Geelong’s Gym

The battle to stick to a diet is nothing new.  Today, I thought I’d share with you some funny diet quotes from years ago…

• Oh!  That this too solid flesh would melt.  William Shakespeare
• Everything I like is either illegal, immoral or fattening.  Alexander Woollcott
• Let me put it this way.  According to my girth, I should be a 90 foot Redwood.  Erma Bombeck
• All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast.  John Gunther
• Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity.  Voltaire
• Food is an important part of a balanced diet.  Fran Lebowitz
• We should look for someone to eat and drink with before looking for something to eat and drink.  Epicurus
• The more you eat, the less flavour; the less you eat, the more flavour.  Chinese Proverb
• Avoid fruit and nuts.  You are what you eat.  Jim Davis
• Fish, to taste right, must swim three times – in water, in butter and in wine.  Polish Proverb

And I thought I’d leave you with this one:

Marcus’ therapist told him the way to achieve true inner peace was to remember to always finish what he started.  So today, Marcus has finished 2 bags of potato crisps, a gallon of ice cream, two buckets of chicken and a chocolate cake.  He feels much better already.

We quite often think and talk about things but do we, or you, actually follow through and do those things?  Like NOW.

Why not challenge yourself today?

A friend of mine once told me that if you can do something different than what you would normally do, something in your life that will cause you to stretch and cause you to grow, something to increase your current circle of influence, then it will cause you to have a lot of things change and grow in your life.  And that’s what a group of us did this past weekend.

The Banter Boys

I suggested to some friends of mine, Rob Claridge from Claridge Naturopathics, Craig Goddard from Subway/Muzz Buzz and Ross Hultgren from Chapman Welsh Financial Services that we go for a weekend cycling, where we take off and head to a set destination (in this case we went to the Yarra Valley) and go cycling for three days.  It gave us a fantastic opportunity to talk about business (including our personal business crusades), our personal lives, and the decisions we made that brought us to where we are today and formed our journeys, and what a magnificent weekend it was.  Three days felt like two weeks holiday.  We’re fitter and stronger, our legs, admittedly, a bit more sore.  And we’ve learned so much from each others stories and life journeys.  There’s just so much we all benefited from.

So why not step out from your usual routine and do something you’ve been thinking about for a while but haven’t actually done?

I’m sure most of us know that the key to losing weight is increasing our metabolism.  But did you know that muscle plays a huge role in raising metabolism?

Many people shy away from lifting weights when their goal is to lose weight, because they’re scared of the weight gain from increased muscle size.  But here’s the clincher…

Watch that weight just drop away

One little pound of muscle burns around 10-20 calories a day, while a pound of fat only burns 5 calories.  So growing your muscle tissue will help you burn fat all day long.

Plus there are a whole lot of other benefits of strength training:

• Increased resting metabolic rate which means you burn more calories, even while resting.
• You will become lean and slim, because muscle takes up less space than fat
• Strong bones and connective tissue, which will help protect your body from injury
• Enhanced balance and stability
• Increased confidence and self-esteem

But this only works if you lift enough weight to stimulate muscle growth.  Here’s a tip – if you can lift your chosen weight more than 16-20 times, it’s not heavy enough.

If you’re struggling to know how much weight you should be lifting, perhaps you should consider booking a session with a Personal Trainer.  Believe me, your muscles will feel the difference after a Personal Training session!

The good news is you don't have to start with the really heavy weights!

There are many reasons why people avoid lifting weights.  Here are just a few:

• It’s really tiring!  True, because most of us aren’t used to pushing ourselves to fatigue in anything we do.  That’s why you start slowly and gradually work your way up.
• I don’t want to injure myself!  Firstly, your muscles are meant to burn with the exertion of resistance.  However, it is important to take it slowly and increase your weights in increments, while still providing your muscles with some challenge.  Again, if you’re unsure, a Personal Trainer can help you get the perfect balance.
• I don’t want to look like the Incredible Hulk!  Needless to say, this is usually a concern reserved for women.  But here’s the good news – lifting heavy weights will NOT make you huge, because women simply don’t have the testosterone levels to build big muscles.  But the heavy weights WILL help you LOSE fat.

These are just a few reasons, but they often prevent people from making any progress towards their ideal body shape.  Heavy lifting will help you achieve that body and if you ease into a weight training program and slowly work your way to bigger weights you don’t need to worry about hurting yourself, or any of the other reasons which are holding you back.

Are you an older woman and have always thought Strength Training and Weight Lifting is only for strong young men?

While this used to be the way many people thought, studies have now shown that strength training is incredibly beneficial for both men and women, young and old, and particularly for older women.

In fact, older women who do an hour or two of strength training exercises every week can see significant improvements in their cognitive function, particularly in the areas of the brain responsible for planning and executing tasks.

A study, which appeared in the Archives of Internal Medicine, has been carried out assigning 155 women aged bewteen 65 and 75 either to strength training once or twice a week or to a comparison group doing balance and toning exercises.

One year on, those who did strength training had improved their performance on tests of executive function by 10.9% to 12.6%.

Those who did the balance and toning exercises actually experienced a slight deterioration of .05%.

The improvement of the first group included an enhanced ability to make decisions and resolve conflicts.

Don't worry Ladies! You won't be expected to hold up a building!

So if you’re an older woman and want your later years to be full of life, joy and activity, maybe it’s time you considered adding some regular strength training into your schedule and reaping the benefits of greater health, fitness and mental alertness.

And if you don’t know where to start, why not consider Personal Training to make sure you get the most benefit in a safe manner from your workout.  Just give us a call at Geelong’s Gym and we’ll set you up with a Personal Trainer who’ll suit your needs.

Here are a few funny comments from people who’d really rather not change their ways and do a little exercise…

• Walking 20 minutes can add hours to your life.  This enables you at 85 years old to spend an additional 5 months in a nursing home at $8000 per month.
• I have to walk early in the morning before my brain figures out what I’m doing.
• I joined a gym last year, spent about $450.  Haven’t lost a pound.  Apparently you have to go there!
• I don’t jog – it makes the ice jump right out of my glass.
• Every time I hear the word “exercise”, I wash my mouth out with chocolate.
• I do have flabby thighs, but fortunately my stomach covers them.
• I know I got a lot of exercise the last few years… just getting over the hill.
• Every time I start thinking too much about how I look, I just find a “Happy Hour” and by the time I leave, I think I look just fine.
  

  If only it were that easy!

Did you know that Yoga can not only help you manage stress but can also reduce or even eliminate the need for prescription medicine?

That last part probably sounds like a bold claim but I can assure you it’s not without foundation.  As you know, I like to find new pieces of information or perspective to broaden your thoughts on lots of different topics.  So, I’ve got a great video for you today which will substantiate my claim.

Angie Hilton, a Geelong’s Gym member and health and fitness enthusiast, asks Linda Newman, one of the Yoga Instructors here at Geelong’s Gym, to explain why she got into Yoga in the first place and the massive change that it made to her life.

This is truly inspirational and I’m sure will convince you of the benefits Yoga can have to your health, fitness and well-being.  But I’ll let Linda take over from here…

So why not come along to Geelong’s Gym and try one of our Yoga classes – you’ll love how it makes you feel afterwards!