Freedom Fitness PLUS

Christmas 2011

2011-12-08T09:21:00.001-08:00

Thank You

To all the wonderful members who made 2011 an exciting one at Freedom Fitness PLUS - Thank You! We wanted to take this opportunity to:

1) Wish you a fun Christmas time with friends, family, and loved ones.

2) Wish you get all the rest you need these holidays to start 2012 with gusto!

3) Inform you of a few important things.

Membership Offers

Lots of people have been asking, “How do memberships to Freedom Fitness PLUS work and how much are they?

1) Full Memberships (Kickboxing Group Fitness and 24/7 Gym)

Student/Beneficiary $40.00 per month

Adult $75.00 per month

2) Kickboxing Group Fitness or 24/7 Gym Only

Adult $55.00 per month

Note 1: 24/7 Gym Memberships require the purchase of an electronic key for $25.00. Replacement for key loss or damage is at the member’s cost.

Note 2: When accessing the gym after Rawene Centre hours members are not permitted to access the Rawene Centre through the toilets. Doing so will set off the alarms in the Rawene Centre zone which will result in a security call out. Charges for these will be passed on to the key holder.

3) Group or Club Offer

Do you have a social, community group, or club you hang out with? Why not come and talk to us about a special group membership arrangement? We are always happy to welcome new groups of people.

Also, if you are involved in a community group, why not invite them to do a fundraiser here at the gym? This is how it works.

Let’s say you are an active member at your local kindy. Why not let them know that they can invite all of the parents to kickboxing for a one-off at no charge? They can charge a fund-raising fee for their kindy for each participant. We get new people to a calls and the kindy raises some funds.

4) Upgrade today

Hey kick boxers, do you know we have a 24/7 cardio and fitness gym? All you need to do is purchase a key (for $25.00), pay the difference in membership rate (a full Membership instead of just the Kickboxing Membership rate) and you are in!

Hey 24/7 gymers, do you know we have a Kickboxing fitness timetable? This will work your cardio system as well as all three muscle fibre types. If you are keen on getting results in the gym this can help you immensely! All you need to do is pay the difference in membership rate (a full Membership instead of just the Kickboxing Membership rate) and you are in!

But wait, it’s Christmas time so we have a special upgrade offer between now and Christmas Day! Upgrade your membership before then and we will halve the upgrade rate from $20.00 per month to $10.00 per month. So instead of $75.00 per month for a full Membership you only pay $65.00 per month for the next year.

5) Off Shore Membership

Do you live south of the bridge and travel out of your way to get to Freedom?

If you do then, between now and Christmas Day, we will Upgrade your Membership at no extra charge. That means you can get full Kickboxing and 24/7 Gym Membership for $55.00 per month, plus the $25.00 key charge if you need one. This is only available to those who do not live on the North Shore and only until Christmas Day – so hurry!

6) One Month Unlimited Kickboxing Classes for $19.99

Kikcboxing Fitness Classes work the cardio system and all three muscle fibre types. You get the complete workout. You can purchase (for a friend or family member) one voucher for one month's worth of awesome Kickboxing fitness training at Freedom Fitness PLUS for less than $20.00! The voucher has a redemption life of three months from the date of purchase. This offer is only available until Christmas Morning, 25 December 2011.

7) Buchan Memberships

This is when an adult, (could be a Mum, a Dad, an Uncle, an Aunt, a Godfather, a Godmother, or just a kindly neighbour), can join Freedom Fitness PLUS at the rates mentioned here above and bring a youth along at no additional charge. There is a condition with regards to the age of the youth though.

If the youth is over 16 years of age then admission to the 24/7 gym is fine. If the youth is between the ages of 10 and 15 then they may attend the Kickboxing Group Exercise classes only. The only exception is if Personal Training with a REPS Registered PT like Scottie is engaged to supervise in-gym activity. The idea of these memberships is to provide an opportunity for youth and adults to form a working relationship together. So, in essence, we would expect the adult to attend the gym with the youth most of the time. In the case of youth aged 10 to 13 an adult must be present in the Kickboxing Group Exercise Classes at all times.

Our Vision for 2012

What is Freedom Fitness PLUS all about? You can read about our vision for Freedom here http://www.freedomfitness.co.nz/OurVision.aspx and it is also depicted in detail on the block wall inside the gym in brightly coloured chalk. Our vision reflects the community spirit at Freedom Fitness PLUS. Not all community interests are well funded so we rely on our membership to finance much of what we do. Members’ initials are also shown on the block wall inside the gym in brightly coloured chalk to show our thanks for their support. We wish to offer members the chance to personify their own initials on that wall.

Christmas BBQ

On Thursday, 22 December, after Scottie’s Kickboxing session there will be a gym BBQ. We will provide sausages with onions, mustard, sauce, buttered bread, and non-alcoholic beverages. Folks are welcome to bring a plate to share with salad or desert thereon and something else to drink if they wish. It is on this occasion members will be invited to personalise their initials in chalk (i.e. graffiti style) on the gym wall. Please RSVP your intention to attend:

Text or Cellphone – 021 176 4266

Landline – 09 282 3169

Email – freedomfitnessbirkenhead@gmail.com

CHC500 Challenge

The CHC500 is when we perform 500 kickboxing kicks in succession to raise funds for Christchurch. Before we do the kicks we need to do a couple of things:

Get sponsorship from family and friends. Get a sponsorship form here http://www.freedomfitness.co.nz/SpecialEvents.aspx

Train. You will want to come to as many kickboxing fitness group training sessions as you can between now and the event.

The CHC500 event will occur before the BBQ on Thursday, December 22, 2011.

Learning Advisory

Freedom Fitness PLUS, in association with Te Kura (NZ School of Correspondence), is proud to be hosting and delivering a Te Kura Learning Advisory out of Freedom Fitness PLUS. This is when students of Te Kura get face to face time with qualified teachers as they study towards NCEA Unit Standard Credits. They also receive a sponsored gym membership. We plan to be putting on supporting events such as skateboarding, media (movie-making), music, fitness, and drama sessions so that students get a full range of activities made available to them. For students 17 and under the whole thing is at no charge. A small fee will apply per study course for older students. Please let us know about any youth you are aware of who could benefit from this programme.

Bruce’s Corner

Bruce’s Corner is a full length feature film about a boxer being made at Freedom Fitness PLUS by Film Director, gym member, and media graduate, Adrian Frencken. Shooting starts the second week of 2012 (from 8 January). We are looking for anyone (though particularly youth) who are at a loose end (Hello? It will be the last few weeks of the school holidays so of course there will be plenty of those) and who want to learn all about how movies are shot or who want to actually be in a movie.

Part of the funding for the project will come from You Tube advertising work Adrian can put together. The days where all one needs to do, in order to attract business success, is to throw money at television and magazine advertising, are long gone. With the advent and development of web based marketing strategies such as social media growing your business easily, cheaply, and effectively is all about how creative you can be with your advertising. Adrian brings the creativity required and posts the results on your own You Tube channel to generate more customers for less money. Find out more here http://www.freedomfitness.co.nz/BrucesCorner.aspx

Youth on Track

Youth on Track is an organisation that provides mentoring services to local youth. We are in the process of setting a satellite of YOT up in our gym. More news to come as developments come to light.

Christmas Hours

The final kickboxing group fitness class for 2011 will be Thursday December 22, 2011.

The first kickboxing group fitness class for 2012 will be Monday January 9, 2012 but only Scottie's classes will be running initially. Dave's classes cannot re-commence until his return from holiday in the final week of January 2012.

If kickboxing members wish to access the 24/7 gym between Thursday December 22, 2011 and Monday January 9, 2012 as well as during Dave's holiday absence we can issue a key to the 24/7 gym (at a cost of $25.00) that will provide 24/7 access throughout the holiday period.

Communication

Telephone 09 282 3169

Cell (call or text) 021 176 4266

Email freedomfitnessbirkenhead@gmail.com

Website www.freedomfitness.co.nz

Blogspot http://freedomfitnessplus.blogspot.com/

(note: this newsletter is shown in its complete entirety on our blog)

It's Time for NZ Youth to Shine... but how?

2011-11-04T16:06:00.001-07:00

The Plan:

Youth Shining in New Zealand

1) Relationship – Become relevant. No rapport = nil score. Include networks, family, peers

2) Consultation – Find out what the client wants, how they want it, and deliver it – just that way

3) Literacy - Basic facts and skill development (NCEA English and Maths)

4) Creativity – Nobody can build a house without a plan. Same with a life. Creativity is the key to planning

5) Gaps in generational perspectives – Promoting empathy

6) Choosing the right career (or finding purpose) – Try before you buy

7) Approaching things from a mature perspective – Playing the game in its entirety

8) Integration – Building community

9) The student becomes the Teacher – Building competency and capacity

Project Target Group

- Children and Youth 12-17

- Young persons 18-30

How did we identify the need for our approach?

- Co-operating with CYF

- Working with at-risk youth

- Speaking with and listening to community gatherings of groups concerned with education, employment and other current issues affecting youth

- Speaking with and listening to local business people

- Researching generation differences in perspectives and making some sense of where current approaches can be improved for greater effectiveness

Have we consulted with others?

(So far) there are (potentially) 21 partners in this project. That number is expected to grow. This project has been developed over the last 18 months. In that time many aspects of these ideas have been tried and tested. Most of these partners are directly involved in the local community so that we have the benefit of feedback from just about every level (from youth, to community organisations, to educators, and businesses, even our local MP).

What is our motivation for setting up this service/project?

Patriotism, fatherhood, a passion for and belief in youth, love of community, an ego driven need to prove that a problem from one angle is an opportunity from another, an inner conviction that we must be people who contribute positively and in an accountable fashion, and an unshakable belief that politicians and Government agencies cannot fix our communities without the participation of the communities themselves.

What skills/experience do we bring to the project?

Business (Sales, Marketing, Management – in NZ and International), mentoring, empathy, discipline, international perspectives, an awareness of and understanding of generational perspectives, planning, organisation, and execution.

Are we an approved provider to CYFS?

Undergoing this project currently.

How will the project be delivered?

Face to face, using various in-group and one-on-one formats, out of the Rawene Centre, 33 Rawene Road, Birkenhead.

What model or theory of service effectiveness will your project be based on?

Empathy. Empathy for all of the things the stake holders are looking for. The stake holders are:

- The client

- The community (as represented by individuals and organisations like the Salvation Army)

- Local businesses

- Education providers

- Government agencies

We have allowed for full reviews to be conducted so we can improve the programme further as we go.

Other information

How can we get young people in NZ to believe more in themselves?

http://freedomfitnessplus.blogspot.com/2011/10/what-is-our-plan-for-working-with-youth.html

How do we approach youth mentoring?

http://freedomfitnessplus.blogspot.com/2011/10/how-do-we-approach-youth-mentoring.html

Step 1 – Relationship

http://freedomfitnessplus.blogspot.com/2011/10/step-1-relationship.html

Step 2 – Consultation

http://freedomfitnessplus.blogspot.com/2011/10/step-2-consultation.html

Step 3 – Literacy

http://freedomfitnessplus.blogspot.com/2011/10/step-3-literacy.html

Step 4 – Developing Creativity

http://freedomfitnessplus.blogspot.com/2011/10/step-4-developing-creativity.html

Step 5 – Gaps in generational perspectives

http://freedomfitnessplus.blogspot.com/2011/10/step-5-bridging-gaps-between.html

Step 6 – Finding Purpose

http://freedomfitnessplus.blogspot.com/2011/10/step-6-finding-purpose.html

Step 7 – Gaining a mature perspective

http://freedomfitnessplus.blogspot.com/2011/10/step-7-approaching-things-from-mature.html

Step 8 – Building community

http://freedomfitnessplus.blogspot.com/2011/10/step-8-building-community.html

Step 9 – Teach

http://freedomfitnessplus.blogspot.com/2011/10/what-happens-when-student-becomes.html

How does “Time to Shine” work?

http://freedomfitnessplus.blogspot.com/2011/10/how-does-time-to-shine-programme-work.html

Who are our partner prospects for the delivery of “Time to Shine”?

http://freedomfitnessplus.blogspot.com/2011/10/our-programme-partner-prospects.html

Our Business Network

http://www.bni.co.nz/chapter_details.asp?chap_id=14227

Proposed Timeline

http://freedomfitnessplus.blogspot.com/2011/10/proposed-timeline.html

Enquiries to http://www.freedomfitness.co.nz/Contact.aspx

Want to get the NCEA credits that you missed at school - and get a sponsored gym membership?

2011-10-27T21:25:00.000-07:00

Three Thursdays of Fun
Freedom Fitness PLUS, Rawene Community Centre, 33 Rawene Road, Birkenhead on Thursday 17 and Thursday 24 November, also Thursday 1 December at 12pm http://www.freedomfitness.co.nz/
 Kickboxing, skating and bmx demonstrations, plus tour of gym facilities
 Meet our Kiwisport Coordinator and sign up for your ‘free’ Kiwisport concession card* for 2012  Meet youth mentors and life coaches
 Meet your Liaison Teacher
 "Design your Day" - mentors will facilitate group brainstorming  Lunch provided Great way to end the school year … see you there!! RSVP to: Susan Ramsay *entitles you to weekly kickboxing classes, attendance at all advisories and use of weights gym for 1 hour per week throughout 2012. Invitation to all Te Kura students and their supervisors living in the: Birkenhead,
Birkdale, Beachhaven, Glenfield and Northcote areas to join us for: Three Thursdays of Fun Freedom Fitness PLUS, Rawene Community Centre, 33 Rawene Road, Birkenhead on Thursday 17 and Thursday 24 November, also Thursday 1 December at 12pm www.freedomfitness.co.nz (09) 3021788
0274809753
Or email: susan.ramsay@tekura.school.nz sessions around what activities YOU want to be doing while studying with Te Kura in 2012

Proposed Timeline

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Mid-November 2011 – a key stake-holder’s meeting 12.00noon – 2.00pm 17^th, another meeting one week later and a third meeting one week after that

Early December – commence the programme except the NCEA Learning Advisory

Feb 2012 – First term of the NCEA Learning Advisory and the three month Youth Shining in New Zealand programme begins

Consultation

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In addition to our potential delivery partners, this proposed programme was prepared with the valuable insight of:

- Many local youth

- Many local businesses, some owned by people in their early 20’s. These people are all constantly in touch with local youth

- Many organisations (listed) with experience handling youth and a plethora of human conditions including mental health, health, and business success

Our programme partner prospects

2011-10-26T20:34:00.001-07:00

List of participants and their purpose within the programme:

NZ School of Correspondence, www.tekura.school.nz – To deliver NCEA unit standards training.

Wanaga, www.daenis.co.nz – To support learning, goal setting, and financial literacy.

Learn Here, www.learnhere.co.nz – To provide a business insight and computer training.

Freedom Fitness PLUS, www.freedomfitness.co.nz – Extending current work with at-risk youth by creating and facilitating this full programme. Several emails and letters of support for our work with at-risk youth are attached.

Salvation Army Glenfield – An organisation our students can support as they learn the art of philanthropy.

Chefs for Compassion, http://www.chefsforcompassion.com/ – Teaching the art of philanthropy through the preparation and service of food.

Parents Inc, http://www.parentsinc.org.nz/cms/ – Delivering a parenting course to the caregivers/adults/parents of programme participants.

Kaleidomedia, http://www.kaleidomedia.co.nz/ – A media company owned and run by a local 24 year old. This company will facilitate media experience and give a company perspective to programme participants as seen through the eyes of the 24 year old owner.

Arcadia Skin Care, http://www.facebook.com/ArcadiaSkinCare – Health advice from a qualified Naturopath. Another business perspective in terms of running a lifestyle business.

Musetude, http://www.musetude.com/ – Releasing the creative genius within programme participants through music. Using their methods this organisation can release sufficient genius/mind power to teach two years of classical music study in just two weeks.

