Craig Osborne – 8kg weight loss in 12 weeks

Our member of the month for August was nominated by his trainer Lukas. Craig is a long time member of Chodat Fitness and has recently lost 8kg in 12 weeks. Craig is a busy business man and makes a regular commitment to focus on his fitness, his dedication to his training and his endless supply of dad jokes is second to none.

CRAIG OSBORNE

1.What initially prompted you to start training with Chodat fitness? 
I played a lot of sport as a younger man and miss it. I work in a sedentary and reasonably stressful environment Chodat fitness is an outlet .
2. What is your current goal, or next mini goal you are looking to achieve? 
Overall health and vitality and telling the best ‘Dad jokes’…”I’m putting together a champion hide and seek team but good players are “ hard to find “.
3.What’s your biggest achievement so far? Consistency, when it’s so easy to have an excuse not to turn up.
What do you enjoy most about training? I like the training better than the alternative, being unfit is such a drag.
4.How has your lifestyle changed? I’ve got a better eating regime to complement my training.
5.What is one piece of advice you would like to give to others just starting out? Be as consistent with your training as possible. Moderate consumption to balance your ‘energy in vs energy out’. The older (more mature) you get the harder it is to achieve results. Dig in and Don’t give up!

It’s so vital you start the day with a nutritious breakfast that is high in protein, fibre and low in sugar. There are so many options of cereals, yoghurts and smoothies it’s very difficult to know what is good and what is too high in sugar or calories.

Today’s article is designed to give you a greater level of knowledge of what to eat for breakfast. These options include:

• Scrambled eggs with avocado and spinach
• Greek yoghurt with blueberries, almonds, pepitas and walnuts
• Protein smoothie with a banana, spinach, whey protein, almonds and chia seeds
• Poached eggs, with grainy bread and smoked salmon
• Oats with LSA, whey protein powder and banana with milk

All these types of breakfasts are full of nutrients, high in protein and a great way to start your day.

Here are our Tip for the M2M Challenge 2018

With M2M coming up in less than 2 weeks on the 29th July, It’s a good time to go over a few key
points to consider when preparing your body for any type of running event.

Key Points

1. To have good running form and help you run efficiently and injury free, you need to make
   sure you are strong in both the lower muscular chains and your core or what I like to refer
   to as your Power House. The more strength and stability you have in this area, the more
   power you can generate and for those distance runners, you will find you can run and hold
   your form and posture for longer periods of time with a strong power house. In the busy
   lives we lead that see us spending a lot of time seated either in a car or at a desk, our lower
   posterior muscles including our glutes and hamstrings tend to become weak and struggle to
   activate when we attempt to move. Movements like lunges and lunge variations, glute
   bridges, plank holds, supermans and any squat variation when performed well will develop
   strength in the lower muscular chain.
2. Dynamic warm ups are a key before any run session, these can include leg swings, calf walks
   lunges, hip rotations ad my personal favourite, ¼ squats which I find the best exercise for
   glute activation
3. Make sure stretching is part of your daily routine. Extended period of sitting or those what
   frequently find themselves in the hip flexion position are susceptible to tight hips flexors
   which can cause pelvic imbalances impacting of good posture Tight ITB’s are also another
   common issue for runners and cyclists. Static stretching is a good way to make sure muscles
   remain lengthened as is the use of a foam roller or trigger point ball of areas where knots
   may be present. Yoga is a great way increase flexibility and help lengthen muscles so those
   that can great to one of Nina’s Thursday morning sessions I highly recommend it, your body
   will thank you for it.
4. You don’t have to lift heavy weights to be strong and body weight exercises when
   performed with the correct form ensure the key target areas are hit and strengthened.

The Course

The course is 13.6km long and is 6+kms of incline straight off the bat from the starting point Mt Keira at Edmund Rice Boys school. The course plateaus at Robinson’s Look out and the, its all down hill from there, minus the last   1km approximately which is some what flat.

Our Tips

1. Run or walk at your own ability, if you are not a strong runner, take it at your own pace. Listen to your breathing and heart 13.6km can be a long way especially if its up hill.
2. Conserve energy at the start/incline to be able to get to the top and then successfully finish. Our tip is to wear a heart rate monitor to watch your heart rate and keep it down and at a consistent level to be able to finish. If you don’t, you will get exhausted faster.

Where should your heart rate be? 

Depending on your current fitness level you should maintain a zone 1 or 2 for most of the run. Use the link below to understand heart rate monitoring more. If you are getting to Zone 4 or 5 in the first few kilometres you will find your self being very exhausted quickly!

Heart Rate Zones

3. When running up the hill keep your breathing consistent, head up high and chest up looking ahead. Keep your arms moving and they will help you get up the hill!

4. Down the hills- after running up hill for a good while your hip-flexors might be aching and calves fatiguing, be careful with how fast you pound down the hill, you will gain speed quickly and often faster than your quad muscles and knees can maintain. Smaller, lighter steps is advised, where you strike the ground with your mid foot rather than your heel. This will save your knees and help to prevent shin splints, minimising impact. Remember its ok to walk!

5. You are finished and at the end – stretch you calves and if you have a foam roller, roll, roll, roll! Rest, re-hydrate and eat some food. You will have burnt many calories so make sure you fill up on good food and replenish your body’s energy system.

