Oxygen Health & Fitness

Personal growth assured with Spartan Training Club & Saddleback Smash

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Time for some Monday Motivation to start your week.

Spring is here and with that comes a time of rebirth, growth and change for everything, you included. Of course, you could do this anytime but Spring gives us a wonderful reminder to stop talkin and start doin!

If you’ve been meaning to step up your fitness training in Kiama now’s the time.

Been meaning to ditch the afternoon junk food? Do it now.

Talking about registering for Saddleback Smash? Sign up here right now!

“Don’t wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.”

I’m on a personal mission to complete 75 exercise sessions by the start of Summer. That’ll be comprised of Spartan Training Club, Saddleback Smash training and some Kiama Boot Camp sessions. I’ve been getting about 4-5 sessions each week but I know that 6th session is going to make a big difference to my overall perfomance and results. Time to grow to another level.

Where’s your area of growth? What are you going to take to the next level?

Now’s the perfect time to think about it with the change of season but don’t spend too much time thinking. It’s in the doing that counts.

I’d love to hear about your plans so leave us a comment so we can share in the excitement with you.

Wednesday Wellbeing – Happiness Tips from your Kiama Personal Trainer

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Today’s blog post is based on an article I read last Summer in the Sunday Telegraph’s Body + Soul Magazine. Its titled 5 Elements of Happiness. The road to happiness is a much argued topic but new research may end the debate. It seems there are five areas essential to our wellbeing – Career, Relationships, Finances, Health & Community. As a Kiama Personal Trainer, I obviously help people with Health (and often Community) as well and it’s amazing how getting this area right first can improve all the others.

Extensive research across 150 countries reveals that a staggering 93 percent of people struggle to find happiness and improve their lives. The fatal mistake is to focus too intently on one area and fail to address other needs and broader fulfillment.

Tom Rath and Jim Harter, authors of Wellbeing: The Five Essential Element, argue that:

“as long as we allow narrow short term desires to rule, we can’t effect long term behavioural change.”

We need to find short term incentives that are consistent with our long term objectives – because only 7 percent of people enjoy sucess in all five areas and the genuine happiness that accompanies it.

The Elements of Happiness…

1. Work it out. People with high career wellbeing wake up every morning with something to look forward to doing. People who have the opportunity to use their strengths at work are three times more likely to report having an excellent quality of life. We spend so much of our waking life working, so it makes sense that people with high Career Wellbeing tend to be thriving in their lives overall.

 

2. You’ve got to have friends. People with at least three or four close friendships are happier and have higher wellbeing. Ideally we should be spending six hours a day relating to others – at work, home and online. Great relationships give people positive energy on a daily basis.

 

3. Rich Pickings. The perception that you have more than enough money to do what you want has three times more impact than your actual income on overall wellbeing. We should be thinking more about financial security rather than wealth –  and spending on experiences rather than objects. The amount of money you have is not the best gauge of your financial wellbeing, let alone your life in general. It’s more about having the means to satisfy your wants, as well as long term security.

 

4. Get physical. People with thriving physical wellbeing effectively manage their health and happiness. Choosing food on it’s ability to nourish your body, getting enough sleep and exercising each day will lead to greater physical wellbeing. This not only has short term implications like looking and feeling better but it can help to improve your life in the long term. How many times have you heard that from your Kiama Personal Trainer?

 

5. Community spirit. Community wellbeing can be the differentiator between a good life and a great one. Getting involved in and giving back to your community brings incredible rewards. When we do things for others, we see how we can make a difference and this gives us confidence in our own ability to create change.

 

I’ll leave you with a great summary from Mr Happy himself – Dr Timothy Sharp from The Happiness Institute:

 

“I believe happiness is something you choose – where C.H.O.O.S.E is both a philosphy for taking responsibility and an acronym for six key positive psychology strategies:

Clarity (of purpose and direction)

Healthy living

Optimism

Others (because relationships matter)

Strengths (which are more important to focus on than weaknesses)

Enjoyment (because life’s too short not to have fun with it)


I try to C.H.O.O.S.E happiness as often as possible, and guess what… it works!”

