Geelong’s Gym

Ann Cramp and Paula Kontelj on the night

One of the things we love best at Geelong’s Gym, is to support our various sporting activities in our community.  That’s why we sponsor the Geelong Supercats Basketball Team.

So we were thrilled when Ann Cramp, one of our Personal Trainers and our liaison with the Supercats, organised for us to play a special part in the South Conference SEABL Grand Final on 21st August.

During half time Paula Kontelj, from Bay FM and our Group Fitness Coordinator at Geelong’s Gym, took to the court with some fellow Geelong’s Gym Zumba enthusiasts to give the crowd a taste of what Zumba Fitness is all about.  And boy did they love it!  A great way to get the crowd revved up for the second half.

Paula Kontelj leads the Zumba demonstration during half time

And what do you know… the Supercats won the game and went on to take out the All Conference Grand Final at MSAC on Saturday night!  Well done boys!

If you haven’t tried Zumba yet, why not give it a go?  Check out our extensive timetable and choose the class which suits you best.

Once again I’m both excited and privileged to be able to offer you the services of an EXTREMELY talented friend of mine, photographer Phil Nitchie, from Nitchie Photography.

Phil takes all our photos down at Geelong’s Gym and I think he’s brilliant… a very gifted professional.

Phil has kindly made available a special for our clients of a Free $95 Print to anyone who makes a booking or buys a voucher for this Fathers’ Day.

So why not make this Fathers’ Day one to remember and organize Phil to capture some beautiful memories. I completely endorse Phil and I know you won’t be disappointed.

For the second year, a truly worthy event is taking place in Geelong to raise awareness of homelessness – the Walking Home project. Last year, 20 walkers were nominated from various support agencies in Geelong to complete a five day, 189 kilometre walk.  A rigorous training schedule commenced for a 6 month period leading up to the BIG WALK in November 2009.

Walking Home 2009

During the walk, the walkers camped out in the towns along the way and spoke to community groups about the impact of homelessness.

Two amazing outcomes were realized as a result of this event:

• Lots and lots of people wanted to help raise money to assist in buying shoes to give to homeless people.
• Lots and lots of people wanted the opportunity to walk an amazing distance that is way outside their normal activity regime.

This year, the Walking Home project is a one day event being held on Saturday 13^th November 2010…  a 50km walk from Queenscliff to Geelong and it’s open to the public to walk.  As the logistics of putting large numbers of walkers on the open road is too great, the rail trail will be used to the showgrounds and then the last leg of the walk is out on the streets.

There are also options of joining the walk at three alternative stages so you can do 20km, 12km or 5km if you prefer – so why not join the walk for the length which suits you best?!

A small entry fee is involved, as well as an opportunity to have family and friends sponsor your efforts.  Hopefully a lot of much needed money for Homelessness will be generated.

T-shirts are included in the 50km walk entry and also available for sale for people joining the walk at the various points.

And finally, here is your chance to walk and make a difference… not just to this worthwhile cause, but to your health and fitness.  A challenge, a goal to reach.

So put your best foot forward and start on this journey today. See the Walking Home notice board at Geelong’s Gym for the full training schedule and lots of helpful hints, plus registration details.

Geelong’s Gym is proud to be one of the sponsors of the Walking Home project and the training facility for the walkers.

What a fantastic week it’s been!  I had the awesome privilege to be part of an event where AFL Legend, Tom Hafey, shared his secrets to great health.  And boy, does this guy walk what he talks…

Every single morning he gets up at 5.20am and runs 6-7 kilometres along the beach.  When he returns home he does 200 push ups and 700 sit ups!  So it’s no wonder he’s got the strength and fitness of a man half his age!

Tom Hafey with event organisers Gerard Spriet from Geelong's Gym, Ross Hultgren from Chapman Welsh Financial Services and Rob Claridge from Claridge Naturopathics

I, along with Ross Hultren from Chapman Welsh Financial Services and Rob Claridge from Claridge Naturopathics, wanted to actively promote good health and wellbeing in the Geelong community.  We invited Tom because he has such a strong link to Geelong and, of course, because he’s such a fantastic example of what can be achieved with a healthy, fit lifestyle.

