Woodlands Fitness Centre

The Woodlands Fitness Centre February 2015 Newsletter

Wednesday 11th February 2015

The Woodlands Fitness Centre February 2015 Newsletter

What's New?

Welcome to the Woodlands Rowsley February 2015 newsletter.

So what's new this month? Well this is the first month that Giles hasn't written the "What's New" section of the Woodlands newsletter. This month I - Jack Critchlow - will be writing it.

For those of you who don't know me - despite me being a local celebrity - I am a personal trainer, sports masseur and gym instructor at Woodlands Fitness Rowsley.

I have 3 years experience in providing Sports Massages at level 3 and 4 standard. I also have 3 years experience in personal training at level 3 requirement. I am currently studying my degree in Health Related Exercise and Fitness.

I've worked with many diverse clients ranging from amateur athletes to builders and office workers. I am currently based at The Woodlands Fitness Centre, Rowsley, which has FREE car parking and is easily accessible.

I offer deep tissue, pre and post event
massages, injury treatments and maintenance, and more. Appointments are £20 for 30 minutes or £25 for 60 minutes. Or if it's personal training you're after, I offer a progressive developed programme, aiming to achieve your goals. I offer 30, 45 and 60 minute personal training sessions, which are available in packages.

I share Woodlands' passion for resistance and functional training - and I'm keen to promote it to our members.

I was talking to a member the other day and he said he didn't want to do any resistance training as "weight training is only for young men".

Weight training/resistance is not just for young men. Weight training will increase your metabolism, reduces body fat and reduces the risk of injury as you age.

But the key to successful weight training for men over 35 is:

1). Do it right - training with incorrect form will most certainly lead to injury. You must learn how to do each exercise with an expert like me and get maximum results for your time.

2). Take it slow - start small and work up slowly with a plan. There is a right way to balance the amount of weight with the number of repetitions.

3). Stretch - muscle pulls are a result of poor stretching. As you age, it's common to lose range of motion. Stretching improves flexibility and range of motion, especially for those who sit at a desk all day.

4). Cardio training - all training should include a cardio program. Weight lifting with 3, 5 minute intervals of cardio in between sets will give you a full body workout and keep your heart rate elevated for maximum results. By cardio, I mean skipping and/or a HIIT circuit. Don't bother with the x-trainers, treadmills etc.

5). Consistency - this is the key to success. Build your workout into your workday as an appointment that requires your full attention.

Normally it's our female members who are most concerned about resistance training. One of my personal training clients - a young female - also had some pre-conceived reservations about resistance training.

This is not unusual as weight training has traditionally been as a male activity - but recently women have taken to the weight rooms of gyms and health clubs.

The benefits of strength training for women should not be underestimated. Although large muscles ARE NOT what women get from weight training (unless they really, really, really, really, REALLY, REALLLLLLLLY want them), increased strength, balance and bone density are.

Let's get one thing very clear: women do not get huge muscles from resistance training!

Weight training is a contemporary issue for women, which delivers fat loss, strength increases and bone density benefits as a buffer against the onset of osteoporosis and other age and lifestyle related issue.

For men, these issues are somewhat different because men are protected to some extent by the male sex hormone testosterone which tends to enhance muscle and bone growth. However, men can still suffer from age-related osteoporosis and loss of muscle. Exercise, including strength training, is one solution.

Even though women produce testosterone (it's important for female sex drive) they don't produce as much as men - that's why women don't grow big muscles from resistance training stimulation or at any other time. Strength improvements and the stimulation of bone growth through weight training is not necessarily a product of muscle size -- one reason why weight training still works for women, and can work for you.

Did you know that physical activity, weights, protect against breast cancer? One of the main risk factors for breast cancer is obesity. It's easy to see that slimming down with a diet and exercise program, including weights, could reduce your risk of breast cancer, notwithstanding inherited family risk. In fact, if you do have breast cancer in the immediate family, an exercise program may be one thing you can do to reduce your risk.

Weight Training is especially important at Menopause. Many women understand that they are somewhat protected from various afflictions like heart disease and osteoporosis by a plentiful supply of oestrogen until menopause. With the waning of this female hormone, cholesterol readings may get worse, bone density can decline and weight can start to rise.

If you have never been physically active or have been inactive for some years, this is a good time to start exercise and weight training in particular. Exercise improves the health of women in a number of ways at or around menopause.

The training methods we prescribe at Woodlands, combined with an appropriate diet, are likely to reduce your bodyweight, preserve bone mineral density and increase muscle strength.

The bottom line is: do what you can do, but just do it.

Lee, Giles and I always want to know what you think of the Woodlands Fitness Centre - the gym, classes, prices, Personal training, and anything else. Please speak to me at the gym, use the suggestion box or email any feedback and suggestions to the email address at the end of this newsletter.

Thanks,

Jack

Who is interested in an efficient fat loss workout?

The other day a member asked what this HIIT is I'm always harping on about.

