Geelong’s Gym

As Valentines Day is just around the corner it leads me to think about love and the impact it can have on your health and fitness.

Did you know that Scientists consider love to be a drug that is good for your heart and your brain?

That’s right.  There’s more to love than soppy doe eyes and syrupy poetry.  So let’s look a bit more closely at this concept of love…

Love is more than just the quiet moments...

The first spark of attraction comes from the brain, which releases a neuro-transmitter chemical called dopamine.  From this there’s a chain reaction that leads to the heart pounding three times faster than normal.  This extra gush of blood makes its way to the cheeks and sexual organs.

This sudden blood diversion causes your stomach to feel a bit empty, thus creating the feeling of butterflies in the stomach and causing your hands and legs to get a diminished supply of blood which results in the palms getting cold and a slight shiver setting in.  Sound familiar?

And of course, love tends to lead to sexual activity!  Making love is actually good aerobic exercise which improves the circulation and can do wonders for the heart.  So love, in its round about way, does in fact lead to improved fitness.

But let’s not forget the added benefit of weight loss!  Intercourse can actually burn around 200 calories in just a few minutes.

Then there are the added health benefits… when making love the body releases endorphins, which can help lessen chronic back pain, arthritis and migraines.  On top of that, there has been some research to suggest frequent love making can boost levels of important immune cells which can help fights colds and other infections.

So this Valentines Day, spare a moment for just how lucky you are to be in love and what a blessing that person beside you is.  And if you’re not in love, maybe this will inspire you to keep a look out for that special someone, because they could be just around the corner.

Are you scared of entering a gym because you think its going to be full of super fit and toned athletes?

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…

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.