Tag Archives: gym

Winning the Battle of the Bulge

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The daunting prospect of joining a gym is something many people struggle with, and many of us will make endless excuses not too. But Club CHF Member Claire Richardson tells us how gaining the courage to join the gym has helped turned her life around…

For many years I have been your typical yo-yo dieter who has occasionally “attempted” exercise.  One of the scariest words in the world to me was ‘gym’. Why? Well to me gyms were full of Lycra clad, matching outfit wearing, skinny people who were super fit and therefore definitely not a place for me at all. So you imagine my surprise when I actually found myself joining Club CHF back in March 2011. Talk about new and scary territory!

It was during a very low point in my life. I had been signed off work due to illness, I was at my heaviest tipping the scale at just over 20 Stone, my blood pressure was through the roof and my self-esteem nowhere to be seen. So why on earth was I going to put myself through such a thing? I still don’t know the answer even to this day but am extremely glad I did. You should have seen me on my first day. There I was, a bag of nerves, trying to hide underneath the biggest/baggiest t-shirt, black of course, I could find in the hope that no one would notice. But from the moment I walked through the doors I was made to feel part of the Club CHF family and like I had the same right to be there as everyone else. The Staff were more than welcoming and friendly and people actually smiled at me and said hello rather than sniggered at me.

I started off in the gym, doing my own thing and because I was off work I was able to come during the day when it was quiet. This was a great help as my confidence started to, slowly, build. After a while I got speaking to Caroline who was one of the trainers. She took the time to talk to me about what I wanted to achieve, why was I there, what were my goals etc. She helped me work out a gym routine to focus on the areas I wanted to work on (which was everywhere!). I would visit the gym a couple of times a week, collect my workout sheet from the drawer and do my thing and it was great to see a familiar and encouraging face. The biggest surprise, apart from the fact that no one was laughing at me, was the fact that I was actually enjoying it. Who knew exercise could be fun!

Having gotten to grips with the exercise it was time to overcome my biggest hurdle. Food. As I said, I was your typical yo-yo dieter and have pretty much tried every diet going. From slimming clubs to meal replacements, from starving myself to limiting myself to just one type of food diets. I enjoyed success when it came but fell hard every time the scales told me something I didn’t want to hear. Talk about getting upset when they said I had put 1lb in a week, devastating to a yo-yo dieter. So it was more than time to break the cycle and realise that food was not my enemy, it was not the be all and end all to life and I was in control of it, not the other way round. I worked with Caroline on my diet and we talked about foods to avoid, new foods to try, portion size and, most importantly for me, not denying myself something or beating myself up should I eat it. Everything in moderation.

After a couple of months things were falling into place and I started to add on the odd class. Starting with Salsa Aerobics, I then tried Yoga, followed by LBT which helps me focus on those three troublesome areas, and Zumba with Agnes which fast became my favourite class because I love to dance. As well as Caroline and the gym team, Agnes’s motivating and uplifting style showed me that exercise didn’t have to be torture. My weight started to drop, 1 Stone, 2 Stone and my body shape was changing as I started to find my size 22, 20 then 18 clothes becoming baggier.

I have now started an 8 week Personal Training programme with Caroline. It will certainly be a challenge, but it’s one I’m looking forward to and I know she’ll be right there motivating me and offering encouragement every step of the way. I’m going on holiday in April and my hope is to be able to fit into a size 14. I’m currently at a weight loss of over 3.5 Stone, I am almost off the blood pressure tablets and am beginning to, albeit with a bit of squeezing, get into a size 16 so I’ve still got a way to go but I know with Caroline’s help and the support from Club CHF I’ll get there!

Claire Richardson, Club CHF Member

Ask a member of the CHF Fitness Team about our Personal Training packages.

