Woodlands Fitness Centre

The Woodlands newsletter: Sunday 25th September 2022

Sunday 25th September 2022

Hi,

Get active, stay active

While you can lose weight without exercise, regular physical activity plus calorie restriction can help give you the weight-loss edge.

Exercise can help burn off the excess calories you can't cut through diet alone.

Exercise also offers numerous health benefits, including boosting your mood, strengthening your cardiovascular system and reducing your blood pressure.

Exercise can also help in maintaining weight loss. Studies show that people who maintain their weight loss over the long term get regular physical activity.

How many calories you burn depends on the frequency, duration and intensity of your activities. One of the best ways to lose body fat is through steady aerobic exercise — such as brisk walking — for at least 30 minutes most days of the week.

Some people may require more physical activity than this to lose weight and maintain that weight loss.

Any extra movement helps burn calories. Think about ways you can increase your physical activity throughout the day if you can't fit in formal exercise on a given day.

For example, make several trips up and down stairs instead of using the elevator, or park at the far end of the lot when shopping.


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


Is a calorie just a calorie?

Yes, a calorie is a calorie. But a macronutrient is not a macronutrient. And what you eat will impact your health. How much you eat will impact your health. What you eat may also change how much of what you eat in actually absorbed by your body.

For wellbeing, it's the quality of the calories you're eating that matter. If you eat a diet that's high in protein and fibre and nutrients, you're much likely to build and retain muscle mass, which burns calories even when you're resting.

If you eat a diet high in sugary, processed foods high in unhealthy fats, you're likely to lose some of that muscle mass and generally not look or feel as good.

Technically, 1,000 calories of processed food contains exactly the same amount of raw energy as 1,000 calories of healthy food - after all, a calorie is defined as being the amount of energy that's required to raise the temperature of one gram of water by one degree Celsius.

So no matter whether you're eating Mars Bars or salads - provided they're both equivalent to 1,000 calories - you're still getting the same potential energy. But if you choose to eat your total days' worth of energy in Mars Bars, you're essentially telling your body that you've decided to dump all of this energy at once, instead of slowly releasing it in timely bursts over the day.

If you were to eat 1000 calories totally from processed food, you're likely to go through peaks and troughs with your energy, and feel hungry for much of the day.

Highly processed foods are typically low in fibre which can lead to gut issues such as bloating and stomach pain. It's also likely that you'd feel fatigued as many of the essential nutrients needed for good health - such as iron and other vitamins and minerals — are often lacking in heavily processed foods.

There is not a dichotomy between food quantity (total calories) and food quality. It does not exist. Anybody who denies that calories matter is an embarrassment to the fitness industry.

There's a wide world of thoughts on which macronutrient ratio is best. Each body type responds differently to macronutrients, so calculating based on body type can be a great way to find your macros. Keep in mind that most people don't strictly adhere to one body type. You can read more on body type here.

Ectomorph:
Ectomorphs are naturally thin with skinny limbs, a high tolerance for carbohydrates, and a fast metabolic rate. A good starting ratio is 25% protein, 55% carbs and 20% fat.

Mesomorph:
Mesomorphs are naturally muscular and athletic. They have a moderate carb tolerance and metabolic rate. Mesomorphs should start at a 30% protein, 40% carb, 30% fat ratio.

Endomorph:
If you're naturally broad and thick, you're probably an endomorph. Endomorphs have a low carbohydrate tolerance and a slow metabolic rate. If you're an endomorph, try a ratio of 35% protein, 25% carbs and 40% fat.




Full body workouts

Often full body workouts will be your best bet when you're looking for intense fat loss because of the fact that they will allow you to workout with the greatest frequency, yet still have plenty of time left over to recover.

A full-body exercise uses a variety of muscle groups in a person's body, rather than just one. No exercise will work every muscle, but these exercises typically work across the upper body, lower body, and core.

For a full body, choose 6 exercises:

Horizontal Push (ie DB chest press)
Horizontal Pull (ie Single arm row)
Vertical Push (a DB shoulder press)
Vertical Pull (ie lat pulldown)
Quad Dominant (barbell squat)
Hip/Hamstring Dominant (stiff leg deadlift)

When you lift weights, you cause tiny tears in your muscle fibres. This accelerates a process called muscle-protein synthesis, which uses amino acids to repair and reinforce the fibres, making them resistant to future damage.

Although this happens at a microscopic level, the effect becomes visible over time in the form of bigger arms, broader shoulders, and a thicker chest.

In has been reported that muscle-protein synthesis is elevated for up to 48 hours after a resistance-training session. So if you work out on Monday at 7 p.m., your body is in muscle-growth mode until Wednesday at 7 p.m. After 48 hours, though, the biological stimulus for your body to build new muscle returns to normal.

Performing workouts with compound movements three times a week is the most effective way to gain muscle. Body part training is generally performed intensely on consecutive days - which can impede the recovery process.

The nutrients your body needs to repair muscle damage from the previous day are allocated toward providing energy for your workout instead. Your muscles grow best when your body is resting, not working. This isn't an issue with my recommendation to train 3 times per week on non-consecutive days, since there's a built-in recovery day after each session.

