Category Archives: Fitness

Motivation

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Personal Trainer Andy KnightSeveral times throughout my training career I’ve had to look back to why I started this game as a scrawny teen. Whether I was struggling with an injury, illness, busy lifestyle, family issues, basically anything that life throws at me, I’ve always scratched around the psychological basement that inspired and motivated me to keep moving forwards when I was on the borderline of making a commitment to change my lifestyle for the better.

What actually motivated me to train in the beginning is actually quite grey and fuzzy now; there is no pinpointed, specific area that I can call upon, rather it was more of a series of life events that made me stand up one day and get on with it. I can’t recall whether it was being fed up of being useless at sports in school, living through my dad’s struggle with heart disease, having an older brother that would pick on me for anything and everything, or just the fact that growing up in the 80’s meant that the fitness boom was just taking off and the likes of Sly and Arnie were getting a lot of publicity for their image.

I remember going for that first, breathless jog down to the detail of what I was wearing that day and even breaking through the front door in a heap, running up stairs to my bedroom and feebly attempting to do as many push ups and sit ups as I could. After a while, this all became too easy and I needed to take things to the next level so I saved up my pocket money so that I had enough to buy a 50kg weights set from Argos. I remember nagging my dad to help me carry them back with me on the bus and the nerves that I faced when walking up to the counter to ask for the weights set.

After fumbling my way through the little bit of paper that came with the set, again I found that I needed the next step. I needed to join a gym or eventually crash through my bedroom ceiling! By now I was hooked. I was starting to get positive comments, my body was changing, I was no longer the weakling during PE and I started to get known for being the one that kept in shape. I’d been bitten by the bug and I was constantly looking for new methods to keep improving in one way or another. I’d find motivation by gym based goals, intrinsic motives and living up to the pressure that I’d given myself of being the young lad that was in shape and started getting respect from peers that he’d never have thought he’d ever talk to. My social circle started changing and I felt better for recreating myself and started piling pressure on myself to keep moving forwards. I changed my eating habits, training schedule and turned down the temptations that a lot of modern day teenagers faced.

From what was a gentle jog to fill up time one evening had spiraled into a lifestyle and I wholeheartedly believe that I’ll be exercising until the day I no longer can. There have been days when injuries have made me think about throwing in the towel, but even at my lowest I’ve managed to dig a little bit deeper and find things that I can do, rather than what I can’t do. Before I knew it, all of the determination and disciplined that I’ve learned from making sure that I stay on top of my lifestyle had carried over into my work and personal life, giving me the drive to keep moving forwards rather than settling for what’s comfortable.

To summarise:

  • Find what made you want to train in the first place and relive the feelings that made you exercise in the first place. Do you want to run away, or move towards something?
  • What are you trying to achieve? Have you achieved it already? Are you ever going to reach your goals? An acronym that is often used when setting goals is one called SMART.
    • Specific: What do I want to achieve? (E.g. lift more weight.)
    • Measurable: How do I know when I’ve got there? How much weight do I want to lift?
    • Achievable: Am I ever going to be able to lift 300kg, or is 160kg more realistic?
    • Relevant: Do I really need to focus your time and energy into this pursuit?
    • Time Bound: Can I reach this goal in 3 months, or will 6 months be more realistic?
  • What do you want to achieve in the short, middle and long term? What short term goals will help you achieve your middle and long term goals?
  • Find out what your limitations to exercise are and what you can do to overcome them. For example, if you’re too busy with work to find time to exercise, then perhaps you could arrange your travel or home schedule to bring your training to you, etc.
  • Who do you look up to? Do they have what you want? How did they get to where they are today?
  • Do you feel bogged down with details because of the thousands of articles that you’ve read? Take a step back, go back to basics and find what works for YOU.
  • Are you prepared to look beyond the initial burst in progress and dig deep to find that bit of grit that will eventually lead you to your goals? If not, then read the article and the summary again and ask yourself why!

If you’d like any advice setting and achieving your fitness goals just ask a member of the Club CHF fitness team.

