Well I’m here to tell you, NOTHING CHANGES!  In the rain, we still train.  In the cool, let exercise rule.  If there’s a gale, we’re training, don’t bail.  If it gets cold, keep moving, don’t fold.  If there’s lightening, we may stop, that’s frightening.

But seriously, why would we do anything different?

For me personally, Autumn is my favourite time of year, especially for training.  Instead of humid, sweaty sessions we get fresh, crisp conditions.  It’s the time of year for some of the most spectacular sunrises you will ever see.  It’s not hot but it’s not cold either, it’s just right.

There are some great fitness related events coming up that we can focus our energies towards, including a number of  south coast 5km fun runs such as: Shellharbour Festival of Sport Shell Cove Fun Run (next Sunday), The Mother’s Day Classic (in May) and the Kiama Health, Sport & Fitness Expo.  There’s the very first Kiama Relay for Life on the 1st of May which is a great community event that raises money for the Cancer Council. Oxygen will have a big presence at the Relay for Life and we will be looking for your support on a day where we will be remembered, thats for sure. For distance and longer runs there’s the Sutherland to Surf, Bondi to Bronte, and City2Surf – the world’s largest running event.

Not long after that, I’ll be competing in my 3rd Sydney Tower Run-Up.  That’s a run up the stairs of Centrepoint Tower, all 1508 steps.  It sounds crazy and it probably is, but there’s nothing more rewarding than achieving a goal you have set for yourself.  All these are external events to Oxygen Kiama, but something we can train for collectively as a fitness group.

Internal events within Oxygen include our very first “Road Trip” at the end of March to a mystery location, as well as a local session with a couple of “special guest” Trainers that’s not to be missed.  There’s a very green St Patrick’s Day session, Dave’s Birthday Bash in April, an ANZAC themed training session and for Winter Solstice in June (the shortest day of the year) there are some super sessions we’ve put together titled “short and sweet”.  You’re gunna love ‘em.

We have some great info in the latest “Richly Rewarding Living” newsletter which you will all receive in the mail soon.  In there we share tips on how to avoid the blues and stick to your Winter training schedule.  Hydration, nutrition, recovery and the right clothing will all contribute to your performance levels.  Not only functional but also very trendy – check out the design of our Oxygen hoodies below.  These will sell fast so grab one of the first 20 by paying your $50 at class now. First in, best dressed!

Oxygen Hoodie

The health benefits of fish oil include its ability to aid in treatment of heart diseases, high cholesterol, depression, anxiety, AHDH, low immunity, cancer, diabetes, inflammation, arthritis, IBD, Alzheimer’s disease, eye disorders, macular degeneration and ulcers. It is helps in weight loss, pregnancy, fertility and skin care (particular for disorders such as psoriasis, acne).

Matt O’Neill from Metabolic Jumpstart explains the how’s and why’s of Fish Oil here:

Matt O\’Neill Talks Fish Oil

Most of the health benefits of fish oil can be attributed to the presence of Omega 3 essential fatty acids.

The various types of fish which can be a good source of fish oil are mackerel, tuna, herring, sardines, trout and salmon. The health benefits of fish oil include the following:

Heart Disease: Clinical trials have proved that omega 3 is effective in reducing the incidence of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Fish oil, which is abundant in omega 3, therefore, reduces the risk of heart diseases and heart arrhythmias. It lowers the levels of LDL cholesterol, which is bad cholesterol, and increases the HDL levels, which is good cholesterol. Fish oil prevents accumulation of triglycerides and further reduces the levels of excess triglycerides.

Weight Loss: Fish oil also aids in weight loss process. Research conducted at the University of South Australia has shown that fish oil improves the efficacy of exercise in reducing weight. Volunteers who were given fish oil diet showed greater weight loss as compared to those who did not consume fish oil diet. Exercise combined with fish oil had a positive effect on the body shape and body composition of the patients.

Diabetes: Type II diabetic patients are more prone to cardio vascular diseases such as coronary heart disease, atherosclerosis, and stroke. As mentioned above, fish oil is helpful in treating various heart problems. Research conducted at the University of Oxford has proved that fish oil is useful in reducing triglyceride levels in diabetes as well.

Blood Circulation: It is believed that fish oil has the ability to improve blood circulation along with reducing triglyceride and serum cholesterol levels.

Immunity: It is believed that regular consumption of fish oil aids in increasing your immunity thereby enabling you to resist incidence of common diseases such as cold, cough and flu.