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) or sprint interval training is an exercise strategy that is intended to improve performance with short training sessions. HIIT is a form of cardio which is beneficial to burning fat in a short and intense workout.

Usual HIIT sessions may vary from 9 to 20 minutes. The original protocol set a 2:1 ratio for work to recovery periods. For example, you could alternate 15-20 seconds of hard sprinting with 10 seconds of jogging or walking.

A HIIT session consists of a warm up period of exercise, followed by six to ten repetitions of high intensity exercise, separated by medium intensity exercise, and ending with a period of cool down exercise. The high intensity exercise should be done at near maximum intensity.

The medium exercise should be about 50% intensity. The number of repetitions and length of each depends on the exercise. The goal is to do at least six cycles, and to have the entire HIIT session last at least fifteen minutes and not more than twenty.

HIIT is considered to be an excellent way to maximize a workout that is limited on time. The reason that High Intensity Interval Training works better for fat loss is this: When you do a cardio session at the same pace the whole time, your body goes into what is called steady state. This means that your body has adjusted itself to the speed you are going and tries hard to conserve energy (calories). You will be able to avoid this and burn more calories and FAT by doing the interval training.

The easiest way that I tell people to do it is to start off at a good pace for 5 minutes. Then take up the intensity on the exercise and go as hard and as fast as you possibly can for a minute and then lower the intensity for a minute or two — however long it takes for you to recover enough to do it again.

The trick is simply to keep changing your speed and intensity - this will "trick" your body into burning more calories since it can not achieve steady state.

At a lower % of max heart rate (65%), a larger percentage of calories burned come from fat than at a higher heart rate (75-85%). However, despite the percentages, you will burn more total calories and therefore more total fat calories at a higher heart rate. To ascertain your heart rate, use a heart rate monitor.

For any further information please come and talk to me.

Paleo Snack Ideas number 8.

Devilled eggs: they don't travel as well as their hard-boiled cousins, but devilled eggs are a quick and convenient Paleo solution to the after-school munchies.

Salami: if you can find an all-natural brand of salami, it makes for a mess-free Paleo snack that you can take anywhere.

Chicken hearts: true Paleo foodies know that organ meat is often the most nutritious part of an animal. Chicken hearts are the same size as large olives, and great on their own or wrapped in bacon for an extra-tasty treat.

Plantain chips: plantains are a slightly starchier version of bananas; they aren't very good raw, but they make a great Paleo snack as plantain chips! Slice them into thin slices, then brush with coconut oil, sprinkle with salt, and bake on a cookie sheet for about half an hour at 350 degrees.

Melon with Ham or Prosciutto: craving something sweet and savory? Just slice up the melon into long wedges and wrap it with your meat of choice. Jack likes tinned cat food.

10 Reasons to do Group Personal training number 3. You're Bored with the Same Old Workouts

If you're an experienced exerciser, maybe you haven't considered working with a personal trainer, either 1-to-1 or in a group personal training session.

However, it can be a great choice if you need some variety in your workouts. A trainer can bring a fresh perspective and new ideas to challenge both your body and your mind. Even if you just do a few sessions or meet every few weeks, you'll find it refreshing to have new workouts and new exercise toys to play with.

A trainer can also introduce new ways to exercise - Circuit training, different methods of strength training and different types of equipment you've never tried before.

With only having a small number of clients in each session, each individual can be monitored and set goals in each session and still have the same results as they would from one-to-one Personal training.

10 reasons why you're not losing fat number 8: You do endless sit-ups

Did you know that for every 100 sit-ups you do, you lose ten pounds of fat? No you didn't, because I just made that up. Obviously it's nonsense. But the way some people insist on crunching up and down for hours on end, you'd think this basic exercise was a miracle fat-loss technique.

I absolutely loathe those late night 'celebrity' endorsed shopping channels, where they go from a size 20 to a size 8 in 4 weeks, by doing 5 mins of crunches each day, don't believe it - it's a total scam.

It's not that sit-ups are bad for you, they are great at strengthening your abs and giving you a nice six pack, along with leg raises, but.... if you have a layer of fat covering them - you'll never see them, and trust me doing 5,000 sit-ups every day will not 'burn' fat from your stomach.

You simply CANNOT 'spot burn' fat from one part of your body. You lose weight evenly from all over, so the places with the greatest amount of fat will be the last to slim.

We've already explained that mixing cardio and weight training will shed fat, but it's worth reiterating. The resistance element of a weights workout burns far more calories than the repetitive motion of a sit-up. Abs exercises should be added to your workout only so that when you do lose the fat, you'll have a six-pack lurking underneath.


Very Punny

An agnostic, dyslexic, insomniac stays up all night wondering if there's a dog.

What should you do if you see a space man?
Park in it man.

Don't you hate it when people answer their own questions? I do.

Diarrhea is hereditary. It runs in your jeans.

I used to be addicted to the Hokey Pokey.
But I turned myself around.

That's what it's all about.


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