Is it that time of year already? Time for another big Bodysharp party to celebrate our third birthday!

Last year went off with a bang, but there were a few old members that didn’t make it. If you’re one of them then make sure you keep the night of August 11th free!

Venue will most likely be Bluestone Restaurant on Flinders Lane again, watch this space though as we’re still finalizing details.

We’ll put up an invite on facebook by the end of next week.

New Trainers: Tiff and Paul

You might have noticed that we’ve got two new trainers in the Bodysharp uniform this month, Tiff and Paul.

Tiff is an accredited exercise physiologist, currently studying her masters in research studying Childhood obesity.  In her spare time she plays ultimate Frisbee and field hockey, where her signature move is headbutting the ball at high speed (ask Tiff to show you the scar.)

Paul is determined, relaxed and looks like he can bench press your car. These characteristics are what make him so versatile; He’ll grill the bootcamper’s, ensure you’re working hard in the S&T classes but still get your socializing fix and show you one of the most exciting boxing classes of your life! He also fulfills the Bodysharp minimum tattoo requirement for new trainers.

We love getting feedback on how the new trainers are going, so if you’ve got any compliments or constructive critiscm then let us know here.

5 Diet Tips To Keep Away The Winter Wobblies

1. Pack as many vegetables as you can into your meals. It’s so easy to fill your winter meals with nutritious vegies that you’ve got no excuse to do otherwise. Make plenty of broth’s, soups and stews to warm your belly on those cold days.

 2. Buy a whole heap of re-usable containers (preferably glass). When you make your healthy winter meals, make sure to prepare some extra portions so you can take them to work with you the next day or store them in the freezer for later.

3. Start the day with some whole oats. Oats have many health benefits, including: High levels of soluble and insoluble fibre, Low glycaemic index and reduction of cholesterol and high blood pressure. Whole oats are preferable but if you are time poor (aren’t we all?) then buy quick oats to reduce the preparation time.

4. Get a slow cooker. Slow cookers can significantly reduce your preparation time for all of your winter meals. Just throw all the ingredients in in the morning and let your delicious broth, soup or stew simmer for the rest of the day.

5. Skip the dinner with Tom Cruise and make a lamb roast for dinner. The good old roast packs a whole heap of good proteins, carbs, vitamins and minerals into one delicious meal. Try to use lean cuts of meat like lamb, beef and chicken, and roast a variety of vegetables rather than just potatoes. As above, make a much bigger portion than you need so you can take some to work the next day.

6.15am Classes at Camberwell and Glen Iris are full

As always, the 6.15am session time at Glen Iris is full, but now the Camberwell 6.15am sessions are full as well. If you’ve got any friends or family thinking about coming along, then let us know here so we can put them on  a waiting list for these sessions.

So how do we combat this?

Children are forever running around and need replenishment constantly. The easiest ways to keep them snacking on healthy food between meals as all mums know is to make them fun or add a hint of sweetness.

Top 3 Healthy Snacks For Your Kids:

Fruit Skewers   

Make Fruit Skewers with your child & their favourite fruits, then dunk the fruit in yoghurt with desiccated coconut.

Not only will they find it fun but, fruit is packed with Vitamin C that is essential for boosting your child’s immune system to keep colds far away!

The Fruit / Vegetable Platter

  Make a platter with all your childs least dreaded fruits or Vegetables and turn it into a fun game by arranging them in different forms such as snow men!

Vegetables are crucial for your child’s development as they are packed with Vitamin A which again boosts immune health, decreases the risk of infections and maintain your child’s optical health.

Mixed nuts with sultanas   

 Prepare your child a snack for afternoon tea of almonds, hazelnuts and sultanas to give them long lasting energy until dinner.

On top of long lasting energy nuts provide calcium, iron and magnesium that promote strong bones, concentration, vigor and decreases the risk of hypertension in years to come.

By preparing these snacks today you’ll be setting your child up for success tomorrow, Enjoy!

