April 2008

SPRING MAKEOVER

Following the changes announced last month the gym itself is now having a spring makeover.  As a first step I have moved the reception downstairs to open the area up and make the entrance to the gym as welcoming as possible. This also allows the team to keep a watchful eye over exercise and good form in the lower training suite! The painting is progressing well and the end is in sight, just the studio and a few small areas within the gym itself to be completed.  I am sure that these changes will have a really positive effect on the workouts achieved in the gym and I appreciate your patience during this time.  New carpets and equipment will follow in April.  Watch this space!

Blood pressure lowered with mild exercise

Even low levels of exercise can boost fitness and significantly reduce blood pressure.  According to a University of Ulster study, thirty minutes of moderate exercise, three times a week, can benefit wellbeing by boosting fitness and considerably lowering blood pressure.

More than 100 inactive people, aged 40 to 60, participated in a 12 week exercise programme with no changes to their diet. The group was divided into three, with one group assigned to 30 minutes of exercise five days a week, while another group exercised three days a week for 30 minutes. The remainder were asked not to change their current lifestyle.

Dr Mark Tully, from the Health and Rehabilitation Sciences Research Institute at UU said “We recorded blood pressure, blood cholesterol, weight, hip and waist girth, and overall fitness at the start and finish of the 12-week study. Systolic blood pressure and waist and hip girth fell significantly in both of the active groups. Overall fitness also increased.  Falls of a few millimetres in blood pressure and shrinkage of a few centimetres in hip and waist circumference are enough to make a difference to an individual’s risk of dying from a cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, the findings show that even moderate intensity physical exercise below the recommended levels (30 minutes of moderately strenuous exercise on at least five days of the week), still makes a difference to health.”
Remember to ask for a copy of the new ‘Focus on Fitness 30 Minutes to Spare’ exercise plan to give you a boost when time is short.

New class:
Monday mornings at 9.30 am will see the start of a Bums, Tums and Toning class with Jo, a fresh new face and extension to the team.  Please come and give it a try if you can. Tell all your friends and let’s make it a busy class.

Members of the Month for March are:

1. John Parfitt - fantastic effort, attendance and determination to get to your health and fitness goals. Keep it up John.
2. Viv Reed - 6kg weight loss when re-assessed this week. Shows that the hard work pays off.  Excellent Viv.
3. Jessica Puddy - gruelling work on that rowing machine has now seen you row to a staggering 21 km!  Congratulations.

Well done to the guys who battled the elements and delayed start time in the cold to complete the Bath Half Marathon. They were Phil Taylor, Sian Edwards, Marie Coupland and Hannah Coupland. Great effort guys well done.

May Bank Holidays

We will be closed on Monday 4th and Monday 26th May.

Good luck to:

1. Ann Roberts Phare who competes in a National Bowls semi final team event in April.  May the FOF be with you!
2. our very own gym assistant Miles who embarks on his first house purchase in Swindon this month.  Good luck with that mortgage Miles!

New members:
In March we welcomed the following eager beavers: Carolyn and Andrew Dickerson, Tony Petrou, Nigel Parsons , Clare Stephens, Sally Rice and we welcomed back with open arms Jaq Ponting, Roanne Bewley and Gerry Monk. We look forward to helping you all towards your goals.

Your Life Expectancy

For a bit of light relief play the Longevity Game.  Go to www.nmf.com and click on Learning Centre, then Longevity Game.  Answer a series of questions about yourself with each answer adding to or taking from your predicted age expectancy.  It won’t tell you anything new about keeping fit but makes you feel good as your life expectancy rises with all the right answers that members are sure to give!

And finally - did you know that men are just as chatty as women?
Men and women talk as much as each other, suggests a study which says that, on average, both genders speak around 16,000 words a day - a fact challenging the traditional notion that girls are considerably more chatty than boys.  From the Guardian July 2007.