Exercise of the Month – The Sit Up

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Doing sit-ups is a quick way to get stronger abdominal muscles. However, they must be done properly to avoid any injury to your spine and the neck and head muscles. In addition, sit-ups are about using the abdominal region, therefore, you need to really make sure that you are not compensating by using other parts of your body to perform sit-ups as this decreases the effectiveness of the exercise and may cause injury to your body.

It’s not as harsh as it sounds – always focus on the abs and you are most of the way there!!

Sit upSit up

How to do sit-ups correctly!

Step 1: have your knees bent and the balls of your feet and heels placed flat on the ground.

Step 2: Place your hands on opposing shoulders, so that your arms are crossed over your chest, alternatively place your fingers on your temples with elbows out. This allows you a central rising point.

Step 3: Tighten your abdominal muscles by gently drawing in your belly button to your spine.

Step 4: Keeping your heels on the ground and your toes flat to the ground, slowly and gently lift your head first, chin off your chest, followed by your shoulder blades. Focus your eyes on your bent knees, all the while gently contracting the abdominal muscles. Pull up from the floor until you are at a 90 degree angle, or when the elbows are on, or past, the knees.

Step 5: Hold the position for a second. Slowly bring the torso back to the floor but try to keep it slightly elevated off the ground. This means not to place your back flat to the ground but to keep a slight, yet relaxed, arch.

Sit up

Tips:
If you’re having a hard time keeping the balls of your feet or heels on the ground, try asking a friend to hold them down.

You can also find a heavy object (such as a sofa or chair) and tucking your feet under it. This will give you support when attempting to bring yourself up.

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.

Caroline Riddall, Personal Trainer, Caversham Health & Fitness

Anytime membership only £21 per month*
Commit to get fit in 2012! Sign up for an ‘Anytime’ gym membership at Caversham Health & Fitness and your first 3 months are half price.

Call us on 0118 948 4849 to get started.

Exercise of the Month – The Pull Up

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So you think you’re strong?
As well as a clear test of relative upper body strength, the Pull Up is the undisputed heavyweight champion of upper back builders! Every armed forces test and training facility uses the pull up as a staple indicator to the recruits’ and prospects’ strength levels for a good reason.

Gymnasts use pull ups to help maintain and build the strength in their upper body to aid them in performing spectacular bar manoeuvres and fighters use them to help control their opponent and prevent injury while they’re being push and pulled about at different angles.

So how many should I do?
Whether you’re looking to build muscle, strength or endurance, the load can be manipulated by adding weight or assisting yourself with a band or partner to decrease the load. Treat them as any other exercise, with reps ranging 3-5 for strength, 6-12 for strength/hypertrophy and 12+ for endurance.

To put things into perspective, the Royal Marine PRMC Test requires candidates to do 1 full pull up and the Navy SEALS require potential recruits to do a minimum of 8 full pull ups.

So how do I do them?

  • Grasp a pull up bar with an overhand grip, hands shoulder width apart.
  • Allow your body to ‘dead-hang’ from the bar, then shrug downwards with your shoulders to engage the scapular stabilizers and pull your upper back muscles into a downwards V.
  • Pulling your elbows down in towards your body, pull your bodyweight upwards, ensuring that the chin is higher than the bar.
  • Slowly lower the body 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.

Andy Knight, Personal Trainer, Caversham Health & Fitness

Join Caversham Health & Fitness today and enjoy FREE membership until 2012!
For more information call us on 0118 948 4849

Nordic Walking

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Nordic WalkingWhether your goal is to become more active, improve your fitness levels, lose weight, overcome a medical condition, train for a specific sport or challenge or you simply enjoy the great outdoors, Nordic Walking can provide it all!

Nordic walking is a great way to gently encourage full body movement whilst the poles help to reduce pressure on the knees and joints and help propel the walker along. It can also help to significantly improve the condition of your muscles, heart and lungs. It will boost your energy levels and help you to ward off medical conditions such as; Heart Disease and Strokes, High blood pressure, Stress and Anxiety to name a few.