Inflammation: Fish oil has anti inflammatory properties; therefore, it is effective in reducing inflammation in blood and tissues. Regular consumption of fish oil supplements, tablets, pills and capsules is helpful to those suffering from chronic inflammatory diseases. Fish oil is effective in treating gastrointestinal disorders and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) including Crohn’s Disease and ulcerative colitis, which are typical disorders of the intestine.

Arthritis: Fish oil is useful in treating arthritis, rheumatism, Raynaud’s symptoms and similar conditions. Usage of fish oil can help reducing the dosage of NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs). The Royal Adelaide Hospital and University of Newcastle, Australia have reported that large quantities of fish oil have shown positive effect on the treatment of arthritis. In case of osteoarthritis, fish oil can be helpful in reducing the impact of enzymes that destroy cartilages.

Depression and Anxiety: Due to the presence of Omega 3 fatty acids, fish oil is good for relieving depression, sadness, anxiety, restlessness, mental fatigue, stress, decreased sexual desire, suicidal tendencies and other nervous disorders.

Alzheimer’s Disease: Research conducted at the Louisiana State University has shown that fatty acids are effective in treating Alzheimer’s disease The Alzheimer’s Association recommends fish containing higher content of omega three fatty acids to patients as it acts as a protective diet during Alzheimer disease and dementia.

Eye Disorders: It is well known that fish oil is good for its ability to improve vision. It also helps in avoiding age related macular degeneration.

Skin Care: Fish oil helps in improving the condition of poor and dry skin by making it shinny and glowing. It is useful in treating various skin problems such as eczema, psoriasis, itching, redness of skin, skin lesions, and rashes. In case of psoriasis, the EPA present in fish oil restricts the growth of pro-inflammatory agents by producing arachidonic acid.

Hair Care: Fish oil helps maintain a good luster of the hair. Omega three has hair growing properties as it provides nourishment to the follicles. It therefore aids in faster development of hair and preventing hairloss. A good supply of proteins is also necessary for hair growth. Since most fish varieties are rich in protein, eating fish helps in keeping healthy hair.

Pregnancy: Fish oil is very useful for pregnant women as DHA present in it helps in the development of the eyes and brain of the baby. It helps in avoiding premature births, low weight at birth, and miscarriage.

(ADHD) or ADD: Fish oil has the ability to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) due to the high concentration of fatty acids. Research conducted at the University of South Australia and the CSIRO has shown that when children suffering from ADHD were given doses of fish oil for 15 weeks, they showed significant improvement. Since brain consists of about 60% of fats, especially essential fatty acids such as omega 3 and omega 6, fish oil helps in improving the functioning of the brain. Further, it is believed that fish oil is useful in the normal development of the brain. It helps your kids concentrate on their studies better.

The Metabolic Jumpstart

The Metabolic Jumpstart is created by Matt O’Neill, one of Australia’s top Nutritionists and a regular on Channel 7’s Sunrise and Morning Show Programs. He is also the Weight Loss Coach for Men’s Health Magazine (Aust). His trusted advice has helped millions of people enhance their diet, wellbeing and body shape. He has delivered over 1000 media interviews, hundreds of seminars and has presented in 8 countries.

Matt O'Neill

Matt is on a mission- Mission Metabolism – to Jumpstart the nation (and the world) to eat well, be active and maintain a healthy metabolism. Please join in… it’s the Jumpstart we all need! If you’re not on board yet, I encourage you to visit www.metabolicjumpstart.com and quote OXYGEN as your referral code. It’ll be the best $30 you could spend! Oxygen Health & Fitness is privileged to be working with Matt O’Neill as an Official Partner in Mission Metabolism.

Oxygen Health & Fitness

Why do we need it?

Because to truly get amazing results you NEED to combine a balanced exercise program with nutrient rich foods. How many people do you know that exercise all the time and have a fitness program but their shape and figure has barely changed? Conversely, how many people have you met that eat well or have been on this diet or that diet and still aren’t fit and healthy? The people who succeed at being fit, lean and healthy are those that combine both exercise and nutrition. If weight loss is your goal, it is NOT negotiable!

Effort and energy saving devices like remote controls, electric car windows and computer-bound jobs rob us of our calorie burning movement. Junk food fills us with nutrient-poor calories from bad fats, sugar and white, fluffy carbohydrates that don’t even fill you up.

And there’s information overload about health, nutrition and fitness. Eat this one day, drink that the next. Many diet and weight loss programs just add to the confusion, reduce your metabolic rate further and make matters worse. In fact, many so-called weight loss experts are simply lying to you about how your metabolism works.

Which Plan is right for you?

Metabolic Jumpstart is different because your diet plan is metabolically matched for your needs. You choose if you want to lose weight fast, take your time to drop a few kilos, maintain your figure and fitness or bulk up.

