Woodlands Fitness Centre

The Woodlands April 2014 Newsletter

Tuesday 1st April 2014

What's New?

Well I'm now a father - so I suppose that's fairly new! Emily gave birth to Jacob Henry Woolhouse on Tuesday 18th March at 3:11am weighing 9 Ibs and 1 ounce.

Emily and I would like to say a MASSIVE THANK YOU to everyone who has given us a card, gift and best wishes. We really appreciate it. Both Jacob and Emily are doing well. Having employed the likes of Josh "Spindles" Eaton and Harley "Little Charles" Farquhar, I've become quite adept at dealing with emotional little men. Much like me, Jacob spends most of his time eating, shouting and kicking his legs about.

Right then, back to business. As many of you are aware, we have discontinued the studio cycling/spinning class. This has been met with approval from the vast majority of our classes members and instructors. The studio now seems much larger - and the classes are now busier than they were before. I appreciate that the discontinuation of the studio cycling classes is an issue for a very small percentage of our members. Charles Dicken's wrote in "A Tale of Two Cities": "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few"!

We print the class timetables ourselves so we can make changes as and when required. The amendments to the class timetable are as follows:


Wednesday:
Pilates | 7.30pm | 45m | Lee
Thursday:
Metafit | 7.00pm | 30m | Becky
Saturday:
Metafit | 9.30am | 30m | Becky
Kettlebells | 10.00am | 30m | Becky

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

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.

Boost your metabolism!

Metabolism describes the ongoing chemical reactions in the body, such as the breakdown of food and its transformation into energy. This is controlled by hormones, which secrete enzymes to achieve this task. These chemical messengers, secreted by the glands of the endocrine and the nervous system, control your body's metabolism. Your metabolism can be upset by a variety of events, including genetic disorders and hormonal problems.

The body has three main sources of energy:

1). Carbohydrates are sugar compounds found in foods such as bread, cereal, potatoes, and fruits. These are broken down into glucose after digestion and stored in the liver and muscles.
2). Lipids are fats (such as cholesterol) stored as body fat, which are broken down into fatty acids for energy.
3). Proteins comprise nearly three quarters of all solid material in the body, and are therefore crucial structural components. They are made up of amino acids, which are the building blocks of proteins. Protein is present in the diet in foods such as meat, eggs, nuts and dairy products.

Here are some tips which will help you optimize your metabolism:

1). Exercise - this will help you boost your metabolism by ensuring you burn fat and build muscle tissue. This may be weight training, jogging, walking, swimming or cycling - at least three times a week.
2). Diet - make sure you are getting enough calories in your diet; otherwise you may be inadvertently slowing your metabolism. Smaller, regular meals work best for your metabolism, with breakfast especially crucial. Eliminating or minimizing sugar intake from your diet will prevent you converting and storing this as fat. Low glycemic foods, such as whole grain cereals, which are broken down gradually, will help maintain an even blood-sugar level too. Limit your intake of caffeine and stay well hydrated with plenty of water intake.
3). Stress - avoid or minimise stress as it causes weight gain, by activating the release of cortisol, a steroid that slows metabolism.
4). Sleep - get at least 7-8 hours sleep a night, so your body has a chance to recuperate.

If you are interested in boosting your metabolism please come and speak to me or any other member of staff soon!

Weight Training for women!

When it comes to weight loss, health and quality of life a little weight training can go a long way.

Most people think that cardiovascular exercise on machines such as treadmills and exercise bikes burns more calories than lifting weights. But that isn't necessarily correct. Resistance trainings works your muscles as well as your heart and lungs. This will improve your overall health and help you drop a clothes size faster. Much faster.

Many consider cardiovascular exercise the best way to burn fat - but resistance training will earn you extra calories every day. Your body will burn more calories while you're sleeping, lying face down in the garden or sitting on the couch watching a documentary about dust.

Aerobic exercise may burn a few hundred extra calories but for every additional pound of muscle you gain, your body burns around 50 extra calories every day of the week. Research has shown that regular resistance training can increase your Basal Metabolic Rate by up to 15%. So for someone burning 2,000 calories per day, that's a potential 300 extra calories. That's more than a Mars bar burned every single day.

Too many of our members are obsessed about their weight. It isn't your body weight that's the issue: it's your fat weight that you need to worry about. Muscle weighs more per square inch than fat. If your body weight isn't dropping very quickly but your will clothes feel baggier and you will see a healthier, slimmer and better toned you in the mirror. That's far more important than anything the scales have to say!

Weight training is just as suitable for women as it is for men. I've been trying to get this point across for 5 years and I have been reasonably successful in communicating this message. Sadly, many women fear that increased muscle results in increased masculinity. This is not the case.

Testosterone is a very important factor in the development of muscle shape. Women have very low levels of testosterone - so their muscles develop differently. As such, resistance training will NOT lead to a bulky, butch physique. It's hard enough for guys to build lean muscle tissue. Just look at Lee Tann, he lifts weights 6 times a week - and yet he can't separate supermarket trollies outside Lidl!

Developing a little extra muscle can actually reduce the risk of injury. Strong muscles, tendons and ligaments are much more capable of withstanding stress. Strength training can improve flexibility - which reduces the likelihood of pulled muscles and back pain.

Weight training is an excellent way of combating several symptoms we all face as we get a little older. Resistance exercise can reduce bone deterioration and build bone mass, preventing osteoporosis. Working your muscles can also inhibit the affects of sarcopenia, the age related loss of muscle mass, strength and function. After the age of thirty there is a loss of 3 to 5% of muscle mass per decade. This will make day to day tasks gradually harder to perform and slowing down metabolism - increasing the risk of weight gain.

Research has shown that resistance training can greatly reduce a number of health risks. It has been proven to have a positive affect on insulin resistance, resting metabolism, blood pressure, body fat and gastrointestinal transit time, factors that are linked to illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

Research shows that just two 15 to 20 minute sessions a week is enough to gain all the potential health benefits of strength training. Start slowly and work your way up. You can feel healthier and look better. This in turn will make you feel better about yourself and the benefits can last for the rest of your life.

For more information please come and speak to me.

Very Punny

I know a lot of jokes about unemployed people - but none of them work!

I told my doctor I broke my arm in 2 places. He told me to stop going to those places.

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