Woodlands Fitness Centre

The Woodlands Fitness Centre May 2014 Newsletter

Thursday 1st May 2014

What's New?

Here we all are, in the 5th month of the year. I'm happy to say that there isn't any change or anything new to report this month. The classes are very well subscribed, particularly the morning classes.

The most recent change - the discontinuation of the studio cycling class - has been met with very positive feedback. The bikes are on eBay now - and the money we raise from selling them will be put towards more equipment for the club.

We're going to be making our prices much more transparent and simplifying our price list. Our prices are as follows:

Single (per month):
1 month: £29.99
3 month: £27.99
12 month: £24.99

Joint (per month):
1 month: £23.99
3 month: £20.99
12 month: £16.99

This price includes access to all of our classes. I genuinely don't see the point of members joining a gym and then being expected to pay £3 or £4 extra to do a class. The Woodlands Fitness Centre runs 25 classes per week. Please note that ALL classes are included in the monthly gym membership fee. Class timetables are available on reception or on our website:

www.woodlandsfitnessrowsley.co.uk

The prices are all per individual. The joint prices also apply to our "Refer a Friend" or "Join with a Friend" promotions. Please note that the above prices are based on a minimum term membership. In the case of referring friend, the existing members' minimum membership term still applies. You must be present when your friends join. Your friend must not have been a member for at least 30 days. For memberships 3 months and above, all monthly payments must be made by direct debit or a single upfront payment.

I always want to know what you think of the Woodlands Fitness Centre - the gym, classes, prices, personal training, and anything else. So - there's the suggestion box or you can you can email any feedback and suggestions to the email address at the end of this newsletter.

Many thanks,
Giles

Classes

I'd like some feedback regarding the classes. The morning class line up is doing really well, with all classes very well subscribed. The evening classes, aside from a couple, don't seem to be as popular. So - what do you guys want?

I've put some short questionnaires on reception to get a feel for what evening classes you want. At the moment, our evening classes are:

Monday:
Zumba | 6.00pm | 45m | Jacquie
HIIT Blast | 6.50pm | 30m | Jack
Total Body Toning | 7.20pm | 30m | Jack

Tuesday:
Body Conditioning | 6.00pm | 45m | Lee
Circuits | 6.50pm | 30m | Giles
Pilates | 7.30pm | 45m | Lee

Wednesday:
Zumba Tone | 6.00pm | 45m | Jacquie
HIIT Blast | 6.50pm | 30m | Jack
Pilates | 7.30pm | 45m | Lee

Thursday:
Aerobics | 6.00pm | 45m | Donna
Metafit | 7.00pm | 30m | Becky

Friday:
Group PT | 6.00pm | 45m | Jack

Please complete these questionnaires and post them into the suggestion box. I will use these to help me update the class timetable in June 2014.

Spot Fat Reduction - Fact or Fiction?

Members often ask me how they can lose fat from a specific part of the body. More often than not the problem area is the stomach - but people also ask how to lose fat from the hips, thighs, chest (men) and even face. Unfortunately, it is never possible to spot reduce fat. Let's take a look why.

The fact that there is a name for the process of removing fat from a specific area certainly helps to confuse matters. Why is there a name for a process that does not exist?

The argument for spot reduction is simple - that by exercising a particular part of your body you can lose fat and tone up that region. The most common misconception is that by doing sit-up, crunches or using abdominal exercise equipment, you can burn off your belly fat to get a flat and toned stomach. However, this is not how it works. Anybody who tells you can get a six pack by using an ab crunch machine shouldn't be working in the fitness industry.

When we exercise there are essentially two separate actions taking place during and after exercise:

Whenever a muscle is put under sufficient tension the tissues are partly damaged. The response is to repair the muscle tissue to develop stronger muscles - the muscles adapt to the work required of them.

Good nutrition and rest are needed for optimum development. When the muscles grow (hypertrophy) they become more prominent. This is often referred to as "toning" (a term that proper, fully qualified fitness professionals despise). However, regardless of whether a man or a woman exercises, the same processes are taking place.

The other process that occurs is fat reduction. This is when the fat cells are broken down by the body to provide a new energy source. Why does this happen? We need to know what fat is first.

Fat cells are a combination of fats and sugars that have been converted during digestion and further chemical processes. The fat cells that we are trying to reduce are also known as triglycerides.

Triglyceride - these are a combination of 3 fatty acids and 1 glycerol molecule. Glycerol is essentially sugar in a different form. Glycerol can be converted into glucose, which can then in turn be converted into glycogen. Glycogen is the sugar fuel source for muscular contraction.

So, fat cells store sugars and fatty acids, excess fuel from our diets. We break them down when we need energy.

After prolonged exercise - running, swimming, resistance training (our recommended exercise type) or dancing, the glycogen levels in the muscles fall. The result is that the body takes up any sugar present in the blood (glucose) and converts this to glycogen (processed by the liver).

As soon as the blood glucose levels fall, the body breaks down available stores. This is not just fat cells though, but also from muscle tissues - and this is why athletes drink sugar based sports recovery drinks - to prevent muscle wastage after exercise.

As the breakdown of fat is triggered by the body after sensing a reduction of sugar in the blood (the hormone Glucagon is released from the pancreas to trigger this reaction) the specific muscles being exercised cannot affect the immediate fat cells. So, spot reduction just does not happen. Sorry kids!

More calories are expended during aerobic, whole body exercise than by exercise with local muscle groups, and, accordingly, a person seeking to lose fat must be advised to perform whole body exercise.

When we exercise, if there is insufficient sugar in the blood and no newly digested sugar forthcoming, the body will send out hormones which will start to breakdown tissues from all over the body. Genetics determines where that is - some people will lose fat from the stomach, face, hips, arms etc. quicker than others. For some, the abdomen might be the last place that fat is broken down. This is certainly the case with me.

So, hopefully this will clear up the myth of spot reduction.

Sunbed

By now you should all be aware we have a sunbed. It is located in its own treatment room upstairs, in between Angela Hill physiotherapy and Alive@Woodlands. It's a new 225 watt vertical/stand up unit with the most powerful bulbs available.

The prices are as follows

3 minutes: £2.00
6 minutes: £3.50
9 minutes: £5.00
12 minutes: £6.50
33 minutes: £16.50
66 minutes: £26.50

Please come to reception to register or get tokens.

Very Punny

What's the difference between in-laws and outlaws? Outlaws are wanted!

If life gives you melons, you're probably dyslexic!




The Woodlands Fitness Centre Ltd
A: Unit 29, Peak Village Estate, Chatsworth Road, Rowsley, Derbyshire, DE4 2JE
T: (01629) 733 123
E: woodlandsfitness@yahoo.co.uk
W: www.woodlandsfitnessrowsley.co.uk