Cardiorespiratory Exercise

 1. A gym is not designed to make you feel instantly better about yourself. If a gym wanted to make you feel instantly better about yourself, it would be a bar.

2. Give yourself [...]]]> Thinking about joining a gym. Here are some (very tongue in cheek) rules and advice we found and thought we’d share with you.

 1. A gym is not designed to make you feel instantly better about yourself. If a gym wanted to make you feel instantly better about yourself, it would be a bar.

2. Give yourself a goal. Maybe you want to lose 10 pounds. Maybe you want to quarterback the New York Jets into the playoffs. But be warned: Losing 10 pounds is hard.

3. Develop a gym routine. Try to go at least three times a week. Do a mix of strength training and cardiovascular conditioning. After the third week, stop carrying around that satchel of fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies.

4. No one in the history of gyms has ever lost a pound while reading “The New Yorker” and slowly pedaling a recumbent bicycle. No one.

5. Bring your iPod. Don’t borrow the disgusting gym headphones, or use the sad plastic radio attachment on the treadmill, which always sounds like it’s playing Kenny Loggins from a sewer.

6. Don’t fall for gimmicks. The only tried-and-true method to lose 10 pounds in 48 hours is food poisoning.

7. Yes, every gym has an overenthusiastic spinning instructor who hasn’t bought a record since “Walking on Sunshine.”

8. There’s also the Strange Guy Who is Always at the Gym. Just when you think he isn’t here today…there he is, lurking by the barbells.

9. ”Great job!” is trainer-speak for “It’s not polite for me to laugh at you.”

10. Beware a hip gym with a Wilco step class.

11. Gyms have two types of members: Members who wipe down the machines after using them, and the worst people in the universe.

12. Nope, that’s not a “recovery energy bar with antioxidant dark chocolate.” That’s a chocolate bar.

13. Avoid Unsolicited Advice Guy, who, for the small fee of boring you to death, will explain the proper method for any exercise in 45 minutes or longer.

14. You can take 10 Minute Abs, 20 Minute Abs, and 30 Minute Abs. There is also Stop Eating Pizza and Eating Sheet Cake Abs—but that’s super tough!

15. If you’re motivated to buy an expensive home exercise machine, consider a “wooden coat rack.” It costs $40, uses no electricity and does the exact same thing.

16. There’s the yoga instructor everyone loves, and the yoga instructor everyone hates. Memorize who they are.

17. If you see an indoor rock climbing wall, you’re either in a really cool gym or a romantic comedy starring Kate Hudson.

18. Be cautious about any class with the words “sunrise,” “hell,” or “Moby.”

19. If a gym class is going to be effective, it’s hard. If you’re relaxed and enjoying yourself, you’re at brunch.

20. If you need to bring your children, just let them loose in the silent meditation class. Nobody minds, and kids love candles.

21. Don’t buy $150 sneakers, $100 yoga pants, and $4 water. Muscle shirts are for people with muscles, and rhythm guitarists.

22. Fancy gyms can be seductive, but once you get past the modern couches and fresh flowers and the water with lemon slices, you’re basically paying for a boutique hotel with B.O.

23. Everyone sees you secretly racing the old people in the pool.

24. If you’re at the point where you’ve bought biking shoes for the spinning class, you may as well go ahead and buy an actual bike. It’s way more fun and it doesn’t make you listen to C+C Music Factory.

25. Fact: Thinking about going to the gym burns between 0 and 0 calories.

26. A successful gym membership is like a marriage: If it’s good, you show up committed and ready for hard work. If it’s not good, you show up in sweatpants and watch a lot of bad TV.

27. There is no secret. Exercise and lay off the fries. The end.

Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203471004577140900388728374.html?mod=wsj_share_tweet

If you want some real fitness advice, Park View Fitness are here to help. We are Surrey and South West London’s premier Pilates and Personal Training company. Visit us for more info.

Areas we cover include Sutton (where are Pilates studio is based), Croydon, Purley, Wallington, Carshalton, Banstead, Epsom, Cheam, Ewell, Epsom, Morden, Ashtead, Oxted, Twickenham, Kingston, Surbiton, Tolworth, Stoneleigh, Chessington, Raynes Park, Wimbledon and Kingswood.