If you have any favourite family recipes that you think we need to add you can send it in via contact us.

Now that the mornings are starting to cool down, it’s going to get harder and harder to get motivated for those early training sessions. Here’s a few tips to help you stay in shape over the next few months:

-        Get the right gear. Every winter I seem to accumulate more winter training gear, and still the cold manages to sneak through the layers. You can never have too much winter gear so start accumulating some now. From the feet up you’ll need: Thicker winter socks, winter tights or leggings, winter jocks (no skimpy summer undies), baselayers, windproof vest, long sleeve t-shirts and ear warmers or a beanie. You’ll also need to make sure it’s easy to take most of this stuff off once you’ve warmed up.

-        Make the right food choices. Everyone’s body wants to put on an extra layer of insulation over the colder months, so that’s why we crave rich, hot and fatty foods when the temperature drops. To counter those cravings make sure to prepare some soups and healthy stews in the freezer, then you can stick them in the microwave when you start to feel hungry.

-        Wear something warm to bed. Even if you have central heating, when it starts to get cold it’s almost impossible to get out of bed if you’re not properly dressed. Your partner probably loves it when you sleep butt naked, but if you want to stay in shape over the coming months you’re going to have to put some clothes on. Get some warm Pj’s and it will be so much easier to get up when the alarm goes off at 5am.

-        Warm up properly. Your muscles get tight and stiff as they get colder, so you’re much more likely to give yourself an injury if you start going hard too soon. Make sure you get to training a little earlier than normal and warm up before the session starts. It might take you 10 minutes or so to get properly warm so don’t pick the pace up until you feel ready.

-        Set yourself a goal to achieve to keep yourself motivated. The next big fun run is Run Melbourne on the  15^th of July. If you’ve never done a fun run before then try the 5km. If you’ve done a 5km or 10km before then step it up and have a go at a 10km run or half marathon. Ask your Bodysharp trainer for a few training tips or check out our article on tips for your first fun run.

We’re fresh off Run for the Kids, and what a great event it was this year. All of our Bodysharp runners did a great job. It was also impressive to see how many people there had done tough mudder the day before, amazing!

The next major fun run coming up is Run Melbourne on Sunday the 15^th of July. If you’ve never done a fun run before, this is a great one to start with. If you’ve done a 5km or 10km, maybe it’s time to step up to a 10km or half marathon!

We’d love to see a big Bodysharp contigent at Run Melbourne, so here’s a few tips to help you on your way.

1. Get the right gear. First and foremost: Shoes. Whether you go for the fully supported Asics or some of the minimalist shoes in fashion now (like Nike Free’s) is up to you (Lewis from Camberwell Sports and Spinal wrote a great blog post about it here) but a great pair of shoes is just so important for your running success. Get some well fitted shorts or leggings and a good singlet as well. Also, don’t forget sunscreen, ipod, headphones, sunglasses and a cap.

1. Run a negative split. A negative split means that you run the second half of your race faster than the first half. Pace yourself for the first few k’s at least so you’ve got something in the tank for the rest of the race. Don’t fall into the trap of speeding up at the start when you’re feeling comfortable. Give it a bit of distance first before you increase your speed.

1. Start as close to the front as possible. It’s not great for the ego, but you’ll set a much faster time if everyone is overtaking you rather than you having to dodge around all the slowpokes in front. I’m not saying get up the front with the elites, but at least start with some people that look a little fitter than yourself. Just make sure you don’t get caught up in the excitement, go at your own pace.

1. Start pose running. We posted a link to a pose running video a while back, here it is again if you missed it. Pose running is the ‘new school’ of running. It involves leaning forward and running on the balls of your feet, rather the traditional upright and landing on your heels. It takes a lot of stress off your knees, hips and back but it increases the stress on your calves, Achilles and feet so build up your distances slowly.

1. Get there early for a toilet stop or two. The worst feeling at a fun run is arriving late, seeing the enormous queues to the toilet and wondering if you can hold on for the whole race. Get there at least an hour before the start time so you’ve got plenty of time to prepare.

