Category: Gym News
At Alive, we have top of the range Nautilus Training Equipment. Here are some principles for its use:
Intensity: The higher the intensity the better the muscles are stimulated. Performing a Nautilus exercise to the point of momentary muscular failure assures that you’ve trained to maximum intensity. Muscular failure occurs when no additional repetitions are possible. As with any weight lifting it is the last few reps that count because the intensity is high.
Progression: The cornerstone of Nautilus Training is progression. Experience hads shown that at least 8 reps and mot more than 12 should be performed. If you cannot do 8 reps the weight is too heavy; over 12 then the weight is not heavy enough.
Form: Form refers to the speed and range of movement and is very important to your Nautilus Training Program. When repetitions are performed in a slow smooth manner steady force is applied throughout the entire movement. The range of movement of each repetition fromfull extension to full flexion – should be as complete as possible. To contract fully a muscle must always work through a full range of movement.
The Negative: In normal positive – negative exercise perfromed on Nautilus equipment you should always concentrate on the lowering – negative – part of the movement. If it takes two seconds to lift a weight smoothly it should take four seconds to lower it.
Duration: If each Nautilus exercise is done properly in a high intensity fashion brief workouts must be the rule. If high intensity work is followed by an adequate period of rest muscular growth and an increase in strength will result. Intensive work however must not be overdone. The advanced athletes must reduce their overall Nautilus exercise from 12 to 10 and train at high intensity only twice a week for instance Monday they might train hard, on wednesday less strenuous and on friday hard again. The wenesday workout does not stimulat growth but prevents muscle atrophy.
When Training With Nautilus…
1. Perform one set of 4-6 exercises for the lower body and 6-8 exercises for the upper body and not more than 12 exercises in a workout.
2. Select a weight for each exercise that allows you to do between 8 and 12 reps.
3. Continue each exercise until no additional reps are possible. When 12 or more reps are performed increase the weight.
4. Work the largest muscles first and move swiftly from one exercise to the next. This procedure developes cardiovascular endurance.
5. Concentrate on flexibility by slowly stretching during the first three repetitions of each exercise.
6. Accentuate the lowering portion of each rep.
7. Move slower never faster, if in doubt about the speed of movement.
8. Do everything possible to isolate and work each large muscle group to exhaustion.
9. Attempt to constantly increase the number of reps or the amount of weight, or both. But do not sacrifice form in an attempt to produce results.
10. Train no more than 3x a week on Nautilus. You can do a ‘light’ cardiovascular sessions on none weight bearing days .
11. Keep accurate records of your training; dates resistance and reps.
12. Vary your workouts
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Circuits
Hit that plateau? Try a circuit for the next two weeks. Instead of doing a set, resting, and then doing your second set move on to multiple exercises in a circuit, so that you don’t rest between exercises but do rest each muscle group. This will give you a good cardio workout while you do your strength training.
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Limit your workouts
Though the tendency of some people who really want to get a lot out of their workouts is to spend a lot of time at the gym, the truth is that after 30 or 40 minutes, the benefit isn’t as great. To go that long, you’d have to lower the intensity of the workout, and that means that you’re spending too much time working out. It’s better to work out at a higher intensity for a shorter amount of time.
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High-intensity workouts
If you’re just starting out with exercise, it’s best to take it slow. If you’re running or cycling, for example, build up your endurance for at least a month before you get into anything more intense. That means going at a rate where you can easily talk without being out of breath. However, once you have that base of endurance, step up the intensity to step up the effectiveness of the workout. |
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Pick a cardio exercise you enjoy
It’s no fun to exercise if you hate it. And you won’t keep it up for very long. Pick something that you enjoy; the treadmill for jogging or hill walking, cycling or spinning for a more intense and instructed workout. Rowing and the stairmaster excellent for legs and glutes and the cross trainer for an all over non-impact workout. After the initial phase when you’re getting used to exercise, you’ll start to have a blast and look forward to it.
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Muscle Building
Slow lifting: Many people contract their muscles slowly and then release more quickly. But if you lift slowly in both directions, you are maximizing each move. Lift and lower to a 5-second count in each direction.
Heavier weight: When you’re starting out, it’s best to start with lower weights so you can focus on good form. But once you’ve gotten your form down, it’s best to lift the heaviest weights you can lift while still keeping good form. Don’t sacrifice form for heavy weights — that is ineffective.
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Compound exercises
Try maximizing the time you spend in a workout by doing exercises that work out multiple muscle groups at once. With just a few exercises, you could get a full-body workout. Another benefit is that your muscles are working together functionally as they do in the real world, rather than alone. Some great compound exercises include squats, dead-lifts, good mornings, lunges, push-ups, bench presses, military presses, rows, pull-ups, dips, and more. |
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If you would like to read the September newsletter, then please click here
We are extremely pleased to be offering Student Card UK members no joining fee (a saving of £20) when they sign up for one of our memberships! We offer great student prices already, so get in touch to see how much you could save!
Details of the offer on Student Card UK’s website are here: http://www.thestudentcarduk.com/brighton-and-hove
 Joseph from Alive's sales team, cycling for charity Rockinghorse On Thursday 7th June & Friday 8th June, Joseph from our sales team took part in a 24 hour endurance cycle to help raise vital funds for Rockinghorse.
The money raised will go towards an incubator for premature babies being treated in the Trevor Mann Baby unit in Brighton.
The team travelled a distance of 1,415 miles in the 24 hours and so far have raised £1,100 the target the team hope to raise is £1500.
You can still donate money to this fantastic cause by texting ROCK18 to 70070 or by visiting http://www.justgiving.com/Ryan-Cool
 - One of our Personal Trainers, Neil, manning the Alive stand with his trademark smile!