By using the poles you use more muscles which significantly increases the amount of calories burned without making you feel you are pushing yourself too hard.

Nordic Walking uses most of the major muscles in the body and therefore helps to keep them in good condition. This gives you the added benefit of improved posture and a more toned physique too, it is particularly good for the upper body; especially the upper arms and the core.

You can not beat the feeling of being outside in the fresh air; it clears away the cobwebs and leaves you feeling refreshed and invigorated. So long as it is not pouring with rain or heavy snow we will be heading out every Tuesday at 9:30am.

I love Nordic Walking and so do my regular ‘Nordic Walkers’ so put on your jumper and come and join us.

Caroline Riddall, Fitness Manager, Caversham Health & Fitness

Nordic Walking Testimonial
“Having done a small amount of walking with poles in the past I was intrigued to find out how Nordic Walking would differ. Firstly Caroline introduced me to poles, teaching me how to hold them correctly, and how to swing my arms to build momentum when walking. After a short practice I quickly picked up the technique. Initially I was apprehensive about joining the class as I worried I might not be able to keep up with the pace, but I needn’t have been concerned as the pace was comfortable for everyone in the class. Half way through the walk we stopped to do some resistance exercises with the poles and by the end of the walk I could really feel the benefits to my upper arms. Nordic Walking really boosted my spirits and put me in a great frame of mind for the day!”
- Catherine

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!

Beach Ready Summer Circuits

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Summer CircuitsFor some, summer conjures up thoughts hot sticky days and lazy warm summer evenings, relaxing times with lots of happiness and laughter. With summer 2011 just around the corner, I’m sure there are lots of you getting excited about planning your beach holiday, purchasing your new summer wardrobe and buying some fabulous new beachwear!

Yet for others, the thought of summer brings on nothing but stress and the whole “showing that little bit of extra flesh” can be quite daunting. I believe the main trigger for this is linked to how we view ourselves, internally and externally. How confident are we with the way we look? But, most importantly, it could just simply be that you just don’t feel “beach ready” and this is where I can help.

Every Saturday morning, throughout the summer months, I’ll be at Caversham Health and Fitness teaching a “Beach Ready Summer Circuits” class. This is a class specifically designed to get your body beach ready. The most important way to achieve this beach ready body is by changing your workout routine, this will prevent that weight loss plateau we all suffer from. Beach Ready Summer Circuits is one hour long and designed to help you reach your goals and target those problem areas. But, I’m a great believer in making my classes entertaining, hard work yet fun, as well as being a support for you to understand your needs and your own personal goals.

Circuit training is a total body workout that involves performing a series of different exercises for a set amount of time. With a mixture of both strength, and cardiovascular exercises, you can realise the benefits from both types of training.

The benefits of circuit training are:

  • Adapted to all fitness levels
  • Total overall body sculpting
  • Faster metabolism – resulting in more calories burned each day
  • Increased muscular strength
  • Increased cardiovascular fitness levels
  • Time efficient
  • Very sociable
  • Brilliant fun with lots of smiles, entertainment and laughter

Adding cardiovascular exercises between strength training, rather than resting, increases lean body mass (less fat = more lean muscle) which in turn creates a higher resting metabolism. This means that more calories are burned each day.

With the quick pace of the class, the constantly changing exercises, and a stress placed on the body, which is totally unique to circuit training, this is like no other training programme.

It is really important to remember that a circuits class can be personalised to your fitness levels. Whether you are a beginner or an athlete, it is adaptable on all levels.

For circuit class times see the CHF studio timetable

I hope to see you in the class soon.

Natalie Dance
CHF Instructor

September Gym Challenge

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Test of Strength and endurance for members and being timed by a member of staff to check form and to make sure their posture is perfect – any that are not do not count!!

Members can choose from either:

  • Bodyweight Squats
  • Press ups
  • Dips
  • Pull-ups

Members get 3 minutes to get as many reps as they can and rest where needed but the clock keeps running till the 3 minutes are up. We have had 20 or more members enter so far and it’s getting very competitive!

