Considerations when selecting the right gym

Happy new year from the guys at T.O.D Coaching, hope everyone had a good Christmas and not to depressed to be back into the normal swing of things. As its January and a lot of peoples new year resolution will be to get into shape. For a lot of people this is a challenging task, and you may be unsure as to what your looking for

Well I am here to help, I will let give you some helpful tips on what to look for when searching for a gym.
Let’s start with a gym, joining a gym is a major decision and you need to think about it before signing up.

Goals
Firstly think about why you’re looking to join a gym.
• Is it for weight loss?
• To tone up?
• Have you got a health condition?
• Simply to get a more active lifestyle


Look for a gym that offers the most classes and equipment that suit your needs. For example if you are looking to build some muscle to your frame a gym without free weights won’t be the best choice for you to take.
Take a tour of the facility and see if there membership price reflex there equipment for example do they have a sauna and steam room?
Take all this into consideration before signing up.


Questions you may want to ask


How Do Classes Work?
• Are classes included in your membership price?
• Do you have to pay an additional fee for them once you join?
• Does the gym offer one free class so you can find out if it's right for you?
• Does the gym keep the classes to a maintainable level?



• Is it Clean?
While there are no nationally-recognized health codes specific to gyms, you'll want to check out the facilities for cleanliness.
Take a look at the kit. Is there dust piled up beneath or around the exercise machine? This is a sign of poor maintenance. Check out the lockers, showers, and changing areas to make sure they look properly attended-to. Check if the facilities provide soap and other cleaning products


Once you do join, protect yourself. Wipe down machines with antibacterial wipes before you use them, and wear shower shoes in the locker room and shower.


• What are Peak Times?
If you plan on using the facilities at approximately the same time each day, you may want to scope out the situation before you join. Is the parking lot packed at your desired gym time? Is there a line to use the treadmills? Joining a gym won't do you any good if, every time you go, you can't use the machines you need.


• Ask the BBB
It doesn't hurt to check with your local Better Business Bureau to make sure there have been no complaints about the gym you are considering joining.


• Read the Small Print
when you start looking around, you will find that you cannot use a gym's facilities without joining, and, therefore signing a membership contract.


Most gym contracts are nonrefundable. While a few exceptions can allow you to cancel a gym membership contract -- say, you move more than 25 miles away or your doctor confirms that you cannot exercise due to an injury -- the contract is a contract. Your membership will have to be paid whether you're using the facility or not.


Like the song says, "You better shop around" and compare contracts, special offers, and limitations at different gyms in your area as they can vary greatly. Be sure to inquire about student, teacher, or senior citizen discounts if you fall into one of those categories. Also ask your employer or Health Insurance Company if you're eligible for any gym benefits -- many are offering some help with gym memberships in the way of company discounts, stipends or partial refunds.


Be careful about signing a long-term contract. While paying in advance will probably get you a better rate, most experts agree it is preferable to pay month-to-month.
Next, when you're presented with the contract, do not sign it on the spot.

Resist high pressure sales techniques and stick to your guns -- don't sign anything until you've had a chance to go home or another quiet location and review it with a fine tooth comb. Even better, have someone else read over it in case they spot something you don't


if you have any other questions please pop in and see us at Fit Inc studio gym

Cheers
Ryan Stewart
Personal Trainer

Festive bells

heck out our latest article in Decembers issue of Go Guide magazine



http://issuu.com/goguidemagazine/docs/dec_2012_-_issue_24?mode=window&backgroundColor=%23222222

Fit Inc @ Go Guide

See our latest article in Go Guide

Open publication - Free publishing

Weighty Women

Many women have a fear about weight training they seem to believe if they lift anything heavier than a bag of sugar they will develop unsightly huge bulging muscles.
The truth is this is highly unlikely.

Firstly building muscle is very difficult, it takes time and dedication with a well thought out workout plan and nutrition plan, even the most gifted bodybuilders struggle to develop as much muscle as they would like.

