Hi and welcome to another week,
Great week in the gym last week. The variety in the classes was fantastic – reverse bridging, dumbbell circuits, barbell circuits, sledgehammers, renegade worms, supermans, kettlebell lunge to press and on and on it went – it seemed every day I woke up with a different body part that was a little bit sore…but in that ‘good’ way. This week is looking even better. The tyres are out tomorrow, we have a ‘couplet’ based Body Work class, a bit more time on the rower than we have seen the last couple of weeks and Tuesday includes a repetitive Body Weight circuit that will really help build your core.
As regulars will have noticed, there have been some pretty busy sessions in the gym recently – numbers probably 10% up on the pre-Christmas times. It is terrific that so many people have committed to make their physical wellbeing part of their plans for 2013 and all of us at Round 1 are thrilled you have chosen to train with us. We hope the variety in the classes is a big reason you keep coming back – but understand that, as I noted earlier in the blog – this can lead to a different ‘sore’ spot after every session you complete. And there are a lot of people who don’t want to train when they are ‘sore’ because it will ‘make it worse’.
I am not so sure about this. Certainly hammering the same muscle group that is already sore is not a great idea. But if your legs are sore from squats, a few kms on the bike or treadmill followed by a boxing class is unlikely to make things any worse – more likely it will get the muscle fibres going again and actually assist in speeding up the recovery process. People are always asking me how many sessions per week they should do and I generally answer the same way – it depends!
Before I start on what (in my experience) WILL work, let me tell you straight up what WONT work – training on Monday, waking up sore Tuesday and doing nothing, allowing DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) to take hold on Wednesday and Thursday and doing nothing, after work drinks on Friday and doing nothing, having the weekend off training – because the weekend is for fun and training isn’t fun – then starting the whole sequence again next week…then, after six weeks of not getting anywhere stopping altogether in frustration because ‘it doesn’t work’.
If you want to maintain your current size/shape/fitness level, then 1-2 sessions per week accompanied by a good diet will help you do that. If you want to make a bit of progress, maybe lose a couple of kilos then 2-3 sessions (along with the diet) will help with that. If you REALLY want to get somewhere, then 3-4 sessions is what you need – plus some time spent stretching and maybe an added weights session (45mins) and a dedicated, HARD pure cardio (bike, treadmill etc) session of around 30 minutes. AND a good diet.
What do I mean by a good diet? Well, it can mean a lot of things to a lot of people depending on your likes and loves, but I have found that people who follow the diet below – and do 3-4 classes per week – get good results in terms of steady weight loss and fitness improvements:
|
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
Saturday |
Sunday |
|
|
Breakfast |
Cup Oats, 1 Cup Skim milk, Scoop Protein Powder, 1 Banana |
Cup Oats, 1 Cup Skim milk, Scoop Protein Powder, 1 Banana |
Cup Oats, 1 Cup Skim milk, Scoop Protein Powder, 1 Banana |
Cup Oats, 1 Cup Skim milk, Scoop Protein Powder, 1 Banana |
Cup Oats, 1 Cup Skim milk, Scoop Protein Powder, 1 Banana |
Cup Oats, 1 Cup Skim milk, Scoop Protein Powder, 1 Banana |
Free Eating Day |
|
Mid |
Piece Fruit, Handful nuts |
Piece Fruit, Handful nuts |
Piece Fruit, Handful nuts |
Piece Fruit, Handful nuts |
Piece Fruit, Handful nuts |
Piece Fruit, Handful nuts |
|
|
Lunch |
Egg and salad wrap, Banana |
(Leftover) fish + salad |
(Leftover) Chicken and Salad wrap, Banana |
Tuna and Salad wrap, Banana |
(Leftover) Fish + salad OR can tuna |
Tuna and Salad wrap, Banana |
|
|
Mid |
Apple |
Apple |
Apple |
Apple |
Apple |
Apple |
|
|
Dinner |
Grilled fish, 1/2 sweet potato, half cup green beans |
Baked Chicken breast, 1 Cup greens |
150g Grilled steak, 1/2 cup brown rice, 1 cup greens (beans/broccoli etc) |
Grilled fish, salad (or cup green vegetables) |
150g Grilled steak, baked potato + salad/green vegies |
Grilled steak burger (open – half bun) with salad |
|
Now – if you need some more help with your eating then be sure to speak to me or one of the other trainers – I am certain they will be only too happy to help. If you do decide to talk to us about your diet though, please come ‘pre-armed’ with a 4-day ‘food diary’ where you have written down EVERYTHING you have eaten and drunk for 4 consecutive days.
See you in the gym,
Michael.
As a follow-up to our Healthy Eating Seminar with Helen Frost back in November, we will be running another of these workshops at the gym on Sunday February 17th. Helen will be revising the content somewhat so that people who came along back in November will still have the opportunity to pick up a few new things – whilst also targeting the message so that first timers will get a lot of value.
