I met with Keith today who is going to be the lead instructor for the Balance Running Club.  Keith was in with his level 2 Althletics Coaching details and we finalised the plans for the running club.

This is due to be launched on 2nd and 4th March and will cost just £2.50 per session to take part.  The sessions will last just over 1 hour under the watchful eye of Keith, be prepared to learn that there is more to running than meets the eye.  Keith is a former Balance member (this is forgiven as he continues to spend his time spreading the gospel of physical activity to others!), keen runner and passionate about helping other to acheive and enjoy with their running.

All that is left to do is to sort out some tabbards to wear whilst out and about running and get our booking sheets.  I hope many of your will take advantage of this and set yourselves some new goals

The Grappler comes to Balance Health Clubs!

Thanks to Will at future 4 fitness we have the grappler at Balance for the next two weeks on loan.  It has surprised quite a few members as you start off thinking it is easy then after about 30 seconds realising it is not!  Billed as the treadmill for the upper body, however it is the seated downward pulling moton that allows for an injury free workout, making it ideal for those making exercise a part of their recovery from injury or illness. The beauty of the downward pulling motionn is that your grip will break before muscles are damaged, meaning that it is impossible to injure yourself.

Click here for a review of the grappler

Watched an interesting programme on line last night thanks to BBC iplayer “Why are thin people not fat”.  Click on the link below to take you there.

The basis of the programme was to take a group of those anoying people who can eat what they want without putting weight on (unlike most of us!) and subjected them to a 5000 calorie per day diet.  The interesting thing was how difficult it was to eat that many calories bearing in mind that an adult male should eat about half of this per day.  They were also banned from exercising and limited to 5000 steps per day.

The not unsurprising result was that they all gained weight however some less than others.  The interesting thing for Balance members were that some of the subjects were in fact exercisers, so they found it hard to do nothing; also that a good level of lean muscle mass raised the basal metabolic rate (the amount of energy expended at rest) and therefore helped them maintain a stable weight.

Its time to tone up – speak to a member of the gym team about a review and include some resistance training – female members need not worry about becoming “muscular” you need testosterone for that!

Click here to watch the programme in full

We had the privilage of watching the Kettering Town game against Fulham on Saturday.  It was great to see the Balance Health Club banner up on the side of the pitch.  Shame about the result.  We allow the team to train at the Club from time to time, its great to get some professional sports people amoungst us and a real bunch of nice guys, after all we are a local Club and we should support the local community when we can.

These days, ‘modern life’ can mean that we’re a lot less active. With so many opportunities to watch TV or play computer games, and with so much convenience and fast food available, we don’t move about as much, or eat as well as we used to. Which means that 9 out of 10 kids today could grow up with dangerous amounts of fat in their bodies. This can cause life-threatening diseases like cancer, type 2 diabetes and heart disease – so it’s really important that we do something about it.

You’ve taken the first step towards getting your kids eating well, moving more and living longer just by being here – so welcome to Change4Life!

Who needs Change4Life?

We all know it can be hard these days to live a happy, healthy life but Change4Life can help. After all, none of us are perfect. The way we live in modern society means a lot of us, especially our kids, have fallen into unhealthy habits. Even the best of us can make small changes.

Why should I join Change4Life?

Would you like loads of ideas and help to give your family a happier, healthier future? Then you already know why you should join Change4Life. As part of Change4Life, you will receive tons of helpful information, games, tools, tips and a free welcome pack. You can also search for what is happening in your local community. We’ll update the site all the time so don’t miss out – come back and see us regularly.

Where will I find Change4Life?

In a word – everywhere! Making a Change4Life is really important, so we’re going to be talking to you through your telly, your radio, your parks, your local halls, your supermarkets, in your children’s schools and, with any luck, in your home too. And that’s just for starters!