Next month is going to be on the Versa Climber (similar to climbing a ladder) but I need to work out the challenge distance. This is going to be a test of endurance on the cardiovascular side where as this month’s challenge is strength endurance based.

Exercise – How to keep motivated

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Its the end of the week, and the working day may be dragging a bit.  The first thing on your mind is 5pm, going home and enjoying the weekend – and whilst downtime is great, how do you get through those tough patches when you need to keep motivated?

It’s not just in work where motivation can suffer – if you’re embarking on a fitness regime, with the weekend around the corner, it can be difficult to keep your mind on the job, and your body in the gym.

So this week Caversham Health and Fitness Personal Trainer Mark suggests 10 key points that could help you boost your motivation levels, and your fitness regime.

Top 10 tips on how to stay motivated

A lot of my clients mention the hardest thing to do when working towards their health and fitness goals is staying motivated, so here are 10 top tips to keep you inspired:

  • Never give up

If you fall off the wagon, so be it, it happens but get back on straight away. Don’t let one bad day or one bad week become anything more.

  • Don’t procrastinate

Should I go to the gym? Shouldn’t I? Should I? Shouldn’t I? Avoid wasting time thinking about it and ‘just do it’ – something is always going to be better than nothing.

  • Identify exactly what it is you want

Stop at nothing to achieve that. Set yourself specific goals with realistic deadline in order to measure your progress and celebrate your success.

  • Do the best with what you have

If you only have limited time to train make the most of that time, up the intensity if the duration is lessened.  If you are going away, take your kit. Go for a walk, go for a run do some body weight exercises.

  • Replace bad habits

We are all creatures of habit. Some of these habits serve us, some don’t.  If you don’t like where you are today then evaluate yesterdays habits that got you to this point. Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is insane. Replace old habits that didn’t serve you with you ones that do. Remember: its never too late to be who you’ve always wanted to be.

  • Make consistent baby steps

The best approach to sustained lifestyle change is to make small changes each day towards your goal.  Always strive to be a little better than yesterday.

  • Test Yourself

There aren’t any failures on your journey only good and bad tests. Learn from both in order to find out what works best for you.

  • Social support and role modelling

Surround yourself with others who support your weight loss and healthy habits . By doing so you can leverage their knowledge, support and encouragement to help spur you on to even greater success and also help you through any rough patches you might be feeling.

  • Push yourself

Most people want to stay comfortable but if you wish to accomplish great things for yourself you must push yourself further than you have before. This requires discipline and that means doing the opposite of what you might feel like doing. By doing this you will be building your mental muscles as well as your physical ones.

  • Plan

Be prepared, planning is the key to success. Plans when you can shop, when you’ll need to take healthy snacks with you, plan your meals, plan your workouts. Get organised, get fit, get healthy, get happy!

  • Realise it’s up to YOU

Everyone can succeed in their fitness goals  – it just comes down to how badly you want it.

Now go and be the best you can be, better than yesterday and even better tomorrow!

A CHF Success Story…

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After seeing an unflattering photo of herself Lois decided it was time to take action…. and now with the help of Caversham Health and Fitness Lois Lee has lost two stone, is fighting fit and more beautiful than ever!

Here CHF find out more about her journery.

CHF: Hi Lois, thanks very much for sharing your story.  So what was your motivation for joining Caversham Health and Fitness?

LL: I joined in mid march after I saw a photo of myself. When I looked at it I wasn’t happy, I was very depressed in fact, so I joined ClubCHF.

Personal Trainer’s Tip: Take a ‘before’ photo at the start of your healthy lifestyle change to celebrate how far you’ve come when you look back and also spur you towards your ideal.

CHF: Why ClubCHF?

LL: I can’t drive so the location was perfect walking distance from work and home. I had in my mind what I wanted to do after researching on the internet. I looked at various bodybuilding websites for hints and tips. I was very organised, I even downloaded a spreadsheet of what exercises to do and for how long.