On Bank Holiday Monday 4th June, the Alive Team joined in with the fun and activities of the Hove Lions Carnival at Hove Park. Thousands of local people attended the event, and luckily the heavens didn’t open up to drench us all! We had a great time meeting local people and telling them all about Alive; many people were drawn to our stall by some fun posters designed by Joseph from our sales team, which put Alive’s own spin on spreading the news about our classes!
Truly “keeping it in the family”, we had Kate, the sister of our lovely receptionist Bryony, come down to do some wonderful face-painting for the children, and several mums and dads were surprised to hear we have a crèche!
Throughout the day, there were a host of attractions in the main arena, including a fitness demonstration from one of our competitors, dog shows and a bird of prey display! To end the day, our very own Barry Randall took to the stage and got the crowd engaged in a fun and uplifting Zumba demonstration.
As always with Alive, fun was had by all … we can’t wait for next year!
 Personal Training Benefits
The benefits of exercise are widely documented and using the gym is a great way of enjoying them. Whether you are coming to the gym to improve your fitness, change your body shape, improve your energy or relieve some of the stress of modern life. Personal training at Alive can make that experience more effective for you!
Using a personal trainer is a great way of helping you achieve your goals safely and effectively. At Alive we have a team of highly experienced personal trainers available to support you in getting the most out of your time in the gym.
Our trainers offer a free consultation to find out about you so you can work together in a relaxed environment to discuss your goals and come up with a challenging realistic plan on how to achieve them whatever your current fitness level. There is a wealth of conflicting information out there and ours trainers can work with you to tailor your training to suit your individual needs in an enjoyable and effective way. We believe that if you are enjoying your exercise you will put more in and get more out of it!
Why not work with one of our personal trainers to get more from your gym sessions PLUS mention this newsletter and receive £5 off your first session! You can approach Toby, Matt or Jenny directly or ask at Reception for more information.
By Matt Dunn
 Well we are exhausted but elated after an amazingly successful first ‘Charity Classathon’ at Alive Fitness and Natural Health last Sunday 5th February. The turnout was absolutely fantastic, far exceeding our tentative hopes (particularly after seeing the weather forecast the night before)
Twenty people braved the snow and arrived at 9am fully clad in legwarmers and sweatbands for Zumba! Barry ‘Snake Hips’ Randall taught a simply brilliant class. We all laughed and sweated a lot. Jeff Scott then taught spinning with some brave souls getting straight onto their bikes from Zumba. Matt Dunn Allen yoga class came next with again twenty people packing out the studio. A much needed stretch was had by all!
 Matt Dunn then taught a super high energy Boxercise, again to a packed out studio of nearly twenty people, amazing! Some then stayed on and were joined by more to make over twenty for Jenny Dunn’s kettlebell class. Lots of swinging, pressing, lunging and laughing ensued. Finally Jenny Dunn then taught Core Stability to a smaller crowd, stretching and relaxing into the end of the event.
We were then joined by Local Green Councillor Phelim McCafferty. He kindly came along to support us and make a donation.
Throughout the day a delicious range of cakes lovingly made by Jenny Dunn and members Anthony Boon, Diane Palmer and Laura Pavey were on sale. Raffle tickets have also been sold up until the draw on Sunday 12th February. Everyone has been incredibly generous with their donations, we are really overwhelmed. The total was just over £1000.
The final figure will be announced on Sunday 12th February. This total will be split equally between Compassion in World Farming and Rockinghorse Children’s Charity.
We did a charity raffle and the following people won…
- David Adams – 10 free classes
- Hannah Whiley – OMG spray tan with LauraLashes
- John Owen – Reiki / Reflexology with LauraLashes
- Mandy Jackson – Free PT with Jenny
- Tad Osbourne – Free PT with Matt
- Chris Bailey – Free PT with Toby
The club was absolutely buzzing on Sunday, such a brilliant atmosphere, everyone worked really hard but also had such a great time. There was such a great turnout and we have received wonderful feedback from members and those who came along to support. We will definitely be running another charity event sometime this year, watch this space…….
We were amazing at the response and are totally grateful to everyone who took part on the day… we had mucho fun and laughs which you can see on our youtube channel
Huge THANK YOU to Jenny Dunn for making this such a huge success and for everyone who took part 
 Child friendly Brighton
Alive is lucky enough to have its own creche on the premises which allows you to enjoy a workout, class or relaxing massage safe in the knowledge that your child is happy and being cared for in the same building. Sometimes though you need some more ideas to keep the children entertained which is why we are very excited to be working with Child friendly Brighton and Hove, a fantastic website which provides comprehensive and up-to-date listings for a wide range of child friendly things to do, places to visit, places to eat and drink, activities, places to stay and fun days out in Brighton and Hove. If you need some fresh ideas on what to do with your children today in Brighton and Hove, then this is the site for you.
Find out what’s on for kids in Brighton today by checking the current and upcoming events page for a great range of events for children, special activities and child friendly festivals coming to our area soon. The website is updated frequently (at least every week, sometimes on a daily basis), to keep the content accurate and current!
YouTube
Alive have moved with the times and will be uploading videos with ‘trainers tips’, classes, events and much much more…
We have a first ever video of the wonderful Jenny Dunn (Wonder Woman) give an all important tip of her brand NEW Kettlebell Class… so go and check it out.
We would also like to invite some of our amazing members to give a little testimonal about their experience at alive… so if you are open to that please see Stephane at Reception and he wil organise a time and place with you.
Register for updates here or click on the photo above. Thank you
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Fitness Advice, Gym News, Suggestions, Workouts | admin | 
January 24, 2013 10:40 am | 
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