Once again, the cost will be free. Once again, it will be open to members and non-members alike. And once again I really need you to bring your own chairs!
The challenge is on and more than 100 challenge forms have been taken from the desk. I really hope this means we will see more than 100 people finish the challenge because there is absolutely NO DOUBT than if you do complete it you will be far fitter and stronger at the end of the month than you were at the start.
During the month, you must complete:
10kms running on the treadmill – 20 Group classes – 30kms on the rower – 40kb Man-makers – 50kms on the bike – 60 GHD Situps – 70 Pull-ups – 80 Box Jumps – 90 Barbell Clean and Press – 100 Burpees
You need to get the classes ‘signed off’ – the rest of the activities are all ‘self assessed’. You are permitted two (2) ‘double classes’ (2 in one day) as part of your 20 – but no more. It is not compulsory to complete all of the ‘extras’ in one set (you can break up the bike/running etc) but you MUST keep track of progress as you go. Other rules are on the challenge forms which you can obtain from the reception desk. You have the 28-days of February to complete the ‘Numbers Game’ challenge.
Some FAQ’s (so far):
q. Do Beginners classes ‘count’ as a session?
a. Yes, but they cannot be used as part of a double!
q. Can I just ‘go for a run’ outside rather than using the treadmill?
a. No. The running has an incline requirement and it needs to be done on a treadmill.
q. Can I just go for a bike ride rather than using the spin bikes?
a. No. You must do your 50kms on the spin bikes.
q. Do I get a t-shirt if I finish the challenge?
a. If you finish all of the exercises (e.g. 50km bike in one hit etc) in one go, then you get a free t-shirt. If you finish all of the challenges but ‘break them up’ (e.g. 5 chinups per day until you get to 70) then you can purchase one for $30.
Our next Beach Bootcamp is on the calendar and scheduled for a Sunday this time – had a few people who couldn’t do the Saturday last time because of kids sport etc and thought we would give them an opportunity. We will again be kicking things off at 08:30am in the morning and again there will be 40 spots available @$15 per head. As with the last bootcamp, this one is open to both members and non-members.
Please book at reception next time you are in – and again, bookings and payments must be made together.
Week one of the first Beginners Workshop was this week and the feedback so far has been very positive. One comment was along the lines of ‘now I know what to do rather than watching the person next to me and trying to copy them’.
All of this raises another point – when the trainer is doing the class demos at the start of each session, please pay attention and ASK QUESTIONS if you need too. It is much easier for the trainers to try and go through the demo several times at the start than to identify people who are doing it wrongly and run through the techniques again when there are 40 people in a session. Pay attention (which might mean moving so that you can see), ask questions and even rehearse the movement yourself at the start of each session – give yourself a chance to get it right and get the most out of each session.
The first phase of our website overhaul has been completed and hopefully the modified look/feel has improved the experience for everyone. If you want to bring a friend along for their ‘first’ session, it is easier than ever to access a ‘Free 3-day Pass’ (please get them to do this BEFORE they come in, don’t ask for one at reception) and I hope the membership options are now a lot easier to understand.
Just wanted to announce a new initiative to try and make life easier for gym newbies – the ‘Ring the Bell’ program. This program will give new members 3 x 30min PT sessions for just $79. The offer will be valid once for each client and MUST be used within the first month of a membership. It is designed to provide an easy transition to Round 1 for newcomers by exposing them to the gym and some of the more common exercises we do in a one-on-one setting where technique adjustments will be a lot easier to explain and understand.
As this is a new initiative and because the ‘one-month’ rule will exclude a lot of our existing members, we will be offering the ‘Ring the Bell’ program to ALL of our members during the month of February…
I just love our Facebook group. Every day I can logon and find some kind of comment or link from a member that inspires me to train just a little bit harder/better. Here are some highlights from the last week:
Workout your way to inner peace: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/erin-henry/crossfit-benefits_b_2517656.html
Time to Bleed! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5c08SWTLqI
Pre-workout: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-21262717
Rampage Jackson: http://news.menshealth.com/rampage-jacksons-workout/2013/01/26/?cm_mmc=Twitter-_-MensHealth-_-Content-MHnews-_-UFCworkout
With the kids all back and all of the summer holiday craziness behind us, I thought this video might be of some help – how to stick to your diet at work:
Stick to your diet at work: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoDedUwDmkY
See you in the gym!
Michael.
We know this can be a daunting time. You’re probably wondering if we really are the right fit for each other. And it’s OK! Many people before you, have felt the same, and that’s why we want to offer you something special – our $29 Health Check.
Let’s work out together to see if we’re the right fit. Just hit the button below to let me know if you’re ready to see what’s included.
Subscribe below to join our tribe.
You'll receive email updates about the studio, special events, and membership option sales!