Toi Ora, http://www.toiora.org.nz/ – An art space in Grey Lynn currently working with referrals from DHB’s. Wants to expand into youth work and will deliver the art, music, and drama aspects of the programme.

Four Letters, http://www.fourletters.co.nz/ – A local Birkenhead skate shop owned and operated by a 24 year old. This business is like a magnet, attracting hoards youth as young as years of age and up to mid-twenties. Liam, the owner, will deliver perspectives on creativity, business, and responsibility, with a complete understanding for what it is like growing up as a teenager in Birkenhead.

Organic Planting – This activity will be provided by a couple of different groups in possession of youth work experience all over the world. They bring to the programme creative, inter-generational, career, and maturity perspectives.

Peter Taylor, http://www.speakers.co.nz/petertaylor.html – Peter is an equestrian athlete with international experience at the top of his game. A unique circumstance irrevocably changed Tailors life. While at the Barcelona Olympics, he was unknowingly infected with a rare parasite from a sand fly bite. The illness, Visceral Leishmaniasis Donnovanni, usually kills by destroying the bone marrow within twenty months. Peter remains the only person living in the world now in his tenth year of infection and fulfilling a hard regime of chemotherapy. His ability to continue repeated rounds of treatment have made him a medical pioneer, completing 900 doses.

Now partially blind and severely deaf from the effects of the treatment, Peter brings a refreshing personal perspective to dealing with change and motivation. The only thing that keeps this viscous disease under control is those monthly doses of intense chemo-therapy and it always makes Peter extremely sick for one week each and every month. For the other three weeks Peter carries out amazing and inspiring works, which helps him to add to the hundreds (maybe thousands) of intriguingly motivational stories to tell. He also performs on stage delivering his message of courage, hope, and encouragement. Peter is the only person I know in the world in possession of every right to ask of his audience one very important question - “So, what’s YOUR excuse?” If there are others out there, I just have not met them yet.

Jesse’s Superfood, http://www.facebook.com/jessessuperfood – Jesse is a chef with a young baby suffering from severe lactose intolerance and gluten allergy. She uses her cullinary knowledge to create amazing super-foods a mother with such a baby can use whilst breast-feeding. Another advantage eating these super-foods is the additional health benefits they deliver. It is not easy to substitute white flour with buckwheat. Jesse has employed a deep understanding of how to prepare food with a vivid imagination of what ingredients can be used in place of the harmful ones. She runs a business that supplies the superfoods she makes to mothers who want healthier babies. She can provide knowledge of food preparation and a business perspective.

Elias Kenaris, http://www.eliaskanaris.com/ – A Leadership Coach and Business Mentor. Elias has worked all over the world running some very large company divisions for companies like Gen-i. He specialises in helping people develop their leadership and influence potential.

Colleen Sluiter, www.bigbusinessinsight.com – A Business Coach specialising in Marketing. As an owner of several businesses and an immigrant from South Africa Colleen brings an internation understanding and perspective to the programme.

Steve Boardman, http://waspsecurity.co.nz/ – Still in his 20’s and without a single formal qualification Steve owns and operates one of the most professional, honest, and competent security businesses around. Another one who brings it all to the table, and he is young enough to remember what being a teenager was like.

Rawene Centre, http://www.rawenecentre.org.nz/ – This is the landlord for Freedom Fitness PLUS and the provider of the location where this programme will be run.

Youth On Track, http://youthontrack.org.nz/ – The brainchild of a 19 year old who had been through it all. You name it, it probably happened to him as he was growing up. He shared his desire to help others with 59 year old Pete, and Youth On Track was conceived. Some months and a whole lot of work later, this organisation is completing a number of registration processes, has a full board of trustees, and a patron, Christina Stroud of www.christinastroud.com Christina deals with P addiction and has reported a 97% success rate. The Government run alcohol and drug addiction programmes report a much more modest claim with regards to success, reportedly hovering in a single digit percentage figure.

The Flat FM, http://www.flatfm.co.nz/ – Owned by Anthony from Kaleidomedia, The Flat FM is another success story. The radio station has three transmitters – one in Birkenhead, Hamilton, and Whangarei. With over 8,000 listeners aged between 10 and 25 years of age (they also stream online) these guys bring some fantastic perspectives to the programme, not to mention an affordable way to reach our target market for this programme. The aim is to be running a radio show as part of this programme.

BNI (Business Networks International) Harbour View http://www.bni.co.nz/chapter_details.asp?chap_id=14227 – An important part of the programme providing a large proportion of the business networks we will involve to give youth different forms of work experience.

Interesting people who have shown a high level of interest in appearing as guests on the radio show intended to be associated with this programme:

Mark Knoff Thomas – Runs the city office of Kelly Services, http://www.kellyservices.co.nz/NZ/Contact-Us/Branches/Auckand-CBD/ Mark is passionate about employment opportunities and career paths for youth.

Peter Grace – Has spent 20 years working with families dealing with experience of mental illness. http://www.sfauckland.org.nz/SUPPORT/Our+Team/Waitemata.html

Kerry Atma – Works with Essentially Men. http://essentiallymen.net/index.html

Many of the providers outlined in the programme.

In addition we will be working closely with a large contingency of community networks including the local Community Co-ordinators and schools. We have already been in discussions with career advisors from Glenfield College and other relevant organisations, although we are yet to see where these will lead.

How does the "Time to Shine" programme work?

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How does our programme, “Time to Shine”, work?

By taking groups of local youth and their parents through a 3/6/12 month programme covering all of the above. At the end of the first three months it is envisaged participants who have enrolled will be committed to finishing the education being delivered by the NZ Correspondence School and Wananga in the gym throughout 2012, as well as staying on at the gym for fitness and connection.

Step 9 - What happens when the student becomes the teacher?

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9. Teach

There is no doubt about it, you only get a real grasp on an idea that is worked and played with. And ultimate understanding comes from teaching it. We want youth who come through the shining programme to consider (officially) teaching these ideas to the next group whilst they (un-officially) teach them to their peers in conversation. Youth who successfully complete the programme will be invited to consider serving as a mentor.

We like the idea of reading to youth in residence. Perhaps our mentors can do something like that.

Step 8 - Building community

2011-10-26T20:23:00.001-07:00

8. Integration

Freedom Fitness PLUS is a community minded service provider that employs health and fitness as a tool to assist youth to lead and achieve. We have a good membership base that can provide plenty of encouragement and support long after the programme has concluded. Adult/Youth gym memberships contribute heavily to the affordability of family and community centred health and fitness. Staff and members enjoy fulfilling a quasi-mentorship role with other members/gym users, younger or older. Because we are based in the Rawene Centre, 33 Rawene Road, Birkenhead, there is ample space for additional community activities to be planned beyond just gym membership.

Step 7 - Approaching things from a mature perspective

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7. Developing Maturity – a pathway to satisfaction

Corey L. M. Keyes, was contemplating the ‘modern’ view of health and well-being. Of course, the typical measures of health and well-being are designed to operate somewhat like a light switch. It is either on, or off. You are rich, or poor. You are well, or sick. You are in, or out, of control in your life.

But, as we understand it, Corey L. M. Keyes conclusive observation went a little something like this. Life is just not like that. Everything can be measured in degrees. A person can experience mental un-wellness today, and feel perfectly functional and fine the next. A person can be very wealthy yet experience depression. An un-well person of modest means can be incredibly inspiring.

It seems Corey L. M. Keyes reasoned that a truly objective conclusion on the ‘wellness’ of an individual calls for shades of grey, from many perspectives, before a ‘line’ can be drawn that accurately describes the condition of their life. There is one measure, which is in the process of being adopted worldwide, that can be used for this purpose. Are you:

- Flourishing, or

- Languishing?

How can one person seem to have everything to live for yet be miserable (languishing)? And how can one person facing near crippling hardship be inspiring (flourishing)? In layman terms, Corey L. M. Keyes hypothesised that if a person has seven life “ducks in a row” then, regardless of anything else in their life, they will flourish. The fewer ducks they have lined up, the greater the chance they will languish. Here are those itemised “ducks”:

a) Are you giving? – You need to understand that you don’t have to be a billionaire like Bill Gates to be a philanthropist. Once you realise this fact, you are liberated from the chains of the imagined financial barriers to philanthropy (which also offers countless opportunities for personal and professional development too).

b) Are you connected? – Genuinely connecting with others is a sure-fire way to help an individual release their gifting into the world. No one person can do everything alone. We are just not built that way. We are built to work in teams, each individual maximising the whole by contributing with their unique gifts. Sadly, whilst technology promises better connectivity it is often delivered at such a level that is not real or genuine connection (ask anyone who has 600 friends on their Facebook page but only so they can achieve better scores whilst playing online games, or ask someone with a Twitter account boasting “25,000 followers”). Whilst sometimes social media is a very powerful connectivity tool (there probably are people out there with 25,000 genuine followers on their Twitter account but these will be the exception rather than the rule) other (more old fashioned) networking strategies still have their value on the basis that the connection is genuine. For example, everyone in a concert seeing their favourite musicians are arguably better connected than many Facebook and Twitter connections. Most of us would be satisfied with a one on one or small group face to face. The skills that produce real connections in these scenarios are still important.

c) Do you take notice? – I heard of a wealthy guy once who was utterly depressed. I cannot remember the exact figures but the story went something like this. He was depressed because he had only made $2 million in income that year and he was sure he should have made at least $2.5 million. True story. It sounds like a cliché but it is important to “smell the roses” that are growing in your garden. By all means (if you can) attend to any that are struggling and maybe try to solve whatever the issue is, but don’t completely ignore the fact that you have some terrific roses growing. Another aspect to this is being mindful. To stop reacting to life and live the life you want instead. This is (of course) linked to creativity. Ways to be mindfully creative (by quietening the un-helpful logical, emotional, and reptilian fight or flight noise often constantly heard in the mind – thus opening up one’s creative resources) are to meditate, pray, reflect, play music, paint, read, write, fish, walk, and certain other forms of exercise. You can use whatever quiets the mind for this purpose.

d) Are you active? – The body is its own drug lab. When you exercise it creates an enormous amount of ‘feel good’ chemicals. These are completely legal and FREE of charge to use! As previously mentioned, this is one method to open the creative mind in order to get an individual out of the reactionary rat race approach to life and begin to plan the life one actually wants to live.

e) Are you still learning? – You cannot do any of this stuff properly if you are ignorant. And we are all ignorant. Keep learning. Keep making distinctions. With ubiquitous access to the internet and books (both available free of charge from most New Zealand libraries) ignorance in a subject of importance to you is a choice. As for literacy issues, many public schools will allow enrolments from just about anyone, free of charge. I know a lady in her 70’s who went back to High School for three years and brushed up on her French alongside a whole lot of teenagers and she had a ball doing it - for FREE!

f) Are you grounded? – actually, the International List to ensure someone is flourishing ends with the items listed above. “f” and “g” were deemed out of reach for some people in some countries. But being connected with earth, nature, plants, and organic life are considered an important part of being able to develop a flourishing mind-set and attitude. In New Zealand, there is no excuse not to do this.

g) Are you eating well? – again, off the International List because some people in the world just have no way of controlling their diet. Not so in New Zealand. Anyone can grow a veggie patch or plant an apple tree.

It is true youth have many advantages, including the ability to use technology with astonishing aptitude. But this has come at the cost of many of the items listed above from “a” to “g”. So, although highly talented and very clever, some youth have a world view that does not completely serve them.

Step 6 - Finding Purpose

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6. Job Choice (or purpose)

Also important is to ensure the youth concerned is satisfied that their choice of employment (or purpose – not every inspirational purpose involves getting a job) can bring them what they want in life, even if only for now. Otherwise… let’s say a member of New Zealand’s youth figures out what their dream job is (or embarks upon a mission of purpose), gets "in the door”, only to discover they hate it and want to do something else. In speaking with many youth it is apparent that some feel their only chance to “try before you buy” is to sign up for something at University that contains work placement during the first year. Most courses can be around the $8,000.00 mark for the first year (more, or less). That is an expensive fee to pay just to find you hate a vocation.

Our idea is to employ our growing network of enthusiastic business owners who will help youth get a taste of their industry without cost. In return our network get's first chance to get a glimpse of new talent. It is hoped that youth will start to make our network a part of their own so they can continue to benefit from their relationship with the business owner or manager beyond the duration of the programme.

Step 5 - Bridging the gaps between generational perspectives

2011-10-26T20:15:00.001-07:00

5. Bridging Gaps Between Generational Perspectives

Another problem faced by today’s youth is a feeling of un-importance for what was once held sacred and an emphasis on things once considered frivolous. An example? An older cafe owner employs a young person to wait tables. The youth is able to text his friends, check his Facebook page (via his cell phone), and provide excellent service to customers - simultaneously. Somehow the youth, because of their affinity with and ability to employ various forms of technological leverage, has the capacity for incredible output levels in less time than the cafe owner can imagine. The cafe owner is operating on outdated perspectives about time and output possibilities and so can start to resent the youth on the basis that they cannot possibly be getting the work done whilst doing so much multi-tasking – even if they are getting the work done. Even if the cafe owner considered themselves dextrously adept with cell phone technology they would still probably struggle with the multi-tasking (were they to attempt to emulate the youth) and customer service would suffer so the café owner is against such behaviour. That is why most cafe owners in this position would reprimand their employee (and probably watch the youth walk out the door, never to return). But our particular cafe owner quickly gets over his employees apparent lack of focus when he begins to understand the youth is delivering exemplary service and that happy customers are complimenting the youth as well as returning more regularly than in the past. But what the owner can’t get over is the fact that the youth places more emphasis on socialising the night before a busy Saturday morning than he does coming into work on his business’s busiest day of the week. The youth, for his part, does not live to work and is adamant he won’t be giving up his regular Friday night plans with friends for his boss.

There is a void in perspective between youth and business owners in terms of certain expectations. But, with the right amount of understanding, these voids can be bridged. And it is vitally important this happens ASAP, so that opportunities are not lost to un-necessary feelings of frustration.

Oh, and it has been suggested to me in the past couple of days that the ability to multi-task (in the brain) does not actually exist. Now the experts seem to think that "apparent" multi-tasking is actually the brain switching from task to task rapidly and that it is extremely in-efficient. I never really believed that multi-tasking was possible other than in appearance (as several things can be happenning physically at the same time whilst actually the brain is operating only on one task at a time).

Step 4 - Developing Creativity

2011-10-26T20:13:00.001-07:00

4. Developing Creativity

In a recent public debate on how to fix youth un-employment in New Zealand (held at the AMI Netball Stadium on the North Shore) a point about creativity was raised. The point made was that our education system does not do enough to uplift the importance of creativity. So, why is developing more creativity important?

Today’s world is as fast paced as it’s ever been. Communication from one side to the other is instant. If you study an accurate account of World History you will note that hundreds, sometimes a thousand years or more would be the timeframe between one nation and another discovering copper, iron, and steel (or a plethora of other advances, like use of the plough for example). Such a geographical barrier to the pace of development is completely un-known today. If you created the best thing since sliced bread and released it onto the internet you could have people from the other side of the world purchasing it from you instantly.

A job is no longer a lifelong thing either (for the most part). The ways of The Silent Generation have their importance even today (things like diligence, determination, discipline, and commitment to skill development) but lifelong company loyalty (for example) is not always (or often) appreciated. Planning to stay with the same company for life and protecting your silo of expertise as a means of remaining indispensable is not a clever career enhancing strategy any more. The preferred mentality in these times is to outgrow your job, reach for a higher place, and maybe even groom your replacement before you leave. People are expected to re-invent themselves many times throughout their working life. This pace is not always easy to deal with. The ability to do so is a gift possessed by so many of our youth. Unfortunately, the ability to deal with such pace comes with a few problems, mainly, an inability (or desire) to focus on the same thing for extended periods of time (because change becomes addictive after a while).