Post-Easter Weight Loss Challenge

If you always hit the chocolate too hard over the Easter break then book in for our Post –Easter weight loss challenge.

The challenge will run for six weeks, most of our challengers lose at least 5kg in that time.

But, it’s limited to 5 places so let us know ASAP if you’re keen.

You can find more information on the Bodysharp Weight Loss Challenge here.

School Holidays and Easter Timetable

If you’re coming to Bodysharp over the next couple of weeks then make sure you check out the School Holiday Timetable to make sure your regular classes are still running. Also, now that daylight savings is over all the evening classes in Camberwell have moved to Camberwell High School. You can find the full autumn timetables here: Camberwell and Glen Iris.

Facebook Competition Winner

Unfortunately, the winner of the facebook competition was Kamala Skinner. We’ve being trying to get rid of Kamala for some time, but since this competition started she’s been coming more than ever. And now she gets her membership free for the whole of April.

We’re running the competition again in April and we’re begging you, please don’t let Kamala win again.

All you have to do is check yourself in at Bodysharp on facebook each time you attend a session. Whoever checks themselves in to the most sessions in April wins a free membership in May.

Bring a Mate in March

Bring a mate in March was a bit of a dud, we only had three people bring friends along last month! Surely you all have friends? Are you trying to keep Bodysharp a secret so you’ll be the fittest one in your friendship group?

Clever plan, but we need your help!

As a small business, we can only ever grow by you guys spreading the good word. So, in April please tell your friends about Bodysharp and bring them along! You’ll get $50.00 off your next debit and they’ll get a 7 day free trial.

Strength training doesn’t simply build big muscles; it aids your bodies overall health, state of mind and weight.

Health benefits of strength training include:

- A decreased risk of injury as the muscles adapt to higher loads. Trained muscles are stronger and more flexible than untrained ones, if you’re constantly getting injured then either your muscles are out of balance, they’re lacking in flexibilty or they’re not strong enough.

- Decreased risk of heart disease, arthritis, and diabetes. Strength training helps to reduce the amount of sugar in your bloodstream by increasing the amount that is absorbed by your muscles. Decreased blood sugar means reduced insulin (good for those with a family history of diabetes) as well as decreased risk of heart and kidney disease.

-Increased bone density and strength. If you’re over the age of 30 then your bone density is already starting to decrease. Several studies have shown that strength training helps to not only prevent this decline, but actually provide small increases in bone strength.

- Improved balance. Do you ever wonder why your trainer makes you do all those crazy one legged exercises? Balance and stability both decline with age but they’re super important to keep you strong and healthy. Performing strength training on unstable surfaces or one legged training help to build co-ordination and develop muscles to stabilize the hips, core and shoulders.

- Improved posture. Strength training under the guidance of a professional will help you develop muscles to correct your posture, and increase the flexibility in those muscles that get tight from sitting hunched over a desk all day.

- Improved sleep patterns. Can’t sleep? Lift some weights. Every time you do a strength training session your muscles sustain a tiny amount of damage which is repaired while you sleep. Your body knows this so the night after a big training session you’ll find you’ll nod off as soon as your head hits the pillow.

- Enhanced self esteem. Strength training is the best way to build muscle tone,  making all of your ‘trouble areas’ feel leaner and firmer. 

Weight loss benefits

In addition, strength training stimulates the metabolism for up to 48 hours post-workout and increases muscle mass. With additional muscle mass your basal metabolic rate is increased (your metabolism when at rest).

As you can see from the benefits above, everyone should be participating in some form of strength training on a regular basis.

This may involve strength training in many forms such as, using your body weight, integrating it as part of your work life or lifting weights at the gym.

Note: It is very important to complete all strength exercises with quality technique and well-rounded programs to ensure all health benefits are obtained with minimal risk of injury.

The word “tone” refers to the level of tension in a muscle when relaxed.

