Geelong's Gym

Have you ever thought about the effect exercising in the heat has on your body?

I love the heat… when everyone else is retreating to the indoors and air-conditioned buildings, I’m starting to come to life.  And the hotter the better… or so I thought.

Tuesday, a couple of weeks ago, the weather was forecast to be 39 degrees celcius, so I advised my personal training clients to train early to avoid the midday heat.  We take all the precautions we can to ensure no ill-effects from heat related illness.

But then I found myself with a bit of spare time in the middle of the day, so what do I do?  I decide to go for a walk for an hour or so… congratulating myself, because I’m being sensible only going for walk and not a run!

On goes the sunscreen, light weight clothing, sunglasses, hat and 2 litre camel back filled with cold water… and off I go.

If someone (or yourself) is suffering from heat illness, follow these steps.

After an hour, I’m enjoying the heat and feeling fantastic… until I take a big shuddering breath and wonder what that’s all about.  I take notice of my pounding heart and decide to turn on my heart rate monitor to see where I’m at.  Now I usually walk briskly on about 110-117 beats per minute…

160 beats per minute!!!

That’s full on running heart rate… my body is working hard to cope with the heat.  While in my head I felt fine, clearly I’m compromising my health.  Fortunately I’m only 15 minutes from home and I stick to the shaded areas, while constantly sipping water.  But when I get there and look in the mirror, my face is beetroot red – not my normal response to a walk at all!

While having a cool shower, I chastise myself… WHAT’S GOOD FOR MY CLIENTS IS GOOD FOR ME!

As we’re currently in the height of summer, here are a few tips from Sports Medicine Australia Victorian Branch to remember when considering exercising in the heat:

• Exercising in hot, humid conditions can lead to dehydration, heat illness and sometimes even heat stroke.
• Symptoms of heat illness – light-headedness, nausea, headache, confusion, not sweating, agressive or irrational behaviour – be alert for any of these signs!
• Stay hydrated – drink water before, during and after exercise.
• Take rests, preferably in the shade.
• Wear light coloured, lightweight and loose clothing that allows easy evaporation of sweat from the skin.
• Wear sunglasses, 30+ sunscreen and a hat.
• Reduce the duration and intensity of your warm up.
• Do NOT undertake strenuous activity if you have recently experienced a high temperature, infection, diarrhoea or vomiting.
• If you have a medical condition such as asthma, diabetes, a heart problem, epilepsy or obesity, are taking medication or are pregnant, you may experience difficulties exercising in the heat.
• If you are suffering from heat illness – lie down in a cool place, remove excess clothing, wet your skin or use ice packs and drink cool water.  If your symptoms don’t improve seek medical assistance.

Here’s a helpful temperature guide from SunSmart:

Temperature: 31-35; Risk of Heat Illness: High-very high

Uncomfortable for most people, modify activities.  Reduce intensity, take more breaks and limit duration to less than 60 minutes.  Be cautious when relative humidity reaches over 50%

Temperature: 36 and above; Risk of Heat Illness: Extreme

Very stressful for most people, modify, postpone or cancel activities.  Reschedule to a cooler part of the day or cooler location.  Be cautious when relative humidity reaches over 30%.

How well do you know yourself?  Below are 6 Exercise Types – have a read through and see what your relationship with exercise is really like and how you can improve that relationship.

1. Exercise Free Zone – you’re the kind of person who has never really participated in regular exercise before.  Beofre you’re going to exercise, you probably need to understand the health benefits to you and you’re going to need to see some fun in it.
2. Yeah But… – consistency is your biggest problem and you always have a good excuse why you haven’t exercised.  Finding someone to exercise with would help you immensely with your consistency and you need to set realistic goals which you can actually reach.
3. Hard Slog – you’ve got a whole lot of willpower because you know exercise is good for you, but you don’t really enjoy it.  You probably need to switch to a more interesting exercise regime, perhaps with more of a social element, and then you’ll actually enjoy staying fit and healthy.
4. Exercise Evangelist – most of us wish we were like you, because you love to exercise and you stick to your routine without fail.  Your problem is you need variety, otherwise you might get bored and potentially stop exercising altogether.  Try to add some new activities into your routine to keep it interesting.
5. Yesterday’s Hero – you used to exercise regularly, but now you do nothing.  Don’t expect too much from yourself straight away; start out slowly with some gentle exercise and before you know it you’ll be enthusiastic about it all over again.
6. Never Again – uh oh, you’ve had an injury or a bad experience with exercise and you swore you’d never go there again.  You need to look at what caused your bad experience and get your injury looked at.  Maybe you need to lower your expectations and start out with some gentle exercise to help rehabilitate your injury.