Step 3 - Literacy

2011-10-26T20:11:00.003-07:00

3. Literacy - Basic Facts and Skill Development (NCEA English and Maths)

We can all agree that a full understanding of the most basic facts surrounding literacy is a critical foundation to specialisation. The trouble is, people are ready (i.e. have a good grounding in the basic facts) for specialisation at different ages. Some people are ready for University at 15 or younger, some at 16, some at 17 or 18, and some aren’t ready until they are 42 years of age (or older!). The important thing is the student has full comprehension of many basic facts relevant to their chosen area of study before they specialise. People are ready at different ages because motivation has a different vehicle for everybody but the point is everything starts with the general basics and many out there (typically at-risk youth) are missing these. Our systems seem to be maximising things at the University level so perhaps now the quickest way to lead the worldwide knowledge wave is to help more people at the basic level. Could doing so grow our already excellent tertiary sector even more?

For young people lacking the basic foundations of literacy we would suggest the most important aspect of learning the basic facts and skills behind NCEA level English and Maths is the question, “Why bother?”

A good example of the resulting conundrum is the advent of text language. Youth can be expected to think NCEA English is a complete waste of time given the total acceptance of youth and adult alike to routinely communicate in written text speak. The impression is that text speak, an overly-simplified form of English, is universally acceptable. Over time, this may become true. Right now though, if you want to be a journalist, house designer, or builder, (and probably a million other professional things), a good basis in NCEA English (sometimes to a higher level than High School) is necessary to communicate precisely.

Step 2 - Consultation

2011-10-26T20:09:00.001-07:00

2. Consultation

We consult with:

- Local youth

- Local business

- Education Providers

- Mentors

This allows us to end up with the feedback necessary to execute all 9 steps of our programme successfully.

Step 1 - Relationship

2011-10-26T20:07:00.001-07:00

1. Relationship

Everyone needs someone who believes in them. Someone of high standards but who is non-judgemental, accepting, and supporting of others when they are most vulnerable. Everyone needs someone to cheer them on and pat them on the back when the time is right. Trust is essential. It is all about one person lending another the faith they need to get the ball rolling. We suggest everyone has a mentor at least 20 years their senior (and further we recommend everyone has mentors of all ages). With at-risk youth (in fact any youth) we believe a mature minded mentor is essential to help them get through the rough years and make the most of them.

How can we get young people in NZ to believe more in themselves?

2011-10-26T19:54:00.001-07:00

with a view to improving:

- youth un-employment rates

- youth alcohol and drug dependency

- romantic and family relationships

- youth risk taking and suicide rates

We aim to focus on the development of youth abilities in the following areas:

The Plan – Youth Shining in New Zealand

1) Relationship

2) Consultation

3) Literacy - Basic facts and skill development (NCEA English and Maths)

4) Creativity

5) Gaps in generational perspectives

6) Choosing the right career (or finding purpose)

7) Approaching things from a mature perspective

8) Integration

9) Teach

How do we approach youth mentoring?

2011-10-26T19:52:00.001-07:00

What is the “Compound Approach” to youth mentoring about?

Let’s explain this concept in body-building terms.

Body-builders get big arms doing heavy arm curls, right?

Wrong! Arm curls develop the biceps. 2/3rds of the size of the upper arm is the triceps muscle.

OK. So then, body builders get big arms doing heavy triceps exercises, right?

Wrong! Both arm curls and triceps extensions are isolation exercises. They only work the main target muscle. As a finishing exercise these are of great importance but they are no good for building massive size, usable strength and power. That is because, when you are working the smaller muscles (like biceps and triceps), you can only load them to a certain extent. The result is that these isolation exercises are not completed with maximum poundage, therefore maximum intensity is not achieved (and gaining bulk muscle mass/strength/power is all about training at the very highest intensity).

The best method to build massive muscle mass/strength/power is to use compound exercises. These exercises use other muscles to assist, which means that much heavier weights can be employed. Heavier weight equals higher intensity. Higher intensity equals bulk muscle/strength/power gain.

The Compound approach to youth mentoring (for life skills) is all about using all of the tools (all of the muscles in the body) to create maximum effect (maximum poundage). This is our metaphor for the basic grounding required to start a successful life. To begin with, it is merely a constant transfusion of faith in youth, until youth have the capacity to generate faith in them-selves. Then comes the motivation, the goal setting, and the effort of pursuit.

In body building you still need the isolation exercises to finish, refine, and define the individual muscles. This is where bicep curls and triceps extension exercises are needed. This is our metaphor for specialisation sought at some point down the career path for youth. This is where the most valuable skills are honed.

What do youth need today?

2011-10-21T12:23:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine, Dee from the Glenfield Salvation Army, emailed me to tell me about an upcoming community meeting with politicians on the subject of youth. Bloody politicians. Always trying to capitalise on people's pain around election time. I say we hold the meeting so we can take action as a community and tell the politicians to not bother turning up. Folks, we don't need them. They cannot fix this. They can only get in the way. This is a job for mothers, fathers, family, friends, and community. Anyway, here below is my email response to Dee:

Awesome, thanks Dee.

I went to the youth prison (they call a stay there being "taken into residence") in Manukau yesterday. I listened to (well meaning, highly trained, and very professional) CYFS staff intently. I got some clues.

It is my opinion that:

1) Youth do not like themselves much.
2) A combination of Silent Generation, Baby Boomer, and X Generation attitudes is confusing to them (even the parents who have these things don't understand them).
3) The modern world is so fast paced. Youth are attracted to the next biggest flashy and sensational thing.

All of this means that their lives are completely reactionary and never pro-active. This is like building a house with no plans, each step merely a whim. Youth need more downtime, more time to exercise creativity, and they need guidance to help them harness the results. Music, art, ideas, exercise, meditation, prayer. In short, leisure and time for inspiration/guidance and mentorship to help collect the 'fruit'. But with all the noise of TV, iPods, iPhones, energy drinks, flashy marketing of the latest hip "must-have" thing, the almost neurotic obsession with 'friends' (and the idea that, somehow, hanging with friends is the meaning of life whether doing good or bad - the more anti-social behaviour* being performed the more valuable the badge of honour that is awarded for sticking together as friends - another sign of low individual self-esteem), it is very difficult for youth to find the solitude and quietness they need. The answer to these stresses is all-too-often sought in the bottom of a bottle (or worse!).

Have you seen the movie called Karate Kid? The boy's name was Daniel and his martial arts mentor was Mr Miagi. Daniel was constantly wanting to jump ahead in his training but Mr Miagi always slowed him down and made him focus on simple basics. Daniel would be drilled on the simplest of things over and over and over and over again. Did he get annoyed with Mr Miagi's training? Absolutely! But Mr Miagi, gently, insisted. Not only did this help Daniel develop technique but also his own style. That is what youth need now more than ever!!! Of course, in the competition at the end of the movie, Daniel won. He also got the girl :)  The problem is that it takes time with an adult for this to happen. And most adults have made choices that mean they don't have the time. I cannot quite remember now but I am sure that Daniel's parents never even appear in any part of the movie. What does that tell you?

What youth need is the best that the generations mentioned in 2 have to offer, based on youth's needs in the modern world. For example, the Silent Generation's view on discipline is called for in the learning of skills that increase self esteem, but not in the area of employment. I say this because skill development has not changed. It takes dilligence and practice. But the modern job market? It is fast paced, full of change. It is nothing like the Silent Generation preached after the depression. Holding onto the security of one job for life is no longer the prescription, although complete dedication to the work at hand in the job you are doing this day is critical. Youth have the ability to meet the fast paced challenges, but not the staying power for dedication (it is still developing). So, when youth are rejected (for lack of staying power for example), it is just further proof to them they are no good. Then the cycle of punishment starts, as well as the alcohol and drug abuse (escapism), then more punishment (even youth jail). More proof the "system hates them". They are quick to think, good at leveraging technology, etc etc etc. But their attention span is short and so skill development is handicapped. They (like much of the modern world) have no patience. Neither did most of us when we were young. So time has no chance to work it's magic. As employers are mostly from older generations there is a gap in perspectives between youth and older people. The older people try to respond to issues with discipline alone, and that does not work for the reasons discussed. What we need to do is encourage youth as they show us what they can do, then carefully guide them so they can positively contribute. Then they will like themselves better. Then they will feel successful. Then they won't need to depend so much on the drugs and alcohol.

I think that teenagers are born to rebel and we need to stop panicking about or reacting to it.  Rebellion is how they grow and it is just part of life (like the mother bird pushing the baby bird out of the nest except in reverse). I think youth need access to personal mentors at least 20 years their senior so they can make decisions with mature input and still temporarily 'rebel' against their parents (it's that nest pushing thing again that forces the baby bird to fly. Don't worry Mom and Pop, this is how your child will learn that nobody loves them more than you. The last thing they need from you right now is a tighter grip. What they do need right now is your loving patience. Don't worry, our programmes rely on your involvement too). I also think the modern fast paced world of double income and consumerism has gotten in the way of relationship formation at a young age that can help later on.

Freedom Fitness PLUS has programmes to address all of these issues. Every, single, one.  We have great credibility for our ideas because they have worked well for youth for the past 18 months here on the North Shore. When I listened to the CYFS guys they were able to analyse behaviour but unable to provide solutions like I have just articulated. That is not their job anyway. Their job is to asses and refer these kids to the appropriate providers (of which Freedom is one). And I have to say we are very lucky in NZ to have CYFS people who are so good at what they do. Really.

Althought CYFS (and many others) don't have an issue, Freedom's biggest problem in the community seems to be that it is a business, which somehow makes it "evil". Slowly I am convincing people that Freedom is a "Community Business", slightly less evil.  I think this 'anti-business' attitude is a hang-over from the Silent Generation and Baby Boomer experiences and is just people being people. At the end of the day a business is neutral. The attitudes of the people running it are what makes it good or bad. It is the same with anything. Money, guns, whatever you want to talk about. It is not the thing which is good or bad. The thing is neutral. I think a good business will attract it's community through service. I think having a business that exercises philanthropy is one of the biggest joys of being involved with one. I think that Richard Branson understands what I mean http://msn.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10760853&ref=rss

* Isn't itinteresting? We use a term like "anti-social" to describe an un-desireable behaviour, as if the behaviour alone is the proplem. It isn't. It is merely a symptom (or outcome) of the problem (a lack of individual self belief). I think part of the reason we focus so much on it (thinking the anti-social behaviour is the problem) is because we have all been trained to tell our young children (when disciplining them as they grow in those early years) that we love them but we don't like a certain behaviour.  And something else.  When the child becomes one of our youth and engages is more serious forms of anti-social behaviour then we all, like some Supreme Court, go delving into the past history of the troubled youth, thinking we can source the problem that led to their anti-social behaviour. And yet another thing. We all want to fix the problem now! The problem is the manifestation of history. It might have happenned slowly and so likely the remedy will not be instant. So we push the youth and things get intense, causing them to withdraw. This leaves us frustrated, because we are only trying to help, right?

First thing is first. There is a difference between efficiency and effectiveness. Efficiency (with time, money, or whatever) is often our priority.  But thinking in this way is false economy. What we really want is to be effective! And, in terms of effectiveness, things will take as long as they take. There are no short cuts. So pushing too hard can be a bit if a waste of time (how ironic).

Next thing? The history. Why are we so pre-occupied with it? Because we are trying to find the root of the problem. Here is the thing. The problem is likely to be the cummulative product of many interactions with many people as the youth grew up. We are not going to get it all anyway.  The history might help us to understand how the youth got to where they are at, but I am not sure it has complete relevance to what their future could be. It is true that history can help us predict an outcome. So it helps us understand how the person got to where they are at right now and it helps us predict where they will likely end up if they keep going in the same direction. But wait a minute! The future has not happenned yet! So that particular destination prediction is not set in concrete and can be changed (often without the full details of the youth's history). Don't get me wrong. I am a fan of history. I read about it frequently.  History can (and often does) repeat itself (I think that is part of the reason for our pre-occupation with it when we work with youth). If we don't like the history we read as a future we can change our behaviour and create a new future. But, and this is the point, no-one knows every single thing that ever happenned in history and yet we can still change the future. What I am saying is this. If the youth does not want to come completely clean about their past we need not worry. We (with their co-operation) can still help them change their path and hence their future. And if they are not happy to come clean it means one thing. They don't trust us. If they don't trust us, it makes little sense to push for that past information because that will only further alienate us from the youth and the lack of knowledge probably does not prevent us helping them to move forward anyway. Whatever the skeleton is if it needs to come out it will. Life is like that. But it will come out when the youth is ready (and most likely in a better position to handle it). Hopefully, if we handle things right, we will still be around to help them get through it. If not, the youth will still find a way. So, it makes little sense to push too hard. Let us gather the background knowledge we can. Usually it is enough to get some bearings, figure out the youth has issues, and to start working on a number of them. If you are plotting the third leg of a marine journey you don't need to know all of the details of the first and second leg. Just having an idea of your current position and the final intended destination (as well as good knowledge of the likely conditions ahead) is enough to get started.

And the last thing? The anti-social behaviour. It is not the problem the youth is facing. It is the problem we are trying to avoid having to tolerate as a society. That is why we focus on it. But when the youth committed the anti-social behaviour they were following a dream. All we need to do is find out what that dream was and help them replace it with a new one that fulfills the original need without the negative (and probably with a positive) fall-out on society.

Wayne
021 176 4266
09 282 3169

Dances with wine...

2011-10-20T20:57:00.000-07:00

Ever seen the Kevin Costner movie, "Dances with Wolves"? Nah, me neither. I sat in front of the TV whilst it was playing via the video player once but I fell asleep somewhere just after it began. The movie title is cool though! And it made a nice little heading for this blog.

Last Friday I had a dance with David Prescott from Wine and More, Albany.

- He has been selling wine some 30 years
David has owned his current wine store before. He built it!

- He has made wine
From grape growing to selling the bottled product and everything in between

- He has blended wine
This is when many multiple barrells have been produced from a crop. Some will taste better than others. But you don't want to waste anything either. So, one barrell will be the base wine, and the other barrells will be blended with the base wine in a specific ratio that results in a wine product that will sell well many years down the track (once it has aged). To do this takes lots of knowledge, experience, and a well-working crystal ball. Luckily, David has enough of the first two things that he does not need the third.

- He has tasted something like 500 wines over a few days of judging and didn't even get woozy
That didn't happen over night. There was a lot of demanding training before he got to that level of professionalism. He tells me that, after one tasting/judging session, he went to breakfast after all of the tasting was over he ordered a cocktail to fix his tortured pallette...

What is David's point of difference?

You can't buy what he sells in the supermarket and you would be hard pressed to find his level of expertise in a bottle shop. He can provide you with a wine that:

- you (and your guests) will enjoy
David has a thoroughly developed pallette and experienced methodology for wine tasting. Just by listening to you he can choose something special that you will like. If you are lucky, like I was, maybe he will treat you to a lesson in wine tasting.

- will be un-pricable by anybody drinking it
David sources his wines directly. And he usually buys up the entire supply. Your guests (or corporate clients) will enjoy the wine but they probably won't know the label nor how much you paid for it. See what that does for customer loyalty!

- can help you look and feel sophisticated
Once David has told you all about the wine, you can begin to recite everything to your guests and clients.

So you look like a champ three times over. All at prices starting from $10.00 per bottle!

His perfect customer is someone who wants to learn about and have fun with wine. The 'someone' is often from a corporate, but David is just as generous with his time, service, and kindness with an individual. Over the years he has organised entire weddings (including marquees, tables, seating) as well as supplied the wine.