Nutrient-rich eating targets show you the correct amount of each food group to eat each day, so you can be confident you are getting all the nutrients to optimise your metabolic function.

You can ‘Mix & Match’ your foods using the simple guide and Ready Reckoner. This gives you the flexibility and know-how to Tune-Up your plan.

I encourage anyone who has questions regarding their nutriton program to add their comments to the bottom of this blog post so we can all learn together. Chances are if you have a question to ask, someone else is thinking the same question? Post your diet and nutriton questions below.

Oxygen Boot Camp Explosion

Early morning boot camps and group fitness are the new wave in fitness.  They are exploding across Australia and the rest of the world for 2 synergistic reasons:

1. Members report getting better results faster than with any other fitness program and;

2. People have fun doing it, explaining why they stick to it and get better results.

Added to this phenomenon are current TV shows like The Biggest Loser, the general time of year with New Year’s Resolutions, and parents having a bit more free time with kids being back at school. Many people now know that Australia’s girth has grown to become the Number 1 most obese nation on the planet. Everyone is so busy and time crunched,  most struggle to fit exercise into their day and when pressed it’s the first thing they drop. But we also know it’s time to do something about it.

When you make fitness the first part of your day, before anything else can interfere, it makes it more achievable to fit it into your day.  And when you add a structured environment of supportive people led by experienced fitness professionals, participants really thrive.

I can’t tell you how many people I have spoken to around town who have mentioned they have seen an ever growing tribe of blue singlets at Hindmarsh Park, Black Beach, The Blowhole, Surf Beach, everywhere in Kiama.  This exposure has been great for us also and the feedback we get is always so positive with comments like “what a great idea being outdoors”, “they all work really hard” and “those fitness fantatics in the park”.

So as a special gift to you and to thank you for your continued support, we want to share the love with you this Valentine’s Day with a 2 for 1 offer. Purchase any Personal Training Package and we’ll gift your loved one with a Package equivalent to half of yours.  Eg, purchase a 24 pack for yourself and we’ll gift your loved one with 12 Personal Training sessions.  Purchase 100, we’ll gift your loved one 50.

Share the love

It’s a special gift for that special person in your life but hurry this offer expires midnight 12th February 2010.  Conditions apply.

Contact Oxygen Health & Fitness on 4233 2963 or email info@oxygenfit.com.au

In the middle of Australia’s Healthy Weight Week we had Australia Day.  For many this represents a great chance to get together with family and friends and celebrate everything great about Australia.

Typically we are blessed with great weather for this day and this year was no different.  A beautiful sunny day meant plenty of people were outside enjoying themselves, swimming, playing games, cooking BBQ’s and having fun.

With that in mind, Oxygen Health & Fitness celebrated this great day in Kiama with an alternative session of fun and fitness games.  Our new Canadian connection of fitness professionals teamed up with some Oxygen members for the Australia v Canada Ultimate Frisbee Championship.  There were some wild throws, crazy catches and plenty of end to end action.  The Aussies, with one player short, were hammered 4 – 1.  But fear not, there was a game we knew we could challenge them with.

So next up, the Frisbee disappeared and the footy came out.  With two Cootamundra touch experts and two great wingers in Richard and Zane, the Aussies got their revenge winning 6 – 1.  Zane finished with a hattrick of tries including a diving effort in the corner right on fulltime.

Go Zane!

Two great games, two different cultures, fun and friendship. It was a great way to start Australia Day where we are proud of our multiculturalism, our outdoor lifestyle and fun loving attitude.

That’s what fitness and exercise HAS to be about.  It has to be fun.  If it’s long, boring and monotonous – it’s not something you can integrate into your lifestyle long term. If you’re not exercising long term, it’s hard to gain any of the wonderful benefits attributed to improved health and fitness.  This is even more so the case with kids fitness.

Young Zane is a great example.  He first started coming along to Oxygen because his Mum is a Member.  Now Zane is dragging Mum along to sessions because he enjoys it so much.  If kids enjoy what they’re doing they forget they’re exercising in the first place because they’re ultimately just having FUN.

Oxygen Kidz is coming soon to Kiama and with the volume of enquiries we’ve received it’s going to be a sell out!  If your kids need to get out of the house, learn some new skills, make new friends or even excel to the next level in their chosen sport, REGISTER your interest today for Oxygen Kids Fitness and put your family on the path to a lifetime of health and fitness.  It’s a skill and habit they need for life and just remember this stat:  80% overweight kids become obese adults.

It’s a special promotion we’ll be running once or twice a year and it’s a great time for everyone to be thankful for the friends and family in their life. What better way to thank them than to give them the gift of health and fitness?