Don’t forget to check out our fantastic offers on personal training with our in-house personal trainers. ‘Fast Track Your Fitness’  – 1 hour sessions from as little as £20!

Andy Knight, Personal Trainer, Caversham Health & Fitness

Exercise of the Month – The Squat

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One of the most effective all round exercises- whether your goal is weight loss/ toning up Squator weight gain- the squat does it all!

The Technique:

  • Neutral spine (straight back) – holding an object to the front with straight arms is a way to encourage good technique.
  • Knees and ankles should stay in line
  • Your heels should remain in contact with the floor throughout the WHOLE exercise
  • Squat low enough to create a 90 degree angle. Perhaps use a bench to assist the technique at first and progress to harder variations, such as the back squat.
  • If your knees pass the line of your toes you are not doing the exercise correctly.
  • Push back up through your heels; this activates the glute muscles, aka your bum!

Squat

If you’d like any advice on how to include the ‘exercise of the month’ into your workout routine just ask a member of the Club CHF fitness team.

Don’t forget to check out our fantastic offers on personal training with our in-house personal trainers. ‘Fast Track Your Fitness’  – 1 hour sessions from as little as £20!

Good luck and happy training!

Ben Wilson, Personal Trainer, Caversham Health & Fitness

Rome to Reading 2012

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Members at Caversham Health & Fitness constantly  inspire us with their success and achievements  whether it is weight loss, fitness or accomplishing a challenge which they have set themselves and trained hard for.

One such member is Barabara Frost, 61, who is planning a solo cycle ride from Rome to Reading next year to raise money for Buscot Babies, special care baby unit, at the Royal Berkshire Hospital. In 2010 Barbara cycled from Lands End to John O’Groats and raised £6772 for Homestart Reading but this time her target is £10,000.

Barbara works with personal trainer Steve Whiteside at Caversham Health & Fitness.  At the moment they are working on Barbara’s strength and endurance but after Christmas they’ll be gearing up to what Barbara describes as ‘boot camp’ to get her to peak fitness for the gruelling 1500 mile cycle.  For building core strength to help with all the hours leaning over the bike Barabara does a weekly ‘Pilates’ class and for flexibility ‘ Stretch and Tone’.

Barbara is holding a fundraising Quiz Night on Thursday 10th November 2011. The entry fee of £10 includes a Bar Copa curry.  All funds raised go to the Buscot babies (www.justgiving.com/barbara-frost).  Please do get a team together and support this event.

Rome to Reading 2012 Fundraising Quiz Night
Bar Copa, 76 Kings Road, Reading (next to Zizzi’s)
Tickets £10 including a curry
Food from 6.30pm, Quiz 8.00pm

Contact Antony Frost to reserve your tickets:  0118 926 2858 or 07977 415201 or email a_j_frost@yahoo.com.

To find out more about the Buscot Babies Fund please download Barbara’s fundraising leaflet Barbara Frost – Buscot Babies Fund

Have you set yourself a challenge or achieved a personal goal?  We would love to hear from you if you have.

Sally Albin, Marketing

Early Bird Classes

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Do you lack energy and motivation during your working day? CHF fitness instructor Caroline has just the answer for you…

Exercise at 6:15 in the morning…..really????

If like me you are not a morning person and the thought of getting out of bed at silly o’clock to exercise fills you with dread, read on to uncover why I am now actually an advocate of early morning activity!

For most people the idea of exercising first thing in the morning is not something you would happily chose, however studies have shown that exercise significantly increases mental acuity! This is  a benefit that lasts four to ten hours after your workout ends; therefore exercising in the a.m. means you get to harness that brainpower, instead of wasting it while you’re snoozing.

We all know that after a workout you feel energised and full of oomph so why not make the most of that feeling first thing in the morning?! Leave that sluggish start to the day behind you and reap the benefits of increased energy levels during the day.

Invariably people work harder when in a class; you get caught up in the atmosphere and feed off other people’s energy, so effectively you are getting more from your workout.

Exercising first thing in the morning is the most foolproof way to ensure that other things don’t overtake your fitness commitment, particularly if you have a hectic work or family life. It’s so easy to get home at the end of a long day and wimp out of getting yourself down to the gym, especially if you’re tired or faced with the tasks of making dinner, helping with homework etc.

