Geelong’s Gym

I read a line in a book the other day that said, “I am a verb! I am alive, dynamic, ever active and moving. I am being a verb”.

We have a knack of taking a verb that is alive and turning it into a dead noun.

For example, I have a gym membership. Woop-de-do!  Doesn’t get you any fitter or healthier does it, just because you have it?  You have a noun… a membership, nothing more.

Try being an active gym member who exercises regularly; it’s got a lot more potential than just saying you have a membership.  The verb of exercising takes you away from the noun into something dynamic and exciting.

Maybe we could all put some more “doing” into our workouts and into our lives.

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.

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.

Have you set some goals for the year ahead yet?

Most of us see January as a time for goal setting and planning ahead what we want to accomplish over the course of the year.

I thought I’d share with you some funny goals I read:

• I will polish my pate – Bald Person
• I will do less washing and wear more deodorant – Executive
• I will not regale the same story at every function – Incorrigable Bore
• I will remember that Cake Day is only on the 29th of every month – Foodie
• Finally, remember that a New Year’s resolution is something that goes in one Year and out the other!

I’m sure that over the years you’ve set some New Year’s resolutions of your own, maybe you stuck to them and maybe you didn’t… so to help you have your Best Year Ever, we decided to help you keep track of your goals for 2010 and the progress you’re making.

You may have fitness goals, personal goals, business goals, relationship goals… whatever it is, Geelong’s Gym can give you a tool to make sure you don’t forget about it by the end of January.  And it’s free.  Simply click here to get started.  The page says “Make That Decision NOW”, so sign up and let 2010 be your Best Year Ever – remember, it’s completely FREE.

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.

Have you ever heard of Wordle?

We were introduced to Wordle by Dr Marc Dussault from Exponential Programs.  He used it to create a Wordle of Power Words from Anthony Robbins’ Firewalk Seminar and also as a unique way to get excited about his New Year’s Resolutions.

Our first attempt with it was to create a gift for my son’s class at school.  We took all the students’ names and the teacher’s name and created a Wordle for the class.

Our use of it gave Marc an exponential idea – why not create a  Wordle of all the members of the gym?!  So here it is…

Don’t be distressed if you can’t see you name, it simply means your name is quite unique, or at least LESS COMMON that the biggest names, those which are most frequently found in our database.  Incidentally, the size of the name represents the FREQUENCY of the name in the list.

By the way, though it may not look like it, we actually have more women than men at Geelong’s Gym.  However, we seem to have a greater variety of women’s names, whereas men seem to be named from a much smaller pool of names and that’s why all the men’s names are bigger, because those same names appear most regularly in our database.

Pretty cool, isn’t it?  Why not have a go with your family members’ names or better yet, how about doing it with your health and fitness goals for 2010 and then stick it up on your mirror to keep you motivated.  Have some fun with it.

I told you previously that I’m participating in the Walking Home event, but maybe you’re wondering why I decided to get involved in the first place… 

I was asked by Gerard Spriet, owner of Geelong’s Gym where I work, to train a group of people to walk a huge distance over 5 days. What grabbed my attention was that it was from Warrnambool – where I used to live – to Geelong, where I now live.

I love being active and there is nothing better than a goal to strive for. Training for this event has changed my whole mindset around everyday activity - walking for a purpose as well as for health and fitness.

There’s also a lot to be said for the ‘feel good’ component of giving something back to the community – whether it is in freely sharing knowledge, giving of your time or any other resources you may have. I’m honoured to be the trainer of these fabulous people who have given so much of their free time already to train for when they give a week of their lives to walk for a wonderful cause. Count me in!

How many pregnant women out there have wanted to actively do something to ensure a trouble free pregnancy while at the same time promoting the health and well being of your baby?

One of the Yoga Instructors at Geelong’s Gym, Monique Gharios, explains how this is possible.

I’m sure we all know that pregnancy is a time of pure joy but is also full of changes and challenges.  This is because the physical body is shifting and adapting to the needs of the growing fetus.