Famous friends

It sure does help though that there’s some nice little rewards for you too. For  more details on our Referral Rewards click here. For this special promotion though, there are EXTRA rewards for you. If you’re a PT client, you’ll get an extra session for every time one of your friends trains with us. For Group Training Clients, you’ll get 4 weeks group training FREE plus the usual Referral Reward for every Member that joins. For example, your friend Joe Bloggs comes along and joins up on our Unlimited Group Training for $99 every 4 weeks. You will get 4 weeks free Group Training PLUS $100 Cash Referral Reward! It’s WIN/WIN all the way around for everyone!

But hurry, they must sign up in January 2010. Offer expires 1st February 2010.

There’s one special friend I want to quickly mention and how they impact on my life. She’s the funniest person I know and the funnest to hang out with. She’s hard working, independent and strong willed. She’s a crucial member of this business and makes my life a hell of a lot easier by getting more of the important things done to continue moving forward. I’m so thankful to have her in my life and this Saturday it’s her Birthday!  Don’t forget to wish Cass a Happy 21st Birthday at Boxing on Saturday.

Back on the topic of your friends, keep bringing them in. They have the rest of January to come and sample our services so keep at them, drag them along and enjoy some training sessions together. They WILL thank you for it, and they’ll have some fun in the process.

Finally on the topic of fun, please note the change to our schedule for next Tuesday 26th January, Australia Day. We have only ONE session on for the day, at the sleep in time of 8am. This session will be approximately 1 hour and will focus on having a bit of fun whilst still being active in the great outdoors. We’ll have frisbee games, touch footy, soccer and even some modified handball and netball type games that will cater to all skill levels. Bring the family and kids along and help celebrate how lucky we are to live in Australia. Later in the day at Hindmarsh Park, there is an Evening Concert hosted by Kiama Council with musicians, dancers and other entertainment. The festivities will run from 5pm-8pm so bring a picnic rug and check it out.

On the topic of Referral Rewards, Oxygen member Kylie Starling used her Gift-a-Friend Voucher from last month’s newsletter to introduce her friend Kerry Philp.  Kerry utilised her FREE trial week, joined up as a member and then as a reward Kylie was gifted with a $40 Fruit & Veg delivery from Naturally Fresh.  Thanks Kylie!!

Check out the Referral Rewards page right now because the latest news is that next week is Bring a Friend Fortnight at Oxygen (January 18-30).  For all you Personal Training clients, that means FREE Personal Training sessions for YOU for every session one of your friends completes in the fortnight.  If they join up as well, YOU get even more rewards.

For all our Group Training clients, refer 3 friends that sign up in the fortnight and YOU get an entire month of Group Training FREE!  Refer 6 friends that join and that’s 2 months of Group Training FREE.  It’s WIN/WIN all around!

Be sure to also check our Business Associates page to see all the greatest deals from local Kiama businesses and exclusive bonuses and discounts for Oxygen Members.  Your Membership Cards are now ready and will be posted to you tomorrow.  Present your card at participating businesses to receive your bonus or discount and help keep the local economy going strong. If you would like to nominate your business as an Associate and you can offer Members a good incentive to utilise your product or service contact us at 4233 2963 or email info@oxygenfit.com.au

I’m pleased to say though, that members of Oxygen Health & Fitness are leading the way for the Kiama Municipality.

Despite the infamous Xmas break known for excess weight gain, several members have been able to not only avoid the Xmas calories but lose weight and improve their fitness.  Due to the monthly Fitness Age Testing held at Oxygen, members have been able to track their progress, keep themselves accountable and work towards their goals.  We’ve seen improvements in strength and flexibility by up to 50% and as much as 4 kg weight losses in 4 weeks.  Great stuff guys, keep it up!

My own personal resolutions have been to do 3-4 strength training workouts a week, stick to my weekly menu which means eating healthy nutritious food every 3 hours and better management of my time.

It’s amazing how much you can accomplish in a day if you just take a little time the night before to plan out your day.

Each Saturday we do our weekly grocery shop (carrying our Oxygen grocery bags of course!) so that our fridge and cupboards are stocked for the week ahead.  When you are organised in this regard, you have nutritious healthy food ready to go and I often tell my Personal Training clients that “nutrition is the foundation of all health and fitness”.  It gives you the energy you need to get through life’s daily tasks; it affects your mood and helps your body repair itself from the physiological effects of exercise.

If you need help organising your diet and nutrition click here for a 30 day Metabolic Jumpstart from one of Australia’s leading nutritionist.  It’ll be the best $30 you could spend this year and will have you on track to achieve all your goals in 2010 (Don’t forget to quote OXYGEN as your referral code).