We win some, we lose some but what can we learn?

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The agony and the ecstasy! In the wee hours of this morning Australia won their World Cup Soccer game against Serbia. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough to secure our place in the quarter finals so the dream is over for another four years. Not forever, but it is over for now. So you win some, you lose some but what can we learn from this and what has it got to do with fitness training in Kiama? Apart from a few members wanting to have a World Cup Soccer game at Black Beach in Kiama, let me explain.

Well maybe we were never going to beat Germany in that first game. It was after all our first game and Germany are a tough task. But maybe we could have worked harder to at least stop them scoring four goals against us. Knowing that statistically we were a better chance of conquering the challenges that still lie ahead eg Ghana and Serbia. If we did our best against Germany (and still lost) but then continued to work hard the Socceroos would have continued to generate support the longer the Cup went on. Just like the snowball of support when Australia did so well four years ago.

We have to learn not to make excuses when this didn’t go right or that was unfair. Have the belief that, if we just do all the little things right, have the foundations in place we can work together towards our goal. We may not have eventually achieved it, but if we can stick to our plan and tick off all the little things we need to do right at least we can bow out in style and say we gave it all we had.

Transfer these qualities to your fitness program.

You know it’s never going to be easy starting out (Germany).

It’s not going to be easy continuing to improve your fitness program either. But it should get easier than when you first started (Ghana and Serbia).

Firstly, you need to map out a good plan. It needs to be specific. It can’t be just “yeah I’m gunna get back into exercising again” or “I want to lose weight”. What exactly do you want and how will you go about achieving it? How much weight is it? 7kg, 15kg. Be specific. What needs to change to make it happen? Do you need to correct your diet (probably), do you need to do more Strength training or improve your running? You get the picture, be specific and write it down.

Second, know that once you have a plan in place and the longer you stick to it, statistically the better chance you have of conquering the challenges that lie ahead. Whether that challenge is losing 7kg, or taking your running to the next level, or reducing your likeliness of getting the flu this Winter or getting osteoporosis later in life. Persevere.

You will find the longer you continue to work hard and stick to your guns the more support you will generate from others. Support from us, your Oxygen Trainers, support from your fellow Oxygen Members who can see you working hard and also support from friends and family members who probably think you’re mad for going down to do fitness training at Hindmarsh Park in the dark.

Thirdly, you WILL face obstacles along the way. See these as challenges not setbacks. You could make excuses that the weather is cold, you had a long day at work, your nutrition plan fell apart… So what? It’ll probably happen again too, you know that don’t you? How can you get around these obstacles? Ask yourself the hard questions and be truthful in your answers. You can’t lie to yourself. You will either a) find a way to get around it, making yourself a stronger person in the process or b)  justify a reason which shows that maybe you weren’t ready to commit to that goal just yet. And that’s okay too, just review your goals, create a new plan and laser in on it.

It all comes down to you and the choices you make. Often you’ll learn much more from your failures than your successes.

So first off, have the belief in yourself. If you don’t, no one else can help you. Then go about creating a plan and set the foundations in place. Create a support network and start working hard to achieve your goal. Your supporters will grow the harder you work. Let them know of your plans to keep yourself really accountable and do whatever it takes to achieve your goal. Laser-like focus. It won’t be easy, but nothing in life worth having ever is.

We’re here to help you with every step of that process.

Obviously we’ve got the fitness training part covered.

Next week we’ve got an exciting new service to offer that will take your training (and your results) to the next level.

Stay tuned…

PS – Big shout out to Luke Wilkshire (below) who played well and who many tip could one day Captain the Socceroos. I’m sure mum Lyn and family are all very proud.

How to Keep Your Cool with Fitness Training in Kiama

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Being the last week of summer we’re obviously looking at lower temperatures over the next 6 months.  I’ve had a few clients, friends and even curious onlookers ask me what we do in the cooler conditions of autumn and winter.