If you are getting married, buying corporate or personal gifts of wine, or trying to learn about wine, then best you start with David. Here are his contact details:

David Prescott
Wine and More
cnr Rosedale Road and William Pickering Drive
Albany
Telephone 09 415 3568
Cell 021 299 2792
Email david@wineandmore.co.nz
Website http://www.wineandmore.co.nz/

Is sex education in NZ schools adequate?

2011-10-12T02:58:00.000-07:00

One can view the recent complaints about sex education in our schools as fair when you look at how the graphic detailed explanations of performing the act itself with a view to protecting oneself from STD's seems to be the main focus (according to the articles I have read and the reports I have heard) instead of those good old fashioned (and very important) priorities of love, respect, and commitment (which, actually, bring their own form of protection from STD's). Now that I think about it, those highly charged moments in my teens had little to do with respect for anyone or anything. And I confess that all the good things about having a solid relationship never really occured to me until I was much older. So, I guess, whilst it would be nice for schools to include these good old fashioned virtues in their sex education lessons (and I think they should) I am unsure of how they will be received. I am little troubled/concerned that it appears boys from the age of 12 are (reportedly) being told that experimentation at that age is ok with consent from the girl. The legal age of consent for girls is 16 years... Even so, at the end of the day can we really blame our schools if kids are getting in too deep too young?

Well, yes, and no.

There is a train of thought that would let one think if kids didn't know what they learn at these sessions they could not perform the act. I think there is some truth to that but I think they would still try at some point and attempting things in ignorance is probably not such a great idea.

Oh I was angry when I read the articles and heard the media reports about sex education in schools today. I confess I thought 12 years of age is too young for kids to understand this stuff but then maybe the schools are responding to need? Maybe kids are doing this anyway? And, as mentioned earlier, information is better than ignorance.

But what information should be taught? When I was at school sex education was focused on the reproductive systems. And I think that should be part of it today as well (none of the reports or accounts that reached me said this is the case). I also think emotional, social, and financial perspectives should be included in the mix. Age considerations (in terms of the legal age of consent) should be in there too. Add in the good old fashioned values and virtues and I think we are well on our way. "How to" demonstrations using black condoms on dildo's (as some reports mentioned), whilst probably still important to include, is not enough.

Some say the DPB is to blame for the high pregnancy rate amongst teens. I believe that, in the heat of a teenage hormonally charged moment, caution can be thrown to the wind in the belief that "maybe we will get away with it just this once". That is when we can be grateful we do have such a great system to help mother and child if and when it is needed.

Based on reports I have seen and heard so far I think that more, much of which may well be ignored by teens in the short term, could be included in school sex education programmes. But I find it hard to "blame" the schools too much. Do you know why?

Because I believe decisions made in this aspect of teen life has a lot to do with self respect. I think that respect begins with self. I think a person who values themselves has more chance of valuing others too. I think a person who values themself has less chance of wanting to harm themselves or others. And I am sorry parents, but you can have more influence on your kids in this area than the schools do. Starting from a very young age too. That, more than anything else, will guide your offspring through those rough teenage years when all those hormones are flying out of control and decisions (good and bad) are being made (and the corresponding lessons being learnt).

So could schools do better? Based on the reports I have seen, most probably.

Can we blame them? No. I don't think so. They are not there to keep our children ignorant so that parents can avoid the tough assignments for as long as possible. And they are merely responding to the needs they see. Parents could do more by simply presenting as the best example possible, far earlier than when they think the child will need to see it. In fact, why not from the get-go?

Don't want little Johnny to be abusive towards women? Then don't abuse your significant other.

Want little Jenny to have self-respect? Then ensure you demonstrate that yourself.

Want Humphrey and Helen to minimise their alcohol and drug dependency? Well... do you minimise yours?

Even when parents do present as fantastic role-models things can still go wrong. But do it anyway. We expect our sports heroes to do so. And it is not their job to bring up our kids. No. Ultimately, parenting is a parent's job.

How can you drive a car safely by only ever touching the accelerator pedal?

2011-10-11T16:34:00.000-07:00

The idea is that you are going to drive a car in complete safety by only ever touching the accelerator. You may also touch the seat you are sitting in plus maybe the floor your feet rest upon but you are not allowed to touch the handbrake, the footbrake, the steering wheel, the gearshift, the indicator switchgear (nor any other switchgear on the dashboard). And you must drive this car in complete and utter safety. Do you think you can do it?

The answer is, of course you cannot do it! Now, how about your health? It is the same thing there too. Just like the components of a car all of the professionals have a specific job to do.

Doctor - treats the symptoms (prescribes pain killers for pain, anti-biotics for infection, can set a broken bone, stitch up bad lacerations, can perform some tests and sends you for other tests to diagnose conditions, and so forth)
Surgeon - Performs surgery
Nurse - Assists your medical recovery from a condition/situation
Physiotherapist - reduces muscular inflammation so you can move more freely
Chiropractor - aligns the spine
Naturopath - takes a holistic approach. Uses several methods to diagnose a condition. Uses herbs to strengthen the bodily systems including vital organs (like the liver), the immune system, and the central nervous system. Uses things like Bach Flowers (ever heard of "Rescue Remedy"?) to treat emotional issues
Fitness Instructors - can help you train for strength/flexibility balance, functionality, mobility, and performance

The best kind of gym will help you take a holistic approach using all of these resources as appropriate. Do you have a sore back? Don't just treat the symptoms (pain). Treat those for sure but then do something to fix the main and underlying problem(s). For instance, did you know gluten allergies can lead to back pain? If you did not know that and you are suffering back pain come and see us so we can help you get to the bottom of things rather than just carrying out half treatments, applying patches, and never really solving anything permanently. Otherwise you are just trying to safely drive that car using nothing other than the accelerator pedal.

Wayne
+64 21 176 4266
+64 9 282 3169

How can we help Dave grow his business?

2011-10-07T20:00:00.000-07:00

When and Where?
Wednesday, October 5, 2011, 4.30pm, at Freedon Fitness PLUS, 33 Rawene Road, Birkenhead, North Shore, Auckland, New Zealand.

What?
Dance with Dave Meys, Account Manager, Metal Exchange, 245 Archers Road, Glenfield, North Shore, Auckland, New Zealand.

Dave came to breakfast at Harbour View (our BNI (Business Networks International) Chapter) this morning. As soon as I arrived in my office afterwards I emailed him to book a dance. After a few exchanges he suggested we dance at the gym. I met him there.

He seemed interested in what we did at the gym and so I shared a fair bit about our business with him. However, the purpose of our dance was for me to find out how I can help him, so he started teaching me about the recycling industry and his business.

Dave pointed to a treadmill standing on the gym floor. He told me Auckland has two massive machines that would swallow that sucker up in one piece, crunch in down into a billion small chunks and, using magnetism and a couple of other magic tricks, separate all of the steel from the plastic, the rubber from the alloy, the copper from the LED's... (you get the idea?) and place what is left into separate piles. His company takes the stuff they are interested in and sells it domestically or exports it. If the New Zealand economy is charging along he can recycle stuff for good profit in New Zealand because who ever buys it can manufacture new product for sale domestically. If the New Zealand economy is struggling he has to export it. I am sure there are other things controlling the negotiated purchase price too but that was pretty much the basic story. Now wait a minute though. He did not want to come and pick up one treadmill from my gym to have it thrown into the crunching machine (there are two crunching machines in Auckland, both located out south). What he needs is all of the treadmills being chucked out from all of the gyms in New Zealand.

What Dave is looking for is volume. For example, he could work with individual electrician's and re-cycle copper wire. But the business plan calls for him to be working with all electricians across NZ. He was trying to answer another question too: "Is BNI the right mechanism for him and his business?"

We discussed different client acquisition models. His preference is similar to ours at the gym, which is delivering service in such a desirable way that word of mouth spreads and attracts long term business partners (not merely customers). There are a few advantages to this method:

1) People working with the company develop a relationship encouraging them to stay for the longest term.
2) The company develops it's service delivery to the point where the customers don't want to go anywhere else, thus constantly developing and maximising it's approach and leading the industry in its niche.

At the gym we do this individual by individual or, which is my preference, family by family (we offer family memberships). We also look to do this organisation by organisation. Dave needs to do it trade industry by trade industry. I had four suggestions for him:

1) Come back to Harbour View a few times and see what happens.
2) Try the Takapuna Chapter.
3) Learn all of the names of the ITO's (Industry Training Organisations) and the Industry Organisations themselves. Find out who he needs to speak to in each of those organisations in order to provide an education about recycling to all of the known and active industry players as well as the up and comings (why not future proof the business?).
4) Come to breakfast and ask for the referrals he has identified.

Another thing he might try is asking for referrals to specific company's he is interested in working with, (like, certain steel or wire product manufacturers, for example...?).

I am convinced that the calibre of membership at Harbour View will serve him well once he has shown his colours. The calibre of the members at the Takapuna Chapter is also extremely high. I just think our breakfasts at Harbour View are nicer...

So guy's (and gal's) at Harbour View? Bring along as many referrals to as many ITO's and Industry Organisations as possible for Dave this Wednesday.

And Dave? We will see you there on Wednesday for breakfast :)

Here are Dave's business details:

Dave Meys

Account Manager

Metal Exchange Glenfield Ltd

245 Archers Rd, Glenfield, North Shore
PO Box 90099, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
Mobile: 021 676 293

Ph: 09 444 9700dave@metalexchange.co.nz

Wayne
+64 21 176 4266
+64 9 282 3169

How can South African immigrants help lift New Zealand to greater heights?

2011-09-28T16:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday afternoon I danced with BNI Harbour View Chapter Member Colleen Sluiter. A dance is when you meet up with a BNI Member and find out as much as you can about them and their business. Her story about becomming a New Zealander (which she now is) should be welcomed as an inspiration by other New Zealander's.

Colleen owns and operates Business Insight Group, an NZ firm that fixes the marketing problems of other NZ companies. Colleen has a degree in Business Economics, covering marketing, financial, and organisational management. She also has a Diploma in Business Logistics. I guess that makes her an academic of sorts. In addition to that though she is an involved, capable, competent, and effective member of the NZ Business Community. She does not simply think or talk about things. She does things.

The logistics qualification resulted after she found herself owner of a transport company. She felt it had to be expanded and transitioned into a fully fledged South African logistics company. After four years at the helm of her company Colleen was able to sell the business as she prepared to leave South Africa for New Zealand with her husband (a Spec Builder in South Africa turned Quantity Surveyor here in New Zealand), and two daughters (both now in their mid to late 20's and married to "great kiwi blokes"). She still knows the person who bought her business from her and all indications are it is going well.

When Colleen got to NZ everything was new. She told me of being at a comedian's performance when the performer asked those who were not for the taking of recreational drugs to stand up. Colleen and her husband found themselves to be the only ones standing in the entire audience. She was shocked, but maybe Don Brash is actually onto something with his call to de-criminalise grass? His assertion that the Police cannot go around arresting vast numbers of the entire NZ population may have some credibility...

Anyway, Colleen's commitment to her new home was such that she understood she had to learn to think like a kiwi. So she looked for a job. A packaging manufacturer based in Onehunga was lucky enough to get her to agree she would stay on contract with them for 2 years on minimum wage. At first she had no idea of wage rates in NZ and that she, with all her experience and ability, was earning (for a 40 hour working week) about the same as a couple on the un-employment benefit after all of the allowances are included. Even so, she feels that a promise is a promise so she stayed at that company just over the two years. By then she was simply bored and felt the need to find something that would help her grow.

She bought a licence to practice business consulting under an NZ consulting business banner. The organisation specialised in small to medium businesses but soon Colleen became aware of demand for her abilities from bigger businesses. The product she used under the consulting banner was not up to the mark for the bigger businesses so she started writing her own materials. One year ago she dropped the licence arrangement with the banner business and started Business Insight Group, specialising in finding marketing solutions for businesses.

In five years time she wants her business to be:
- employing consultants
- adding to and running a training and coaching arm
- Speaking and writing about business

She says her main driver is watching the flea leap from the jar. What? Missed that? Let me explain.

Q. How do you train a flea to stop it leaping from the jar it lives in?
A. Put a lid on the jar. After a while the flea get's sick of bumping the back of it's head on the lid so it learns to jump lower. Once it has done that you can remove the lid and the flea will never leap from the jar again - because it no longer thinks it can.

People are the same. They learn a limit and whether it exists or not they are restricted by it forever more. Colleen loves to see those chains of restriction broken.

The strengths she brings to the table is the inate ability to listen and translate for her client what they are saying about their business issues. She says that most people know the answer to their issues and that they simply need to hear someone like her confirm they are correct in their assessment and intentions. I think that is the icing on the cake for her. Not only are the chains of restriction broken but, for the most part, they are broken by the wearer, which thrills her to bits!

You can find Colleen here http://www.bigbusinessinsight.com/

Colleen, 12 years after your arrival here, I want to welcome you to NZ and into my business life.

Wayne

How do you do a messy, dusty, smelly job without creating mess, dust, and smelliness?

2011-09-27T15:16:00.000-07:00

http://www.floorsander.co.nz/
This link is to AFS Floor Sanding Services, based in Unsworth Heights, Auckland. They specialise in re-surfacing timber flooring without creating mess, dust, or nasty chemical odours. Heath is the owner/operator and employs three staff to cover Auckland. Heath is a member of BNI Harbour View. I spent some time with Heath this morning learning more about how his company performs these miracles.

First up, the use highly specialised and imported gear which have their own extractor fans and dust bags. So, no dust or mess.

Then, they don't use toxic, smelly, finishing chemicals. They use natural stains and finishes.

That solves the mystery of how the miracles occur, but how did all of this business success begin? I asked Heath.

How did you get into this business of yours?
A friend from soccer once invited me to do a cash job. The money was good. I was working at Telstra business supporting customers and monitoring the international fibre optic at the time and was completely sick of computers. When I go the chance to make a change, I took it!

What are the three key things that built your business?
- People skills for making sales and keeping customers so that they always come back.
- I am a work-a-holic. I never let anyone down.
- The work done by my staff and myself is consistently of the highest quality. We are perfectionists.

How can your business grow from here?
I don't think it can in Auckland. There is not enough work for too many contractors. Our reputation keeps our company busy, but I cannot see great room for growth looking at the market today.

I don't want to expand beyond Auckland. I don't want the hassle of franchising or the like. Customers want natural floor finishes to look like engineered flooring. That is impossible. Our finishes are rolled, not sprayed. This issue is manageable at the size we are at. So I want to keep things that way.

What will you be doing 5 years from now?
I hope to be involved in my daughter's out-of-school activities. I am sporty. My wife is sporty and artistic. I don't mind what my daughter takes up. Sport. Music. Art. I just want to be there. Maybe as a coach (if my daughter goes the sporty way).

When can you make a kick boxing class at Freedom Heath?
Tomorrow, 6pm.

What they won't tell you about lower back pain...

2011-09-27T01:55:00.000-07:00

Hi folks,

A few years back I put together a programme for self-managing back pain. It works. And it works incredibly well. You do not need special tools or equipment. You just need your body. I wanted something that could be used by an athlete in the gym just as much as the travelling businessman at the airport. The process I put together is something I call compound stretching, and the idea goes a little like this.

Muscles never work alone. When you "flex your biceps" (like the boys do when they are trying to impress the girls) and it bulges impressively three things have happened:

1) The elbow has flexed (bent). By the way, it is not the bicep muscle that flexes. The elbow joint is flexing. The bicep muscle is contracting. Which is the second thing on the list of events.
2) The bicep contracts whilst shortening.
3) The triceps (the muscle running along the back of the upper arm opposite to the biceps) has to lengthen to allow the bicep to shorten.

