Soar like an eagle...

This will cause our members to look for all the good things that happen in the Gym and will also encourage our team to continue going out of their way to create positive experiences and continue developing our culture of helping people.

Because I like my team leaders to lead by example, I asked them all to write some great things about all the members of the team they oversee.  I’ve been blown away by what they’ve written and I thought I’d share what Adam Ryan, the Centre Manager, wrote about each of his team (the team leaders)… and also about me!

Nathan: “Everybody’s Friend” – will go out of his way to help others, genuinely cares for everyone and is accountable for any mistake that me makes, learns very well from criticism, shows excessive interest in continuously learning and growing within the company.

Tom: “The Nice Guy” – never says a bad thing about anyone, very passionate about his work and cares about everything he does for the company and his clients, enthusiastic about his work and shows great interest in learning as much as he can.

Nick: “The Striving Businessman” – very committed and driven in his work, strives for results and a great revenue maker for the company, cares for the people around him and shows passion for his work.

Kirsten: “The Quiet Achiever” – the most valuable team member on the list, cares for everyone and knows more than anyone else in the company, excellent listener and would never say a bad word about anyone.

Annie: “The Lovable Entrepreneur” – a very loyal team member, extremely caring and would always help anyone in need, thinks about others before herself, amazing knowledge, queen of the projects and the place wouldn’t be the same without her.

Paula: “The Energetic Role Model” – extremely passionate about her position, would always help out where needed and has brought the Group Fitness team together in an amazing way, always striving to be the best and continuously improve the timetable and the team.

Terry: “The Systems Successor” – will help out in times of need, knows the systems inside out and genuinely cares for the company and its improvement.

Gerard: “The Generous Tycoon” – a great role model to his selected team members, passionate about helping people and will always go out of his way to help someone else before himself.

Pretty awesome words, huh?!  Well, I can’t let the opportunity slide by without also sharing a few words about Adam in reply!

Adam: “The Inspirational Leader” – a true humanitarian, caring about his team, his clients and the organisation in which he leads.  Always performing his job above and beyond the regular standard and no matter what the workload, Adam is always moving to take on more responsibility and handle additional loads when required.  Where would we be without him?  I’m grateful to have him on the bus and in the seat he’s in!

Quite often we don’t take the time to reflect on the positives of people or maybe we do, but we never actually tell them.  Is there someone who has done something great who you could share it with… maybe a work colleague, a family member or even a friend?  And if you feel uncomfortable vocalising it, just write them a note or send them a text.  I can guarantee it will make them feel fantastic!!

Adam Ryan, Geelong's Gym Manager and Stair Climbing Guru, conquered the Empire State Building Run Up in January 2011.

Yes, that’s right.  Our very own Geelong’s Gym Manager, Adam Ryan, has made the Channel 7 National News… we have a celebrity in the house people!  Well okay, maybe we’re getting a little carried away but we’re just that proud of him we want to shout it from the roof top!

So I guess you’re wondering what attracted the reporter’s attention… aside from his stunning good looks of course!

On Friday, Adam competed in the Westpac Stair Climb in Adelaide not once, but twice, winning both races.  To run 30 storeys and over 600 steps twice over is a huge test of fitness, strength and endurance, but a challenge which Adam loves to take on.  We know… he’s a little crazy in the head!

The news report about Adam is really quite funny and worth a watch – you can check it out here.  And a huge congratulations to Adam on his outstanding result.  Next up, the Eureka Stair Climb in Melbourne.

Adam came an impressive 19th overall out of a field of 250 men (and 6th in his age group).  This great result eventuated despite him being pinned against the wall at the start of the race and losing a good minute and a half, not to mention having to endure his fair share of jabbing elbows and shirt pulling!

Well done on a fantastic race even with all the hurdles… you’re our champion!

Oh and welcome home to the land downunder – it’s great to have you back.

Adam Ryan is all set for the Empire State Building Run Up on February 1st.

Our Geelong’s Gym Centre Manager and Personal Trainer, Adam Ryan, is setting off tomorrow for New York where he will be competing in the annual Empire State Building Run Up – the world championship of stair climbing - on Tuesday, 1st February.