Well I’m here to tell you, NOTHING CHANGES!  In the rain, we still train.  In the cool, let exercise rule.  If there’s a gale, we’re training, don’t bail.  If it gets cold, keep moving, don’t fold.  If there’s lightening, we may stop, that’s frightening.

But seriously, why would we do anything different?

For me personally, Autumn is my favourite time of year, especially for training.  Instead of humid, sweaty sessions we get fresh, crisp conditions.  It’s the time of year for some of the most spectacular sunrises you will ever see.  It’s not hot but it’s not cold either, it’s just right.

There are some great fitness related events coming up that we can focus our energies towards, including a number of  south coast 5km fun runs such as: Shellharbour Festival of Sport Shell Cove Fun Run (next Sunday), The Mother’s Day Classic (in May) and the Kiama Health, Sport & Fitness Expo.  There’s the very first Kiama Relay for Life on the 1st of May which is a great community event that raises money for the Cancer Council. Oxygen will have a big presence at the Relay for Life and we will be looking for your support on a day where we will be remembered, thats for sure. For distance and longer runs there’s the Sutherland to Surf, Bondi to Bronte, and City2Surf – the world’s largest running event.

Not long after that, I’ll be competing in my 3rd Sydney Tower Run-Up.  That’s a run up the stairs of Centrepoint Tower, all 1508 steps.  It sounds crazy and it probably is, but there’s nothing more rewarding than achieving a goal you have set for yourself.  All these are external events to Oxygen Kiama, but something we can train for collectively as a fitness group.

Internal events within Oxygen include our very first “Road Trip” at the end of March to a mystery location, as well as a local session with a couple of “special guest” Trainers that’s not to be missed.  There’s a very green St Patrick’s Day session, Dave’s Birthday Bash in April, an ANZAC themed training session and for Winter Solstice in June (the shortest day of the year) there are some super sessions we’ve put together titled “short and sweet”.  You’re gunna love ’em.

We have some great info in the latest “Richly Rewarding Living” newsletter which you will all receive in the mail soon.  In there we share tips on how to avoid the blues and stick to your Winter training schedule.  Hydration, nutrition, recovery and the right clothing will all contribute to your performance levels.  Not only functional but also very trendy – check out the design of our Oxygen hoodies below.  These will sell fast so grab one of the first 20 by paying your $50 at class now. First in, best dressed!

Oxygen Hoodie

Week 1 Bonuses at Oxygen

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Happy New Year!  Welcome back to Oxygen Health & Fitness for 2010.

Training is underway again for both Group Training classes as well as Personal Training sessions and we are very excited about the year ahead. If you received our Newsletter in the mail at Xmas time don’t forget to utilise the Bring a Friend Gift Certificate before it expires 31st January. What a perfect way to get your friends started on a health & fitness program.

Most of our clients know of our Trainer Alix Henniker.  Alix is a multi talented young woman who amongst juggling a career as a Personal Trainer and Solicitor, has now qualified for training to become a Police Prosecutor.  Along with this Alix has been selected to appear in the upcoming TV series “The Recruits” which sees rookies entering the Police Academy in Goulburn.

Alix Henniker
Alix Henniker - The Recruit

The Recruits Production Manager has requested to film Alix at work doing what she does best for Oxygen.  So, with that in mind we have decided to put on a BONUS workout this Friday at 5:30pm – 6pm as our New Year gift to you.  It’s a good chance to get an extra session to start your year and you may even get your mug on TV!

It would be a huge favour to Alix and some great publicity for Oxygen if we could get as many people as possible for the session.  Members, non members, wives, husbands, friends, whoever – if they have any interest in doing a good deed and kickstarting their health and fitness for 2010 then please email or call us asap (4233 2963) to confirm your spot.

There has been a slight tweak to our Group Training Timetable this year with a re-arrangement of 6pm sessions and also the addition of a CORE class for our 6am Bootcampers.  Keep an eye out for additional classes being added at 7:30am for our Heart Health crew, 9:30am for the Mums and Shiftworkers and also afternoon classes for the Kids.  We’ll have Oxygen shirts running around all day long by the end of the year.