Folks, we are talking about moving the elbow joint in one direction, using two muscles (biceps shortening and triceps lengthening). Essentially the lower spine, which flexes, extends, and twists, has to perform far more complex movements. A far more complex muscular structure allows this to happen. But the principles remain the same. Some muscles need to shorten to make a movement happen, and others muscles need to lengthen to allow the movement to happen. Strength and flexibility, in balance, is so critical to spinal functionality. And that is what my programme of compound stretching is based upon. Actually, with my programme, some muscles are working hard and shortening (contracting) whilst others are working equally hard and lengthening (stretching). Before we continue, I want to cover one more aspect to this.

When body builders want to get big muscles they focus mostly on just three main exercises. These exercises (Deadlift, Squat, and Bench Press) work the whole body, and they use big groups of muscles working together. Exercises that use more than one muscle are called compound exercises. Think of a bicep curl. You know? When you pick up a dumbbell and use it as resistance whilst you bent and straighten the elbow. That is an isolation exercise. You are working the biceps only. Body builders might use this exercise to refine, further define, and finish the development of the biceps muscle, but they won't build it this way. They will build it primarily by performing big feats of strength and power involving compound exercises. That is the mentality behind my compound stretches. Sure we can stretch the hamstring with a hamstring stretch, but that is just one part of the body moving in isolation to all of the others. A hamstring stretch might feel good on the hamstring, but (in my experience) by itself will not do as much to relieve back pain (or increase functionality) as a good compound stretch. Why? Because a compound stretch, like a compound exercise, forces the muscles of the body to work as a symphony. You would not go to a classical orchestral performance expecting to hear the wind instruments play a song, then the strings play another, and percussion play yet a different song after that. No! you go to hear the orchestra play as one. And that is exactly how the body works (which is why I believe it should be exercised that way too). You can find the story of the development of this programme here http://www.managing-back-pain.webs.com/ But recently I discovered something new!

I always knew that having abdominal muscles tied up in knots often exasperated and contributed to back pain. Previously the only weapon I had to combat abdominals tied up in knots was compound stretching of the abdominals and nearby muscle groups. There was a time when they always worked for me - until recently. Something else was going on. Even with everything I had learned about balancing the postural muscles of the body strength-and-flexibility-wise my back was sore and I could not fix it completely for quite a number of weeks. Finally, I found the answer! (well, my Naturopath did actually).

Un-realised by me, I have suffered digestive issues since my early teens. These were to do with intolerance's to certain food groups. These intolerance's have sapped my energy after eating so much of the wrong foods over so many years (decades actually) that, in the past, I have even wondered if I were developing diabetes. Blood tests always told me my blood sugar regulation was fine. So I pretty much ignored my sometimes erratic energy levels and worked on getting fitter and stronger instead. This time, I had something I could not ignore any longer - a tightly twisted and tender tummy area coupled with a sore back I just could not relieve.

Long story short my food intolerance's have now been handled, my tummy feels better, my back is fine, and I have tons of energy. The symptoms surrounding the withdrawals from the toxins I had consumed for so long include a complete loss of appetite, nil energy, chills all day, cold sweats all night, headaches I thought would make my head explode, and I was pretty much confined to bed 24/7 for almost 2 weeks. The complete detox, which began as a two week detox diet, took a period of almost one month from start to finish. I thought the process would only last for the length of the diet. I was wrong. After the diet the body had to handle the hang-over. It makes sense (in hindsight) because that is how fitness increases to:

1) You train (think of this as the detox diet)
2) You recover (think of this as the body dealing to the toxins)

At times during the detox process I thought that maybe I should just give in and go back to eating whatever but I hung in there and boy am I glad I did!

So, the good news? Detoxes can fix things you didn't know (or believe) were wrong with you.

The bad news? Once the body begins the process, the process takes over the body. And the process can get pretty rough. So don't detox when you are busy. Do it when you have nothing other to do. And, although everyone is different, be prepared for the process to last for a month or more. Once clean, stay clean and enjoy your new found vitality.

On balance, is the detox worth the trouble? I would say "Yes!", "Yes!", and "Yes!". I can't wait to start training again (it has been a whole year since I was last well enough to train!).

Wayne
Cell +64 21 176 4266
Office +64 9 282 3169
website www.freedomfitness.co.nz
email freedomfitnessbirkenhead@gmail.com

ps: Although temperatures are a little chilly of late around here in the morning, I now find these bracing. I bound out of bed in the morning, excited and anticipating another great new day. Before my detox my body could not regulate temperature well at all. Cold felt freezing and warm felt blisteringly hot. I never wanted to get out of bed in the morning, and I never wanted to leave the house and go into the sun during the day. My sensitivities to temperatures had been observed by my Doctor but what to do about it he knew not. Well, thankfully, now the problem has gone.

pss: Always check with your trusted health professional before following any new form of eating plan or exercise programme.

Date with a Lawyer - BNI Dance

2011-09-17T16:47:00.000-07:00

There is a BNI (Business Networks International) Chapter called Harbourview that meets each Wednesday in the Community Centre attached to the Freedom Fitness PLUS gym. Actually, the Chapter was something I started in order to help fulfil the gym's mission of helping it's customers physically, socially, emotionally, intellectually, logically, and financially. But I had little to do with it becomming a reality after the initial meetings. Thank goodness in the first instance some really good people, who were able to hep us charter shortly after we began, were attracted to the Chapter.

One of the things important to a BNI Chapter is 'dancing'. This is when one member goes to the place of business of another. The purpose of the visit is to learn as much as you can about your Chapter Member's business. That way, you are better able to recommend them.

Here is my diary entry for the dance I had with our Chapter's lawyer, Aaron Nicholls, a guy I would rather have on my side rather than the opposition's any day.

Wayne Roycroft and Aaron Nicholls

Wayne arrived 25 minutes early. Aaron in the street on cellphone. Aaron accosted a friend in an SLK driving by.

Once he'd seen me we agreed to grab a bite. Lawyers patrol like a shark. aaron did steps very well. Hunched. Stressed. We got to table and Aaron threatened to relax.

I wanted a pie. Guessed there would be no pies served here. Aaron grabbed a menu each. I had guessed correctly about the pie.

Asked Aaron how long he’d been in law. 14 years. I put him just under 40 and he confirmed that he turned 39 near the beginning of 2011.

Waiter offered beer, as if Aaron always had it here. Aaron ordered a long black instead and we both ordered water. Said something about not having worked through the weekend like usual. Later I learned he had crashed for 36 hours.

He ordered a seafood salad. I ordered the Chicken Tandoori salad. Aaron’s phone rang. He disappeared for 38 minutes. I looked around the room. It seemed a good place for a lawyer to patrol. Lots of activity and beautiful women. If ever there was a place to find some matrimonial settlement work this had to be one. Lots of students it seemed. One tall, slim dark guy acting extremely camp surrounded by ‘girlfriends’ wearing black leather lace up dress shoes without socks. One girl speaking intently to another tall, slim dark guy who was rolling a cigarette and would soon go outside to smoke it. When he left the girl would sit next to other girls. When his cigarette was finished the guy would return to his seat on the couch now populated by a new girl who would replace the first for his attention. This crowd had pace. Too much pace for conservative and old fashioned me.

The waitress appeared concerned I had been left all alone. A waiter appeared with our salads. I gazed longingly out the window at a Jester’s pie truck outside.

At the end of the 38 minutes after having re-appeared at the top of the stairs and then disappearing down them again, hunched over his phone and in heated conversation with his caller. He made his way back to the table, sat down, and started eating, his conversation getting more and more heated all the time. The waitress cam over again to apologize to me for his abandonment. After another 20 minutes Aaron escaped his caller.

With his phone call concluded Aaron decided to order the beer after all. I seconded the motion. I went for that which I came to get. “Aaron, so what is your perfect referral?” Aaron responded.

Lawyers in New Zealand are plentiful. The only way for a lawyer to make it is to develop wholesome relationships with long term clients. A 2 year old company is a company with a good chance of survival and most likely to recognize the importance of pre-emptive legal preparation. I want to meet as many of those as I can, develop an understanding of their business, provide them the necessary legal service and advice from the 2 year mark that will keep them profitably out of trouble and able to lunch with me into my old age. I fully expect, once my portfolio has grown to the required profitable size, that the requirement for me to represent them legally will grow less and less likely because the pre-emptive systems I put in place at the two year mark will avert disaster. So there will be little for me to do other than to take the clients to lunch and leave any work to my minions”.

Went back to the office. Met Aaron’s partners in the legal firm, Chris (who gave me some fishing advice) and John. Aaron showed me some videos of his kids and we agreed to do some Families in the Park stuff together before he dismissed me and I left, elated and excited about spending time with one really cool legal eagle that did not result in a $360.00 invoice.

When the blood reaches boiling point...

2011-09-05T15:16:00.000-07:00

A young, progressive man of 19 years arrives at my gym.  Career-wise he seems set for stardom. He is slim and stylishly dressed. He played soccer at school (even went to Phoenix, Arizona for a tournament) has never suffered any broken bones or injuries, takes no medication, and wants to work out. On paper it seems he can do anything. The only obvious visual sign there might be a health issue for this guy was the dryness of his lips and his eyes made him seem a little tired. Indicative of too little water consumption and rest perhaps?

As well as conducting some preliminary processes (which included health screening - and I must say everything looked just perfect in that regard) we checked his blood pressure before we began exercise. It was 120/95. Alarm bells ring... LOUDLY! What gives?

First, let's explain the blood pressure reading. If this guy's blood pressure were a pot of water on a stove it would not be far from boiling point. The blood pressure reading is all about the pressure on the arterial walls. The top number is the pressure when the heart is pumping blood, the bottom number is the pressure when the heart is between beats. An 'average' resting blood pressure is 120/80. A resting blood pressure of 120/95 is a cautionary tale because of that bottom number, "95" (when it should be closer to 80). It showed this guy's body was under quite a bit of stress. It is only 10am in the morning. So we dig a little deeper...

We find that this guy eats well and works relatively do-able hours. All good so far. Then we find that he does, and has for some time, felt lacking in the "zest department", hence his visit to the gym (in the hope that "a bit of fitness" is the cure).

Digging even deeper we discover that he drinks alcohol almost nightly and consumes an average of one large bottle of spirits every week. Folks, this is typical of many youth today. They have never discovered beer (they probably think that beer is only for 'light-weights' and 'pussys') and just don't know the full story about the effects of alcohol upon the body. We have a modern generation who has been taught that they shouldn't drink and drive so they believe they are being completely responsible if they get trashed and don't drive.  When they feel a little slow they take on a gym membership to get back some fitness. As if (somehow) exercise un-does all the effects of alcohol (and drug) abuse.

We should be educating our kids way better than we do. And pronto! They can all recite the gospel on global warming, the banning of corporal punishment, no-smacking, youth rights, and sex education but they still lack critical knowledge that can help them when it comes to alcohol, drugs, and finances.

Gaining practical life-skills in relation to alcohol is not, and never should be, the domain of the education system. It is the role of the parents to help our kids to prevent alchohol, drug poisoning, and to teach things like basic financial literacy. The motto in this day and age seems to be "we can trust our kids to learn their own lessons as long as we remain their 'friend'". That is like saying I can trust my car to find it's own route at 100km/h down the motorway without steering as long as I remain seated behind the wheel.

Here is what the alcohol is doing to this guy.

His body is working overtime processing the toxins he constantly forces upon his body. Although he is slim in build I virtually guarantee that good, healthy, muscle weight contributes little to his mass (which has shrunk by 10kg's since he started drinking. Does that give anyone reading this a clue as to what this kid is experiencing physically at the moment?!?) Not surprisingly he feels like rubbish. His answer? Exercise! Get some fitness back!  But here is the problem. If he over-exerts himself in my gym I am pretty certain to face an OSH prosecution when he falls down from my treadmill, dead because of a ruptured blood vessel somewhere (probably in his brain). The solution?

Someone needs to educate this kid. Yes, even though he can legally 'die for his country' at 19 years of age I still consider him a kid. Nothing to do with his age. My classification has far more to do with his level of understanding about certain aspects of life. He needs to understand that fitness is a two step process:
- Stress the body
- Let the body recover and super-overcompensate (that means the body will respond to the break down of muscle fibre and the nervous system by strengthening, repairing, and then boosting them).

Here is the dual challenge faced by this 19 year old.
- His body is run down already and he actually will physically struggle to stress it in the gym any more because it is already distressed.
- His body cannot recover from any physical (fitness related) stress he does manage to execute because it is way too busy processing the regular, constant, and un-relenting onslaught of toxins.

What does he need to do?
He needs to understand the effect such a large amount of alcohol is having on his health and his future. I know 100% that he is interested in a healthy future because he is highly motivated career-wise as well as intellectually and socially, and he came to the gym seeking fitness advice. I am not talking about someone exhibiting signs of having had a dreadful childhood, upbringing, or some such trauma. Those may be a little more tricky to deal with. This guy is motivated. He wants to live! He needs to cut down his alcohol consumption considerably and work on his fitness. This will probably involve him changing his lifestyle drastically, from his social habits to his work/leisure/rest patterns. He might need professional help should any addiciton to alcohol be the case. Written in steps:

- Cut down the alcohol consumption, asap! Get help to do so if needed.
- Continue to eat his Mum's delicious and nutritious home-cooked meals.
- Train regularly, at the correct intensity, and under proper instruction (hopefully his regular training will introduce him to some preferable social influences).
- Fully recover from his training between sessions in the gym. That means letting the body rest completely so that it can work on repairing the systems stressed during exercise instead of the stomach, liver and other vital organs damaged whilst trying desperately to process the fall-out from excessive alcohol consumption.

Gyms and fitness professionals like myself? I am not big on the often ridiculous (and scary for newbies) fitness testing that goes on in our industry unless it is for people aspiring to be athletic champions (and general gym fitness testing is probably lacking anyway in terms of it relevance for top-end atheltic pursuits). The majority of folks don't need to jump through all of the skin-fold, ergometer, tape measure and similar hoops (unless they really want to). They already know where they are at, RPE works very well, and training heart rate targets are not difficult to calculate. They will know for themselves that the gym is working for them within a couple of weeks or so. Until then it is up to YOU (their fitness professional and gym representative) to help them believe that their decision to join the gym is the right one. Help them. Do the tests that are useful (I think flexibility is extremely important). Don't scare them with all the un-necessary hoop-la that they really do not need. But ALWAYS check health history and BLOOD PRESSURE before letting a new member work out in your gym!

EPILOGUE (13 September 2011)

This next part of this story is encouraging..

Three days later the youth in this story returned. He had drunk more water and seemed a little less de-hydrated than before. He had drunk liquor the night after I had first met him in the gym but not the night before this particular gym visit. This time his blood pressure was 120/65. After I asked he revealed he did suffer episodes of dizziness. I advised him that if he continued his tight rein on his alcohol consumption and regularly came to the gym that his blood pressure would most likely begin to normalise and that, with a more normal blood-pressure level, the occurrences of those dizzy spells would be significantly reduced. He ran a good 10 minutes on the treadmill and then performed some stretching. He was amazed at how much better he felt and adamant his lifestyle had permanently changed. Two days later he returned to the gym at 6.30am. He told me that he had thought about drinking the night before but made the decision not to. He said it was an easy decision. He did 30 minutes of cardio and 20 minutes of stretching. He had jogged down to the gym and was jogging home to get ready for work.

Yeah, right! (Another great Tui's billboard!)

2011-07-20T22:57:00.001-07:00

A real woman always keeps her house clean & organized, and the laundry basket empty. She’s always well dressed, hair done. She never swears, behaves gracefully in all situations and all circumstan ces. She has more than enough patience to take care of her family, always has a smile on her lips, and a kind word for everyone. Post this as your status if you, too, have just realized that you might be a man...

A letter from me Mum about her back pain

2011-07-20T20:30:00.000-07:00

We all know a fella's Mum is 100% behind them. They will side with the son in any argument, even when the girlfriend is right! So one would not usually believe that a testimonial from their Mum would be taken too seriously. But when it comes to relief from debilitating things like back-pain people seldom lie. I will leave you to be the judge.

