Thank you to all the exhibition fighters and guests for such a great night.

Mani and Michael

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpzqRi7H2DA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdKtjM8Q88w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOcxClh3Cwg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlWjyFrH5tY

Stephen and Campbell

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcTpWg7fnfc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzzYaMqIt-Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Tsij2DPQeg

Jared and Peneha

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojDxkiU1XbM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0N6ts8qDkw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgCLCDcVK38

Daniel and Donovan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gL8DdXaSCgY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oM2CnNu8f5M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geJF1bNYpw0

The fight between Joanne and Chad is not shown for competitive reasons.  Please contact Doug@evolutiongym if you want a copy.

However, before you start that have a short revision of all the facts your teachers should have taught you;

The factors that determine your fitness are Rest, Exercise, Nutrition and Hydration.

At Evolution we can recommend ways to improve your health but our main focus is upon your fitness.  If you do not eat well exercise will help you improve your fitness, but not as much as if you are well fuelled.

Having an increased muscle-to-fat ratio will improve your health and fitness, even if you lose no weight.  There are different types of muscle, Arnie developed the type most women don’t want to have – We appreciate this and will not bulk you up unless you want to!

Evolution recommends an even mixture of Cardiovascular and Resistance exercise.

‘Cardio’ exercise elevates your heart rate and burns fat; this involves running, rowing, cycling, swimming, etc.  Evolution provides cardio facilities for you to use outside the times of your personal training sessions at no additional cost to you.

Resistance exercise develops muscle; preventing less of your food being stored as fat, this involves weight-lifting [even if just your body weight].

Tips.

1.  Always eat breakfast.  Even if you are going to exercise at 6am.

You need at least 50g of carbohydrate at least 20mins before exertion [this includes your commute to work].  This will ensure you metabolise your fat stores for energy instead of using your precious muscles for fuel [hormones in your body will breakdown protein if no other energy source is available].

The majority of overweight people do not eat breakfast.

2.  Eat after exercise. Replenishing your energy stores will allow you body to start recovering.  Carbohydrate is the best fuel here, as all food will be converted to sugar and stored in your muscle before recovery begins.  There is no need to be overloading with protein at this point.

Ideally you should consume 50g of carbohydrate every 30mins for 2 hours and a total of 40g protein.  For practicality you could just have a bowl of porridge, rice or fruit.

2.  Yo-yo diets do not work.  2 – 4kg per month can be sustainably lost without a huge risk of immediate replacement.  If your energy input is lower than output you will lose weight, once you reach your target weight eat more and maintain your weight.  Evolution recommend keeping a food diary for a week, this will make you think about what you eat and improve your appreciation of your diet.

3.  The typical female requires 2000 kilo-calories per day, males requires 2500.  These are estimates for a ‘normal’ person.  Very sedentary people will need fewer than recommended.  Olympic rowers need about 8000 per day.

If you over-eat the excess food will be stored as fat.  Ie if you need 500kcal and consume 800kcal you shall store 300kcal as fat.  The exception to this is protein – excess protein will mostly pass through you and be wasted.  This is how the atkins diet works.  It dehydrates you [thus more weight-loss] provides you with little energy to function on [so you metabolise your fat and muscle] and strains your kidneys.

Whatever the amount of Calories required, or the sport undertaken, the proportions of macronutients should be the same.

TheAmericanCollegeof Sports Medicine recommends;

Carbohydrate: 60 to 65% of energy intake [at 4kcal/gramme].  Thus 300g for a 2000kcal diet.

Fat: 25% of energy intake [at 9kcal/gramme].  Thus 55g for a 2000kcal diet.  This should be constituted from 1/3 of each type [monounsaturated, polyunsaturated and unsaturated].

Protein: 10 to 15% of energy intake [at 4kcal/gramme].  Thus 75g for a 2000kcal diet.

Water: at least 2.5litres [at 0kcal/gramme].

All products you buy will have the macronutrient values listed on the packet.  Kilo-calories may be described simply as Calories [even though this is 1000 times less than what they are representing!]

There are websites that can give you typical values for most foods and branded products.

Here are few values that may surprise you, keep your food diary for a week and you could be even more shocked.

Fibre and water will usually account for additional weight in the food.

Alcohol contributes 7kcal/gramme and can only be used directly by the brain, otherwise it needs to be stored as fat before being metabolised.

Overall my fitness and strength have improved a lot which I am most happy with. This was obvious in the fitness test results.

In summary, a strict diet alongside the training would insure a leaner physique, which would be nice but wasn’t my goal. Feeling fit, healthy and having a good routine was paramount.  It’s good to be back in control of my health. Another positive is that when I did get the cold going around, it took only two days to fight off the majority of the symptoms and another couple days rest to restore my energy levels. Much nicer than being sick for two maybe three weeks like some other gym members experienced.