Just on that note, be sure to add your comments at the bottom of this blog post for anything you’d like to see added to our schedule for 2010 (be that timeslots, class types etc).

As for Week 1, we have seen some good numbers in attendance.  With a few people still on holidays and a tonne of people with New Year’s Resolutions to be fit, health and lose weight, January and February should mean busy times ahead.

On the topic of resolutions and being fit, did you know there are 5 key components to a successful exercise program?  One of those important steps is to assess where you are at right now.  It’s one thing to know where you want to go but if you don’t know where you are right now how can you measure your improvements?  Oxygen has the answer…

Fitness Age testing takes girth measurements all over your body – weight, strength testing, abdominal endurance, cardiovascular and flexibility assessments and calculates your Body Age, Strength Age, Cardio Age, Flexibility Age as well as an overall Fitness Age.  Oxygen conducts Group Fitness Age testing on the first Saturday of every month at 6:30am before Boxing.

For those of you who have already done Fitness Age testing before, you need to reassess to see if you have improved.  For those who have never completed Fitness Age testing, I highly recommend you participate.  It’s that perfect time of year to record your assessment so that you have a roadmap for where you need to get to in terms of fitness and health in 2010.

Good luck, train hard and may all your wishes come true in 2010.

Regards,

Dave Lambert

P.S – Don’t forget to leave your comments below to tell us what you’d like to see from Oxygen in 2010.  You may even want to publicly declare your health and fitness goals via this blog to keep yourself accountable.  Don’t laugh about it, it works!

Start of Summer

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Summer is here!
Summer is here!

Summer is here! Can you believe it? Here we are in December already – almost another year gone. If your year has been anything like mine, it’s probably felt very quick and very busy at the same time. 2010 promises to be an exciting year, I can’t wait!

Before 2009 comes to an end there’s still plenty happening. Tomorrow we have our second instalment of Fitness Age Testing at 6:30am before Boxing at 7:30am. For all those members who participated last time, this is your chance to re-test yourself and see where you have improved. For some of our new members, or those that missed it last time, I highly recommend you participate. It is a powerful motivational tool that can help you stick to your training and improve your results. Fitness Age Testing will be conducted the first Saturday of every month.

Next week we will celebrate with the Oxygen Xmas Party on Friday 11th December. Held at the Blue Diamond Bar in the Sebel Hotel, the festivities will kick off at 7pm with beer, wine and soft drinks provided. A delicious menu will be served up to those in attendance. Cost is $28 pp and payable by Thursday 10th December. Please RSVP to cass@oxygenfit.com.au

The following day, Saturday 12th December, the Oxygen Team will be playing host to a division of the Nestle chocolate company. They have requested some family fun activities for the 40 staff and family members that are coming down to stay at The Sebel that weekend. With about 90 minutes worth of games, fitness and fun on the agenda all we need now is some sunshine on the day. With plenty of experience at these events with corporate businesses and sporting teams it should turn out to be a great day.

Mmmm.....Nestle
Mmmm.....Nestle

To finish off the year, our last official class will be Boxing at 7.30am on Saturday 19th December.
The day after, Sunday 20th December, Oxygen Health & Fitness will have a stall at the Kiama Seaside Markets on Black Beach. I encourage you to come down and check out the stalls on offer and stop in to say hi. The markets run from 9am-12pm. There are sure to be a couple of great last minute Xmas gifts on offer.

The week of December 21-24 I will be a doing a few casual exercise sessions and if anyone is interested and has the time please contact the office on 4233 2963 to come and join me for some fun.

Group Training Classes will resume on Monday 4th January 2010 with plenty of exciting initiatives for the year ahead. Bring it on!

6 Weeks til the Ultimate Xmas Gift

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The Ultimate Xmas Gift
The Ultimate Xmas Gift

As it gets to that busy time of year, the “silly season”, and there are a million and one things to do, don’t forget that special person in your life who you need to make it all happen.

This is usually the person who goes above and beyond what they’re required to do. They look after everyone else’s needs first. What other people need done, what other people want for Christmas, what tasks need to be done before 2009 ends. It can be a stressful time of year.

