Woodlands Fitness Centre

The Woodlands Fitness Centre Newsletter September 2013

Sunday 1st September 2013

Well it's September. Already. As at the 1st September, we'll be just 99 days away from a fat bearded man clambering into our houses to empty his sacks. In other words, Christmas.

So - what is new? Well I've never planned on using the Woodlands Fitness Centre Newsletter as a medium for broadcasting details of my private life (I've got Lee for that!!!!), but I'm very pleased to announce that Emily and I will be expecting our first child in March 2014. Our first baby scan is on Monday 9th September.

Over the last few years of owning the Woodlands Fitness Centre, I've had to deal with a lot of crying, tantrums and bed wetting (mostly from Josh!) - so I hope I've developed many transferable skills for effective parenthood. As soon as the baby is old enough (probably about 3 or 4 weeks old), he's going to be taking over my Tuesday night circuit class.

Kerrie and I have started talking about the class timetable. It's fundamentally the same class timetable we've been doing for over 5 years albeit with a few minor changes here and there. We're planning on having a major overhaul and changing all of the class times and throwing in a few new classes including more short HIIT classes (like Metafit or WentyFour) and Kettlebells. Classes are an immensely important part of this club and we want them to be as varied, as fun and as effective/results orientated as possible.

I know I have been talking about decorating the club for a couple of months now - and this will start this month. I promise. Scout's honour. No wacky colours this time though. I hope you all like magnolia? Or maybe a nice, creamy eggshell.

There are a couple of bits of maintenance to do - all of the cardio equipment was serviced recently and one of the X-trainers needs a new part, which I do need to chase up. One of the male shower taps has come off - it was about 13 years old so I guess we've had our moneys worth out of it.

It's always a bit tricky trying to estimate what changes will work. And it's always tricky trying to cater for the needs of a very broad range of members in one facility. But, the needs of the many will always outweigh the needs of the few.

I always want to know what you think of the Woodlands Fitness Centre - the gym, classes, prices, personal training, and anything else. Please email all of your feedback and suggestions to the email address at the end of this newsletter.

Many thanks,
Giles

You've heard that low-intensity training burns more fat?

So you've heard that low-intensity training burns more fat? This is probably because you've heard about something called the 'fat-burning zone'.

The theory is that relatively low-intensity exercise, where you work out at around 60 per cent of your maximum heart rate (MHR), burns more fat than high-intensity exercise, where you work out at around 80 per cent of your MHR. (To calculate your MHR, subtract your age from 220.)

The truth is that low-intensity exercise burns a greater proportion of fat, but high-intensity exercise burns more calories overall and raises your RMR for longer. This makes it a more effective way of shedding weight.

Here's the maths: if you walk for 60 minutes, you burn around 270 calories, of which 60 per cent comes from fat. That's 160 fat calories you've just burned from low-intensity exercise. If you run for the same length of time, only 40 per cent of the calories you burn come from fat - but you burn around 680 calories in total, which means you've burned 270 calories of fat.

The lesson? Don't plod along on the treadmill for an hour in the belief the fat will fall off - you can achieve the same results in less time (and get fitter into the bargain). Introduce some high-intensity cardio workouts into your regime and try interval training, where you mix short bursts of maximum effort (up to 90 per cent of MHR) with lower-intensity recovery periods.

Superfoods are super!

In this article I will be discussing how you can increase your metabolic rate by incorporating more Super Foods into your diet.

Super foods are foods which are deemed highly beneficial to your health. They offer protection against a number of diseases, provide you with energy and are full of anti-oxidants. They can also help boost your metabolism. Some of the most popular super foods are blueberries, grapefruit, oranges, tomatoes and yoghurt.

Whilst super foods are a great way to raise your metabolic rate it is important to make sure that they are only a supplement to your diet. Eating only super foods will not do you much good in the long run. In fact it could even cause long term damage as you will be missing out on other vital nutrients.

For the best metabolism boosting results make sure you introduce super foods to your existing healthy diet and you will notice the benefits. For example, you could add a few blueberries to your morning bowl of cereal. You could have a portion of grapefruit as a mid-morning snack or add some tomato to one of your favourite pasta dishes.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic. For any further information please come and speak to me.

What causes the Common Posture Problems?

Do you find certain movements difficult? Do you worry about having rounded shoulders? Do you hunch over when you sit down? If so, you suffer from one or more of the many common posture problems.

Muscle imbalances due to our sedentary lifestyle are a primary cause. The cumulative injury cycle illustrates how muscle imbalances originate: there is a trauma, which can result from repetitive motion with poor dynamic posture, or poor static posture.

The trauma causes inflammations, which causes your muscles to spasm and develop knots or adhesions. The adhesions decrease the functionality of your muscles which your brain cannot control properly.

The inability of your nervous system to maintain proper postural alignment causes muscle imbalances. If you do not correct your muscular imbalances the cycle will repeat over and over again and get progressively worse.

You don't have to be a personal trainer, doctor or specialist who deals with the human body to see that muscle imbalance is a likely cause of posture problems.

The most common muscle imbalances are due to our sedentary lifestyle. When you are seated for a large percentage of time, you can see which muscles are tight or shortened.

If a muscle is shortened for a prolonged period if time, it will become tight which really means it will become shorter than it is meant to be.

When a muscle is shorter than the optimal length, it not only affects the opposing muscle but can have repercussions on the entire musculoskeletal system. If you have any concerns about your posture, please speak to Giles or Lee.

Very Punny

I saw a poor old lady fall over today on the ice!! At least I presume she was poor - she only had £1.20 in her purse.

I was taking the motorway out of London. A policeman pulled me over and said: "Put it back".

I've got a sponge door. Don't knock it.

I nipped into PC World the other day - you really have to be careful what you say in there! (this joke was generously donated by Bill Willis - please slap him!)

Paddy says "Mick, I'm thinking of buying a Labrador."
"Bugger that" says Mick "have you seen how many of their owners go blind?"


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