Some women find themselves overwhelmed by emotions, confused by the changes and lost in the middle of this life-altering time.  As a result, some aspects of pregnancy can be perceived as negative.  Add to this the weight gain, morning sickness and decreased sexuality – many women find themselves battling with Continue reading ‘Yoga and Pregnancy’

Did you know that happiness is a state of mind? That’s right. And what is the mind supported by? The body, of course.

Monique Gharios, one of Geelong’s Gym’s talented Yoga Instructors, tells us more about how Yoga can make us not only healthier, but also happier.

It only stands to reason that a healthy mind lives in a healthy body. Because without physical health you can’t be completely happy. And the flip side is, without happiness you can’t be completely healthy.

Did you know that health is a positive state and not just the absence of a negative state? Health is not just about the absence of disease. Traditional Western medicine treats illness as a disease, but in reality it is often nothing more than an imbalance in the natural harmony of body and mind.

True healing means restoring that balance and true health means keeping it.

So how does Yoga fit into this? Yoga means “to unify” and is a holistic approach to all aspects of life: physical, mental and spiritual. What Yoga does is view the person as a whole, as in a unique combination of body, mind and soul, and then uses techniques to maintain that body-mind-soul harmony.

I’m sure we’d all agree that preventing an illness is much better than having to cure one. So it’s important to live a life that prevents illness from developing in the first place. We want to be healthy and stay that way.

BOO!!! Did we scare you?

It’s Halloween; the time to scare people, young and old.

We thought long and hard about what to scare you with, and guess what we came up with… nothing!  That’s right – nada, zilch, a big fat zero.

Why?  Because if you’re not looking after your health and fitness then you should be plenty scared enough without us adding to it.

Did you know that people can die from fear?  They can also die from health related issues resulting directly from obesity, stress and a sedentary lifestyle.  Now that’s something to be scared about.

So why not make this Halloween a happy one where you make some positive changes to your lifestyle.

How about giving us a call at Geelong’s Gym on 5221 1126 to find out how we can take the fear out of this Halloween and start you on your journey towards greater health, fitness and well being.

Linda Newman, one of the Yoga Instructors at Geelong’s Gym, explains how Yoga has made its journey from the Ancient East to modern day Western culture.

Although Yoga’s appearance in the west is rather recent, it can be traced to mid–nineteenth century America, where it was initially embraced for its spiritual elements by a small and elite portion of the American population.

However, Yoga did not emerge as a fitness option until the 1950’s and even then, its health benefits were appreciated by only a few people for another 25 to 30 years.

So how did it become so popular?

Yoga’s current status reflects the growing interest in the mind-body connection.  Research in both the medical and fitness communities supports the important role the mind plays in promoting wellness, reducing stress and combating disease. Yoga techniques provide both a blueprint for stress management and a system for physical fitness. There is also a therapeutic aspect to the practice.  This area deals with specific breathing techniques, poses and meditations to help various structural, physiological and psychological conditions.

Fitness experts once paid little attention to what Yoga had to offer, but leaders in the field now recognise its value as a viable fitness choice.

While not all styles of Yoga cover all essential aspects of a fitness regime – aerobic, strength and flexibility training – many do. At the very least yoga can provide a balanced strength and flexibility workout that can be supplemented with a cardiovascular routine.

Linda has more than 20 years teaching experience in the UK, USA, Asia and Australia. She came from a sports and fitness background and became interested in yoga after spending many years living in Asia. In 2005 Linda studied Ashtanga Primary Series with David Swenson in Singapore, and has also studied Ashtanga yoga with Graeme and Leonie Northfield, Dena Kingsbury and John Scott to name a few. She has studied meditation, yoga philosophy and asana (1 month intensive) with Nicky Knoff. Over the past few years Linda has completed many training workshops with Simon Borg-Olivier.

Linda currently teaches yoga and Pilates, she lectures for the Victorian Fitness Academy (VFA) and is course director and teacher trainer for mat Pilates. She is also registered with Yoga Alliance, ACE (USA) PIA (AUS) and Kinect Australia.