Incorporated into the evening was the introduction of our new BioAge Program at Geelong’s Gym.  We are thrilled to have this cutting edge technology which allows us to accurately measure a person’s biological age in comparison to their chronological age.

Unfortunately, a huge number of Australians have a biological age significantly higher than their chronological age.  But the good news is, now that we can accurately measure it we can improve it!  If you want to know more about this revolutionary program, click here.

All proceeds from the evening were donated to local Geelong charity, Our Women, Our Children.

Geelong’s Gym is excited to announce Tommy Hafey will be speaking at an event, organised by Geelong’s Gym, Claridge Naturopathics and Chapman Welsh Financial Services, about his secrets to great health.

Tom Hafey

We figured he was the ideal person for the job because not only does he have a strong connection to the people of Geelong but he also has a pretty spectacular qualifying resume!  Here are just a few highlights:

• He’s coached FOUR AFL teams – Richmond, Collingwood, the Sydney Swans and, of course, Geelong
• He’s coached over 500 VFL/AFL games for a 66% win record – oh and, in that time his teams have made TEN grand finals, resulting in  FOUR Premierships and a tied Grand Final
• In his first year as Collingwood coach the team rose from wooden spooners to be in the Grand Final
• He has never been beaten as a coach of the Victorian State Teams
• Only once in 22 years coaching football did a Hafey-coached team finish lower than seventh

Pretty impressive isn’t it?!

So okay, he’s got the credentials… but I’m not really that interested in hearing how to become more healthy.

Can I be blunt?  Good.  Here’s the thing, if you’re not a bouncing ball of energy who looks a good 10 years younger than you actually are… you need to take a good hard look at your health.

Let me ask you another question.  Does your biological age match your chronological age?  And I’m not just talking about how you look on the outside, although that’s part of it. 

Do you look older than you are?  Do you feel older than you are?

For the majority of Australians, what’s going on inside us is pretty scary and our bodies are actually functioning (or perhaps more accurately, not functioning) at a biological age greater than our chronological age.

That’s pretty alarming – especially if you’re wanting to live a good long life with a body that can keep up with you.  But here’s the good news, your biological age can actually be reversed!

So why not come along and hear Tom Hafey speak.  And while you’re there, you’ll learn how you can utilize the Bioage Program to measure and improve your biological age.

When: Wednesday, 14th July at 7.00pm

Where: Newtown Event Centre, 40 Read Street, Newtown

Entry: Gold coin entry to be donated to Geelong Charity “Our Women, Our Children”

RSVP: By Wednesday, 7th July to Geelong’s Gym

For more information, click here.

Paris, Georgia and Paula Kontelj from Bay FM with the massive 6 kg Easter Egg they bought in the fundraising auction!

Wow!  What a fantastic way to spend Good Friday morning!  Geelong’s Gym is usually closed on Good Friday, but this year we opened our doors for three hours in the morning to raise funds for The Geelong Hospital.

Two special classes were put on – Spin and Pump – with multiple Instructors to create a fun, celebratory atmosphere.  The Instructors generously donated their time to the cause and we asked all our members and their guests to simply bring along a gold coin (or more) donation for the Appeal.  And as a result, $900 was raised for The Geelong Hospital!  So a big thank you, to all the Instructors and members who supported the Appeal – we look forward to doing another one!

As well as a raffle to win a number of Easter Hampers donated by Cadbury, we also had an Auction to take home a massive 6 kilo Cadbury Egg!  The lucky highest bidder, at $210, was Paula Kontelj, Bay FM radio personality and Geelong’s Gym Group Class Coordinator, pictured here with the egg and her two daughters, Georgia and Paris.  We’re sure they all had a fantastic Easter and we look forward to seeing them back in the gym working off that huge egg!

We hope you all had a wonderful Easter and that you’ll come and join us next Good Friday.