Make the decision to join in one of our ‘Early Bird’ classes and end your working day knowing that you can get home and stay there and not face that internal battle of ‘shall I go to the gym or shall I stay right here and relax?’

Early Bird Classes at CHF
Monday – 06.30 to 07.15 – Early Bird Spin
Tuesday – 06.15 to 07.00 – Early Bird Spin
Wednesday – 06.15 to 07.00 – Early Bird Killer Circuits
Thursday – 06.15 to 07.15 – Early Bird Pump
Friday – 06.15 to 07.00 – Early Bird Box Fit

Exercise of the Month – Press Up

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Why do press ups?
The press up isn’t just a chest, shoulders and triceps exercise, it’s a whole lot more. It’s quite possibly one of the most undervalued exercises that you’re ever likely to come across. Literally every muscle in your body, from your toes to your upper back is activated to stabilise your whole body. In principle, the press up is a simple movement; lie on the floor and push yourself up off it! In practise, there are so many variations that make it the most diverse upper body exercise that you’re ever likely to encounter. Whether you’re looking to build muscle mass, increase posture, improve endurance, core strength or just looking for a party trick (Nothing impresses a crowd more than doing press ups with a friend on your back!), there’s a press up variation for you.


So how do you do them?
As above, there are hundreds of press up variations (Ask a member of the gym team for information), but I’ll start with explaining how to do basic, bread and butter press ups:

  • Start the movement by getting into a prone position with your hands underneath your shoulders, legs straight, bracing the abs and squeezing the glutes as if you’re trying to crush an apple between your buttocks.
  • Under control, breathe in, lower your chest to the floor and squeeze the upper back muscles as you go down.
  • Pause briefly and push the floor away from you, breathing out as you push.
  • Reset back to the first step and repeat.

If you’d like any advice on how to include the ‘exercise of the month’ into your workout routine just ask a member of the Club CHF fitness team.

Don’t forget to check out our fantastic offers on personal training with our in-house personal trainers. ‘Fast Track Your Fitness’  – 1 hour sessions from as little as £20!

Squash Weekend at Club CHF

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We are happy to report that the tournament went very well!  A few surprise results and many great quality matches at all stages of the competition.

Well done to the Winners:

Main Draw Winner: Jack Turnell

Club CHF Squash Competition Winners

Main Competition Runner Up (Eric Garson) & Winner (Jack Turnell)

Runner Up: Eric Garson

Plate Winner: Sarah Parr

Runner Up: Rak Bhandari

More photos on Facebook.

A special thanks to our tireless organisation team & staff at the Club for working together to make the event run so smoothly.

Thanks to Luc Gojnic for the coaching taster sessions provided for many grateful players.

Thanks to Rick Weatherall & Stuart Milton for showcasing their talents & expertise in a hard fought exhibition match enjoyed by many.

In case you missed the final or exhibition matches you can see some of the action on You Tube.

Look out for the next competition – pencilled in for the end of January 2012.  Get your match practice by registering on the in-house leagues if you haven’t already!

We have a Club Team Squad training match organised on Thursday 15th September from 7.30pm till late – in preparation for the winter season starting on the 22nd.  Good luck to our four Club Teams.  All are welcome to come along and support.

The squash court refurbishment will be completed on Thursday 15th September so all booking will be back to normal.  Sorry for any inconvenience caused.

Social Squash will be running from 2.30PM every Sunday so if you fancy a hit then come on down!

See you at the club.

Daniel Newman

 

Junior Pilates Classes

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From the beginning of September Pilates instructor Julie will be introducing a Junior Pilates class to Club CHF for 11 – 16 year olds. Pilates classes for teens are becoming increasingly popular as teens are more aware than ever before about keeping fit and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Pilates can help increase strength and flexibility in core muscles and teach young people how the body works and feels, helping to build confidence and body awareness.