Second, women lack the main building hormone for muscles which is testosterone.
There is a lot of research done on this topic. What they have found is weight training can actually give the appearance of smaller muscles.


A major benefit is the more muscle mass you have the higher the bodies metabolic rate therefore freeing fat from your body to fuel the energy demand. In turn women should and can lift heavy.

So put those sugar bags down ladies and lift some real weight.

Ryan Stewart

Personal Trainer

recipe for abs!

Everyone would love a 6 pack of rock solid abs but the fact is, performing abdominal exercises such as sit ups only strengthens and firms up the rectus abdominis muscle, more commonly known as the 'six-pack'. Doing these exercises is good as they will give you strong abdominal muscles but will do nothing to reduce the amount of fat on your stomach.

Abdominal fat is present because of too much food intake and the only way to get rid of belly fat and get those eye popping abs is to burn of the fat with a balanced diet and exercise.

Here is an example of a day food plan you should be eating to lower fat:

Breakfast

One tall glass of a homemade smoothie.

Homemade smoothie
1 cup 1% milk
2 tablespoons low-fat vanilla yogurt
¾ cup instant oatmeal, nuked in water
2 teaspoons peanut butter
2 teaspoons chocolate whey powder

Snack #1
2 teaspoons peanut butter, raw vegetables (as much as you want)

Lunch
Turkey or roast beef sandwich on whole-grain bread, 1 cup 1% or fat-free milk, 1 apple

Snack #2
1 ounce almonds, 1½ cups berries

Dinner
Mas Macho Meatballs
1 pound extra-lean ground beef
½ cup crushed saltine crackers
1 large onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed or whey powder
1 jar (16 ounces) tomato sauce
4 whole-wheat hoagie rolls
½ cup reduced-fat mozzarella cheese, shredded

Snack #3
Smoothie


Ryan Stewart
Personal Trainer

The Rotator Cuff

The rotator cuff is a very important group of muscles found in the back of the shoulder coming from the shoulder blade to the shoulder joint. They are important for posture, stability and movement of the shoulder and comprise of the teres minor, infraspinatus, supraspinatus and subscapularis.



A lot of injuries occur due to ignorance of these four muscles and any athletes or gym goers should become familiar with them not just to prevent shoulder injuries but to increase performance too. If you are looking to do any sort of isolation exercises then it should be rotator cuff exercises.


Good shoulder health will help performance in other exercises and sports from bench press to tennis. Working the rotator cuff will strengthen the shoulder girdle making it more stable and will aid anyone looking to lift more on the bench, shoulder press and other upper body exercises. It will also improve posture especially with those who have over worked the ‘mirror muscles’ thus improving rounding of the shoulders making the shoulders look wider and giving a bigger V shape as it helps to bring the shoulders back to their natural position.


Also along with improvements in shoulder stability exercising the rotator cuff will improve flexibility in the shoulder helping golfers, tennis players, javelin and most other team sports and individual sports where shoulder movements are demanding. Maintaining a flexible shoulder joint allows for greater range of movement over the joint therefore it can improve force whilst preventing injury.


Exercises for the rotator cuff are varied try these to take your body to the next level:

Swiss ball press up – place your hands on the Swiss ball shoulder width apart and take up the press up position, lower chest to ball keeping shoulders, hips and ankles in line then raise again.

Lateral Raise – holding dumbbells, if required, stand with arms by the sides thumbs facing body and palms facing backwards. Raise arms to shoulder level keeping pinkie finger facing the sky and thumb facing the ground then lower back to sides.

Lying Rotator Roll – lying on one side hold a dumbbell in hand of side facing ceiling, bend arm at elbow to ninety degrees and have wrist across front. Rotate arm at shoulder bringing hand up towards ceiling and keeping elbow in at side then lower.


Daniel
Personal Trainer

Go Guide West Lothian and Fit Inc

Open publication - Free publishing