And how do we look after this person’s needs? How do we help them manage all these tasks? Have the energy to complete these and life’s everyday tasks? What’s one of the best ways to counteract stress when it all seems too much?
You guessed it, exercise and healthy nutrition!!

It’s inevitable that we’ll snack on a few treats and indulge in a few celebratory drinks. After all, it’s Christmas and it would be un-Australian not to. But we don’t let it creep into our daily habits. It’s a “treat” not a habit.

Balance the Christmas parties and end of year lunches, barbeques and dinners with days full of fresh fruit and vegies, protein at every meal and plenty of water. The days are starting to heat up so water’s important to stay hydrated but it’s even more useful because it helps fill you up at meal times.

So it’s now more than ever that exercise and healthy eating are the most important tools we have to combat the challenges of life. And in case you haven’t realised It yet, the special person I’m talking about is YOU!

I have trained clients through some of the most stressful and traumatic times of their life. Divorces, business troubles, cancer and deaths in the family are just to name a few. We all have stresses and interruptions in our life but it’s the ones who prioritize what’s important that manage it the best.

“Success is measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed” Booker T Washington.

Christmas? That’s quite literally a walk in the park to manage.

Over 60% of the population are overweight or obese. A large percentage of them have too many excuses….I’m busy. I don’t have time. I don’t, I haven’t, I can’t.

Do the thing that most people won’t.

Say YES. I CAN. I WILL. I DO.

The silly season is upon us. Commit to being fit.

I guarantee in 6 weeks time you will have the best Christmas gift you could want.

A fit, lean, strong and healthy body.

What age do you wanna be?

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We have a great new initiative this weekend for all our Group Training clients with the introduction of Fitness Age testing. FitnessAge is a fitness assessment that health professionals use to guide an individual through a series of physical tests, record the results, and then calculate that persons “FitnessAge”.

There is no magic formula here, rather, just a new way of looking at the industry established fitness statistics from over 60,000 people who have taken these same tests. From the data, we are able to easily see the performance averages for males and females at all age levels.

For example, the average 37 year old female has a recovery heart rate (from the step test) of 109 beats. Therefore, any female who achieves a recovery rate of 109 will receive a CardioAge of 37. The same is applied to each area of fitness to produce a BodyAge, CardioAge, FlexAge and StrengthAge, which when averaged = your FitnessAge.

The first testing session will be held Saturday November 7th at 6.30am before Boxing.

The test all up will take 30-45 mins and although not compulsory is highly recommended. Each participant’s results are entered into our computer and instantly emailed a copy of the results. The figures are then stored on file for future refernence and make a great motivational tool when you look back over time and see how mcuh you have improved.

Fitness Age tests will be conducted every first Saturday of the month at 6.30am. Your results will not be shared with anyone else but will make a great personal guide for you in knowing what specific area you need to work on to improve your Fitness Age. You need to know where you are at right now if you wish to improve.

How do you know you’ve reached your destination if you dont know where you are going?

I look forward to seeing everyone improve their Fitness Age and results so you can live a healthy and fulfilling lifestyle.

FitnessAge_Challenge

Fitness in Kiama Will Give You More Energy

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Fitness in Kiama will increase your energy levels by building cardiovascular endurance.  Aerobic exercises are those which strengthen the heart and circulatory system, and in doing so, results in more efficient use of oxygen by the body.  But there are a number of other benefits which are accrued as a result of aerobic exercising combined with good nutrition and strength straining, and they all increase the body’s energy.

Energetic From the Inside Out

As people age they often begin to complain about not having enough energy anymore.  Often the lack of energy is not due to age, but rather to lack of proper nutrition and aerobic conditioning. The body uses oxygen to generate energy and when your aerobic capacity is low, your energy level will be low.

For the body to have enough energy to function at full capacity, the heart and lungs and circulatory system must be able to deliver oxygen efficiently.  Your aerobic capacity determines your endurance.  In other words, if you have low aerobic capacity, your endurance will also be low making it difficult to complete many daily activities such as climbing a set of stairs.