Junior Pilates is a great way to maintain over all fitness into adulthood by helping to improve:

Posture

Pilates helps to improve posture and strengthen surrounding muscles. Correct posture will reduce the likelihood of suffering in later life from problems in the back, knees, and neck and shoulders.

Co ordination & Breathing

Pilates focuses on the breathing, helping to keep the core muscles pulled in when performing the exercises. Focused breathing will make you more bodily aware so the movements are fluid and controlled and whilst some movements can be difficult a strong centre helps to perform the exercises correctly.

With practice this internal focus becomes second nature and can be applied in every day life not just in the class situation. The class can help to relax participants giving way to the overall sense of well-being regular sessions bring about.

Core Strength

The internal effort used to engage the core muscles of the pelvis, abdominal and back is used to create the flat stomach, defined waist and to aid correct posture.

Junior Pilates starts from 6th September for 11-16 year olds.

Tuesday evenings 5pm to 6pm – £7.50 per person

To book a place please call us 0118 948 48 49

Lunch Fit Zumba with Sophia

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Zumba is the latest fitness trend sweeping the nation. It fuses hypnotic Latin rhythms, music and easy to follow dance moves to create a dynamic dance fitness programme that will blow you away!

So with two fabulous new Zumba instructors at CHF I thought it was about time I gave the ‘Lunch Fit’ class a go! I popped in before the class got underway to meet bubbly Zumba instructor, Sophia, to find out a little bit about her and the class.

SophiaSophia what is your background in dance or fitness?
I’m actually a performing actress, and qualified from The Arts Education School London. I’ve preformed in some well known West End shows such as; Fame, Footloose, and in Richard Bean’s play, ‘England People Very Nice’ at The National Theatre.
I’ve recently choreographed a Christmas production of Glee at Reading Town Hall, and I also teach a weekly kids dance class.

..So how did you get into teaching Zumba?
I attended a Zumba class, and knew it’d be something I’d like to teach – as it was so much fun. My instructor at the time was very helpful and prompted me in the right direction for the training course.

How long have you been teaching Zumba?
I’ve been teaching Zumba since the end of January. I qualified from my Zumba training course in October last year. I wanted to be fully prepared for when I started teaching classes and have put lots of preparation into the choreography.

What are the benefits of Zumba?
Zumba works every single bit of the body from head to toe, even muscles you didn’t even realise you had will be worked!!! It is a full body workout cardio and toning. The tracks are sometimes designed to work specific areas at one time and others are there to work everything. The benefits are the same as any exercise or sport, getting the heart rate pumping and the body moving at an intense rate, strengthens the muscles and bones.

Why should you come to a Zumba class?
People should come to Zumba because like all other fitness regimes it’s fantastic for your physical health, the level of exercise in a Zumba class is so high and you can burn up to 1000 calories and tone up all at the same time. The beauty of Zumba is that as well as benefiting you physically, emotionally it uplifts you and you will always leave feeling liberated. It works your brain as far as co-ordination and picking up steps is concerned but the music and party atmosphere is fantastic for simply lifting your spirits and opening your mind and soul to music and dance from all over the world.

What’s your favorite Zumba dance / move?
I love every part of music and moves when it comes to Zumba they are all so different and all so beautifully created it will be difficult to choose just one. But if I really had too it would have to be a good Reggaeton or African beat. You can’t beat a good strong drum sound when you’re working out!

Thank you Sophia!
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I loved Sophia’s Zumba class and would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to have fun at the same time as getting an extremely good workout! Sophia was an excellent teacher, and really got the class motivated. I’ve been to Zumba classes in the past and found some of the dances and steps hard to follow, but I found Sophia’s easy to pick up. She broke down harder steps and dances, making it easy for people of all abilities to follow – everyone picked them up quickly!

Sophia was right, it really uplifted me; it’s just what you need to get rid of that mid-day tiredness slump! I highly recommend Zumba Lunch Fit to anyone who wants to give their afternoon at work a little boost!

See the Studio Timetable on the CHF website for more Zumba class times. Also check out the other 30 minute Lunch Fit workouts, designed to fit into busy lives.

