Workout of the week 30th January 2012

Body weight outdoor circuit

Now that we finally have some good summer weather (as of today!!), why not mix up your training with an outdoor session! You can use this body weight circuit routine or just take the exercises and make up your own routine!

To warm up jog about 1.2km (or 3 laps of an athletics track)
10 burpees
10 push ups
10 reverse lunges
10 opposite arm/opposite leg raises (lying on stomach)
10 diamond push ups
10 squat jumps
10 oblique twists (lying on back, legs in the air, twisting side to side at the hips)
10 Body weight dips (on a chair or bench)
10 sets of 10 second wall sits
10 sets of 10 star jumps with 5 seconds rest between sets

Cool down with a walk similar in distance to your warm up and make sure you stretch after exercising!

See how many times you can complete this circuit as a single session and post your numbers below!!!

Forming Good Healthy Habits

Having trouble sticking to your training goals for the new year already?. I will share with you what really stuck out for me in an article I read recently about forming habits and if you put into perspective that it only takes 21-30 days to form a new habit sticking to a “training goal “ should be a lot easier this time around.


A habit is an action that we perform subconsciously, we don’t really think about doing these things, they seem to happen on their own. Habits can be good or bad depending on how they enhance our quality of life or detract from it.

Our minds become conditioned to do things in a certain way, simply because we have done them over and over again.

This can be a good thing as it makes our daily routine so much easier, imagine having to focus intently on every little thing you did, like washing dishes or taking out the garbage.

However, negative actions can also become habits, and that makes them extremely difficult to change. How many times have you tried to adopt an exercise program, quit smoking, lose weight, or give up junk food?

It takes between 21-30 days to form a new habit. This means you must perform your new actions repeatedly, day after day for up to 30 days before your subconscious mind will begin to do them automatically.

When trying to break a bad habit, it is usually helpful to substitute a good habit. Otherwise you'll end up feeling restless and gravitate back to the bad habit again to fill the void. For example, when quitting smoking, take up gum chewing, exercise, deep breathing, knitting, etc.

When the urge for a cigarette hits, you have other activities you can use to busy yourself. At first, the new habit may not seem like an adequate substitute (especially if nicotine withdrawal is part of the equation!), but with consistent reinforcement, your mind will begin to let go of the old habit of smoking and adopt the newer habits you have substituted.

When trying to adopt a new habit, such as exercise, you may need to place visible reminders at your desk, on the refrigerator door, or the bathroom mirror. Remember that your mind is accustomed to not thinking about exercise. It will take some focused attention to change that.

It is important to have patience with yourself as you work on changing your habits. Remember that they are habits because they are largely subconscious. As you focus your conscious mind repeatedly on your new actions, they will also become subconscious, just like the negative actions did.

Give it a go take a 30 day challenge!

Build your perfect chest...

This chest workout  is so basic, but they key is to perform each repetition with as near to perfect form as you possibly can which means selecting the right weight for you, not the weight that you want everyone else to see you lifting!

Some other important tips that you can utilise to build you perfect chest include;

Tracking - Record how much you lift, how many repetitions you perform and how many sets you do after each workout. This way you will be able to increase sets, reps and weights as your strength increases.

Variety - If you use this workout as a basis to get you started, add in different chest exercises very 4-6 weeks to shock your muscles

Consistency - You want to make sure that you are maintaining (if not improving upon) the same high level of intensity and getting through all exercises when you complete this or any other workout!

(Exercise Sets Reps)

Flat Dumbell bench press, 4 sets,  8-12 reps

Incline Barbell press, 3 sets,  8-12 reps

Parallel Bar dips, 3 sets,  8-12 reps

Cable crossover 5 sets 6-10 reps

Let us know how you go in the comments section below!

Women On Weights

1.You will not get big and bulky! This is one of the biggest myths that has ever existed! Women do not have the same level of hormones in their body in comparison to men, meaning they are less likely to gain size from strength training but instead they develop tone and shape.



2. Increased bone density and reduce the risk of osteoporosis. The stress exerted on the bones during weight training forces bones to strengthen. This increase in bone density lowers the risk of osteoporosis.


3. Improved balance and stability. This is achieved through development of greater core strength. Weight training exercises, particularly for legs and abdominals create a


4. Gain strength and complete daily tasks with ease, feeling less fatigued. According to a recent study, even moderate weight training can increase a women’s strength by 30 to 50 precent. An increase of this magnitude will mean that daily chores will be completed with ease and cause little to no fatigue.