As most of us know the stronger the muscle the more tension it will have in it but, this doesn’t always mean you’ll be able to see well toned muscles with perfect definition.

Imagine your exercise routine purely consists of 200 sit ups a day (spot training), you would assume your six pack would be shining through but if you’re 10kgs overweight no matter how many sit ups you do you won’t be able to show off his proudly toned abs.

Both diet and exercise play a very important role in decreasing body fat.

This was highlighted in last year’s Biggest Loser and although we don’t advise that you take training to the extreme of game shows like this, they do point out very important themes.

For instance, the most effective means to lose weight is with the combination of aerobic and strength training plus, high quality nutrition.

The Biggest Loser demonstrated the importance of nutrition, when participants were forced to eat a high calorie diet with poor sustenance for one week.

Even though they participated in 3-6 hours of exercise a day many struggled to lose one kilogram in that week!

How does this affect you?

If your goal is to show off a great six pack, fit into that dress you loved in your hey-day or act as a role model for your kids with a fit well toned body then listen carefully.

There are 3 tasks you must take on to get the most out of your training:

1. Enjoy a high quality nutritious diet that minimises unnecessary calories   (including alcohol) and maximises nutrients. Think lean proteins, fruit, vegies and good fats (nuts and avocado).
2. Participate in both strength and aerobic training. Strength training is important for creating tight, toned muscles and helps to speed up your metabolism so you’ll burn more calories while you rest. Aerobic training helps to keep you fit and burns a lot of calories if you train hard enough.
3. Be consistent! You’ll notice that every time you come back from holidays it’s a struggle to get back into training. That’s because when you take a few days or weeks off training you don’t maintain your fitness, it goes backwards! Great results take time and consistency so make sure that you’re training at least 5 times per week. This doesn’t necessarily mean Bodysharp, a 30-45min brisk walk or jog is fine if you can’t make it to training.

Bring A Mate in March

March is bring a mate month at Bodysharp. As you know we’re a small business, and we can only grow by from you guys spreading the good word about Bodysharp. So if you’ve got a friend that keeps talking about getting into shape but doesn’t do anything about it then tell them to get their butt to Bodysharp.

If they come along to Bodysharp in March they’ll get a two week free trial, plus you’ll get $50.00 off your next debit for sending them along!

3 Tips To Lose 3 kilos Before Easter

Easter is only one month away, so if you’ve got a holiday or a chocolate binge planned then you better drop a few pants sizes before then. Make a promise to yourself to behave for the next four weeks, and follow these three rules:

- Do something active every day. It doesn’t have to be intense exercise, but it should be enough to get your pulse up and breathing heavier than normal. Alternate intense exercise days with easier recovery days so you don’t get injured. Make sure each session lasts at least 45 minutes.

- Get all your foods from fresh, natural unrefined sources. This means you should be eating mostly unprocessed grains (oats, quinoa, brown rice), fruit and vegetables. Limit the amount of refined carbs that you eat and cut out sugar.

- Make youself accountable for four weeks. Get on the scales and record your weight or get a friend to measure your ‘problem areas’. Set yourself a realistic weight loss goal and check your progress each week. Tell your friend (or trainer)  what you’re doing so they can follow you up and make sure you stick to it.

Matt’s back! But Rey is leaving…

We’ve all been missing Matty over the last month, so it’ll be great having him back. As you know Matty brings a heap of energy to all of his sessions so he’ll get you fired up to give your best.

On a sad note, Rey is leaving us. He’s getting paid to play rugby in the USA for the next 6 months which I’m sure will be awesome. Rey’s brought us some unique and challenging sessions in the time he’s been here so it’s a real shame to lose him.

Claim on your private health cover

Bodysharp is now registered with Fitness Australia which means you may be eligible to claim your Bodysharp membership on your private health insurance. Many of the major health insurers are providing rebated for gym memberships, so get in touch with your insurance company to find out if you’re eligible.