When you begin a program for fitness in Kiama, it must be well balanced.  Fitness is a concept which embraces three components:  strength, aerobic capacity and nutrition.  You can’t include two components while ignoring the third and expect to see overall fitness in Kiama.

Increasing your aerobic capacity increases energy levels in many ways.

  • Reduces fatigue by increasing oxygen supplies
  • Burns calories so you are able to lose weight
  • Increases heart strength so it is better able to pump oxygen rich blood
  • Increases stamina
  • Improves delivery of oxygen to muscles which increases endurance
  • Helps you sleep better at night
  • Increases metabolic rate

Joining Forces

Your aerobic conditioning exercises should be combined with strength training and nutrition in order to achieve the best results.  Your body operates as a unit, and like any unit all of the components must be maintained.  A personal trainer can create a program which improves your general health which leads to increased energy.

A personal trainer can design a fitness in Kiama program that includes a variety of aerobic exercises in conjunction with your strength training.  Aerobic exercises include jogging, bicycling, swimming, aerobics, rapid walking and many sports activities.  By including a variety of aerobic exercises to increase your cardiovascular healthy, the fitness in Kiama program will be fun and interesting in addition to being effective.

Aerobic exercise can increase your energy levels by increasing the body’s oxygen supply, improving cardiovascular functioning and helping you get a good night’s sleep.  A personal trainer can work with you in your home or office at your convenience.

You don’t have to be one of those people complaining about not having enough energy!

How Stress Influences Your Health and Fitness in Kiama

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An Expert in Health and Fitness in Kiama Reports! Work, money, family, the future – there are plenty of things that we stress about. It isn’t just worries or bad things happening that cause stress, but any sort of change, from getting a promotion at work to planning a wedding, that put stress on your body. Stress can come from emotional or physical changes, illness, drastic changes in the environment, and pushing your body too hard. Eventually, stress can have a negative impact on your mental and physical health. In this article, we’ll take a look at how stress can affect your health and why fitness in Kiama is a great method to help you relieve some of that stress.

What stress does to the body

Our bodies react to stress in a variety of ways, including fatigue, headaches or other aches and pains, insomnia and other emotional disorders like anxiety or depression. Others might experience gastrointestinal problems like ulcers, cramps or irritable bowel syndrome. Stress can also play a part in cardiovascular health, prompting high blood pressure, heart palpitations, hearts attacks or strokes.

Stress can also adversely affect women and the health of their reproductive systems. Women under stress may experience an absence of a menstrual cycle or abnormal menstrual bleeding. The hormone imbalance that stress creates escalated symptoms of fibroid tumors or endometriosis. Stress can even make getting pregnant difficult for those couples experiencing problems with infertility.

Another way that stress can affect people of both genders is that it quite frequently opens the door to illness. Too much stress can cause our immune systems to falter, making us more susceptible to catching colds or the flu. Stress can even have a negative impact on our skin, causing itchy skin, hives or rashes.

Why exercise can help

While exercise has the obvious benefits of improving overall health and helping you live longer, it can also greatly reduce the amount of stress your body is under. Fitness in Kiama helps relax tense muscles and promotes better sleeping patterns, plus a wide range of benefits that aren’t so obvious. Exercise promotes better blood flow, including in the brain, which can help combat that feeling of having your head stuffed with cotton.

It also releases endorphins that can provide a happy, healthy feeling after a good work out. There is a lot of evidence that people that work out on a regular basis and are in good health are better able to handle the long term affects of stress. Stress will always be a part of our lives, but combating it with fitness in Kiama can certainly help minimize the negative effects.

Get help in the fight against stress

Getting on the right path to better fitness in Kiama can be difficult and confusing in the beginning, and you may not see the beneficial effects right away, so it’s easy to quit. Consulting an expert in health and fitness in Kiama is a great way to get going and keep you motivated. Not only can a personal trainer assess your present health and design a work out routine to help you combat stress, but he’ll also be there every step of the way to encourage you.

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