For a limited period CHF is offering a free crèche to anyone who uses the Lunch Fit classes. Enjoy your workout while we take care of your kids!

Catherine, CHF Marketing

Water: Increase performance, improve weightloss, stay healthy

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Staying hydrated is one of the most important thing you can do while using the gym – in fact, not just the gym but everyday!  I have written about hydration before but after speaking to members, it seems that hydration is still a subject that people seem to skirt around. They eat healthy and train very well but they still miss out on the basics…. Water!

Few facts on hydration

 

Chart taken from Lucozade website

 

When we workout our body produces heat. For the best performance our body temperature needs to be kept within safe limits approximately 37/38°C. For our body to stay at this level we sweat. Sweating removes heat from the body by evaporation.

It’s so vital to keep replace replacing all the fluids lost during sweating to maintain hydration – otherwise we will become dehydrated and performance will suffer. Just a 2% drop in body weight through dehydration can reduce mental (i.e. concentration, reaction time) and physical performance.

  • 67% of the body is water
  • 75% of the brain is water
  • 75% of muscles are water
  • Blood is 83% Water
  • Bone is 22% Water

Water has a major role in almost all bodily functions:

  • Regulates body temperature
  • Helps digestion
  • Carries oxygen & nutrients to every cell
  • Lubricates joints
  • Takes toxins away from the body

Studies have shown that dieters frequently mistake thirst for hunger pangs. Dieters have found that having a glass of water reduces the hunger pangs and regularly drinking water helps to reduce food intake.

Dieting can cause the body to produce more waste products which in turn requires the body to need more water to remove it.

Tips for remaining hydrated

It’s all too easy to forget to drink water during the day, so here are a few tips:

  • Make sure you drink enough water before, during and after high physical activity
  • Always start your day with water. Have one or two glasses first thing in the morning. We tend to forget how much water we lose during the night.
  • Having a glass of warm water mixed with freshly squeezed lemon can help the digestive system kick in and help get things moving in the morning!
  • Don’t wait till you are thirsty to drink this is normally too late you are already dehydrated. Sometimes thirst is not a reliable measure of hydration because of medical or health conditions.
  • Always have a bottle of water with you throughout the day at your desk, in the car, in your bag and drink at regular intervals through the day.
  • An easy calculation to use is 0.0333 x bodyweight (kg) to get your water requirements in litres.

Jason, Fitness Manager

Diary of a Fitness Manager Getting Healthy – Entry 5

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Ok…Its time to call in the professional!

I have booked an appointment with our nutritional therapist Laura De Le Harpe. I am seeing her for my first consultation on Wednesday and included in this is food allergy testing.

I know I am in for very good service just from seeing her nutritional analysis paperwork. It goes into so much detail including looking at symptom  analysis and then considering how this could be linked to my nutrient requirements, lifestyle and diet analysis.

I have filled in my 3 day diet sheets and am just waiting till Wednesday to find out what sort of state I am in!

Laura De Le Harpe is a Nutritional Therapist who works out of Caversham Health and Fitness on Wednesday evenings which can be booked through reception.

What is Nutritional Therapy?

Nutritional Therapy can help you achieve optimal health, have sustained energy, mental clarity, stable moods, and be pain-free and fit for life.

Through the application of nutrition science and an understanding of how the body works, nutritional therapy aims to treat the underlying causes of poor health and not just the symptoms.

We are all unique. What is sustenance for one person may be poison to another. Our inherited genes may determine the health issues we face, but these are often only ‘switched on’ by our environment, diet and lifestyle.

What is involved in Nutritional Therapy?

The process begins with an assessment and initial consultation.

Prior to our first meeting, Laura will ask you to complete and return a questionnaire about your health, symptoms, lifestyle and eating habits as well as a signed copy of our terms of engagement.

The first consultation lasts an hour to an hour and a half. At the end of the consultation you take away a personalized plan covering diet, lifestyle and supplementation. This will address your health priorities and will be realistic and achievable for you. Laura will give you practical advice on what to do at home and may also suggest diagnostic testing depending on your situation.

Taken from Laura’s Website www.nutritionalbenefits.co.uk