The following Private Health Funds currently offer rebates for fitness services:

Health Funds offering rebates for Personal Training AND Gym Membership

 Health Funds offering rebates for Gym Membership ONLY

The 9-5 working day is officially dead so a lot of us are finding it harder and hard to get outdoor exercise more than 1-2x per week. The National Physical Activity Guidelines  recommend  at least 30 minutes of exercise every day. If you’re struggling to get anywhere close to that then here’s our tips to  get your work/life balance back in check:

-        Ride to work. Here at Bodysharp we love cycling. There’s no better way to wake up in the morning than tackling the Gardiners Creek Grand Prix on your deadly treadly. If you’re worried about storage and showering then check out Bike Park. They offer bike storage, showers and personal lockers. They are Centrally located on the north bank of the Yarra Trail bicycle path besides Queensbridge Street, 300m from the Flinders Street railway station.

-        Go for a walk on your lunch break. Find a friend to do it with you so you’re commited each day. All you have to do is bring your sneakers and a drink bottle to work with you and you’re ready to go. Walking is one of the most underrated exercises out there, even if you’re super fit it will help you recover from those tough Bodysharp training sessions. Plus it will wake you up a bit so you don’t crash and burn at 3pm.

-        Get a pedometer and walk more often. A pedometer measures how many steps you take during the day. Pick yourself up one from the shops (you can buy one almost anywhere) and strap it on. Set yourself a challenge of walking at least 10,000 steps per day. As a general rule, you shouldn’t be getting in the car for anything closer than 2km from where you are. So that means walk to the milk bar, walk the kids to school and walk to training!

-        Get out there and play with the kids. Every night we run our training sessions at Willison Park in Camberwell. Each night we’re there it’s always disappointing to see how few kids there are out in the park playing with their parents. We’re not sure where all these kids are but we have a bad feeling thay’re inside watching telly or playing Xbox. Make a commitment to take your kids outside to play at least two nights of the week. We’ll be looking out for you.

-        Stretch while you watch tv. Flexibility decreases significantly with age, which is a scary thought considering most 16 year olds now days can’t even touch their toes. While you’re unwinding in front of the telly each night put down the glass of red and give yourself a bit of a stretch out. It will help decrease your stress, stop you from getting injured and maybe even improve your sex life (if you’re lucky!)

No-one ever went to the grave wishing they spent more time in the office. We live in one of the most beautiful cities in the world and the weather this year is gorgeous. Get out there and take advantage of it.

Did you write out your fitness goals at the start of this year?

Are you on track to achieve them?

If not, let us help to get you there.

If you wanted to lose 5 kilos:

-        Diet, diet, diet. You can’t train the weight off. Write yourself out a plan that includes plenty of vegetables, fruits and lean proteins and you’re on the right track.

-        Don’t go for the latest shake diet, lemon detox or mega-blast super ripped fad diet program. Just cut out your alcohol, sugar and processed food and stay consistent for six weeks.

-        Prepare as many meals as you can yourself. Most processed foods now have a ridiculous amount of salt, sugar and trans fats. Base your meals on lean proteins, vegetables, good fats and legumes (chickpeas, beans, lentils etc)

-        Drink more water and cut out all calorie containing drinks (Soft drinks, cordials, alcohol and extra large soy-achinos). Carry a water bottle around with you all the time.

If you wanted to improve your running:

-        Lean forwards, start running on the balls of your feet and pretend you’re running on hot coals. It’s called pose running and it will completely change the way you run. Over cushioned, over supported running shoes have taught us to run on our heels and your body is not supposed to work that way. Build up your pose running gradually though as it will put more pressure on your calf muscles and Achilles tendon when you first start out.

-        Book in a fun run and get a trainer to write you out a fitness plan. You should be aiming to build your distance up gradually each week and do at least 75% of your goal distance in training.

-        You can’t get any fitter in the week before a fun run, but you can go backwards. The last week should be about resting your body and preparing for the event. Just do a few easy runs to keep your legs in shape. Any hard training you do in the last week will just make you feel worse on the day.