The classes will be held every Tuesday at Laleham Lea Primary School, 29 Peaks Hill, Purley, Surrey CR8 3JJ. The timetable is as follows…

Pilates – mixed ability – 5.15pm. £7 per [...]]]> PARK VIEW FITNESS, Surrey and South West London’s premier Pilates and Personal Training company, launches Pilates classes in Purley this coming Tuesday (3  January 2012).

The classes will be held every Tuesday at Laleham Lea Primary School, 29 Peaks Hill, Purley, Surrey CR8 3JJ. The timetable is as follows…

Pilates – mixed ability – 5.15pm. £7 per class or £60 for a block of ten. Pre-booking is recommended to confirm your place, but if there are spaces we will welcome drop-ins.

Beginners Pilates – 6.30pm. Six-week course – £70. Next course startsTuesday 3^rd January. Pre-booking essential – maximum of 12 people per class. Strengthen your core and master the breathing techniques and posture of Pilates in small, intimate classes. Further beginners courses will be added. Contact us for more info.

Pilates for Legs, Bums & Tums – get a bottom like Pippa Middleton!  7.45pm – £7 per class or £60 for a block of ten. Pre-booking is recommended to confirm your place, but if there are spaces we will welcome drop-ins.

Please call us on 020 8274 1572 to book, or email info@parkviewfitness.co.uk

We are looking to install PayPal onto our website soon, but in the meantime payment by cash, cheque or bank transfer is fine. Please contact us to discuss the options.

* Set yourself realistic goals. You may want to lose half your body weight in a month but that isn’t realistic (or safe).  Nor is going to the gym every waking hour when you [...]]]> Starting a new exercise plan in 2012? Here are fitness expert Lorraine Thurlow’s tips to help you stick with it!

* Set yourself realistic goals. You may want to lose half your body weight in a month but that isn’t realistic (or safe).  Nor is going to the gym every waking hour when you haven’t exercised in years. Give yourself goals that are actually achievable, otherwise you’ll soon get disheartened and give up.

* Set yourself short, medium and long-term goals. Your short-term goal could be something as simple as going to the gym/exercising twice a week. You could have ‘rewards’ whenever you achieve a goal (although preferably not something that will undo all of your good work).

* Don’t push yourself too hard. Yes, make sure you give an exercise session your all and always challenge yourself – but not to the extent where you risk injury. Lots of people overdo it when they start a fitness programme, end up hurting themselves and are unable to exercise for a while. When you have a break from exercising, it can be hard to get back into the swing of wanting to go. Even seasoned gym bunnies can fall out of love with exercising when they take an enforced break.

* Do exercise that you find fun. If you hate the gym, going there will feel like a chore – and we all avoid chores, don’t we?! There are lots of forms of exercise that don’t go anywhere near a treadmill or weight machine, eg dancing, fencing, circus skills, wall climbing, golf, gardening – even housework can help burn off some calories (which is great for any Monica from Friends-types). And of course there’s Zumba, which sells itself as ‘exercise in disguise’.

* Exercise as part of a group. Many people like the camaraderie of taking part in group classes, whether in a gym studio or an outdoor bootcamp. Or you could arrange an exercise group with some friends – perhaps agree times to go to the gym/classes together or set evenings where you will congregate at one or your homes to follow an exercise DVD. You could even hire a fitness instructor to give you and your friends private group classes.

* Keep your sessions varied. If you do the same exercise programme over and over, you’ll soon get bored. Vary your gym programme, or have a selection of fitness DVDs so things stay fresh and interesting. And don’t be afraid to try new machines/classes at your gym – you might find one that you love so much you can’t stay away!

* Hire a personal trainer. If you lack the motivation to exercise, having somebody there to support you can be a huge help. And when you have a programme tailor made to your requirements, you will see the results much quicker – and the more results you see, the more motivated you will become. If cost is an issue, you could train with one or more friends to reduce the amount each of you pay.

* Exercise at work. Perhaps you could start a running club with some of your colleagues. If your workplace has a room that can be used to exercise in, talk to your HR manager/boss about getting an instructor/instructors in during lunchtimes. If you’re already at the place where the exercise will be happening, you have no excuses to avoid it!

* Have back-up plans if you can’t take part in your regular exercise sessions. If you can’t make it to an exercise session, have a DVD/exercise programme that you can follow at home.

