Woodlands Fitness Centre

Hi, I was recently asked how the group personal training sessions worked if there are up to 6-8 people per session. Well. Good question. Training a group of people simultaneously, particularly if they have differing needs, can be somewhat arduous, like trying to bath 3 Labradors at the same time; you’ve anchored down 2 but the 3rd has escaped your clutches and is now downstairs trying to log onto your Bet365 account. Quite why, nobody knows. Maybe Labradors like gambling. But anyway, I digress. So…there are many tools I use for my 1-to-1 and group personal training sessions. One of which is my Time Limit training method, which is similar to AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible) and Escalating Density…

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Hi, Right then! In my newsletter last week I asked everyone to book into the group personal training sessions as the 9:30am group should have been limited to 8 people but 10 people showed up. Well, yesterday we had 11 people in (it would have 12 had it not been for 1 person cancelling due to illness). Of course I’m flattered so many choose to drag your carcass out of bed to spend some quality time with me - but I can’t go charging you a premium for small group PT limited to 8 people and then run classes with 10+.....! So, I’ve amended the group PT timetable to have 2 groups back to back: 9:00am and 9:45am. Due to limited…

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Hi, I just want to remind everyone to book into the group personal training sessions – yesterday’s 9:30am group should have been limited to 8 people but 10 people showed up. So please can you make sure you’ve booked in. There is another group at 11:30am - if you can't get a slot at 9:30am. Right! So we're now 3 weeks into 2019! So why not make this the year you finally follow through (no “follow through” jokes please). At the start of every year, many of us find ourselves wondering how to keep the New Year's resolutions we've set for ourselves. It's a bit of cliche that the gym crowds surge in January, only to then back out by the…

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Hi, Most people who read my newsletters know that I like to use a lot of maths to explain weight loss, resistance training and other health/fitness related topics. However, sometimes you have to step back from the numbers and look at the big picture to help bring people back into focus. For most people reading these newsletters, finding an effective diet that works most of the time must seem as complicated as nuclear physics. It’s not, but there are a bewildering number of choices for diets out there. High fat or no fat? High carbohydrate or no carbohydrate? Low protein or high protein? To make matters worse, there are so many variations of the above diets to add to the confusion. It…

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Hi, Well! The first newsletter of 2019. New year. New you. Does the thought of spending time on the treadmill terrify you? Does the idea of hill sprints fill you with dread? Cardio in general can be tough for people who aren’t used to it. It can leave you hot, sweaty and gasping for breath. It does increase cardiovascular health - but it’s not essential (or even effective!) for people trying to lose weight. That’s right – you can lose weight without doing traditional cardio. There’s no denying that sprints or HIIT can really help you melt body fat as it ups your metabolic rate to burn more calories - but for those determined few who want to avoid cardio entirely…

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Hi, Well! Christmas Eve! One more sleep until Christmas Day. Santa. Presents. Pigs in blankets. Here are our Christmas Opening Times 2018: Christmas Eve (Monday): 8am–2pm Xmas Day (Tuesday): Closed Boxing Day (Wednesday): Closed 27th (Thursday): 9am-2pm 28th (Friday): 9am–2pm 29th (Saturday): 9am–2pm 30th (Sunday): 9am–2pm New Years Eve (Monday): 9am–1pm New Years Day (Tuesday): Closed 2nd (Wednesday): Back to normal. There will be a 45 minute Group PT session at 9:30am each day we are open. Saturday and Sunday sessions will be as normal. Gyms and health clubs often have various machines that target muscles from different angles - but the best training equipment is still free weights. I am specifically talking about barbells and dumbbells. One of the best ways to use barbells and dumbbells is to combine exercises. This…

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Hi, It’s suddenly dawned on me that we’ve been in our new unit for just over 2 years. Doesn’t time fly? Well, here are our Christmas Opening Times 2018: Christmas Eve (Monday): 8am–2pm Xmas Day (Tuesday): Closed Boxing Day (Wednesday): Closed 27th (Thursday): 9am-2pm 28th (Friday): 9am–2pm 29th (Saturday): 8am–2pm 30th (Sunday): 8am–2pm New Years Eve (Monday): 9am–1pm New Years Day (Tuesday): Closed 2nd (Wednesday): Back to normal. I’m regularly asked what the difference between calories from healthy food and calories from unhealthy food. What is the difference? As it turns out, quite a lot. The calories-in-calories-out (CICO) theory of weight management is simple: if you eat more food than you need, you'll get fatter. Eat less than you need, and you'll get thinner. This is - of course - a gross oversimplification…

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Hi, So! Christmas is 2 weeks away. Over the last few months I’ve written a lot about dieting, calorie deficits and macros. A lot of maths. However, I think its unlikely dieting is going to be at the forefront of anybody’s mind. With how the World seems to be now, I hate to generalise. We all prepare for winter differently; some members might want to trim down for a series of Christmas parties or maybe lose a few pounds so they can gorge on Quality Street. However, some members might see winter as an opportunity to bulk. So, if you want to trim down, this newsletter isn’t for you. Soz. But here are links to previous newsletters, which should point you…

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Hi, Are you spending hours working out every week, and not getting the results you want? Chances are you might have a bad habit or two when it comes to exercising. Never fear, there’s a quick fix for even the most ingrained workout no-nos. This subject is explored later in our article: 7 workout habits you should drop now. I’ve made some adjustments to our classes / group personal training schedule. I have decided to focus much more time on group personal training session. The new timetable reflects this decision. Small Group Personal Training, also known as semi-private training, usually consists of 2–10 participants. However, our Group Personal Training membership allows you to experience expert personal training at a fraction of the cost…

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