Wayne
+64 21 176 4266
+64 9 292 3169

H Wayne, I cannot thank you enough for the exercises you showed me last night. As you are aware I have fought may battles healhwise n many surgical opratons inluding a replaemet knee, fusion of lumber, an the latest big toe fusion. The latter being my newest challenge. After a period of three moths in a moon-boot and unable to do my usual excerise (now line dancing) on being able to rmove the boot and pick up life again,was suffering extensive back pain.I tried line dacing but my foot is not yet ready for that.

This morning after a good sleep, I was able to walk without limping and the pain was reduced to a little discomfort. It is now after 1 pm and I have repeated the exercises three times and feel ready to do my grocery shopping, which has been a nightmare up to now. Thanks again Wayne

Arcadia Naturopathy: What Happens During the First Consultation?

2011-07-19T21:50:00.000-07:00

Arcadia Naturopathy: What Happens During the First Consultation?: "To get an accurate picture of your health status and any underlying issues, Kate will conduct an interview with you which takes between 1 an..."

2011-06-16T14:45:00.000-07:00

On May 2nd I posted a blog "How do you avoid getting ripped off at the gym?". I used a recent fueling stop at a gas station as a metaphor to describe how some gym behaviour leads to false economy in fitness terms. Well, just this week I had a new experience during a fuel stop - the complete opposite of what happenned at the original fuel stop story and I wanted to share it with you.

I stopped and bought $X.XX worth of gas. I had a hungry 14 year old in the car with me for whom I bought some food. The counter lady was processing the payment. She took a lollipop from the candy stand and added to my purchase without even asking. She did say it would entitle me to a discount of 72 cents on my fuel. The price of the lollipop was 70 cents, providing me with a 2 cent profit and a happier kid. I just said "Thank You", smiled, and left happy.

That can happen in the gym too. Gym staff are employed to offer you the same kind of benefit the gas attendant gave me. Next time your Gym Staff approach you asking how you are why not invite them to take a look at your form in the gym? Better yet, book a session with a Personal Trainer...

Wayne

Here's how to reach us!

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Gym Blog at www.FreedomFitnessPLUS.blogspot.com

Website: www.freedomfitness.co.nz

Email: freedomfitnessbirkenhead@gmail.com

Physical Address: 33 Rawene Road, Birkenhead, Auckland, NZ

Phone: 021 176 4266

Are you sick of being ripped off?

2011-05-05T22:04:00.000-07:00

Hey,

How can you make the most of this life's journey?

Big question, huh? Sure it is. And I think the answer lies in two words:

1) Sow

and

2) Reap

Truth is, you cannot reap what you have not sown. This is true in all of life's areas. Your physical fitness, material/financial fitness, emotional fitness, social fitness, and spiritual fitness. Here's the problem. Whether you are meaning to or not you should know this: You are always sowing something. So here is a clue. Make sure you are sowing the seed of the crop you wish to reap in each of life's areas.

At Freedom Fitness PLUS we work hard to help our members do exactly that! We make sure you have the information you need so that, whenever you are in the gym, you are doing all you can to sow seeds of good health and functionality. You will never find energy drinks for sale in a fridge from our gym (not whilst I am around anyway). Know why? Because I have not yet seen an energy drink which leads me to believe that it's constant and regular consumption promotes great health. "But" (I hear you exclaim) "what about the proceeds form the sales of the drinks?"  Well, the fact is, if they do not positively contribute to your life then they are of no interest to me. So I guess that makes our gym a bad place for people wanting to buy energy drinks. We are just the same in many other ways too. You will not find a Leg Extension machine in our gym. We promote exercise that loads the legs the way nature intended - through the sole of the foot! We are a kiwi owned Community Gym re-investing our profits in the local community (remember the CYFs referrals (supposedly "troubled youth") that have been so good for our team?).  We are not a foreign owned interest wanting to take corporate sized profits out of the NZ economy (can anyone think of another gym that might fit this description?...).  We are Birkenhead's best kept little secret - we are not easy to find and if you do find us we are not easy to join. We only want a certain type of member - them's who wants to be there for the right reasons. No apologies made. We are not over-crowded but we are well attended. We want to contribute positively to your life.  "Positive Contribution" was one of two principles Freedom Fitness PLUS was founded on. Everything we do is designed to make a positive contribution to our members and the community from the perspective of physical functionality. And we actually have the same philosophy with all other areas of our member's lives too. We care just as much about their Social fitness, their Emotional fitness, and their Financial fitness.

That is why we started a Chapter of Business Networks International (BNI) upstairs from the gym. This is a group of local business owners who support one another.  The professionals in this group are second to none. Why? Because of the second founding principle of Freedom Fitness PLUS - accountability!  Members in our BNI Chapter all answer to each other. If a BNI member refers a contact to me I am held accountable by every member of the BNI Chapter to deliver A1+ grade service to that contact. Credibility amongst my BNI peers is critical to the health of the Freedom Fitness PLUS business as far as generating referrals and memberships from BNI goes. And the other members, if I refer my contacts to them, are in exactly the same position.

That is why I have decided to start providing you, our valuable gym member, with a "Tip of the Week". So, what is the "Tip of the Week"? It is my recommendation of the very best contacts I have found to satisfy the various needs we all have from time to time. Let me tell you how this came about.

Recently I have had several repair jobs done to several motor vehicles. I have bought a new cellphone. I have bought IT equipment shop attendants swore uncompromisingly would work for me.   I have bought other materials and stuff for use around the gym. And there is one thing I am completely and totally sick and tired of. That is, spending time finding what I think is (or am assured is) the right solution to a problem, paying for it, employing it, and finding that not only have I paid for a crappy solution that fails me, but I still have the original problem to solve (at best.  Usually I am also left with additional problems to solve as well as the original issue).

I cannot tell you how upset I have got because of this, time and time again, in recent years. It seems the world is full of con-men and rip-off artists. I am completely fed up with it all and I refuse to play that game a moment longer.

When I started the BNI Chapter upstairs form the gym I had no idea that it would lead me to the Utopia I am about to tell you of. Here is what happened.

First, I had an internet issue in the gym. The IT guy from BNI fixed it - at cost! Next, my 'significant other' lost all her photos on her laptop's hard drive. Photos of our children growing up with trips overseas and birthday parties too. Was she upset or what? Once again the IT BNI guy fixed it - at cost! Next, I thought that my accountant was ripping me off in a way that is hard to believe. The Accountant from BNI is fixing everything up. Then, our Opel Vectra took thousands of dollars (yes, a multiple of thousands) to get warranted and on the road.  Six months later it failed it's warrant and the mechanic who had done the work wanted to do more work on it. At this stage we forked out another $600.00 for a broken wiper mechanism to be replaced. They replaced it with a 'broken' second hand one which lasted no more than three rainy trips (a repair I later duplicated/repeated with another mechanic except with a worthy replacement part for just $140.00 all-up including installation labour. I now assume that I was overcharged by around $460.00!!!). Worse still, every time we put the car into that workshop we had to wait weeks and weeks and weeks (one repair job on the gearbox took them 8 weeks!!!) whilst they mucked around with it (probably dropping their kids off to school or something I suppose).  I was reluctant to take the car away from the mechanic because I wanted them to fix their mistakes. All that happened was they kept charging me more money for their mistakes and/or there were extremely un-reasonable time delays where I was without the vehicle for very long periods of time. Someone wise told me "I have found it is always better to pay twice for the same problem to be fixed than three, four, five, six times or more". That advice led me to seek a second opinion on the Opel Vectra. The BNI mechanic took the car, examined it, fixed it (the wiper was fixed for just $140.00 as mentioned earlier), and now it runs beautifully. When I dropped the car off he offered me a courtesy vehicle. When I picked it up from him after the work had been completed (which took just one day) it had been perfectly washed. He did the same with the Gym-o-Zine. He told me, "No-one likes spending money on car repairs. So we give them back a spotless car and they smile as they pay. There is no perceived value for the customer in a repaired car. The customer has to pay out hard-earned dollars just to get back nothing more than what they had before their problem started. To them it feels like a hiding to nothing (at the worst) or a hollow victory (at best). Our customers find value in a repaired car that looks and feels nice to drive away in".  I took special note of the mechanical and customer service certificates that were hanging on the walls of his workshop Reception area. Not only had this guy attended all the courses but it was self evident to me that he acted on the knowledge gained therein. Next he will be getting the gym's promotional MG to service and WOF. Next problem? I was made redundant recently from my employment. It was gut-wrenching and I had to ensure, (for the sake of my partner and our four children as well as for the gym), that I walked away with the best deal possible. The BNI lawyer put me in touch with a colleague who helped me do just that.  I have spent the time since working in the gym and it's various systems to improve and refine what we deliver for our members (as well as recovering from the huge toll that old job took on my health). Anyway, once again BNI was invaluable to me and (even if you cannot tell yet) it has also contributed to the benefit of members as well (guess where my Business Coach comes from?... Y'know, the bloke that brainstorms with me about with all the ways the gym can deliver more to members?...).

For once in my life I can engage someone to fix a problem for me and guess what? The problem goes away! Plus I only pay what I was quoted! This is so good and, as a valuable contributing member of Freedom Fitness PLUS, you deserve the same. So the "Tip of the Week" this week is a referral to Lynette Ball, of BDO Spicers. She helped me out immensely with my Kiwi Saver scheme (thanks Lynette). Her job is to help people ensure they have enough money to retire on. She is offering the first three qualifying gym members who respond to this invitation a 1.5 hour complimentary consultation (value $500.00). If you are number 4 she will have to charge the $500.00.  If you are in the least bit interested in sowing the seeds that allow you to retire with more than just the pension to live off then you must contact her asap! Here is the deal:

How do you avoid being ripped off at the gym?

2011-05-02T12:59:00.000-07:00

“Getting Ripped” at the gym, which is when you develop extremely well defined muscles all over your body, might be the very reason why some people go to the gym in the first place. However, I am not sure anyone would go to a gym just to get “ripped off”. Yet people get ripped off every day. Many rip themselves off. Let’s explain this with something that most in this day and age can relate to. The scary price of petrol. Trust me. This will make a lot of sense very soon.

Petrol is well over $2 per litre now. Whilst everyone is trying to figure out how they can still afford to get to work the service stations are figuring out how they can retain your patronage and (whilst you are there) sell you more stuff.

I went into a service station the other day to buy $20.00 worth of petrol (no point putting in more than that under the circumstances). Let’s say that I was purchasing (roughly) 10 litres. In addition to the petrol I was buying an extra item at $3.20 (a Peanut Slab to treat my blood sugar slump). It was at the point of payment when the cashier told me, “If you spend another 80 cents I can give you a discount on your petrol of 4 cents per litre”. Later, when I had my son in the car, I asked him if that would have been a good deal. Without thinking too hard about it he said, “Probably. I think so”.

What I had said to the cashier at the time went something like this. “Let me see if I understand the bargain you are offering me. If I give you an additional 80 cents, which I really have no reason to spend, you will give me back 40 cents?” The cashier looked at me sheepinshly as I politely declined his invitation.

Now I know we are talking about tiny amounts of money but all it takes is a few extra placements of the decimal point to the right and the lack of value in the proposition put to me by the cashier becomes palpable. Yet how often do we do this to ourselves?

It’s not so hard to get ripped off at the gym. It is simple enough to rip ourselves off. Just kid yourself and try to work out with weights that are too heavy. Your form will suffer, the benefit of the workout will be completely lost, and you will get ragged, tried, and potentially injured in the process. That is just like giving the cashier 80 cents in return for 40 cents. A 100% loss! So, how do you avoid this great misfortune?

It’s simple. You get regular professional assessments of your health and fitness versus where you are at today and where you want to get to. Get a professionally developed programme, follow it, and get it updated when due. This will definitely cost you an hour’s worth of Personal Training every 6-8 weeks or so. But the second you start to wonder about the value of such an investment, ask yourself if you would be willing to give 80 cents to receive 40 cents, $80 to receive $40, $800 to receive $400, $8,000.00 to receive $4,000. Now, go ahead and book the session.

Here's how to reach us!

Twittter, Facebook, and you Tube ID: FreeFitPLUS

Podcast at http://freedomfitnessbirkenhead.podomatic.com

Gym Blog at www.FreedomFitnessPLUS.blogspot.com

Website: www.freedomfitness.co.nz

Email: freedomfitnessbirkenhead@gmail.com

Physical Address: 33 Rawene Road, Birkenhead, Auckland, NZ

Phone: 021 176 4266

Why I love training and teaching at Freedom Fitness Plus

2011-04-25T21:34:00.000-07:00

Freedom Fitness Plus is the type of gym that, from the first time you set foot in the door, it feels as tho you've been there forever. Everyone is so friendly and the idea of 24hr access is great for people who work shifts. Also there is no pressure to wear the lttest gear... In my capacity as Kickboxing Instructor, it gives me great delight and pleasure to see a new member come along and feel they are part of the Freedom Fitness Family...everyone is made welcome. As an Instructor it's my job to ensure the classes are constructed in a manner that suits all levels of skill and fitness. As someone who has a background in fitness as well as having 13years experience in kickboxing, I am able to to quickly establish ones fitness level therefor structure each class to suit everyone present. I would have no hesitation on recommending Freedom Fitness Plus to anyone who has never done kickboxing or doesn't like the bigger crowded gyms. Being able to work out in an uncrowded gym, not having to wait on machines.

Scottie.... Personal Trainer/ Kickboxing Instructor.

Ooooooo, how can I fix my aching back?!?!?!

2011-04-23T23:37:00.000-07:00

Ooooooo…

Why am I in agony with my back, and what can I do about it?

Have you (or anyone you know) ever had a back so bad you were stuck flat on it, unable to move or get up? How does that happen, and what can you do about it?

In the vast majority of cases acute back pain is purely muscular. In some cases degeneration of the spine or some other medical reason is the culprit, but often this is the exception rather than the rule. The biggest reason people get a sore back is due to muscular spasm/inflammation and it is often possible to relieve these kinds of symptoms almost immediately by focusing on improving range of motion.

One of the worst things about people having a sore back (apart from the obvious pain endured by the poor victim) is the huge cost this kind of thing inflicts on society (which is massive by the way). We are not just talking about the bill to fix the problem but also the cost due to the individual’s lost ability to remain productive. The bad news for employers is that, not only are things complicated by the time off work required, but often lifestyle is the issue rather than insufficient care by the employer to provide a safe workplace. So when a worker puts their back out at work tying a shoelace it actually (very often) has very little to do with the workplace. The shoelace problem is merely the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Some causes of acute back pain are:

Low energy

Often the result of…: Typically low energy is due to lack of nutritional and activity balance, with or without an un-balanced system (which can be full of toxins). Another way to put this is undue (or unmanageable) stress. The busier and more hectic our lives get the more our energy is sapped. Technology has a lot to answer for. It facilitates the rapid build-up on our daily “to-do” list. It helps us to perform work faster too, but not (in my humble opinion) enough to make up for the additional workload it creates. And all of this is compounded when technology breaks (as it often does. The computer is crashing, the scanner is not scanning, the printer is not printing, the router is not routing, the wireless is not wirelessing, or the programme is not de-bugged enough). So we are all uber busy and, in our haste, most likely not paying attention to correctly balancing our energy through adequate nutrition, rest, and exercise. Social employment of the same kind of technology exasperates the problem even more.