Personal Trainer’s Tip: It’s all about ‘Location, Location, Location!’ If you have to go pass a gym, you are more likely to stay motivated to go.

CHF: When did you start to see results?

LL: After about 6 weeks, they weren’t dramatic but I started to feel better and fitter, I wasn’t getting so out of breath and my trousers started to fit better. I became more determined. I made sure I came to the gym even if I didn’t enjoy it on the previous occasion.

Personal Trainer’s Tip: It’s important to remember that just as weight doesn’t go on in one week its unrealistic to expect to see visible results immediately.

CHF: So how did you stay motivated?

LL: After about 4 weeks I booked a Personal Training session with Mark, it was really good and focused me a little more and it was good to get an expert opinion on weight loss and toning. I was designed a kettle bell program and shown how to do press ups properly.  I also used the Swiss ball a lot.

I started to do the Body Combat once a week; it was really good for cardio and improved my asthma symptoms and general fitness. After three weeks I also started doing Circuits on Thursday.

Soon after the Personal Training I’d lost one stone!

Personal Trainer’s Tip: Coincidence?! Its important to keep things varied and interesting. So consider Personal Training or joining a class for a change of environment, focus and stimulus.

CHF: That’s great!  Did you measure your progress in other ways?

LL: I started to notice clothes were beginning to droop off me. I made a conscious decision not to weigh myself at the start for I thought I might get discouraged.  On Mark’s recommendation when my confidence had increased I started doing a weekly weigh-in every Monday after my session to gauge my progress.

Personal Trainer’s Tip: Don’t be a slave to the scales, you want to loose fat as opposed to weight per se. Muscle is heavier than fat so you may be putting on weight in the form of muscle that enables you to burn calories more effectively. Take notice of how your clothes fit (or not) to gauge your progress.

CHF: Do you think anything else contributed to your success?

LL: I started to keep a food diary after my first PT session. At the start I ensured I ate 3 main meals a day i.e. breakfast, lunch and dinner which I wasn’t doing before. Then I increased that to 5 small meals. Every Friday I’d treat myself to a lunch of my choice either an M&S burger or Subway but now I don’t always have it nor want it. At the weekend I’d allow myself some chocolate but I don’t even want it now either.

Personal Trainer’s Tip: You can’t out exercise a bad diet. Take note of what you are eating and drinking my keeping a food diary and you’ll be surprised at what it shows!

CHF: What advice would you give to others?

LL: Persevere, if you have a bad day or bad week (a Chinese takeaway or chocolate like I did many times!) start again tomorrow.

Personal Trainer’s Tip: Here! Here! Lois.  Try to abide by the 80/20 rule.   80% stick to your diet and exercise plan but 20% give yourself a little break – life is for living after all.

CHF: It sounds like you’ve had a great journey. What have you learnt?

LL: That it’s not just about weight loss but overall health and fitness and how you feel about yourself. It’s not a 12 week plan but a life style. I didn’t lose the weight all of a sudden. It was a gradual thing, I started really slowly and it took 6 months to get here.  I felt a bit lonely at some points and I found forums on the web really helped support what I was doing.

CHF: What next?

LL: Carry on doing what I’m doing! I love the kettle bell, it’s like no other exercise. It’s not cardio, not weights but everything in one. I also like the fact that not a lot of people know how to use them, that makes me feel a bit special – especially when I pick up the big 16kg one and people are looking at me.

CHF: How are you feeling now compared to when you started?

LL: I’m brimming with confidence physically and mentally, I feel I still have more to lose but in the meantime I’ve booked myself in for a massage with Kevin Mullen to celebrate. I’ve had so many positive comments. The reaction from family and friends has been fantastic. People are shocked, even people I don’t  know are commenting on how I’m  dropping weight like there’s no tomorrow. Just this week the doorman of one of our work buildings looked at me and asked ‘Where are you going?!’

