Geelong's Gym

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.

Yes, you did read that right.  If you train the right way, you can burn double the calories in only half the time.  Here’s the key: 20-60 second intervals at 85-95% of your maximum heart rate, followed by 30 seconds rest.  Before I say any more, have a look at this video of two of Geelong’s Gym’s Personal Trainers, Adam Ryan and Nathan Moore, putting this into practice…

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.

Come and join the party!!

Yes, it is possible to have fun and get a great workout at the same time.  The answer is Zumba, the latest fitness craze to hit the world.

Zumba truly is a gift to anyone struggling to get motivated to exercise.  Why?  Because we all know we should be exercising but that doesn’t mean we want to.  Let’s face it, sometimes it can be a slog and when it starts to hurt you just want to give up. 

And that’s why Zumba is the answer to all those prayers you didn’t even know you were praying.  The funky music and easy to follow dance moves will have you capitivated.  You’ll be so busy having fun and contributing to the electric atmosphere, you won’t even realise you’re exercising. 

Oh and in case you’re thinking having fun can’t possibly be much of a workout, Zumba is a huge calorie burner, is great for your fitness and it utilises virtually every muscle in your body, with a particular focus on the stomach, butt and legs.  Don’t believe me?  Come and try it out for yourself… you won’t be disappointed.

Geelong’s Gym has three classes a week, with a fourth coming soon…  Check out our timetable.

ZUMBA FITNESS arrives at Geelong’s Gym in May!  Come join the Party! 

Come along and join in the Zumba Party at Geelong's Gym

This Latin-inspired, easy to follow, calorie burning class is a whole lot of fun, which is why it has taken the world by storm.  So come along and give it a go – you won’t be disappointed. 

It is launching on Wednesday, 12^th May and also introducing Zumba on Saturdays at 10.30am, starting 15^th May.  Zumba is exercise in disguise!

Don’t know what Zumba is?

The Zumba® program fuses hypnotic Latin rhythms and easy-to-follow moves to create a one-of-a-kind fitness program that will blow you away.

Our goal is simple: We want you to want to work out, to love working out, to get hooked. Zumba® Fanatics achieve long-term benefits while experiencing an absolute blast in one exciting hour of calorie-burning, body-energizing, awe-inspiring movements meant to engage and captivate for life! 

The routines feature interval training sessions where fast and slow rhythms and resistance training are combined to tone and sculpt your body while burning fat. Add some Latin flavor and international zest into the mix and you’ve got a Zumba® class!

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.