Looking ahead my new routine starting next week will include taking a few fitness classes training members which will definitely keep me fit. Currently I am also researching nutrition to further my knowledge on vitamins and minerals and how I can better include key food groups on a daily basis that I don’t already use.

Week 1 – Measurements:

• Weight 67.9kgs
• Waist 69cm
• Hip 101cm
• Thigh 57cm
• Body Fat 24%

Week 12 – Measurements:

• Weight 69.2kgs
• Waist 70cm
• Hip 102cm
• Thigh 56cm
• Body Fat 24.2%

Fitness test exercises that saw great improvements:

• Full Press Ups – Increase of 16 (40 in total) reps in one set
• Sit Ups – Increase of 10 reps (45 in total) in 2 minutes – found this hard
• Body Weight Squats – Increase of 44 reps (100 in total) in 2 minutes

Well I hope you have enjoyed this little blog. Remember that it takes effort every day with healthy eating, exercise and appropriate rest to achieve balance. It doesn’t happen overnight, or in 3 months, it is a lifetime commitment that becomes easier as you grow and learn about your habits and your body’s needs. We are made to move daily for 30 minutes minimum, if you do more than that its a bonus. Everyone is different so there is no one set plan for all. Take the good days with the bad and be as consistent as possible – this will be your most useful tool.

All the best and see you in the gym,

Sheen x

The only disappointment?  After they had all smashed their running records in the 8 week fitness test I went easy on their running and avoided the consequent sulking.  As a result a few failed to improve upon the running at the final fitness test.

This demonstrates the ‘use it or lose it’ theory.   The consequence of reduced running will have resulted in improved strength and endurance – but I do not believe that Cardiovascular fitness should be so significantly sacrificed, especially on a fat loss programme…  So, I hope to see a good number at my new Run Club [9am Sundays].

With so many factors combining to present the shining star I have not judged upon fat loss alone for the champion, I have considered strength and endurance measurements as well [muscle gain].

George lost 2.5kg of fat in the first eight weeks and progressed from 6 to 40 maximum sit-ups for 2mins.  Sadly missing the final fitness test due to bronchitis.

Tom doubled his maximum pressups from 10 to 20 in the first eight weeks.

Suzanna also more than doubled her maximum sit-ups in 2mins, alongside improving her plank from 68secs to 3mins [having to stop with boredom].

Tracey made great progress with her running, managed a 2 min plank [stopped by the clock], and continually smashed her chin-up records.

Justine joined us late but has already achieved great strength gains – including 3 full press-ups and 1.57kg of fat loss in one month.

Lai and Andrea.  I remember you both fondly and hope to meet you both again one day.

Miguel has helped dramatically by dragging his wife, Lisa, in at 6am – improving her attendance and promptness.  I cannot thank him enough.  Besides good attendance from the couple their fitness has continued to improve – even though they both missed two tests!  Oh, and 42 press-ups for Miguel, with 4 proper chin-ups – well done.  6 full press-ups for Lisa – good work [let's further improve it].

Ronald dazzled us with his sprinting speed and managed to double his chin-up strength within the first seven weeks, also progressing from 20 to 36 maximum pressups.

Devina has improved her plank from 1:15mins to 3:00mins, can now do 10 press-ups and progressed her maximum squats in 2mins from 20 to 73!

Matt deafened me when he first attempted assisted chin-ups, jumping from the platform at the bottom and letting 90kg crash down.  I cautiously allowed him back  on the machine and he has improved by 12kg [over 10%] over the past 12 weeks.  He also deadlifted 110kg last week.  Nice one.

Sheena put on 650g of muscle, smashed out 40 press-ups and did 100 squats in 2mins!  She misses out on a placing due to 2 reasons:  She has a disruptive attitude in class [giggling and joking at inappropriate times], and Margaret can now deadlift more than her.

Margaret is the deadlift, rowing, and squat champion. But she thinks work is more important than the gym and missed the final fitness test, so she joins Nick in shame.

3^rd Place.

Felicia enjoyed her third challenge [most of the time], sadly missing her final week – but achieving a 4.7% drop in bodyfat over the first eight weeks [3.5kg of fat]!  Also doubling her chin-up strength and achieving 4 full press-ups.

What a co-incidence that the two winners also had 100% attendance?  Arriving early, listening to the instructions and working to failure. Every time for the five sessions each week.

1^st Place.

Antoinette lost 5.7kg, more than doubled her sit-ups, squats and plank, and quadrupled her knealing press-ups maximum.

1^st Place.

Leroy lost 8.4kg.  Suffering from a back injury for the final few weeks has not slowed him: still coming to do what he can [especially his favoured Chin-ups and Bench Press].  He has doubled his plank time, progressed from 3 to 22 press-ups, and almost doubled his reps at a 12kg harder set of chin-ups [the greatest single strength gain out of the whole challenge].

