Woodlands Fitness Centre

The Woodlands newsletter: Sunday 11th September 2022

Sunday 11th September 2022

Hi,

Set realistic goals

It may seem obvious to set realistic weight-loss goals.

But do you really know what's realistic?

Over the long term, it's smart to aim for losing 1 to 2 pounds (0.5 to 1 kilogram) a week.

Generally to lose 1 to 2 pounds a week, you need to burn 500 to 1,000 calories more than you consume each day, through a lower calorie diet and regular physical activity.

Depending on your weight, 5% of your current weight may be a realistic goal, at least for an initial goal. If you weigh 180 pounds (82 kilograms), that's 9 pounds (4 kilograms).

Even this level of weight loss can help lower your risk of chronic health problems, such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

When you're setting goals, think about both process and outcome goals. "Walk every day for 30 minutes" is an example of a process goal. "Lose 10 pounds" is an example of an outcome goal.

It isn't essential that you have an outcome goal, but you should set process goals because changing your habits is a key to weight loss.

For more guidance, tips and information, please read the rest of our newsletter.

But first, here are our opening times, links to our website, some prices and more...


Gym Only memberships:

Joint/Student (per month):

12 months: £22
3 months: £24
1 month: £27

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.


Small Group Personal Training:

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

Well now you can!

Our Small Group 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 6-8 people:

There are 36 group training sessions per week, including:

Condition
Total
Upper
Lower
Core
Circuit
HIIT
Kettlebells

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!

These shared personal training sessions are strictly limited to 6 (sometimes 8) 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-pt-timetable


Small Group PT membership prices:

Joint/Student:

12 months: £32pm
3 months: £34pm
1 month: £37pm

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)
✔Small Group PT membership
✔Gym membership
✔Calorie target setting advice
✔Nutritional support
✔Discounted additional personal training sessions

12 month: £43pm
3 month: £46
1 month: £49

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:

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

5 weeks x 2 per week
10 x 30 mins: £108 (£135)

45 mins:

3 weeks x 2 per week
6 x 45 mins: £98 (£1202

4 weeks x 2 per week
8 x 45 mins: £128 (£161)

60 mins:

4 weeks x 1 per week
4 x 60 mins: £88 (£109)

4 weeks x 2 per week
8 x 60 mins: £169 (£213)

The price in brackets is for non-members.

All of our PT packages include:

Small Group 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: 8.30am - 8.45pm
Wednesday: 7.30am - 8.45pm
Thursday: 8.30am - 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


Lift heavy weights to stop being skinny fat.

Lift heavy weights to stop being skinny fat. Yes even if you're a woman. Lifting the same 5-10lbs dumbbells every day won't bring on changes.

You NEED muscle to look toned.

Eat Protein at every meal. Protein is essential in building muscle and also has a higher thermogenic effect on the body. Meaning that it takes more for you to burn it off than other foods.

Do minimal amounts of cardio. I know this is probably not what you've been told but if you're doing hours of cardio all the time you'll lose muscle and only be burning calories.

HIIT (high intensity interval training) is good cardio if you're trying to build muscle. This would be running a sprint for 30 seconds, walking for 1 minute and then sprinting again, and so on for 15 or so minutes 2-3 days a week.

Stay active and walk 10,000 steps a day. This is called LISS (Low intensity steady state) cardio.

So don't make the mistake of jumping on the 'light weights burn fat' bandwagon. Why? Because this propels you down the path to fat and muscle loss - which will leave you looking small, feeling weak and quite frankly being skinny fat.

You know, the "not enough muscle to be lean but also too much fat to lean look skinny" look.

Skinny fat.


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


Reduce carbs, and eat more proteins and fats (part 1)

Many people think you get fat from eating too many carbs, eating carbs alone, and eating them late at night. No. You actually get fat from eating too many calories.

Ideally, you should eat carbs in combination with complete proteins and good fats. Eating carbs alone will lead to an increase in blood glucose. This increase in blood glucose causes an over-release of insulin, which triggers a fat storage response by the body.

