Geelong’s Gym

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!

Yoga has been around for thousands of years – no joke!  But suddenly it seems to have sprung up everywhere.

Why are people so attracted to Yoga?

Monique Gharios, one of the Yoga Instructors at Geelong’s Gym, shares how Yoga has become so popular and how it can totally revolutionize your mind, body and spirit – whether you’re a total beginner or have been practicing Yoga for years.  This girl epitomizes a relaxed, stress-free mind, body and spirit!  And it’s all because of the powerful effect of Yoga on her life.

Angie Hilton, a Geelong’s Gym member who loves all things to do with health and fitness, gets the low down from Monique…

Below is a video which I thought you might like.  It’s called Time and is basically about the importance of every moment of every day becasue time really does not wait for any one, no matter how important they are.

A friend sent me this video and it fits right in with one of my life philisophies.  You may have read one of my earlier Geelong’s Gym posts where I talked about my top three life philisophies and if you did you would know that I always sign off my emails and correspondence with the words, Carpe Diem, which means Seize the Day!

I firmly believe in literally seizing the day and learning to live in the moment, because you will never get that moment back again.

So enjoy the video and I hope it will give you a new lease on life.

As Valentines Day is just around the corner it leads me to think about love and the impact it can have on your health and fitness.

Did you know that Scientists consider love to be a drug that is good for your heart and your brain?

That’s right.  There’s more to love than soppy doe eyes and syrupy poetry.  So let’s look a bit more closely at this concept of love…

Love is more than just the quiet moments...

The first spark of attraction comes from the brain, which releases a neuro-transmitter chemical called dopamine.  From this there’s a chain reaction that leads to the heart pounding three times faster than normal.  This extra gush of blood makes its way to the cheeks and sexual organs.

This sudden blood diversion causes your stomach to feel a bit empty, thus creating the feeling of butterflies in the stomach and causing your hands and legs to get a diminished supply of blood which results in the palms getting cold and a slight shiver setting in.  Sound familiar?

And of course, love tends to lead to sexual activity!  Making love is actually good aerobic exercise which improves the circulation and can do wonders for the heart.  So love, in its round about way, does in fact lead to improved fitness.

But let’s not forget the added benefit of weight loss!  Intercourse can actually burn around 200 calories in just a few minutes.

Then there are the added health benefits… when making love the body releases endorphins, which can help lessen chronic back pain, arthritis and migraines.  On top of that, there has been some research to suggest frequent love making can boost levels of important immune cells which can help fights colds and other infections.

So this Valentines Day, spare a moment for just how lucky you are to be in love and what a blessing that person beside you is.  And if you’re not in love, maybe this will inspire you to keep a look out for that special someone, because they could be just around the corner.

Did you know that stretching your body properly can give you better health and performance?

It’s true.  Most people have a huge misconception when it comes to stretching.  Some people don’t do it at all, while others do a couple of token stretches and figure they’re set.  But what if you could virtually eliminate the muscle pain after a workout?  Just by stretching?

It’s true!  And we can also eliminate the pain on your wallet.  Buy the Stretching Handbook and you’ll receive a 100% money back guarantee!  That’s right.  If you’re a member at Geelong’s Gym we’ll take the cost of the book off your membership payments.  If you’re not a member, we’ll take the cost of the book off off your new membership when you sign up.  All you need to do is bring in your proof of purchase.  But back to the stretching…

A regular stretching program can lengthen your muscles and make your daily activities so much easier.  Just think, no more easing yourself down, centimetre by centimetre, onto the couch after that run you went for or that step class.

Stretching is something anyone of any age can do and the best thing is, you can do it while watching the TV, working on the computer or getting ready for bed.

A good stretch before your exercise will do wonders for your workout!

Here are just a few of the incredible benefits you’ll receive from regular stretching:

• Reducing muscle tension
• Increased range of movement in the joints
• Enhanced muscular coordination
• Increased blood circulation
• Increased energy levels

And if you really want to know about a full range of stretches for every part of your body, complete with step by step photos to walk you through each stretch, then I cannot recommend highly enough The Stretching Handbook.

Are you scared of entering a gym because you think its going to be full of super fit and toned athletes?

Believe me, I’ve heard many people tell me that’s the reason why they haven’t joined a gym.  But they couldn’t be more wrong.  At Geelong’s Gym we have all sorts of different body types and many different levels of fitness represented.

I’d like to share with you the story of one of our members, Greg Parker-Hill, who thought everyone would be looking at him because he was overweight and unfit.  But he wasn’t willing to let that assumption hold him back, so he took the plunge and joined Geelong’s Gym.

Greg was determined to lose weight.  He had tried every diet and weight loss program there was without long term success, so he decided to undergo Laparoscopic Band surgery.  The lap band would help to manage Greg’s appetite but he knew that to lose it he’d have to move it!

“It took a month of hiding on the treadmill in the back corner to realise that no-one was looking at me…that’s the difference with Geelong’s Gym, I feel comfortable there, it’s full of friendly faces.”