If your workout includes a high number of sets, you are going to struggle to come back as strong with each session.

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


Recipe of the week: Slow-cooker lamb kleftiko with potatoes

Ingredients:

2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1.4 kilogram lamb shoulder
1 kilogram red- and white-skinned baby potatoes
1 large (200g) brown onion, sliced thinly
2 dried bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick
1/3 cup (80ml) dry white wine
1/3 cup (80ml) chicken stock
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon rind
2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon rigani (see tips) or dried oregano
3 clove garlic, crushed
1/3 cup loosely packed fresh oregano leaves

Method:


Heat half the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat; cook lamb, turning, for 20 minutes or until well browned.



Meanwhile, heat remaining oil in a 4.5-litre (18-cup) slow cooker on Sauté (Medium) setting; cook potatoes, onion, bay leaves and cinnamon, stirring, for 10 minutes or until browned.

Place lamb on top of potatoes in cooker. Combine wine, stock, rind, juice, rigani and garlic in a small jug; pour over lamb.

Cook, covered, on Low, for 9 hours or until meat is falling off the bone.

4
Serve lamb with potatoes and a little cooking liquid. Sprinkle with fresh oregano.


Enjoy


Exercise of the week: Seated dumbbell shoulder press

With dumbbells positioned to each side of your shoulders and elbows below the wrists, press upward until your arms are extended overhead. Pause for a second at the top, and then slowly lower the elbows back down to the starting position.

Choose a weight that allows you to maintain good technique throughout all sets and repetitions.

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


Build on small successes:

If you start small for a week, you're going to be successful. You can't fail if you start with something ridiculously easy.

You'll feel successful, and good about yourself. Take that successful feeling and build on it, with another baby step. Add 2-3 minutes to your exercise routine, for example. With each step (and each step should last about a week), you will feel even more successful. Make each step really, really small, and you won't fail. After a couple of months, your tiny steps will add up to a lot of progress and a lot of success.

Running on empty?

You may have heard that exercising on an empty stomach in the morning burns more fat. It is true that the body has to rely on fat stores if you don't break the overnight fast, but then again, the lack of a ready energy supply may mean that you don't work out for as long, or as hard as you may have otherwise done.

Keep it simple:

Those who overthink everything likely don't train hard enough to progress.

Use your hands to gauge appropriate portion size:

Another way to gauge appropriate portion size without any measuring tools is by simply using your hands.

As your hands usually correspond to your body size, bigger people who require more food typically have bigger hands.

A rough guide for each meal is...

High-protein foods: A palm-sized serving for women and two palm-sized portions for men — such as meat, fish, poultry and beans

Vegetables and salads: A fist-sized portion for women and two fist-sized portions for men

High-carb foods: One cupped-hand portion for women and two for men — such as whole grains and starchy vegetables

High-fat foods: One thumb-sized portion for women and two for men — such as butter, oils and nuts

So, your hands can be a helpful guide for portion sizes. Different food groups correspond to various shapes and parts of your hands.

Start small:

Really small.

If you are having a hard time getting started, it may be because you're thinking too big. If you want to exercise, for example, you may be thinking that you have to do these intense workouts 5 days a week. No, too overwhelming! Instead, do small, tiny, baby steps. Just do 2 minutes of exercise.

I know, that sounds wimpy.

But it works.

Commit to 2 minutes of exercise for one week. You may want to do more, but just stick to 2 minutes. It's so easy, you can't fail. Do it at the same time, every day. Just some crunches, 2 pushups, and some jogging in place.

Once you've done 2 minutes a day for a week, increase it to 5, and stick with that for a week. In a month, you'll be doing 15-20. Want to wake up early? Don't think about waking at 5 a.m. Instead, think about waking 10 minutes earlier for a week. That's all. Once you've done that, wake 10 minutes earlier than that.

Baby steps.

Boil those potatoes:

Boiled potatoes are very filling and scored the highest of all the foods on the satiety index. They can fill you up and help you eat fewer calories in total.

Are You eating enough plant-based protein?

Generally speaking, protein has benefits: It fills you up (which means you'll eat less food over time) and also helps you build muscle, skin, and healthy bones.

But when it comes to weight loss, not all protein is created equal. Over-consuming animal protein—and the fat that typically comes with it—because too much can lead to weight gain and other health problems like diabetes.

Plant-based protein, on the other hand, is different (think: legumes, nuts, seeds, and whole grains).

You can eat higher amounts of these foods without worrying about negative effects on your health. I've literally never seen a study suggesting that sources of plant protein like nuts cause weight gain.


Useless Facts

Daffy Duck's middle name is "Dumas"

Ghosts sit around the campfire and tell Jack Pickford stories.

In Disney's Fantasia, the Sorcerer's name is "Yensid" (Disney backwards).

In The Empire Strikes Back there is a potato hidden in the asteroid field

Marianne Watmore does not sleep. She waits.

Walt Disney holds the world record for the most Academy Awards won by one person; he has won twenty statuettes, and twelve other plaques and certificates







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