Have fun and good luck!

A Healthier You Winter Hump Transformation Progress

Six weeks down, and most of the challengers who are doing the transformation program are still on target with their goals. We have achieved a total team weight loss of 55kg to date. Check out some of challengers 6 week comparison photos below showing their losses/success to date.

Not all the competitors are doing the program for weight loss, some are focusing on  muscle gains, over all well being, understanding food more and boosting fitness.

Well done to all participants and keep up the focus!

Tania Amour –  Increase Strength and Speed

July’s member of the month was nominated by her trainers Ben and Mike for her outstanding improvements in her overall strength and speed. Tania does a PT session with Ben/Mike focusing on strength and also does group classes, her Team for the Winter Hump Challenge (The coffee sisters) is also in the lead at this stage too.

She takes home a $100 Gift card!

1. What initially prompted you to start training with Chodat fitness? 
I needed to be motivated in so many ways, I jointed Team Chodat after the team and how dedicated to health & fitness they are.
2. What is your current goal, or next mini goal you are looking to achieve?
My goal was to improve my running so with my trainer we are working on lower body strength and it has paid off.
3. What’s your biggest achievement so far? Enjoying running, I am stronger now than ever before, thanks to my PT and group classes.
4. What do you enjoy most about training? I enjoy the lifestyle, making friends and feeling good. I also have more confidence in myself.
5. How has your lifestyle changed? I am confidently more active and focused on seeing results
6. What is one piece of advice you would like to give to others just starting out? Be consistent with your training and it will pay off. It’s worth the pain to see your results .

Well done Tania.

Abs are made in the kitchen?!

The ‘6 Pack’ is often the ‘Holy Grail’ for people training and is often directly associated as their end goal.

To achieve this desired goal of a 6 pack, training and diet need to be in synergy. A diet too calorie high can affect this end goal. Here are our tips to best ways to fast track your way to a 6 pack include:

• Ensure you are not overloading on too many calorie dense foods like flavoured milks, yogurts and ice creams. You want to enjoy a clean, flexible diet. 
• Consume a diet that incorporates protein at all of your main meals
• Train at a higher intensity doing resistance work and high intensity jumps and sprinting

The abdominal fat that often covers your ‘abs’ can be easily burnt we just need to ensure we are doing the right things in terms of burning and ingesting calories.

If you have more weight to lose, make sure you are a in a ‘calorie deficit’, this means you are moving more than you are consuming and then the weight will come off and the ‘abs’ will appear, with the right strength training.

Stay positive everything happens with time!

Thanks Fabian for the image…

Portion size is key to any successful eating plan. Getting these portion sizes wrong may mean you are doing all this hard work and getting minimal reward in terms of weight loss.

Tips for controlling your portion sizes include:

• Use kitchen scales as a good measuring tool
• Try and avoid the snacking times of 5-6pm (this is a great time to exercise if you can)
• Use thin layers of spreads or butters instead of thick as this will reduce calorie amounts
• Buy pre portioned packs as they display almost exactly the amount of calories and nutrients you are getting
• Remember it takes around 20 minutes after you finish food to feel full, so keep in mind you may not always feel full after you directly finish, but this could change very quickly as your body begins processing food.

Enjoy Friendly Competition, Motivation, Fitness + Fun

The Great Race is an obstacle course between Chodat Fitness, NOW Fitness Dapto and Bod House!

The Race will be held on the 21st of July with a 6:45am Start. The course is designed to incorporate all aspects of fitness. Be sure to bring your a game as you tackle a 45min workout incorporating running, strength and team work.

Registrations are now open contact your gyms trainer TODAY! Limited spots are available 20 people per gym.

We are proudly  supporting the registered members of the Greenacres M2M challenge, with a free run class 6 weeks before the event day!

If you are currently registered for the run, let us help you a bit more and get conditioned to walk or run that bit better. If you’d like to join us on a Monday night 6pm for our run specific class please;

Register Here:  Fill out this FORM or call 0431-383-411  then book into the class each week via our app.

6 Week Run Preparation

Duration:6 weeks- 1 class per week  Starting 18^th June is the first class and the last class is the 23rd July 2018

Where: Chodat Fitness site license, South Beach Wollongong near the ANZAC memorial. See map HERE

When:6pm (1hour duration)

The Program

Click here for the printable program where you can log your progress
Free Run Class Program 2018

What is the M2M Challenge?

From experienced athletes to weekend walkers, everyone who takes on the Mountain to Mountain Challenge will feel like a champion after competing this grueling course. Starting at the base of Mt Keira and finishing at the heights of Mt Kembla, the Mountain to Mountain Challenge is a 13.6 kilometre run or walk past some of our region’s most beautiful scenery. This year for the first time the Challenge is offering a 7km Short Course option so everyone can be involved.

This great event will take place Sunday 29^thJuly. The M2M Challenge is a fund raising event and just by participating you are helping us raise funds for vital projects for Greenacers.

Register now for the M2M challenge here or sponsor us if your not participating>   http://www.m2mchallenge.com.au/   To join the Chodat Team create an individual profile then select “Join Team”.