Information in this blog has been sourced from “The Sugar Daddy“ by Dr Adam Fraser and Christine Armarego.

Do you want to get fit, fast?  That’s a stupid question really, isn’t it?  Because who wouldn’t want to get fit fast?!  One of the best ways to do it is with high intensity workouts the good old fashioned way, i.e. sweat, sweat, sweat… in other words, boxing!

Give your body a pre-Christmas blitz with some high intensity boxing classes!

Why is boxing so good?  Not only does it improve balance, coordination, core strength, speed, power, fat burning potential, aerobic and anaerobic fitness, it also is a fantastic way to boost confidence, develop discipline and relieve stress!  Whew, what a list!

An average sized athlete, roughly around 85 kilos, who does a one hour circuit style boxing workout will burn around 800 – 1000 calories per hour.

Convinced yet?  At Geelong’s Gym we’ve got a number of fantastic Cardio Box classes at various times during the week or you can check out our new Punch ‘n’ Crunch four week Personal Training course as a pre-Christmas body blitz.

Stair climbing burns 1.6 calories to every calorie burned on flat ground! WHY? Your legs carry your body weight almost vertically up the stairwell as your upper body assists by pulling up on the handrails simultaneously.

This movement involves a large number of different muscle groups working together, all of which require considerable amounts of oxygen rich blood to perform. As you can imagine, this places a significant amount of stress on the cardiovascular system, resulting in rapid breathing, high heart rate and massive calorie expenditure.

The movement of stair climbing is actually very functional; this means many muscles have to work together in order to perform full body movement efficiently. Thus, taking the stairs over the elevator at any opportunity can build the strength in your arms and legs, increase your aerobic capacity, and burn five times the calories than standing in a lift, staring at the levels as you go up to your destination.

87% of the population take the elevator. You may be one of them, but you can also change that statistic and start taking a few stairs…

Would you believe that climbing stairs can be taken to the next level? It’s not just about simply getting to your destination, but getting there as fast as possible.

Stair racing is one of the most brutal of fitness challenges out there! Athletes line up at the base of the building and are let off by the starter to then enter the emergency stairwell and climb their way to the top as fast as they can. There are no specific rules in a stair race but most elite runners will take two steps at a time and never let go of the handrail. The heart rate usually peaks at 190+ BPM and is sustained for the duration of the race!

Some races are in excess of 100 floors and take over 15 minutes for the fastest climbers to complete. Now that hurts!

So the challenge is out there… Australia’s longest stair climb is the annual Eureka Tower run up in Melbourne, Victoria. The exhilarating climb consists of 88 floors, 1642 steps and 300m of vertical climbing. Ultra marathon runner, Stuart Gibson, holds the current record at 8 minutes 56 seconds. AMAZING!

Have a look at the video below of the recent Adelaide Stair Race where myself (Adam Ryan, Manager of Geelong’s Gym) and Geelong’s Gym members, Chris Price and James Carroll, took out the top three places.

I’m sure we all know by now how special our frienships are, but did you know they are the key to greater health and wellness?

Yes, it’s true.  Studies show that having a positve support system around you when you’re pursuing optimum health and wellness actually increases your likelihood of sticking to new healthy habits and behaviours.  PLUS, it reduces stress, increases energy and improves your relationship!

Don't panic - exercising with friends doesn't mean you have to wear matching workout outfits!

Why is this?  Well, it’s largely because to make a significant change in our lives we need to change our mindset, attitude and behaviour first and a positive, strong support system can be a hugely helpful tool in making that happen.  And chances are, that what you’re struggling with is something they’re struggling with too, or have struggled with in the past, so you can actually support each other.  It doesn’t have to be a one way deal.

Friendship is such a powerful tool and it can be a negative influence just as much as a postive one.  For example, in 2003, Nicholas Christakis, a social scientist, and James Fowler, a political scientist, researched how relaitonships directly influence behaviour and therefore health and happiness.

Their study found that behaviours, either positive or negative, are highly influenced by the people around you.  For example, when they looked at the growing rate of obseity, this is what they found:

• Obesity radiates outwards from clusters of overweight people
• Having an obese spouse raises the risk of becoming obese by 37%; but, if a friend becomes obese the risk skyrockets by a shocking 171%!!!  Yikes!
• Lean individuals surrounded by obesity were rare.