In short, your body's hunger mechanism and sugar cravings skyrocket. When carbs are combined with proteins and fats, glucose in the blood stream is buffered by the metabolites of the consumed proteins and fats. This will not lead to an over-release of insulin and thus not fat storage, hunger or sugar cravings. If you're foolishly fearing dietary fat, stop.

The glycemic index (GI) provides a measure of how quickly blood sugar levels (i.e. levels of glucose in the blood) rise after eating a particular type of food. The effects that different foods have on blood sugar levels vary considerably.

The glycemic index estimates how much each gram of available carbohydrate (total carbohydrate minus fiber) in a food raises a person's blood glucose level following consumption of the food, relative to consumption of pure glucose. Glucose has a glycemic index of 100.

Foods with carbohydrates that break down quickly during digestion and release glucose rapidly into the bloodstream tend to have a high GI; foods with carbohydrates that break down more slowly, releasing glucose more gradually into the bloodstream, tend to have a low GI.

A lower glycemic index suggests slower rates of digestion and absorption of the foods' carbohydrates and may also indicate greater extraction from the liver and periphery of the products of carbohydrate digestion.

A lower glycemic response usually equates to a lower insulin demand but not always, and may improve long-term blood glucose control and blood lipids. The insulin index is also useful for providing a direct measure of the insulin response to a food.

A low-GI food will release glucose more slowly and steadily, which leads to more suitable postprandial (after meal) blood glucose readings. A high-GI food causes a more rapid rise in blood glucose levels and is suitable for energy recovery after exercise or for a person experiencing hypoglycemia.

The glycemic effect of foods depends on a number of factors such as the type of starch (amylose versus amylopectin), physical entrapment of the starch molecules within the food, fat and protein content of the food and organic acids or their salts in the meal — adding vinegar, for example, will lower the GI.

The presence of fat or soluble dietary fiber can slow the gastric emptying rate, thus lowering the GI. In general, coarse, grainy breads with higher amounts of fibre have a lower GI value than white breads.

However, most breads made with 100% wholewheat or wholemeal flour have a GI not a whole lot different than endosperm only (white) bread. Many brown breads are treated with enzymes to soften the crust, which makes the starch more accessible (high GI).

While adding fat or protein will lower the glycemic response to a meal, the relative differences remain. That is, with or without additions, there is still a higher blood glucose curve after a high GI bread than after a low-GI bread such as pumpernickel.

Fruits and vegetables tend to have a low glycemic index. The glycemic index can be applied only to foods where the test relies on subjects consuming an amount of food containing 50g of available carbohydrate. But many fruits and vegetables (not potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn) contain less than 50 g of available carbohydrate per typical serving.

Carrots were originally and incorrectly reported as having a high GI. Alcoholic beverages have been reported to have low GI values, but it should be noted that beer has a moderate GI.

Recent studies have shown that the consumption of an alcoholic drink prior to a meal reduces the GI of the meal by approximately 15%. Moderate alcohol consumption more than 12 hours prior to a test does not affect the GI.

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


Recipe of the week: Sticky pork lettuce wraps

Ingredients:

2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp brown sugar
Pinch cinnamon
Pinch five-spice powder
4 thin-cut pork loin steaks
1 carrot , sliced into matchsticks
1 lime , juiced
Pinch golden caster sugar
1 tbsp rapeseed oil
½ cucumber , cut into matchsticks
16 soft lettuce leaves (we used Butterhead lettuce)
Sweet chilli sauce , to serve

Method:

Make the marinade by mixing the soy with the honey, brown sugar, spices and 1 tbsp water.

Put the pork in a shallow bowl, pour the marinade over, turning to make sure the steaks are well coated, then leave to marinate for at least 30 mins.


Mix the carrot with the lime juice and caster sugar. Brush a piece of foil with oil and line the grill pan.

Grill the pork steaks (or griddle if you prefer) for 4 mins each side. Keep an eye on them in case the sugar in the marinade starts to blacken. When cooked, cut the pork into strips.