Good food takes time to produce and prepare. In this instant world we are often trading time and quality for convenience and instant gratification of our hunger pangs. Taste takes priority over nutritional value and so we typically end up eating more fast foods saturated in fat, sugar, and salt. Perhaps that is merely because, in the days of hunting and gathering, we humans may have been more balanced with our intake of these food types because our energy requirement was bigger and access inhibited. In these modern times of easily obtained excess the balance is all shot. Perhaps the refining of foods (such as sugar) tends to retain more if the nutritionally bad (which tastes good and therefore originally drew us to that food in the first place) and rejects a measure of the nutritionally good (a commercial decision because it does not enhance the experience of our taste buds). It could be due to the cummulative effect of all these things but in the end modern life tends to ‘feed’ (pun intended) nutritional imbalance. After a while we end up craving the nutrition we are missing. This gets us reaching for the all too common “pick-me-ups” like chocolate, ice cream, sweets, coffee, “V”, “Monster”. You cannot squeeze blood from a stone and when your body is tired it is tired. It requires adequate nutrition and rest so that it can recover. People should learn to listen to their body. Pick-me-ups are only ever warranted for very short spells when there is absolutely no other option. When there is constantly no other option then lifestyle changes should be considered because to continue in such a fashion can only end in tears. This modern living can produce dire results by destroying our organic functionality. Result = completely sapped energy and dwindling resource to do anything about it. We are trying to do more work with less energy. Something’s gotta give, and usually one of the first things to go is the discipline required to rest, exercise, and care appropriately for our posture.

Remedies: When you have suffered severe acute back pain for long enough you will eventually be forced to take stock of your life and make some lifestyle changes (probably involving diet and/or exercise).

Inadequate strength

Causes: Later we will mention habits, but for now let’s just say that the way we live every day has resulted in the lives we have. How many people reading this have a favourite side to sleep on? If you do then you could be introducing physical imbalance into your life.

The problem is that you may not create inadequate strength as much as the lack of strength to work throughout the entire range of motion of a joint. In a gym sense this is the result of poor form. Without the gym (in general life) this is failing to exercise and allowing life’s imbalances to dictate your physical condition.

Ever wonder why they have all those mirrors in the gym? It’s so all the buff guys can love themselves, right? WRONG!!!

Yes the buff guys do watch themselves in the mirror but they are not marvelling at how great they look (not all the time anyway). (Mostly) they are checking to ensure correct form. It is critical they do!

How many people have you seen do 10 (or any) chin ups but only come half way down? Those people are going to develop incredible strength but only through a partial range of motion. At full extension they will be weak (because they have not been training to full extension). This will destroy functionality because not only is the strength not throughout the full range of motion but opposing muscle groups (which may be strong throughout a greater range of motion) will represent strength imbalances. What does that mean? Have you ever seen a muscle bound gym bunny strutting down the street, body twisted, one shoulder riding higher than the other, their gait uneven, looking kind of ape-like as they drag and scrape their knuckles along the ground? Bad posture like that is a sure sign of muscle strength imbalance throughout the full range of motion.

By the way it is not just buff guys who suffer from this. Every day I see people who don’t ever work out that have developed forward sloping shoulders which tends to indicate weak back muscles and weak but tight anterior (frontal) musculature. Their chin juts forward and the head is angled down, creating a problematic forward pointing curve to the neck. Folks, the neck is supposed to hold the head up so you can look forward whilst maintaining the “arc of life” at the top of the spine!

Remedies: Always pay attention to technique whenever training. If you don’t know what correct technique is you need to find someone who can show you, and find them quick!

If you don’t work out then check out your posture or find someone in a good gym to check it for you. Whether you are a fitness freak or not good posture in critical to making the most of your life. You don’t have to be a body builder or spend hours in the gym pumping weights but you do need to protect your ability to stand upright. 20-40 minutes, 3 times per week is all you need if you don’t want to produce big muscles but you just want to be able to continue to function. If you don’t you are virtually guaranteed problems sooner or later (and probably sooner).

Inadequate flexibility

Causes: Lack of stretching or working a joint throughout its full range of motion. Everything we do such as driving a car, working at a desk, or watching television, reduces flexibility and weakens muscles that will lead to a bad back

Remedies: Ordinarily your average gym instructor will prescribe isolation stretching exercises. These are better than nothing, but I want to explain more on this whole subject as part of addressing “Lack of Balance”

Lack of balance in these things across muscle groups responsible for controlling the movement of any joint

Causes: Unbalanced strength and flexibility. We have mentioned strength and flexibility but we just don’t want to randomly strengthen and stretch muscles. I cannot remember how many guys I have seen spending countless hours doing arm curls because they want big biceps. Firstly, this won’t work because 2/3rds of the upper arm’s mass is the biceps opposing muscle (called “triceps”). Secondly, this won’t work because the strength and flexibility developed between these opposing muscles with such a method will create imbalances that decrease the effective range of motion. The muscles that control flexion and extension of the elbow joint are weak when they need to be strong and tight when they need to be supple. I call it screwing your body up in knots. Now, imagine the same brand of ignorance inflicted on the far more complicated musculature that supports the skeletal architecture of the lower spine and hips.

Remedies: We want to build up to doing what I like to call “Compound Stretching”, which is when you stretch muscle groups in a way that improves functionality through increased joint range of motion. Let me be as clear as possible. I am not talking about stretching a sore calf or a tight hamstring. I am talking about stretching muscles that work together whilst simultaneously placing the requirement for opposing muscles to contract, as well as maintaining correct form when training. That way you get strength and flexibility that allows opposing muscles to co-operate properly throughout the entire range of motion of a joint.

Habits

Sleeping: If you have an un-supportive bed or constantly sleep in the same position you could be asking for trouble. I have prescribed a complete bed change (as a part solution) for people with back pain in the past and it has helped immensely.

Sitting/Working: I used to design ergonomic work stations. One thing I noticed is that when something looks supremely comfortable it kind of looks like the human form, and it never is supportive. Yet when something ergonomically designed looks like the opposite of the human form, and it seems it will be uncomfortable to sit on, it is commonly very comfortable. Some of the most confortable workplace seating I have prescribed for people to great positive effect has appeared (at first glance) to “look” like it would be insanely uncomfortable! Other times complete replacement of seating or desking can be avoided simply by correct adjustment.

I have often walked into a living room to help a person with a bad back and have been able to identify immediately where they sit to watch television every night. The seat always looks like the most comfortable but has all the hallmarks of a back-killer. Usually the seat is too low, long, and soft. There is no way the lower back can be supported when someone is sitting in it.

Over-reliance on the provision of support: When the body is tired and you have to keep going it needs support. If at all possible the real priority should be rest and recovery (supported by adequate nutrition). The remainder of the time fitness should be such that your body can function throughout appropriate levels of stress/work without support. Anything less is tantamount to lack of balance and lifestyle choices should be re-evaluated.

Ceasing to move: When the body is in pain it is sending a signal to stop everything and rest up, right? That is “listening to your body”, isn’t it? Well… depends. The bottom line is you need to protect, support, and maintain range of motion for all joints. As long the level of swelling and pain are appropriately handled then the sooner you can get joints moving throughout maximum range of motion the sooner the problem will go away. Therefore, under the correct guidance, movement is often the answer (and not necessarily the enemy).

This article is merely a brief summary of my back care experience. More information is available from www.managing-back-pain.webs.com Alternatively you are welcome to visit one of our Open Days at the gym (dates to follow) or contact me at Freedom Fitness PLUS any time to discuss your particular situation with me:

Twittter, Facebook, and you Tube ID = FreeFitPLUS

http://freedomfitnessbirkenhead.podomatic.com

www.FreedomFitnessPLUS.blogspot.com

www.freedomfitness.co.nz

freedomfitnessbirkenhead@gmail.com

33 Rawene Road,

Birkenhead,

Auckland, NZ

021 176 4266

What are the seven biggest mistakes to avoid when performing kickboxing training?

2011-04-23T23:31:00.000-07:00

What are the seven biggest mistakes to avoid when performing kickboxing training?

How to choose a credible kickboxing training gym

Introduction and Background to the use of Kickboxing in fitness routines

The Fitness Industry has evolved greatly in the last 10 years. The advent of boxing and kickboxing based movements in Fitness Classes and in Personal Trainers toolkits has grown very fast, rapidly changing the face of commercial fitness. It has given the average gym goer greater variation in their workouts, added the 'fun' aspect back into gym work, and given personal trainers the ability to vary their client’s training. Included in this new workout style is pad and partner training the client cannot do on their own. There are, however, a score of new issues which have arisen with this type of activity. Before we begin to get more specific on what these issues actually are (and how to avoid the dangers they present when you are training with these exciting methods), let’s differentiate the varying types of training that come under this boxing/kickboxing umbrella.

The first, (most important issue to some) is that of the definition of kickboxing compared to Muay Thai boxing and/or to other martial arts such as karate. The kickboxing moves, for example, used in most kickboxing type classes (TaeBoe, Body Combat, Kickfit etc) are based mostly on the movements of Muay Thai Boxing. This sport originated in Thailand many years ago. There is a lot of history behind its origins and development. Kickboxing, however, is American Kickboxing and based more on straight boxing with a few kicks thrown in. Although Muay Thai Boxing is closer to karate than it is to American Kickboxing, all three styles are completely different. A Muay Thai kick is very different from a Karate kick, and different again from a Kickboxers kick. Muay Thai uses knees, elbows, and ring craft as well as punches and kicks and requires the development of high speed, power, and good technique.

Including any of these types of workouts in your training regime will help you tone, gain strength and confidence, increase your fitness fast, all whilst enjoying more of the process... plus teach you skills that would otherwise be limited to a closed-in "private and serious" martial arts club. But you only get all of this if you avoid the 7 most common mistakes made with this type of training covered within this article. So, what (exactly) are the biggest mistakes one can make when incorporating this new type of training into their workouts?

One:

The biggest and most pertinent issue that has arisen is that of correct training for Instructors. A "Fitness Class" of any sort is always considered a pseudo copy of the real thing anyway - and often fitness classes - such as the weights to music classes like "Pump" are altered in their technique and instruction in regards to safety for group training. But that is no excuse for an Instructor to not know good technique and be able to instruct someone in how to better their technique. You cannot help someone improve their technique and keep them safe when you have only had two lessons yourself!

So a Group Class situation is different from a Technique Class and different again from training with a personal trainer. The most important thing you can do in a Group Fitness Class or in hiring a Personal Trainer who uses boxing and/or kickboxing in their training is to check out if they have actually had experience in the sport themselves. The best instructors are those who have actually trained in the sport they are teaching, not those who have merely done some two day course that gives them a certificate saying they are qualified pad holders. This type of sport requires good knowledge and understanding of how a good movement pattern affects the outcome eg; how generating your punches and kicks from your core correctly affects the technique, control and subsequent power and effectiveness of your movement...and consequently your safety. Many injuries occur in the gym from instructors and/or trainers who do not understand what they are teaching. The unfortunate thing for those trainers who do not train themselves in this sport is that their clients will soon realise that they are "better' than their instructor - and move on to another trainer. That’s if the client (or trainer) doesn’t stop training due to injury.

Two:

Speaking of safety, one of the most common injuries in this area is that of joints - mostly wrists and knees. With good technique it is easy to not only keep these joints safe, but increase their stability and strength as you progress. Alternatively, the risk with bad technique is the exact opposite, less joint stability and strength through injury and strain. Common injuries in class situations are that of ligament damage which can be very disabling. This is caused mostly by kicks being enthusiastically over-extended (“flicky kicks” as they are called) or twisting on the supporting leg with the funky types of kicks that some Instructors put into their classes without sufficient understanding with regards to correct technique.

Wrist injury occurs more with clients working with trainers who are holding pads for them, or class participants’ punching bags with bad technique. Firstly, with the trainer holding pads for the client - ensure your trainer actually knows how to hold pads correctly. This is an art and is just as hard to learn as the actual boxing/kickboxing itself. Too many personal trainers have no idea what they are doing and no experience in the sport. This makes it all too easy for the trainer to fail to employ correct use and timing with the pads, resulting in a higher chance of injury for the client and the trainer. Do not accept the reasoning that 'this is only for fitness' as your safety is important. Secondly, punching technique is imperative to learn. Making sure you have your elbow directly behind your wrist bones which should be directly behind the knuckles you connect with, and your shoulders down is one of the first things you should be taught. And making sure you learn to initiate all your movements with your core is also a must. If your trainer has not trained in the sport how can they teach you suitably and safely?

The other main injury that is common with kicking is the hip flexors. You need to ensure your kick is controlled by a well taught movement pattern. Again - if your trainer has not trained in the sport how can they teach you suitably and safely? Do your research.

Three:

The third issue, (also related to safety), is that of power. The power in a punch, kick or knee is generated from speed with good technique. One of the biggest mistakes made by inexperienced boxers is to make the power of their punches or kicks the first focus. If you concentrate on power you will run out of "puff" very quickly and your movement patterns will not be efficient (or very controlled). This means that you will not last very long in each round and probably not enjoy the training. Learn good technique - first and foremost - get the basics and practise the basics often. And make sure you learn from someone who knows what they are doing well enough to be able to correct your movement patterns. The basics are easy to learn - perfecting them, on the other hand, takes much instruction, patience and time!

Four:

Again - to avoid injuring yourself - when you kick ensure you kick with your shin - not your foot. Many martial arts do not train (or compete) full contact so many other styles of kicks are taught to connect with the feet. If you kick something (or someone) full contact with your feet you will likely break many of the small bones in them. There are 26 bones in your foot and to break any of them is usually very painful. Your shin however is one of the strongest bones in your body. Aim your kicks with your shins.

Five;

Breathing. Yes it is imperative to breathe while you are boxing... and yes there is a specific technique to breathing when you are boxing. The reason your hear that "shhsh" sound from a boxer when they breathe is that you must keep your jaw shut and exhale each time you punch or kick. Short, sharp exhalations - not blowing. Your jaw is a hinge joint with nerves running through it. To have your jaw hanging loose leaves you very open to being knocked out should you ever get hit in the jaw. That is why it is much safer to keep your jaw tighter and breathe small short breaths. Also, a hanging jaw is a sure sign that a fighter is tired - something you do not want to give away in the ring! Even if you have no intentions of ever competing in this sport you must learn correct technique. You benefit most fitness-wise from correct technique. It is extremely hard to change a bad habit once it is formed so learn the proper technique from the outset. Once again make sure your trainer knows what they are doing.

Six:

Learning how to hold pads when taking part in a fitness class is extremely important. Many Boxing/Kickboxing Classes are run around participants holding pads for each other in a class situation. As stated earlier, learning how to hold pads for someone is just as hard to learn as the Boxing itself. It can be quite intimidating if you have never held pads before and you need to ensure you will be safe. Look for clear instruction from the trainer for you and your training partner. You want to know that the instructor has good control of the class (a completely separate skill to the technicalities of teaching kickboxing movements) and that the person who is partnering you is aware of your ability in pad holding.

One of the biggest mistakes people make when holding the pads is to move the pads too much - literally whacking the pads down into the partner’s hands. This is dangerous and can easily lead to injury. The pads do need to move but the pad movement is minimal compared to what the partner punching needs to do. The punch needs to come to the pad. The pad movement is controlled so that the pad does not hit you in the face and needs to create enough resistance to meet the punch. Likewise, when you are the puncher, you must be aware of your pad holders ability and strength and work with them accordingly. The instructor should be able to easily monitor and control this. It is always a little scary doing a class you have not done before but once you have tackled your own fears you should feel safe under the instructor taking the class you are doing. If you do not feel safe you need to find a different instructor.

Seven:

Last but definitely not least. Attitude. By far, the biggest mistake people make in the fitness arena as well as in the sport is to think that to participate in this sport you need to be aggressive. Don’t get me wrong - the aggressiveness that is required to push yourself beyond physical limits in any type of workout, sprint past the person in front of you, to make that last rep in your bench press, to want to submit a better job application than the person next to you... these are all situations where a healthy assertive hard hitting attitude is necessary and healthy. But the belief that you must be of an aggressive, (heading towards violent) nature in this sport is a fallacy. It’s almost the opposite of what is true. You must be controlled and in total command of what you are doing to be able to do this sport well - as any sport would require.