Don’t worry though, there were also some positive findings.  Christakis and Fowler found that happy people have happy friends and each happy friend increased a person’s probability of being happy by 9%!

The simple conclusions is, people need people!  So if you’re trying to make some positive changes in your fitness, health and wellbeing (or even some other area of your life), gather your friends around you as a support team and I’m sure you will reach your goals much more easily than if you try to go it alone.

I’m sure you know that eating before exercise helps significantly with energy and endurance.  But the most important thing to remember is you shouldn’t eat just anything.  To get the most out of your body, you need to provide it with the best fuel.

A yummy cake is NOT good pre-exercise food! Sorry folks!

This means NO fried food, cheesey pizza or soft drinks!  I know, I’m spoiling all your fun.

So what should you eat?

To give your muscles a quick energy boost before exercising, feed up on quality carbohydrates such as bread, cereal, pasta, rice, fruit and vegetables.

Protein is also important, because not only does it build and maintain muscles but it also ensures healthy blood cells which are responsible for delivering nutrients and oxygen to working muscles.

Here are a few tips for the ideal pre-exercise meal:

• Low fat
• Moderate intake of carbohydrates and protein
• Low fibre
• Contains fluids
• Familiar, well-tolerated foods (i.e. dairy is usually not a good idea right before an intense exercise session!)

The best I can suggest, is experiment with quantities and particular foods to figure out what works best for your body.  Once you find out the best combination for you, stick with it.

Yes indeedy, next week has the potential to be your fittest week EVER!  Why, I hear you ask, is next week more special than any other week?  I’m glad you asked.

Have you ever noticed when there’s a large sporting event happening in the world – like the Olympics, the Commonwealth Games or the Soccer World Cup – that there’s a surge in physical acitivity, both indoors and outdoors?

Choose cycling to get around town - it's fun, quick and you'll feel much fitter!

We certainly notice it at Geelong’s Gym.  Suddenly everyone gets inspired and people pour through our doors to take part in classes, workout in the gym and just generally get more active.  Maybe it’s because people start to recognise where a little physical activity and fitness can take them.

So, we are thrilled that Geelong is hosting the 2010 UCI Road World Championships next week. This event is the largest cycling competition Australia has ever hosted and it’s right here on our doorstep – literally! Many lucky residents will actually be able to look out their front windows and see world class cyclists racing by!

Some local residents may be wondering how they’re going to get around with so many road closures. And our suggestion is, make this upcoming week your fittest week ever, dust off your bike and join in the activity. You’ll be surprised at how fit you feel after a week of cycling to the gym, to work, even to get your groceries!

But whatever you do, make sure you enjoy being part of such an exciting event in Geelong.

Were you going really well with your fitness routine but now you’re stuck in a rut?  Believe me, you’re not alone.  We know it’s frustrating but we’ve got some solutions from Australian Women’s Health magazine for four of the most common reasons your workout regime has gone awry…

1.  The New Job.  It can take quite a lot of time and effort to get up to speed in a new job and that can play havoc with your fitness regime.  To get your mojo back, ask around your workplace and find out who manages to fit regular exercise into their busy work schedule.  Maybe they squeeze in a lunch time visit to the gym or maybe they stop there on their way home.  Whatever they do, find out what their daily routine is and try adopting it for yourself.  And if you need some motivation to get started, why not ask them if you can workout with them.

2.  The Big Move.  No doubt about it, moving house is a big deal and it can take weeks to get everything unpacked and a normal routine reinstated.  Here’s a couple of hints – pack your workout gear last, so it’s easily accessible when you start unpacking.  Before you move, check out where the closest gym is and map out your driving route ahead of time, so you know exactly where you’re going.  Don’t forget, if you keep up your exercise routine you’ll have a whole lot more energy to get through those boxes much faster.

3.  The Injury.  Yep, this one is a killer, especially if you’ve had to sit on the couch for weeks or even months.  Getting back off the couch can be a challenge.  Firstly, set a goal for your fitness level when you can resume exercising – this will help you look beyond your current injury and towards your future fitness.  Secondly, consult with your doctor about what exercise is possible with your injury, so when you’re back on your feet you won’t be starting at the beginning.