Sneezed this morning (Tuesday) and felt ripples of pain grip my stomach muscles from yesterdays workout. That didn’t stop me from a 4km warm up jog and then a back workout. Felt really lethargic throughout but trucked on and got it done. Once I had a nice hot shower and some lunch I was good as gold and happy I had done the workout and not missed a day.

Wednesday was an evening session in the gym. A 5 minute run on the treadmill at the highest incline of level 15 sure got me warmed up! Then it was to the Squat Rack my old friend who I have neglected in recent weeks and I can confirm that I paid in pain for our time apart. Three sets of 50kgs squats later (I used to do 60kgs+ no worries) my quads got that jelly feeling and it was only my first exercise. Oh dear, I knew I was going to have to dig deep to get through this workout. Next up, Lunges, swissball hamstring curls (ouch), stair climbs with 2 x 20kg Kettlebells (had to use lifting straps as my grip couldn’t deal with the Kettlebells alone) and last but not least I worked on my skipping. Yes you read right, skipping (see Week 9 for details on this). Workout done and felt satisfied with my effort/output. Phew. All was well in my little land of Sheena until I hoped onto the scales and couldn’t believe my eyes – I have put on 2kgs since my last fitness test! Meltdown impending at this point.

Woke on Thursday feeling pretty upset, disappointed, angry and all of the above with my weight gain. Where had I gone wrong? So portion control was swiftly put into place from my next meal onwards. Our fitness test is on Monday coming so I need to do whatever I can (in a healthy way) to get my numbers back down. I had a workout with the 6pm class and after the class did some extra cardio on the treadmill.

Didn’t sleep very well but at least Friday morning saw the scales have come down half a kilo already so I am thinking it may have been a case of serious water retention, possibly PMS related. Friday is one of my rest days so I just chilled out as much as possible.

I took the ABT class on Saturday morning so I made an effort and did my hair funky, a little makeup and bright coloured training gear. We did all sorts of toning exercises ranging from squats, lunges, hip raises, scissor kicks, crunches, side knee raises, straight leg circles, under leg lifts and much more. It was painful, sweaty and grunty. So glad I made the effort as I felt really good after an awesome workout. In good spirits again thank goodness.

Monday is the final week of the 12 week challenge. I am going to smash all of my previous exercise results I know. It will however be interesting to see how the measurements go.

See you in the gym,

Sheen x

Antionette Hanchard, Devina Chandra, Felicia Brunsting, Leroy Lees, Margaret Lees and Matt Edgar.

Well done on your success from the Evolution Gym Team.

NEW* Class Timetable – Our best class timetable yet is now in place and we designed it with you in mind. There are some exciting new additions including Kettlebell Fit, Comp Box, Kid Box and Strength.

NEW* Group Fitness Trainer – A warm welcome to Donovan Bickford who will be our Strength Class Expert Trainer putting you through your paces at your absolute maximum!

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Beanies - Keep your head warm this winter with your own limited edition Evolution Gym Beanie only $25 available in black, grey-marle, pink and blue. Alternative colours can be arranged. See reception to try/buy.

Ten weeks in with only two left and I feel fantastic. I started my week with a half hour run on the treadmill followed by dumbbell chest press, incline press, shoulder press, lying tricep extensions and cable lat raises.

Tuesday was so cold all morning that I didn’t want to part with my warm puffer jacket so decided to train later in the evening after the rush of members in the gym. It was my cardio day so on the treadmill at the highest incline power walking with intermittent jogging. I was drenched in sweat by the end but felt great.

Shins, hamstrings and glutes were sore this morning from my uphill cardio workout. Worst of all it was FREEZING COLD most of the morning, ice everywhere outside, which meant another evening workout for me. I am such a softy however I am the first to admit it and how much I dislike winter in general. I went for a warm up run with the Birkenhead United Football lads then hit the weights in the gym. I did 3 sets of deadlifts, seated row, pull-ups, bicep curls and Kettlebell swings. You should have seen me gasping for air on the swings after doing deadlifts, what a sight, but I sure worked my heart, lungs and muscles really well.

Thursday morning saw me pop out and buy myself some nice spring clothes to help lift my winter blues (yes – stores are getting their spring collections in already). My Thin Lizzy bronzer has also been dusted off and used once more to give some colour to my cheeks as I am over looking so pasty white. My skin has also suffered from the cold weather; it has gone very dry and flaky so I got some coco moisturiser that will hopefully sort that out for me without being too greasy.

Later Thursday evening I joined in on a class and did we train hard or what! First order of business was a warm up jogging back and forwards on top of a tyre lying flat. Then tractor tyre flips downhill, run up the hill and back, and then flip the tyres to the top again. Next was a circuit consisting of sit ups, hammering tyres, burpees, dumbbell punches, hill climbers and pad work in the ring one-on-one with the trainer. The pad work was explosive, I felt so strong. That wasn’t all, bag work was next then one more circuit timed on the person who had to run up and down a steep flight of stairs five times. Jeepers my lungs were burning and heart rate was through the roof let alone the water pouring off me. I loved every second.