In Summary

As you can see by the nature of these points it is imperative that you ensure that your instructor is experienced. If you learn good technique at the start you will not only stay safe and uninjured but you will enjoy the training so much more. Getting fitter and stronger fast is an excellent benefit for this type of training but it has to be performed correctly for these benefits to materialise. Enjoying the process is a bonus that makes it easier for to keep active, fit, strong, and healthy.

The one thing you can be guaranteed of at Freedom Fitness PLUS in Birkenhead, Auckland is excellent, experienced Instructors. The classes are designed for fitness, with proper Muay Thai techniques taught in a safe environment where technique comes first. You will be taught all the basics from the very beginning with other class participants who are friendly, supportive, and helpful. Freedom Fitness PLUS is a great place to learn and perfect this sport safely under the guidance of Instructors who have experience ranging from your basic fitness class, coaching children, personal training, competing in the ring themselves, and helping train others in the competitive arena. The Freedom Fitness PLUS Team are one of the best teams I know in this industry and I highly recommend putting yourself under their guidance. Aim high - achieve what you’ve dreamed at Freedom Fitness PLUS.

SaenDee

Sandy Remiens

Sandy ‘The Storm’ Remiens

Sandy Remiens is the former NZ ISKA Super Bantamweight Champion and has been trained by world champion muay thai boxers, Jojo ‘Tiger’ Ancajas and Eddy ‘The Heat’ Tongalahi.

Sandy has also trained in Thailand with champion Muay Thai fighters under head trainer Thanachon Yingwittayakhun. (Chun Sitmahachon). She has represented New Zealand and Thailand in Muay Thai competitions overseas including winning against the Thailand S1 Champion in the undercard on the opening fight night of the Contender Muay Thai 2007 filming in Singapore.

With experience in the fitness industry as a Gym Owner, Manager and Personal Trainer and Wellness Coach for over 18 years from New Zealand and Australia to the United Arab Emirates to Thailand.

Sandy's specialties include helping restore people functionality, rehabilitation of injuries and posture correction. Helping her clients stay young and active and healthy - and enjoying life is a priority for her and she encourages her clients to be the same. Being a part of enabling people to live their dreams is an important aspect of her work. She believes that human beings are not designed to live a sedentary existence so her training approach is one of holistic Lifestyle Management which focuses on every aspect of health and well-being.

Sandy is currently in Thailand managing the Clark Hatch Thaniya Bangkok Fitness Centre and is training at Fighting Spirit Muay Thai Gym. You can contact her here:

www.bangkokstormtraining.com

Contact Freedom Fitness PLUS

Twittter, Facebook, and you Tube ID = FreeFitPLUS

http://freedomfitnessbirkenhead.podomatic.com

www.FreedomFitnessPLUS.blogspot.com

www.freedomfitness.co.nz

freedomfitnessbirkenhead@gmail.com

33 Rawene Road,

Birkenhead,

Auckland, NZ

021 176 4266

Who Am I?

2011-02-26T13:36:00.000-08:00

Freedom Fitness PLUS Study– WHO AM I?

If cats have 9 lives, people must have 5.

A 6 week voyage of discovery into participant’s Spiritual, Intellectual, Emotional, Social, and Physical lives. Membership includes kickboxing (or other group exercise) classes or gym access. Training towards the CHC500 (a fundraising event for the Red Cross Canterbury Earthquake Appeal April 2, 2011) will occur throughout the course.

Session 1 (2 hours)

Who Am I?: Course participants bring in and/or discuss their favourite song, movie, or book.

Course Introduction and Overview: Explain the interaction between the 5 human lives, discuss the results of pursuing change through different approaches and discuss examples including tribal behaviours.

Course Introduction Learning Outcome: Students will understand there is an interplay between the 5 human lives which help them make choices. They will be introduced to the two main approaches easily available to effectively attain personal growth in each area and change life outcomes for themselves.

Session 2 (1 hour)

Spiritual Subject Outline: Not necessarily a religious subject (unless course participants want to relate religiously). Introduce the effect of world history on faith, thought patterns, and beliefs. Examples used will be Mesopotamia, Egypt, Crete, World War II’s Hitler and Churchill.

Spiritual Subject Learning Outcome: Students will understand how a study of history can assist them develop a better future, make a decision as to which area of history would benefit the student most in developing their spiritual life, and what kind of faith model they wish to pursue.

Session 3 (1 hour)

Intellectual Subject Outline: A discussion on how an individual’s intellectual understanding will affect their other lives, what kind of intellectual understanding will be of greatest interest to the student, and how to go about pursuing that interest.

Intellectual Subject Learning Outcome: A decision as to which topics will be pursued by the student on an intellectual basis, why, and how.

Session 4 (1 hour)

Emotional Subject Outline: What are emotions? Why do we have them? What is their job? How do they affect our life and our decisions? What are the ways we can experience emotion?

Emotional Subject Learning Outcome: Further development and understanding of how our emotions affect our decisions and how to employ emotions to make better decisions.

Session 5 ( 1hour)

Social Subject Outline: How the previous subjects covered affect our social decisions. How to develop new social networks (if necessary). Review how human tribal behaviour works and its significance with regards to how we conduct ourselves and the decisions we make.

Social Subject Learning Outcome: Acquisition of the tools necessary to qualify and make more discerning social decisions.

Session 6 and 7 (1 hour) and (1 hour)

Physical Subject Outline: The two versions (Body and Material), the relevance of our physical lives in the community, and how to change it if we do not like the physical life we have.
Physical Subject Learning Outcome: The opportunity to increase fitness, health, and wealth.

Material – An understanding of material wealth, it’s significance, the three ways it is created, the three reasons why we work, how to work smarter and not harder.

Social Subject Reprisal from a Material Standpoint: Social networks for business. How to develop social networks in business.

Social Subject Learning Outcome from a Material Standpoint: Acquisition of the tools necessary to qualify and make more discerning social decisions for business.

Session 8 (1 hour)

Body - An understanding of the body, its energy systems, basic anatomy, movement, and fitness.

Session 9 (2 hours)

Goal Setting Workshop: Utilisation of the material covered to set new goals for the future life of participants via audio, visual, and kinaesthetic means.

Goal Setting Workshop Outcome: Plotting a course for life and personal development over the next 12 months. Notification of access to resources to help participants keep on track throughout those 12 months which may include CHC500 and/or Kure It fund raising and BNI (where participants also learn through practical experience PR, Marketing, and Networking).

Course Applications by email to freedomfitnessbirkenhead@gmail.com

You Tube - FreeFitPLUS
Twitter - FreeFitPLUS
Blog - FreedomFitnessPLUS.blogspot.com
Website - http://www.freedomfitness.co.nz/
Email - freedomfitnessbirkenhead@gmail.com

Freedom to Live! (in 9 steps)

2011-02-25T18:07:00.000-08:00

How can I increase bodily functionality now or regain functionality lost since my youth?

Want the perfect exercise regime?

Watch a baby. They already have their flexibility at birth. Watch what they do next. They focus first on core stability. All of my four children had abs of steel within months of being born. They were well on the way to core stability development once they figured out how to roll over. In fact, without core strength they would not have been able to roll over. Then they sit up. They crawl. They stand up. They squat. And walk. It is the perfect fitness regime. It is scaled, periodised, and (most babies) sleep often enough to ensure adequate rest, recovery, and over-compensation[1] between training sessions. Apart from where a medical condition exists, babies infrequently suffer an over-training injury, back pain, muscular spasms, or similar. Why? The reasons are covered in this article but if you miss them Freedom Fitness has several Open Days coming up where you can find out the answer. Check our advertising or social media for dates.

You Tube – Free FitPLUS

Twitter – FreeFitPLUS

Blogspot – www.FreedomFitnessPLUS.blogspot.com

Website – http://www.freedomfitness.co,nz/

Email - freedomfitnessbirkenhead@gmail.com

A Discussion Covering All of the Components of the Perfect Exercise Regime for an Adult

Do you suffer from a bad back, muscular cramps, spasms, or general lack of ‘can-do’?

When was the last time, as an adult, you worked on your core stability? Doesn’t it just sound like hard work? And how would you go about it anyway? It’s not hard work, and can be easily slotted into your daily life.

Let me put it this way. When was the last time you slouched in a chair? Because when you did you were destroying, not increasing, your core stability. You were well on your way to developing back pain (just to begin with). Not just because of a developing lack of core stability, but because of the destruction of other fitness components that also result from the way we live daily. Thankfully, if one knows what they are doing, much of this functionality can be restored, and quite quickly in most cases. It is virtually impossible for an adult to take on a baby’s fitness regime, as ideal as it is, because of the demands on adult life. We can’t start over again so how do you now get to increase functionality or regain that lost since youth?

First Step - Flexibility

First you develop your flexibility. This is a very important first step because your muscles work together to perform all of the movements possible for it. If one muscle does not have the flexibility required to allow others involved in a movement to adequately do their job then functionality is adversely affected. Most of the advice out there focuses on independently stretching various muscles. Stretching properly is imperative to increasing bodily functionality for many, many reasons. The philosophy at Freedom Fitness PLUS calls for a type of stretching we call “compound stretching”. This involves stretching in a manner that reflects how the body needs to be used, rather than merely focusing on one muscle or muscle group in isolation to the others. The result is an effective increase in bodily functionality, beyond that which any normal (isolation) stretching routine can deliver. Best of all, this can easily be part of your daily routine without affecting the other things you have to get on with.

Second Step - Strength

Second, you want to look at strength. Our compound flexibility strategy encourages the development of strength in a balanced fashion. If additional strength beyond that is required (perhaps for a particular activity) then it will be necessary to design a specific tactic for the development of it. Essentially strength training pitches your muscles against gravity. There are many ways to do this, some which present a great a risk of injury, either because the programme is not graduated or because the activity is not designed to work the body the same way the body needs to function. One example is a leg extension machine. It builds strength in the quadriceps (the group of four muscles which make up the thigh). The problem is that most leg extension machines place the weight on the shin. This is not in itself painful for the shin but it is not the way the body naturally handles load either. Usually the thigh works to handle load that comes up through the soles of the feet. The result of using the leg extension machine as the only source of quadriceps development could well be an unnatural and unbalanced development of thigh strength that is potentially unsafe for the knees. There are many ways to work the muscles of the body. Strength training programmes at Freedom Fitness PLUS are designed to develop functional strength.

Third Step - Muscular Endurance

Third, you want to look at muscular endurance. You may (quite easily) develop strength to (for instance) work the grinders to go out sailing on an America’s Cup yacht for a day. Without developing endurance you won’t last through to lunchtime.

Fourth Step – Agility, Balance, and Stability

Agility, balance, and stability are also important. Functionality is enhanced greatly by developing these elements of your fitness. A large part of developing agility and balance involves core stability. Let’s say (for instance) you want to go cycling. You might have the strongest legs, torso, back, arms, and shoulders in the country but, unless your core has the integrity to stabilise your body in the saddle, your ability to power the bike will be comparable to the ability of an aquaplaning tyre to control the direction of a car turning a sharp corner at 150km on a wet, slippery, oil stained road. Agility, balance, and stability is not just about core strength though.

Many joints have sensors called proprioceptors. Their job is to tell your brain where your body is positioned in terms of the gravitational pull on your mass so that your brain can control muscle responses to keep you upright. It is common for the proprioceptors in your ankle to be damaged when the ankle is sprained. If you want to be able to confidently stand balanced on one leg ever again thereafter you will need to re-train the proprioceptors in your injured ankle.

Stability of joints is also of critical importance where functionality is concerned. There are many ways to work large muscles that compromise the stability of joints and put smaller, weaker, co-ordinating, “helper” muscles at risk. A good example is the most unstable joint of the entire body – the shoulder. The main muscles of the front and back of the torso are responsible for the main movements the shoulder can perform but it is the tiny, co-ordinating and control giving muscles that can be easily damaged if these are not properly trained with the main muscle. A common injury that occurs when training the chest or back is damage to the small muscles in the shoulder called the rotator cuffs. This is a very frustrating injury because you otherwise feel well and capable but your shoulders hurt when you try to use them in a certain way. At Freedom Fitness PLUS we employ a wide range of equipment and exercise technique to deal with these issues.

Fifth Step - Energy Systems

Energy Systems come next. The body has three of them. The first, the Creatine Phosphate system, supplies a short but powerful burst of energy to the muscles. This is the fight or flight powerhouse but the energy lasts for no more than two seconds. The second, the anaerobic system, uses glycogen, which is stored carbohydrate energy. This system supplies fuel to the muscles for intense exercise. A well trained athlete can sustain this type of intensity for up to two minutes. It is the by-products of using this fuel that creates the aching in the muscles the day following a work out. This can be reduced if you know what you are doing. The third energy system is the aerobic system. This is what the body is using most of the time, including in your sleep. By increasing the metabolism the aerobic system can be burning extra fat while you sleep! It is only good up to around 80% intensity in a well-trained athlete. This kind of intensity can be sustained by the aerobic system for hours at a time.

No energy equals no functionality. There are many facets to this from nutritional considerations through to your body mass index, the periodization of your fitness routine (which incorporates the appropriate rest periods for your body to recover and over-compensate – critical to the success of any fitness regime).

Sixth Step - Nutritional Considerations

Different people run best on different fuels. Different fuels serve different purposes. Not only do you need the correct fuel for your body and the intended activity/goal but you also need it in the optimum quantities and at the best time. Imbalances in this area affect the way you feel all the time (not just when working out) as well as the results you will get from the fitness programme. The resident naturopath and personal trainers at Freedom Fitness PLUS can help you get a handle on this aspect of your life.

Seventh Step - Focus

There are many different approaches to exercise, each with its own benefit. That is why fitness solutions need to be tailored for each situation, goal, purpose, and person.

Eighth Step - Evaluation and Programming

Ever had to ask for directions to get some place? Have you ever been lost? Would you ask a two year old for directions? Probably not. Why? Because, even if the two year old knew where you were going they probably could not tell you how to get there because they would not have a fix on your starting point. You need to know where you are at now and where you are going, in order to chart a course to your destination.

It is the same at the Freedom Fitness PLUS whether we are talking about you developing your physical, financial, emotional, intellectual, or social fitness. That is why everything begins with a Fitness Assessment. Email freedomfitnessbirkenhead@gmail.com to receive the application for assessment by Freedom Fitness PLUS.

Ninth Step - Putting it all together

Recently I was working in the USA for a couple of months at my day job. The apartment complex we stay in at Riverside in Southern California has a fitness centre. My travel and work schedule was extremely hectic and as a result visits to the gym were well spaced. I was eating appropriately so that, when I did make it to the gym, I could push very hard, heavy weights. My workouts were not for very long (45 minutes was mostly all I had the time for). Even though my work and travel schedule was tough, my body over-compensated better than it ever has and within 6 weeks of commencing training there I was Bench Pressing 280lbs. I have never pressed so much in my life! This serves to demonstrate two things:

1) There are few excuses that hold water if you have a well-developed fitness regime designed to fit your life and goals

2) The importance of all of the above mentioned fitness training considerations, including rest and recovery, when performing a fitness regime. It is worth noting that, due to the circumstances, pure strength gain was the point of the programme. Other goals would call for a different approach to training.

At Freedom Fitness PLUS great importance is placed upon the start point, the intended destination, charting the course, and listening to the body along the way. Our philosophy is two-fold:

1) Positive Contribution

2) Accountability

Some questions you can ask when you come to see us:

How can I ensure I get the “Fun Factor”?

How can I get skinny/leaner?

How can I get stronger?

How can I keep up with my kids as I get older?

How can I lose my back pain?

How can I get happy?

How can I lose my blues?

How can I eat better?

[1] Over-compensation is the body increasing its capabilities after stress has been placed upon it. It is the result of a well-balanced combination of of training, rest, recovery, and nutrition.