* Make exercise part of your daily life. That doesn’t mean going to the gym every day, but things such as taking the stairs rather than the lift. Get into the habit of walking/cycling to work. Or if you rely on public transport perhaps you could get off the bus a couple of stops early and walk the rest of the way. Ditch the car for short journeys and rely on your feet, bike… or inline skates. If you’re vacuuming, really throw yourself into it – you could even dance while pushing the vac around!

Lorraine is founder of Park View Fitness, Surrey and South West London’s premier Pilates and Personal Training company. Specialising in fitness for health and wellbeing, they offer open classes, 1-2-1 sessions and private group classes (at their Sutton-based studio, at your workplace, or in the comfort of your own home). Visit Park View Fitness for more information.

There is a six-week beginners course, where you will be able to learn the fundamentals of Pilates, and Park View Fitness’s unique Pilates for Legs, Bums & Tums classes – so you can try the exercises used by Pippa Middleton to sculpt [...]]]> Park View Fitness is launching new Pilates classes in Surrey in January 2012.

There is a six-week beginners course, where you will be able to learn the fundamentals of Pilates, and Park View Fitness’s unique Pilates for Legs, Bums & Tums classes – so you can try the exercises used by Pippa Middleton to sculpt her famous bottom!

The beginners course is for a maximum of 12 people, so you will be able to master the correct breathing techniques and postures of Pilates in a small class, where the instructor is able to get around and correct everybody. In larger classes, beginners are often overlooked and are never able to learn the correct techniques and/or posture. And in Pilates, technique and posture are key!

The Pilates for LBT classes work the core, like all Pilates classes, but all of the exercises are specifically chosen and created to target those troublesome areas, namely the legs, butt and stomach.

Both the beginners course and Pilates for LBT start on Tuesday 3rd January at Laleham Lea School in Purley, Surrey – easy distance from Sutton, Croydon, Caterham, Chipstead, Banstead, Wallington, Carshalton and Hackbridge.

For prices and more information, visit ParkViewFitness.co.uk/classes

We will be adding further beginners courses, Pilates for Legs, Bum & Tums and mixed ability Pilates classes in other parts of Surrey and South West London in the New Year. Please keep visiting Park View Fitness for more info.

We also offer one-to-one Pilates sessions and small, private Pilates classes, either at our Sutton based studio or in the comfort of your own home. Please visit Park View Fitness for more info.

Park View Fitness is launching a beginners Pilates course, and Pilates for Legs, Bums & Tums, in [...]]]>

Have you made your New Years Resolutions? Want to get fit? Sort out that back pain? Get a core of steel? Get flat abs? Get a six pack? Have a bottom like Pippa Middleton? Tone up your legs?

Park View Fitness is launching a beginners Pilates course, and Pilates for Legs, Bums & Tums, in Purley, Surrey – starting Tuesday 3rd January 2012. All classes are held at Laleham Lea Primary School, 29 Peaks Hill, Purley, Surrey CR8 3JJ.

Class and course details are below.

Tuesday night Pilates classes – starting Tuesday 3^rd January 2012.

Classes held at Laleham Lea Primary School, Laleham Lea Primary School, 29 Peaks Hill, Purley, Surrey CR8 3JJ.  Plenty of free on-street parking. Please bring a mat or a towel – all other equipment will be provided.

Beginners Pilates – 6.30pm. Six-week course – £70. Next course startsTuesday 3^rd January. Pre-booking essential – maximum of 12 people per class.Strengthen your core and master the breathing techniques and posture of Pilates in small, intimate classes.

Pilates for Legs, Bums & Tums – get a bottom like Pippa Middleton!             5.15pm and 7.45pm – £7 per class

Please vist http://www.ParkViewFitness.co.uk call us on 020 8274 1572 or email info@parkviewfitness.co.uk

More classes and venues to be added in the other areas we cover, including Sutton and Banstead. Please keep checking back for details.

We also offer one-t0-one Pilates and Personal training sessions, and small private group Pilates classes at our Sutton-based studio. A one-hour class for 3-6 people is £70 (or £90 for 90mins). Daytime, evening and weekend sessions available. Please call the studio on 020 8274 1572 for more details.