4.  The New Baby.  Argh, those extra post-baby kilos and lack of sleep.  Finding time for a workout can be difficult, but if you can squeeze regular exercise in while your partner or mother is looking after the baby, you’ll find you have a whole lot more energy to get through the day and enjoy the new addition to your family.  And ladies, don’t stress yourself out by trying to drop the baby weight in record time.  If you add any exercise at all to your day the weight will come off.

Getting back into regular exercise can be tough once you’ve broken your routine, but don’t give up.  Set yourself a goal, find that thing that got you motivated in the first place and make a start today.

My name is Thomas Henry and I am in Year 10 at St Joseph’s College in Geelong.  I chose to do Work Experience at Geelong’s Gym and was asked to write a Blog about fitness from a teenager’s perspective.

Thomas Henry, from St Joesph's College Geelong, doing Work Experience at Geelong's Gym

I have always enjoyed sport and it has had a big impact on my life.  For example, I have participated in many sports including Swimming, Diving, Hockey, Basketball, Athletics, Cricket and Football. I enjoyed most of them but my biggest passion was for Footy and Athletics.

I’ve played footy for about 10 years starting off with Auskick and am currently playing for St Mary’s Under 16’s.  My athletics started about 6 years ago, but it wasn’t until recently that I have taken it to higher levels.

Two Years ago I won my first State Championships for High Jump at The Victoria Little Athletics Championships in Under 14’s and since then I have represented Victoria and have competed at a National Level in Tasmania and Sydney.

Recently, I competed at the Australian Junior Athletics Championships where I placed 3^rd in my High Jump and Triple Jump.  It was a great experience and has definitely helped me get noticed more with my sport.

But here’s how my success in Athletics opened the door to footy for me.  At the St Joseph’s College Athletics day I broke the High Jump record by 17 cms and broke all the other age group records too.  I was pretty happy with that, but what was special for me was that the Coach of our school footy team was there and watched me jump.  Straight away he rang up the other coach and insisted on putting me in the Ruck for the school footy team!

I may not be the tallest Kid in the team but all my training and hard work has paid off and has helped me achieve a goal I set a long time ago and worked so hard to reach.

They say that laughter is the best medicine, so in aid of that I’ve got a great post today from Dr Hu, who shares his views on a healthy, fit lifestyle…

Q.  Doctor, I’ve heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life.  Is this true?

A.  Your heart only good for so many beats, and that it… don’t waste on exercise.  Everything wear out eventually.  Speeding up heart not make you live longer; it like saying you extend life of car by driving faster.  Want to live longer?  Take nap.

Q.  Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables?

A.  You must grasp logistical efficiency.  What does cow eat?  Hay and corn.  And what are these?  Vegetables.  So steak is nothing more than efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system.  Need grain?  Eat chicken.  Beef also good source of field grass (green leafy vegetable).  And pork chop can give you 100% of recommended daily allowance of vegetable product.

Our esteemed Dr Hu

Q.  Should I reduce my alcohol intake?

A.  No, not at all.  Wine made from fruit.  Brandy is distilled wine, that mean they take water out of fruity bit so you get even more of goodness that way.  Beer also made of grain.  Bottom up!

Q.  How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?

A.. Well, if you have body and you have fat, your ratio one to one.  If you have two bodies, your ratio two to one, etc.

Q.  What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program?

A.. Can’t think of single one, sorry.  My philosophy is: No pain…good!

Q.  Are fried foods bad for you?

A.  YOU NOT LISTENING!  Food are fried these days in vegetable oil.  In fact, they permeated by it.  How could getting more vegetable be bad for you?!?

Q.  Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?

A.  Definitely not!  When you exercise muscle, it get bigger.  You should only be doing sit-up if you want bigger stomach.

Q.  Is chocolate bad for me?

A.  Are you crazy?!?  HEL-LO-O!!  Cocoa bean!  Another vegetable!  It best feel-good food around!

Q.  Is swimming good for your figure?

A.  If swimming good for your figure, explain whale to me…

Q.  Is getting in shape important for my lifestyle?

A.  Hey!  ‘Round’ a shape!

Thank you to Dr Hu for his valuable input.  I’m sure we all have a much better understanding of food and diets now!

And don’t forget, life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive, well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, Chardonnay in one hand, chocolate in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming “Woo Hoo, what a ride!!”

But here’s my final word on nutrition and health…

1.  The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.

2.  The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.

3.  The Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.

4.  The Italians drink a lot of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.

5.  The Germans drink a lot of beer and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.

CONCLUSION:  Eat and Drink what you like.  Speaking English is apparently what kills you!