The team at Geelong’s Gym provided expertise and encouragement to progress Greg from the treadmill to classes and personal training sessions.  Greg lost 60kg in his first year!  That’s an incredible result when the average weight loss from a lap band is 27kgs!  When asked about his weight loss success, Greg says with a smile;

“It’s thanks to Geelong’s Gym, they’re good guys, I have a lot of time for them but don’t tell them I said that!”

Greg ran the Sydney City to Surf, exactly one year to the day after joining the gym – that’s how far he’s come!  Congratulations Greg!

Greg’s Personal Trainer, Adam Ryan, recently had a chat with Greg about his weight loss journey.  Here’s what he had to say…

Do you want to take your fitness and weight loss to the next level, but don’t want to spend any longer in the gym than you already do?

Thought so.  Well, here’s your answer.  High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT).

By throwing out your old mindsets that the longer you run, bike etc the fitter and leaner you’ll get, you can burn calories like never before, lose more fat and improve your cardiovascular fitness AND spend LESS time in the gym doing cardio.

With High Intensity Interval Training you'll watch that weight just melt away.

That’s not to say that HIIT is easy, because it’s not.  It’s actually pretty demanding on your body because let’s face it, you don’t get results without working hard.

Basically what it involes is short bursts of maximum intensity exercise interspersed with low to moderate intensity exercise.

How does it work so well?

• HIIT conditions and trains both your anaerobic and aerobic energy systems.
• HIIT increases the amount of calories you burn after your exercise session because it increases the length of time it takes your body to recover after each session.
• HIIT causes matabolic adaptions that allow you to use more fat as fuel.
• HIIT can limit muscle loss which can occur during traditional weight loss.

The key with HIIT is to use MAXIMUM effort in your high intensity intervals, not just a higher heart rate.  Give it your all and watch your fat just melt away!

If you need some help with changing over to a HIIT method in your workouts, check out our Personal Trainers at Geelong’s Gym.  They are all very experienced in the HIIT method and more than willing to help you take your fitness and weight loss to that next level.

Have you ever put into words what defines your life?  Why you do the things you do?

Today, I’d like to share with you the three questions that give my life meaning and purpose.  Maybe they’ll help you to have an exceptional 2010…

1.  How well have you learned to let go?  Forget?  Forgive?…

-          People who’ve done you wrong

-          Accidents or incidents in your life that were beyond your control

-          Relationships in your life that didn’t turn out how you thought they would

-          Wrong decisions you’ve made etc.

 “To forgive is the highest, most beautiful form of love. In return, you will receive untold peace and happiness.” Robert Muller

 Only once you’ve put behind you all these things will you be truly happy.

2.  How well have you learned to live in the moment?

I sign off all my emails with the words “Carpe Diem”, meaning Seize The Day.

Many people are bound by their past; either they can’t let go of the things that went wrong or they lament the loss of the good life they think they used to have.  And because they’re always looking behind them, they miss the good things that are right in front of them or with them right now.

Others are constantly looking towards the future, perceiving the future to be when things will finally become good in their life: when I get my next job… after I renovate the house… when I get my new car… once I find the right person…  They’re so busy trying to get a peek around the corner that time whizzes past them and their life disappears before they’ve really lived it.

Live in the Moment!

But if you learn to live in the moment, you’ll be happy with each phase of life you go through.  Because only you, today, can seize the day and change your life.

3.  How well have you learned to love?

Not someone else, but YOU.  Take a good hard look at the man/woman in the mirror and learn to accept yourself for who you are, learn to love your looks, your abilities, the things that are unique about you.  Because we are all wonderfully and uniquely made.

Once you’ve learned to love yourself, you will be in the ideal position to love someone else far better than you and they could possibly imagine.

I bet that got your attention and I’m willing to bet that right now most of you think I’ve lost my mind.  But hear me out.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Schwarzenegger is famously quoted (admittedly back in the 1970s) as saying that he found exercise more exciting and fun than sex!  I’ll leave that decision up to you, but there are certainly some great ways to make exercise more fun…

• Change your mindset – when we were children we didn’t exercise, we played.  So stop thinking about your exercise routine as hard work and start thinking about it as play.  Sound impossible?  It’s not.  There are some great, fun ways to exercise that actually do feel like play.  For example, try a Body Jam class, which combines dance with exercise, and tell me you didn’t have the time of your life when you came out of the class.
• Try a Mind Body Spirit class – imagine ridding yourself of the stresses of your day, relaxing your body so completely that you feel like you’re floating on a cloud and letting your mind drift to a place with no cares, worries or responsibilities.
• Workout with a friend – you can catch up on your day, have a good chat and exercise at the same time!

I’m sure that you can come up with some other fun ways to exercise.  Why not make it your goal in 2010 to exercise more and have fun doing it?!

If you’d like to have a good laugh about some hilarious exercise moments, click here.