With 189km to ponder things whilst Walking Home, shadows was a topic of solo conversation in my head many times.

With the weather in the high 30s and full sunshine blazing down on the walkers, shadows were everywhere.

It occurred to me that shadows are often used in a negative way…hiding something, representing an issue that hasn’t been resolved, some deep dark secret lurking in the shadows!

Well here are some of my learnings:

• Shadows are great company and throw many dimensions to an otherwise flat picture.
• Shadows don’t weigh you down or slow you down.
• Shadows can give enormous relief from a seemingly in-escapable situation… in this case, the sun.

On day 3 of our walk from Camperdown to Colac, the air temperature was 35^oC.  The bitumen temperature was 60^o C.  Our feet were burning, our blisters were screaming, heat rash was appearing on many and heat stroke was starting to take its toll on a few.  The greatest relief was to walk closely to someone and find shade.

Some nasty blisters!

So here is my new saying in life:

Sometimes it’s really important to walk in someone else’s shadow.

This morning I woke up my young son, Germain, at the crack of dawn and we headed off to Winchelsea to cheer the Walking Home team on for their final day.

What a privilege to see how motivated and excited they still were after a physically and emotionally draining four days.  But they were all pumped for the cause they’re walking for and that attitude is contagious – and one of the main reasons why I chose to take Germain with me!

Check out the video below to find out a bit more of what it’s all about.

Well it’s not long now until we hit the road from Warrnambool to Geelong and this may be my last blog before we head out.  Hopefully I’ll be able to send through some updates whilst on the road.  For all those who’ve wanted to sponsor me, this is your chance.  I’ve reached my personal target but clearly I set it too low and didn’t realize the generosity of my friends.  Our group target is still a little way off.

 I bounced out of surgery exceptionally well last week.  Still no talking but attempting to whisper and only a bit of a sore tongue.  I’m also back eating normally and didn’t lose any weight so feel very ready.

Yes, that's right... those really are shoes in the fridge!

Well with all the training we’ve done, nothing has prepared us for the heat wave currently upon us.  I walked 20km yesterday and loved it…the warmer it gets, the more active I get…but I’m the only one in the group who feels this way.  It will truly test most of us, and for the first time, road burn on our feet is a real and likely possibility.  This is radiant heat from the bitumen.  I think we’ll all have to put a spare pair of shoes in the fridge in the food van.  Seriously!  Nothing like dry socks and cool shoes after a few kms.  I bought another 5 pairs of excellent socks yesterday (over $80 worth!) as I think I’ll be churning through them.

So thank you for all your support and I hope I step out well on your behalf.  If you still want to sponsor me in The Walking Home Challenge and lend your support, please click here.  This is a secure donation site, so all you need to do is search for me, Ann Cramp.

Annie xxx

Oh…nervous time…only 7 days to go and the reality of walking is kicking in. We have been involved in quite a few photo shoots for various media, so keep a look out for that.

I have a little hiccup in my preparation for this event as I headed into hospital Wednesday last week for surgery on my larynx (voice box). I have nodules that must come out for future health reasons but also to be able to speak clearly. Gone is the husky voice I hope, but won’t know what I sound like for maybe a month!!! Peace in our house!

What this means though, in terms of the Walking Home Challenge, is that my food intake over the next few days will be sorely diminished and that’s not ideal leading into an endurance event. I will most likely have a stiff neck and jaw pain so walking in the lead up may not even happen – wait and see.

The great news is that my walk of 43kms Saturday before last was effortless. It was 28 degrees which is getting close to nearly warm in my language. I didn’t crave easy carbohydrates (junk food) so my body is metabolizing fat storage well now. AND – No stiffness later that night or the next day. It was like I’d been resting all weekend. Couldn’t have been happier.

So off to Warrnambool in 7 days it is…with little white board in hand to write instructions and requests to the team and maybe even use it for a quick tap on the rump to get them moving!

Thanks for being on this journey with me. Step by step.

Annie