Adam has been doing stair racing for six years now and we’re delighted he’s reached the ultimate event in his chosen sport.  He will be climbing 86 floors and 1575 stairs in the race – a huge feat indeed!

Only 300 athletes from around the world get selected for this elite event, so we’re incredibly proud of Adam and the amount of training and preparation he’s put into getting to this point.

While it does take a huge amount of endurance and mental energy to get to this level, Adam can inspire us all to set realistic goals, put our mind to them and then commit to making them happen.

Good Luck Adam… we’re 100% behind you and no matter what result you get, you’re our champion!!!

A big thanks to The Geelong Advertiser for providing a copy of the photo and article they wrote about Adam in today’s Addy.

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.

First off, please don’t be intimidated by what you’ve just watched.  These guys are incredibly fit and prone to extreme exercise.  But here’s the good news – you can do what they’ve done…

Adam and Nathan are doing High Intensity Interval Based Training, which is based on your heart rate and is suitable for all levels of fitness.  Training in a high heart rate zone of 85% and beyond can only be maintained for a short period of time (high calorie burning zone).  When the heart rate hits the red zone, 95% plus, your body is then forced to rest and allow the heart rate to come down to be capable of repeating the exercise.  During this rest period the energy expenditure is still great, therefore burning a high amount of calories continuously while you rest.

And as an added bonus, it’s really great for time-conscious people who want to get fit and healthy but don’t have a lot of spare time on their hands.  By doing this kind of training you can achieve the results of a one hour workout in just half an hour!

Surely not, I can hear you thinking.  Here’s the key.  This is functional training, which means a variety of different muscle groups are used in each exercise, which results in a higher heart rate thereby increasing your energy expenditure (i.e. burns calories FASTER).  Plus, no session is the same as the last one, so your body doesn’t get a chance to plateau but instead remains at a peak level of training.

So if you want to see real results FAST this is the kind of training you need to be doing.

As a Personal Trainer, you get used to seeing other trainers working their clients hard, pushing them into uncomfortable head space, challenging their muscles and stamina in order to initiate change.

What you don’t see very often is two trainers pushing each other to the max.

Sure, they work along side each other, spot each other and share knowledge and stories, but going for broke is a rare sight.

Burning calories at that rate will have you fitting through the small door in a heart beat!

Recently, I witnessed the most intense training session ever! No stopping, giving up, wasting any precious time. Two Geelong’s Gym trainers, Adam Ryan and Nathan Moore, were trying to set new PB’s (Personal Best).

In what?  How many calories can be burnt in the shortest time.

And the best outcome to date is 672 calories in 38 minutes!

WOW!                             

And why?  Why not!

Tyson and Adam bonding over boxing

When Tyson Matheson came to Adam he was reasonably fit, but he had a goal to get into the Army and he needed to increase his fitness significantly.  After training with Adam, he lost a lot of kilos, and now carries less than 6% body fat and is at an elite level of fitness.  Tyson and Adam developed a unique relationship while training together – they fed off each other and pushed each other to extreme levels of training.

And it paid off.  Tyson is now in the Australian Army and he has a new goal – he is hoping to get into the SAS, so he’ll be continuing to keep his fitness at an elite level.

And Adam, well… not satisfied with being one of Australia’s leading stair climbers, next year he is heading off to the peak of stair climbing events – the Empire State Building Stair Climb!

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…

On Sunday, Adam took part in the Eureka Climb 09 at the Eureka Tower in Melbourne, the tallest building in Australia and the world’s second tallest residential building.  The climb was a charity event to raise money for disadvantaged young people.

Eureka Tower in Melbourne, Australia

A huge amount of endurance and stamina was required for this event and Adam has put in months of strategic training to prepare himself, both physically and mentally.

The climb consisted of 1958 stairs, 89 levels and 300 metres of vertical elevation!

Adam had two goals: to beat his personal best time and to break the event record. He achieved both goals and came in second overall in the Race. What a fantastic effort! Well done Adam!

As Adam accomplished both his goals… a question that begs to be asked why second place, well we should all have goals and targets to aim for… just be careful what you aim for…. because sometime you only get what you aim for.