House of Fitness Changes

The new owners of House of Fitness would like to get to know all the members of the gym. There was an information day at the gym on Saturday 15 October 2011. They presented the changes to the gym of which a short summary follows:

1. There will be a change in the aerobic schedule from the end of October - keep your eyes open for a brand new schedule.
2. The new owners are going to replace the existing indoor cycles within the next 4 to 5 months.
3. Some of the cardio vascular machines will be upgraded within the next 4 to 5 months
4. Permanent staff will be trained to take a class if and when there is a no-show from an instructor
5. Flooring (old carpets) will be replaced with rubber flooring
6. Where necessary, upholstery on the strength and weight machines will be replaced
7. New contracts and pricing structure will kick into place from 17 October 2011.

Please come and meet the new owner and manager and have a chat with them to see how they can fulfill your fitness and health goals.

As soon as the new aerobic schedule is available it will be published on the blog site as well as the website. It will also be available at the gym.

Losing Weight on Eat Stop Eat

Clinical Research Proves That Eat Stop Eat Will Help You Lose Weight, Burn Ugly Body Fat, and Naturally Stimulate Growth Hormone - All While Having a Fast Metabolism and Building Lean Muscle

I discovered this site a few years ago. Brad Pilon presents a very informative view on weight loss on a revolutionary way of eating. Basically using short fasting periods where you fast for only 24 hours at a time. I have used this a couple of times in my life and it works perfectly well.

The biggest question - if you stop eating don't you lose muscle mass, is answered by Brad Pilon in great detail. 

Link to the website of Eatstopeat and make your own decisions... It is really worth looking into.

Kettlebell training vs traditional cardio training

I discovered this article about cardio and kettlebell training on the blog site of  Chris Lopez. As we all know, I promote Kettlebell training for strength, fitness, core, endurance, etc. and when I read this I just knew I had to share it with you…

Here’s a study that recently came out from Truman State University studying the cardiovascular "effects" of swinging a kettlebell…

Farrar, RE, Mayhew, JL, and Koch, AJ. Oxygen cost of kettlebell swings. J Strength Cond Res 24(4): 1034-1036, 2010.Health & Exercise Sciences Department, Human Performance Laboratory, Truman State University, Kirksville, Missouri.

The subjects were asked to swing a 16kg kettlebell (using 2-handed swings) as many times as possible within a 12-minute period. The swings did not have to be continuous and there were no scheduled rest periods (so they could rest whenever they felt the need to). They just had to do as many reps as they could within the allotted time.

The researchers found that the test subjects completed anywhere between 198 – 333 swings and they worked at an average of 86% of their max heart rate. What’s more (and here’s where it gets interesting), the subjects worked at 65% of their VO2 Max (which was measured before the test).

So what does this mean for you and me?

"Continuous kettlebell swings can impart a metabolic challenge of sufficient intensity to increase Vo2max. Heart rate was substantially higher than Vo2 during kettlebell swings. Kettlebells provide a useful tool with which coaches may improve the cardiorespiratory fitness of their athletes.”

Or….

Continuous kettlebell swings can improve cardiovascular fitness.

This is good news for those of us who can’t afford the time to get on a treadmill for hours at a time and jog to try improve our heart health.

It also can provide a healthier alternative to traditional cardio because of the low impact that kettlebell swings have on your joints.

Looking into swinging vs cardio further, 3 of the most common forms of cardio training (running, cycling & ellipticall-ing…I don’t know what to call that) are mainly quad-dominant activities.

KB Swings primarily work your posterior chain (back, glutes, hamstrings) and your abs more effectively. Those posterior chain muscles are key for not only posture and joint health (primarily for your oft vulnerable knees & hips), but are essential for athletic performance, strength & power.

Think: being able to throw your 3 year old up in the air and catching her without the fear of "pulling" or "straining" something.

Be warned though, don’t set your timer for 12-minutes and start swinging. Just like every exercise, you need to start at a realistic level and progress gradually.

My suggestion is to start with 2-minutes of swings and work your way up to 12 minutes, increasing the duration of your swing workout by 1 minute per week.

OK, time to get to my trailer and get my make-up on

-Chris Lopez, CSCS, CTT

Class Schedule

Kettlebell information

Read about the round metal ball that is fast becoming the much talked about piece of equipment in a gym. People from all walks of live are starting to use the kettlebell to enhance their training program and you can actually have fun doing it!! Kettlebells can never be boring!!