Whatever your long term goal, break it down it into smaller short term goals to increase your chances of success and help maintain motivation.  Compile a list of tasks to do each week and tick them off on your way to success.

If you can honestly tick off all your weekly tasks, you’ll be on track for your short term goals.  If you continue to achieve your short term goals you WILL achieve success in the long term.

Who knows, you might even WIN member of the month for a particular Kiama Fitness group!

Training is underway again for both Group Training classes as well as Personal Training sessions and we are very excited about the year ahead. If you received our Newsletter in the mail at Xmas time don’t forget to utilise the Bring a Friend Gift Certificate before it expires 31st January. What a perfect way to get your friends started on a health & fitness program.

Most of our clients know of our Trainer Alix Henniker.  Alix is a multi talented young woman who amongst juggling a career as a Personal Trainer and Solicitor, has now qualified for training to become a Police Prosecutor.  Along with this Alix has been selected to appear in the upcoming TV series “The Recruits” which sees rookies entering the Police Academy in Goulburn.

Alix Henniker - The Recruit

The Recruits Production Manager has requested to film Alix at work doing what she does best for Oxygen.  So, with that in mind we have decided to put on a BONUS workout this Friday at 5:30pm – 6pm as our New Year gift to you.  It’s a good chance to get an extra session to start your year and you may even get your mug on TV!

It would be a huge favour to Alix and some great publicity for Oxygen if we could get as many people as possible for the session.  Members, non members, wives, husbands, friends, whoever – if they have any interest in doing a good deed and kickstarting their health and fitness for 2010 then please email or call us asap (4233 2963) to confirm your spot.

There has been a slight tweak to our Group Training Timetable this year with a re-arrangement of 6pm sessions and also the addition of a CORE class for our 6am Bootcampers.  Keep an eye out for additional classes being added at 7:30am for our Heart Health crew, 9:30am for the Mums and Shiftworkers and also afternoon classes for the Kids.  We’ll have Oxygen shirts running around all day long by the end of the year.

Just on that note, be sure to add your comments at the bottom of this blog post for anything you’d like to see added to our schedule for 2010 (be that timeslots, class types etc).

As for Week 1, we have seen some good numbers in attendance.  With a few people still on holidays and a tonne of people with New Year’s Resolutions to be fit, health and lose weight, January and February should mean busy times ahead.

On the topic of resolutions and being fit, did you know there are 5 key components to a successful exercise program?  One of those important steps is to assess where you are at right now.  It’s one thing to know where you want to go but if you don’t know where you are right now how can you measure your improvements?  Oxygen has the answer…

Fitness Age testing takes girth measurements all over your body – weight, strength testing, abdominal endurance, cardiovascular and flexibility assessments and calculates your Body Age, Strength Age, Cardio Age, Flexibility Age as well as an overall Fitness Age.  Oxygen conducts Group Fitness Age testing on the first Saturday of every month at 6:30am before Boxing.

For those of you who have already done Fitness Age testing before, you need to reassess to see if you have improved.  For those who have never completed Fitness Age testing, I highly recommend you participate.  It’s that perfect time of year to record your assessment so that you have a roadmap for where you need to get to in terms of fitness and health in 2010.

Good luck, train hard and may all your wishes come true in 2010.

Regards,

Dave Lambert

P.S – Don’t forget to leave your comments below to tell us what you’d like to see from Oxygen in 2010.  You may even want to publicly declare your health and fitness goals via this blog to keep yourself accountable.  Don’t laugh about it, it works!

Serves 6

Low Fat Kofta Curry

Prep: 15 mins

Cooking: 30 mins

500g lean beef mince

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 tsp grated fresh ginger

1 tsp ground chilli

1 tsp garam masala

2 onions, diced

4 Tbs korma curry paste

1 Tbs sunflower oil

200ml beef stock

400g can crushed tomatoes

175ml low-fat evaporated milk

2 Tbs lemon juice

½ cup frozen peas

Steamed rice, to serve

Chopped fresh coriander to garnish

1. Combine beef, garlic, ginger, chilli, garam masala, half the onion and 1 Tbs curry paste. Season with salt and pepper, then form into walnut sized balls. Heat oil in a non-stick frypan over medium heat, add kofta balls and cook in batches until lightly browned. Transfer to a plate.
2. Add remaining onion to pan and cook over very low heat until soft and lightly golden. Add remaining curry paste, stock and tomatoes and cook over medium heat, stirring, for 5 minutes.
3. Add milk and lemon juice. Return the kofta to the pan and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. Add peas and cook for 2 minutes.
4. Serve with rice and garnish with fresh coriander.

The Gourmet Saint