If you wanted to tone up:

-        Stop rushing through your exercises and do them properly. Developing muscle tone is all about getting your exercise form correct. If you rush through your exercises or do them wrong  you won’t get the full benefit from them.

-        Go through a full range of motion. That means going all the way down and all the way up while you’re exercising. Training this way will also help to increase your flexibility and stop you from getting postural problems later on.

-        Make sure you know which muscles each exercise is working, and adjust your technique to suit. If you’re unsure about the correct technique then ask your Bodysharp trainer. Just be aware that some exercises are designed to challenge specific muscles, others work the whole body at once.

And finally, if you’re not getting the results you want then please let us know. Everyone can get to the fitness level that they want with the right plan. Let us help you to get into the best shape of your life.

What you can learn from The Biggest Loser

Well, it’s time for another season of The Biggest Loser. Another year of watching psycho personal trainers abuse and starve their teams into losing ridiculous amounts of weight in a few weeks. We’ve done enough bagging of this show in the past though, and I think most people realize by now that it’s a bit of a joke. So this year we thought we’d look at the positive aspects of the show, and what you can learn from it:

-    It’s all about the diet: In an episode the other night the trainers showed the contestants that they could exercise all week, but if they ate rubbish they wouldn’t lose a gram. This is an important message to take with you. Exercise will make you feel better, stronger and give you more energy but it won’t help you lose weight if you don’t get your diet sorted out.

-        You need to have an emotional goal: We all hate the boring and long winded scenes where the contestants talk about why they want to lose weight. You should have a think about what they’re saying though if you’re looking to drop a few pant sizes. It’s all well and good to say you’re going to lose 5 kilos but if you don’t have an emotional reason for doing it you’re destined to fail. Think about why you really want to lose weight and write it down where you can see it as a constant reminder

-        It helps to have a supportive group: It’s funny how much closer people become when they’re put into a team. Next time you come to Bodysharp have a look around you and you’ll see some familiar faces. I’ll bet you a lot of those people have the same goals as you. Start the ball rolling and ask some people what they’re working towards.

And remember, everything in moderation. Sometimes it looks like the trainers on that show have as many issues as the contestants, with one of them admitting last season that she’s never touched alcohol or eaten junk food in her life. The key to a happy and healthy existence is to give yourself a treat every now and then, but know when to stop.

Training in the heat

Keeping in mind that February is generally the hottest month of the year in Melbourne, just a quick note about training in the heat. It’s important that you modify your training to suit the warmer weather, don’t go as hard as usual and take some extra rest breaks.

It’s also important to wear the right gear to training. Every time we have a 30+ degree day there’s always someone that shoes up in track pants. Really??? Get yourself some shorts, or three quarter length pants at least. Your legs are probably begging for some sunlight.

Make sure you drink more water than usual, you may even want to bring two drink bottles if you sweat a lot. Remember that your body can lose up to 1.5 litres of water per hour through sweating so it’s important to replace that lost fluid.

Finally, stay out of the sun especially during the middle of the day. This usually isn’t a problem for us since we don’t run classes between 11am and 5pm, but on especially hot days you might want to go to an earlier or later class than normal to beat the heat.

R4KI Entries Are Now Open

Run For The Kids entries are open now, get in early to secure your place. We usually get a good turn out to this event and it’s a lot of fun. It’s also a great event if you’ve done a few 10km runs but don’t feel like you’re ready to tackle a half-marathon just yet.

You can enter Run For The Kids here. 

Timetable Changes – Important

The Saturday sessions at Glen Iris are going to change from 1^st Feb to:

6.00am Running Group (all levels)

7.00am Strength & Tone

8.15am Bootcamp

9.00am Boxing Fitness

Hopefully the sessions are early enough for you to squeeze in a quick workout before you take the kids to Saturday morning sport.

Also, just a reminder that we are back to full session timetable on Feb 6^th now that school holidays are coming to an end.