If you achieve your best effort in one set, why do another? Spreading out your effort over many sets will involve more work. This has more to do with endurance.

Building up by-products of fatigue associated with lactic acid (the burn), more blood flow (the pump), and excessive muscle damage (DOMS), known as secondary growth factors, matter far less than creating tension.

To build strength and size, you need to focus on tension. Tension is that squeeze you feel during a muscle contraction. More tension requires heavier weights. If you would perform another set after a tough one, you will perform worse, indicating that you already fatigued the fast-twitch muscle fibres, generating less tension. Save your energy for more weight the next time.

With multiple sets, trainees will hold back on earlier sets. This pacing leads to several less intense sets. You spread out effort instead of condensing it.

If you have the right genetics and drugs to spread out this effort and still use heavy weights, then you will get strong and muscular. For others, this effect will over train them and reduce the stimulus for strength and size. You can work hard or long, not both.

This article continues next week....

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


Cruciferous Vegetables

Cruciferous vegetables include broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and Brussels sprouts. Like other vegetables, they're high in fiber and tend to be incredibly filling. What's more, these types of veggies generally contain decent amounts of protein.

They're not nearly as high in protein as animal foods or legumes but still high compared to most vegetables. A combination of protein, fibre and low energy density makes cruciferous vegetables the perfect foods to include in your meals if you need to lose weight.

Cruciferous vegetables are also highly nutritious and contain cancer-fighting substances.

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



Do You eat 'low-fat' meals?

Supermarkets aren't stupid - that's why they're so big and wealthy. A few years ago, faced with the accusation that ready meals were fattening, they began introducing 'low-fat' versions in an attempt to make us all think we were being really healthy.

Unfortunately, 'low fat' is not the same as 'low calorie'. To lose fat without neutralising taste, the manufacturers use extra salt, sugar and additives.

So eating a low-fat ready meal doesn't mean you're not taking in unnecessary, useless calories.

It helps if you remember that, for example, the Sainsbury's Be Good To Yourself range might actually be called Be Slightly Better To Yourself Than Eating The Full-Fat Range But Still Don't Expect To See The Weight Fall Off range.

To be fair, pressure resulting from rising obesity levels has prompted supermarkets to take further steps to reduce salt content in ready meals, but there is no question that you will be healthier and more likely to lose weight if you make the effort to cook your own meals using fresh ingredients.

Consider: when was the last time you saw a 'low-fat' banana? 'Healthy living' broccoli? 'Light' pasta?

No.

Natural, unprocessed food is precisely that - natural - so it doesn't need to have bad stuff taken out of it and a fancy label slapped on it.

That's why it's good for you....so long as it's eaten in moderation!

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


Exercise of the week: ball dumbbell chest press progression

Lie on stability ball with ball placed between shoulder blades

Maintain a bridge position by contracting glutes and keeping shoulders, hips and knees at the same level.

Feet should be shoulder-width apart with toes pointing straight ahead.

Hold one dumbbell in each hand at chest level slightly outside of body line with elbows flexed.

Draw abs in and activate.

Press both dumbbells straight up and then together by extending elbows and contracting chest.

Hold for 2 seconds.

Slowly return dumbbells toward body by flexing elbows. Allow shoulders to retract and depress.

Regression:

Dumbbell Chest Press on Bench

Progression:

Alternating-arm
Single-arm

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


Recipe of the week: Roasted Sweet Potato, Veg and Feta

Ingredients:

2 sweet potatoes, skin on and halved along the length
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
10 olives, halved
4 sundried tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp mixed herbs
salt and pepper
1/2 tin chopped tomatoes
1 pepper, (any colour), roughly chopped
1 handful mushrooms, halved
1 courgette, cut into 2cm-thick slices
1/2 broccoli cut into small florets
2 red onion, each cut into 8 wedges
1 leek, cut in half along the length
50g feta cheese

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200ºC (fan 180°C/ gas mark 6)

Make the marinade by placing the garlic in a bowl along with the chopped olives, mixed herbs, 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil and a good pinch salt and pepper.

Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and squeeze the juice and pips into the marinade bowl, then place the tomato skins in the oven tray.

Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and squeeze the juice and pips into the marinade bowl, then place the tomato skins in the oven tray.

Cut the sweet potato in half along the length and add to a large oven tray along with the chopped pepper, courgette and onion.

Stir the marinade and pour it over the vegetables.

Toss together so that all the vegetable are coated.

Roast in the middle of the oven for 34-40 minutes until the sweet potato is soft.

Crumble the feta over the vegetables and serve. Garnish with fresh chilli and a squeeze of lemon juice if available.

Enjoy!


Useless Facts

Weatherman Willard Scott was the first original Ronald McDonald.

Virginia Woolf wrote all her books standing.

Einstein couldn't speak fluently until after his ninth birthday. His parents thought he was mentally retarded.

Al Capone's business card said he was a used furniture dealer.







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