Put the lettuce leaves out on a board and divide the pork between them.

Add some carrot and cucumber, then fold in both ends of the lettuce leaf and roll up from one side to contain the filling. Serve with sweet chilli sauce, if you like.

Enjoy


Exercise of the week: Dumbbell squat

Squats are an excellent all-round exercise and one of the best moves for building overall strength. Dumbbells let you concentrate on technique and work on your range of movement at low weight. Only advance to barbell squats in the gym once you've got this nailed.

Holding a dumbbell in each hand, position your legs shoulder width apart.

Keeping your head up and back straight, sit back into the squat until the dumbbells are an inch from the floor.

Focus on keeping your knees over your toes and chest out - don't arch your back or lean forward as you drop down.

Exhale, straighten your legs and return to the starting position.


Perform 3-4 sets of 8-12 repetitions for each exercise.

Rest for 60-90 seconds between sets.

Tempo 2-0-1-0

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


Things to consider

Get support:

Realise that there's an ebb and flow. Motivation is not a constant thing that is always there for you. It comes and goes, and comes and goes again, like the tide.

But realise that while it may go away, it doesn't do so permanently. It will come back.

Just stick it out and wait for that motivation to come back.

In the meantime, read about your goal, ask for help (see below), and do some of the other things listed here until your motivation comes back.

Carry the exercise load:

Activities that are weight bearing use more calories than those in which your weight is supported (such as swimming or cycling), simply because you have to shift your own body weight against gravity.

Are You keeping track of what you're eating?

It's human nature to judge ourselves favourably, dismissing or underestimating our bad decisions and emphasising our good ones.

Translation?

You're likely to pat yourself on the back for eating a salad on Tuesday, while overlooking the fact that you ate two bowls of B&J for dessert (and then still wonder why you're not losing weight).

Tracking your caloric intake in a visible, tangible way - like in a food journal or on an app—can help keep you accountable and "eliminate the bias we all have toward ourselves.

Incorporate strength training:

Add some muscle-building activities to your workouts. Free weights, resistance band exercises, muscle sculpt classes or using your body weight with push-ups, planks and squats all work.

A personal trainer can help you put together a beginner's program, or browse our site for tons of strength training moves to try!

Set perfectionism aside:

Keep in mind that striving for perfection usually leads to disaster. Set small goals and stair-step your way to success by developing healthy habits every day. Celebrate those wins, regardless of perfection.


Should My Hamstrings Feel Sore After Deadlifts?

Hamstring soreness is a very normal phenomenon in deadlifts and can occur for different reasons..

Frequency matters:

So long as you can recover well enough, there is nothing wrong with training large muscle groups twice a week. As a matter of fact, if you have optimised your diet, sleep, and supplementation, doing so would will accelerate your gains to whole new level.

Don't get carried away:

Lift an appropriate amount of weight. Start with a weight you can lift comfortably 12 to 15 times.

For most people, a single set of 12 to 15 repetitions with a weight that fatigues the muscles can build strength efficiently and can be as effective as three sets of the same exercise.

As you get stronger, gradually increase the amount of weight.

Keep increasing weight:

Keep challenging muscles by slowly increasing weight or resistance. The right weight for you differs depending on the exercise.

Choose a weight that tires the targeted muscle or muscles by the last two repetitions while still allowing you to maintain good form.

If you can't do the last two reps, choose a lighter weight. When it feels too easy to complete add weight (roughly 1 to 2 pounds for arms, 2 to 5 pounds for legs), or add another set of repetitions to your workout (up to three sets).

If you add weight, remember that you should be able to do all the repetitions with good form and the targeted muscles should feel tired by the last two.


Useless Facts

Honeybees have a type of hair on their eyes!

Jayne "L" Ball can kill your imaginary friends.

A jellyfish is 95 percent water!

Sam Smith is 95 percent wasp!

In Bangladesh, kids as young as 15 can be jailed for cheating on their finals!

George Davison can put out a fire with a gallon of gasoline.

The katydid bug hears through holes in its hind legs!








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