Personal Trainer’s Tip: Keep it up Lois. Very well done! It’s people like yourself that make my job so worthwhile.

Don’t forget if you ever need support or advice with your fitness regime just ask a member of CHF staff who will be more than happy to help you.

Lois’ Weekly Workouts

Mon : Kettlebells

Tue: Bodycombat

Wed: Boxing circuits

Thurs:  Circuit training

Fri:  See how I feel, maybe a kettle bell workout

Sat: Book out a squash court and dance around for 45 mins

Sun:  rest

Lois’ Diet

Breakfast:  weetabix, shreddies, bran based cereal with fruit

Mid morning: Light yogurt

Lunch:  Salad with a source of protein (nuts and/or seeds/fish) and some fruit

Mid afternoon:  Banana

Dinner:  Either lean mince/ fish/ chicken/ with veggies sometimes potatoes

5 Tips to make this your best Summer ever!

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So the skies are clearer, the weather is warmer, and you’re thinking about cracking out your swimsuit, and this isn’t always a pleasant experience, and with the World Cup and Wimbledon it’s often easier to watch other people exercising than taking the plunge yourself.

Don’t forget that up until June 30th you can work towards getting yourself Beach Fit with Caversham Health and Fitness with our special programme -  and at CHF we’re committed to helping you maintain a healthier, more active lifestyle through out the year, and so here we’ve compiled 5 top tips that could reinvigorate your training and the rest of your summer!

5 Tips to make this your best Summer ever!

1.    Use compound movements – that is those that  work several muscle groups at once,  the more muscles you work the more calories you’ll burn. It also means that you can work more in less time – so you still have time to fit in a gym session and get back to watch the World Cup.

Use these big, muscle-building exercises to really torch those calories:
Chest:  Press Ups, Bench Press, Dips
Back:  Deadlifts, High Pulls, Chin Ups ( if you’re not quite ready to face the chin up bar just yet then you could use the Incline Pull instead)
Legs:  Squats, Lunges, Step Ups

2.    Select the right weight – most gym goers programs would be a great deal more beneficial if they selected the right weight. That is one that on the last few repetitions it’s getting progressively harder to maintain that perfect form Frazer, Vee, Mel or Rob demonstrated in your ‘Start to Train’.  If you get to the end of your set number of repetitions and you could have done more than you need to take that weight up again next set.

3.    Up the intensity, lessen the duration – most of us are time poor, leading busy lives and sometimes it can be hard to figure out how you can find that hour to make it to the gym. Here’s the good news – you don’t have to! Only got 40 minutes? Fine. Only got 30? That’s okay. 20 all you can manage. Come on in. 15? Now you’re pushing it! Whatever time you have –use it. But use it effectively. If you’re only doing half of your program, double the intensity. Something is always better than nothing and you’ll always feel better afterwards.

4.    Do things you enjoy – every piece of state of the art kit at Caversham Health and Fitness has the ability to help you achieve what you joined here to accomplish. Some you’ll like, some you won’t.  Just because someone in a fitness magazine lost two stone by running doesn’t mean you have to slave away on the running belt if you it doesn’t motivate you. Your body doesn’t really care how you move – as long as you move. Don’t like working out in the gym? Take part in classes. There is no right or wrong way to get healthy – just the right one for you. Let us help you find it and away you go!

5.    Follow the 80/20 rule – you don’t have to suddenly become hermit once you embark on your healthier lifestyle.  ‘Everything in moderation, including moderation’ somebody said whose name escapes me. For 80% of the time stick to your gym plan, make those healthier food choices, get the amount of sleep you know you need to function properly but 20% of the time let yourself off of the hook now and again to reap the rewards of all your hard work and effort.  That could mean having one day a week when you eat what you want, having that pudding at the restaurant. You’ve earned it. Then back to that 80%, don’t let that one day become a bad week or a bad month. Celebrate!