On Friday it was a day of tidying up work admin and getting all the weekly cleaning done before the weekend. I prefer to have all the chores done at the end of the week.

The sun was out on Saturday morning and the music was awesome in the gym – so it was a great vibe for a last weekly workout. ABT’s had me squirming in muscle pain once again, squats, wide leg squats, lunges, abdominal crunches/twists/reverse crunches, and that was just the warm up! I got a bit frustrated this particular class because I have been doing it for weeks and still struggle to do certain exercises without stopping from screaming muscle pain when everyone else seems to manage fine. Not sure what I can do to change this problem because I already train 5 days a week so it’s not like I am unfit or weak. Anyway to ease my annoyance I did Kettlebell swings/clean & press/shoulder press and chest press to make myself feel a little less retarded. Just over an hour and a half of training done and felt good.

No muscle soreness on Sunday!  So some progress in that ABTs doesn’t leave me crippled for days on end any more. Perhaps I am going in the right direction and need to be patient. Like anything I struggle with, practise, practise and more practise should see me being an ABT pro in time! (fingers crossed).

Well that is a novel for this week – two weeks left in the challenge and a fitness test approaching – I can’t wait to compare before and after measurements.

See you in the gym!

Sheen x

Tuesday I took it easy it felt as if my cold was lurking around again as my nose started to block up and throat started to hurt. It didn’t take much convincing to have a rest day at this point. Wednesday morning was a great 45 minute workout and at the end I continued on with skipping and then jogging on the treadmill.

Thursday saw me limping around with the worst muscle soreness I have ever had through my calf muscles from all the skipping. I found this hilarious as I have been training on average 5-6 days a week, for 7 weeks (if you take out the week I had a cold), having done an array of leg exercises, high intensity leg work and running – to come undone with skipping!? Classic. In conclusion, skipping will be a weekly exercise in my programme in the hope that I can right this embarrassing wrong of weak calf muscles.

Deadlifts, Single Leg RDL’s, Chin Ups, Squats, Cable Lat Raises and a run on the treadmill had me sweating up a storm on Friday. I had energy to burn and felt as if I could have trained all day which was a great vibe to train on. Thinking ahead to ABT class the following morning I managed to keep my workout to 1 1/2 hours (more  than enough). Sure as anything, the next day Jackie literally worked my butt off. I was in SO much pain and starting to wonder why I had done squats the day before – seriously. I made it through the intense 45 minutes – all be it a little ungracefully, hopping around in pain in-between sets.

To finish the week of training, it was on the ferry to Waiheke Island with my favourite boys Doug and Bob (our dog) for a walk around the island. Initially it was a slow hike for me, however my legs felt better the further we went surprisingly and very little muscle soreness on Sunday which was great.

This coming week will be interesting as I am increasing my training days back to 5 days now that I am fully recovered from my nasty cold.

See you in the gym.

Sheen x

Really I shouldn’t be surprised when most people around me have it, but it is never a welcome feeling when you wake up with a cold. Different from the flu, for those who are wondering what the difference is, a cold is basically a less aggressive respiratory infection, and symptoms include a sore throat, runny nose, cough & fever.

With this transition from fighting fit to completely exhausted in 48 hours my training went on the back burner for a whole week. I got the essentials done at work and rested as much as possible in-between. Cold & Flu tablets, Echinacea, multi vitamins, hot lemon, honey & ginger tea, Vaseline for my red and raw nose, tissues, lozenges, DVD’s, layers of clothes and litres of water became my priority med’s for the next few days. To make matters worse I then passed it onto my partner making us a sneezing, coughing, grumpy pair I tell you. The weekend didn’t come fast enough.

Left wondering when I should resume exercise again, on day 6 (Sat) I decided to get out for a light jog. Blowing liquid from my nose every few metres along the path (very classy) I felt good so off I went to the gym for the ABT class. Every Saturday without fail, my muscles get such a great workout in this class. My glute’s burn, thighs give out part way through the routine and my abs sting like crazy. I put it down to the muscle endurance required to repeat an exercise over and over for the duration of a track on the stereo. OUCH!. As all fitness fanatics will understand, there is a fantastic sense of achievement when you workout at this intensity.

I felt much better for the exercise. However by mid afternoon I was tired again and spent the best part of my weekend resting in bed watching DVDs in preparation for the work week ahead. The fitness test didn’t eventuate thanks to this cold, so I will have to wait for the next and final test of the challenge in one month’s time.

This coming week I will train as per usual with a light to moderate intensity and hopefully the cold won’t be able to take hold again.

See you in the gym!

Sheen x