5. Reduced risk of heart disease by lowering blood pressure and “bad” cholesterol. How? Regular exercise increases the strength of your heart; a stronger heart can pump more blood with less effort. Therefore if your heart works less to pump, the force on your arteries is lowered which lowers your blood pressure.


6. Self-confidence will sky rocket with your bodies new toning and definition. Increased tone and decreased body fat. How could you possibly avoid being happy with the way you look when those are the outcomes of your training!


7. You will have an increased metabolic rate, meaning you will burn more calories day to day. As your muscle mass increases your metabolic rate increases, which means you will burn more calories on a daily basis.


8. You will be less prone to injury. Weight training will help prevent injury by strengthening not only muscles but also your connective tissue and joint stability. These improvements will act as reinforcement for the joints and help prevent injury.


9. Avoid plateau by spicing up your workout with new exercises and techniques. A plateau will occur if you engage in an unchanged training regimen for an extended period of time. With the variety of techniques, reps, sets and exercises that can be used in weight training it is easy to maintain variety and avoid plateau.


10. Time effective, a quick weights workout can be completed in just 30 minutes. Enough said! Less time in the gym, more time to do what you want!

2012 workout part 2

This workout is the same format as part 1 of the welcome to 2012 workout (1 set of 12 different exercises) The idea is for people new to training to get an understanding of the different types of exercises available and to remind experienced trainers of some old favourites!

1. Cross trainer 12 mins with a resistance of at least level 5


2. Incline dumbbell press

3. Lateral shoulder raises

4. Barbell preacher curls

5. Cable Tricep extensions

6. Lateral medicine ball twists (for obliques)

7. Squats

8. Box jumps

9. Weighted step ups

10. Calf press on leg press machine

11. Deadlifts

12. 12 mins on treadmill with an incline of at least 5 degrees

Let us know how you go!!!

Introducing the SWAP

Throughout 2012 we will be promoting various “SWAP’s” that we recommend people become involved in to improve their lifestyle in general. We are going to have one SWAP per month from January to December in an attempt to encourage our members to live a little better and potentially increase or improve their results in the gym! We think that this video will help you understand where we are coming from (and it's awesome)!

So, whats the first swap???

30 mins a day! That’s the recommended amount of exercise that you need! Obviously the frequency of gym visits and duration in the gym will vary from person to person but that is generally the recommended standard.

So in January before all of the good television starts, why not SWAP 30 mins of television for 30 mins of exercise once a day or even 3 times a week? Try it for a month see how you like it!

Welcome to 2012 workout part 1

12 reps of 12 exercises to get you started for the New Year. These 12 common exercises will work wonders for people training at any level, from first timers to veterans in the gym! Being a full body workout, it may be a good way to ease back into training after the holiday season! Also not that we have not listed a specific number of sets to do for each exercise, this is purely because we want you to decide that based on your current level of fitness!!!

1. Row 12 x 100M

2. Barbell Bench press
3. Standing military shoulder press
4. Tricep dips (either body weight or machine)
5. Alternate Dumbell curls
6. Fit ball crunches
7. Weighted Lunges
8. Leg extension
9. Leg curl
10. Seated calf raises
11. Lower back extensions
12. 12 mins bike at a resistance level of at least 5

Feel free to comment and let us know how you go OR if you have a favourite exercise that you think should make it to part 2 of the 2012 workout!

Sticking to your new year’s resolution…

How many times have you honestly completed a new year’s resolution? Or let me ask you this, how many years in a row have you had exactly the same new year’s resolution? Maybe we set our expectations too high each year or maybe we just don’t want to achieve the goals that we set for ourselves as much as we think.

Give up drinking, lose weight, get abs, quit smoking or stop eating chocolate … sound familiar? I’m sure you’ve heard them or maybe even said them, the big hopes and dreams that we all have for our lives in the year ahead. The only problem is that not a single one of those types of resolutions are easy to achieve they take lots and lots of hard work, discipline and will power.

Here’s a few easy ways to help you stick it out that little bit longer and hopefully achieve your goals for the year ahead…

Write your resolution down (preferably somewhere that people can see it) – This way it’s not just in your head. The more visible and permanent the better, it will be a constant reminder for you to take action!

Buddy up – Going it alone can be tough, having a buddy will help with motivation and support especially when times get tough.

Baby steps – Don’t expect to drop 20 kilo’s in a week or go from smoking a pack a day to nothing. Set smaller, more achievable targets along the way to your big picture goal.

Reward yourself – preferably not with something that contradicts your goals of course! It wouldn’t be ideal to reward a 3 kilo loss with a large big mac meal, but maybe a new piece of clothing or something along those lines might be a more suitable reward.


Good luck, make sure you put in the work to achieve your goals in 2012!