Hi All
I hope you had a wonderful long weekend. Brian and I were amazed at the number of members who climbed out of bed early on Monday (Australia Day holiday) to come into the Green Apple. You just kept pouring through the door and it made us very happy. We felt it was really worthwhile opening for four hours from 6am till 10am. I had a nice number in the pool (9) and they all worked hard and mindfully. They were a pleasure to take. Brian actually took two Stretch classes, one at 8am and another at 9am, because we had advertised the class in different places (newsletter, website, blackboard etc) at two different times. Member Randall Jones thought it was a bonus because he was able to do back-to-back stretches for nearly 2 hours and he felt this would really benefit his flexibility for his martial arts. Randall is Jacinta Jones’s father (remember the photos we put in the newsletter when Jacinta won medals in the World championships for Tae Kwon Do) and it seems the whole family has been sucked into the sport. It can happen that way can’t it, and is such a “bonding” experience. I think family involvement in gym work can create a similar effect.
We have turned the heat up in the pool a bit to make participating in the Aqua class at 6am or 6.30am less of a challenge.
Let us know if you think it is too warm so we can fine-tune the solar heating.
How much do you know about intervals of higher effort when doing your exercise program? If you follow the teachings of Michael Moseley or read articles regarding research on HIIT (high intensity interval training) you may even be including some HIIT into your program already. I regularly bring a bit of this into my physical activity regime to help elevate my heart rate and I know that Petrina does also, and she will be introducing how to do it safely when she delivers her Healthy Weight Challenge course. The stints of high effort can be for as little as 5 or 10 seconds followed by some more manageable steady state work as recovery. The benefits are quite amazing. If I just ride an Exercycle for 30 minutes at a good steady state I might elevate my HR to 110bpm (and I am riding fairly hard) but if I do some short hard bursts a few times when I start the 30 minutes, my HR will increase by 20 beats over the whole 30 minutes.
If you have not enrolled in the Petrina’s Healthy Weight Challenge starting Monday February 4, and you would be interested in doing the next one (probably after Easter) then let us know at Reception and we will start an Expression of Interest list. Both the current 6am and the 11.30am courses are completely full so don’t miss out on the next one.
Sunny returns this week so if you are needing to update your program and you have a Doctor’s referral (EPC) available or you wish to use your Private Health Fund rebate, book in soon.
Bridie and Tiffany are off on Friday February 8 to do their BEAT IT training, a new program being offered free to eligible participants. It will be available to people of a certain age who need a starting place in relation to physical activity and consists of twice weekly visits to Green Apple for a period of eight weeks. The courses won’t be starting till early May so we will be able to provide a great deal more information well before this. It will be an ideal course for people you may know who are “not exercise people”, do not meet national physical guidelines etc.
Keep up the good attendance rate. Not only does it keep you physically able but you will feel emotionally and mentally on top of all the little challenges modern living seems to delight in. Everything in our lives these days seem to escalate, and everyone is trying to fit so much into their day. Retired people tell me they don’t know how they managed to work, their days are so packed with things to do. Young people tell me that the year has just flown (and that is something you wouldn’t really have heard in “the old days”).
Cheers
