Fitness

Name: Niamh McGuirk Lubbe
Title: National Group Fitness Manager
Company name: Planet Fitness

1. In terms of toning and firming, what are the most common problem areas for women?
The most common problem areas our female members speak of, tend to be thighs, butt, tummy and upper arms.

2. Why are these areas so hard to tone?
Everybody is different! While problem areas can be genetic, with preparation, discipline and hard work, we can get the body we want.

Generally women struggle to shape and tone because they eat the wrong things at the wrong time, go to the gym and do exercises they like, rather than a program specifically designed to suit their goals. Quite often, women are fooled into thinking ‘if they lift weights, they build muscle’. This is a HUGE barrier. Women who weight train, gain muscle mass not size. By gaining muscle mass, you are increasing your metabolic rate therefore burning more calories. The end result is a fit, toned body. You can say goodbye to problem areas. more »

Six week program
By Lee Boyce & Jon-Erik Kawamoto

With nice weather often comes more outdoor training. For many, this can’t be complete without some solid cardio to supplement a good lifting program. The search for the best cardio method begins. more »

How to pack on size for great guns
By Ray Wetterlund III CSCS, MLSN
Photos By Arsenik Studios Inc. | Model: Joe Donnelly

It’s not shocking that most men work on their beach muscles over anything else. The upper body often becomes a primary focus because these muscles are easier to notice in the mirror (chest, biceps, triceps and abs). Unfortunately, this means that lots of guys are spending less time on their back and legs. It’s all about balance and in order to grow your chest, arms and wings; you need to train your legs and you have to pay attention to everything you’re doing. But for now we are talking biceps, baby! more »

Get your Black Tag membership today to receive top tier benefits including dual membership, which enables you to bring a friend to train with you as often as you like, or 50% off bottled water or standard coffees/teas, or free Group Personal Training (GPT), which gets you fit dynamically with Kettlebell training, TRX Suspension Training, box and resistance training or enjoy free use of the Planet Sun tan can.

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Whether this is with your friend, partner or sibling, it is always motivating to train with someone especially if it someone close to share this common interest of keeping fit, showing you care for your body and you wanting to look the best for them.

As most of your day is spent apart, what better way to spend quality time by hitting the gym together or working out together.  Exercise produces chemicals in the brain that evoke feelings of happiness, reduces stress and also increase arousal and libido.  Research shows that men and women that exercise regularly report better and more frequent sex with their partners. more »

1. Start exercising today, do something you enjoy that will keep your interest and energized.
2. Cardio respiratory exercises assist to increase heart function and lower the risk for heart disease.  The general recommendation is only 20 -30 minutes.  Although most group fitness classes are an hour, try your workout for 20 minutes and increase it as you get stronger.
3. Remember to drink plenty of water during exercise.
4. The best tip yet from all at Planet Fitness is to stop smoking!

TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR HEALTH AND REVERSE THE AGING PROCESS

While no one has figured out a way for humans to travel back in time, it is possible to help slow down and in some cases, reverse the aging process. The old adage, “you’re only as old as you feel” has never held more truth. Here are the best ways to hold onto your youth for life.

Working out just 30 minutes a day can help boost memory and keep your brain young.

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Stop me if you’ve heard this before: “You have to eat five to seven small meals per day every two hours to burn body fat.”

That’s common knowledge we’ve lived with for the last 20 years or so; ever since, we had this explosion of mass media interest in fitness and nutrition. This lasting thought process was based on the fact that most people don’t eat enough and don’t eat quality foods; frequent meals are thought to control cravings and keep blood sugar stable. This is based on research highlighting the Thermic Effect of Food (TEF). You’ve heard about it before – the TEF as well as your body weight, activity levels and genetics are the factors that determine how fast or slow your metabolic rate will be each day. more »

Find Out About The Unique Benefits 12 Different Protein Sources Have To Offer!

Protein is a vital part of any healthy diet and is crucial for maintaining optimal health. It’s also the most important macronutrient for athletes. Protein is made up of amino acids, which are the building blocks for muscle growth and tissue repair. You must ensure your body has a constant supply of amino acids delivered all day long if you truly want to maximize muscle growth and recovery. To ensure you’re getting enough protein throughout the day, you will likely want to use a quality protein supplement. That said though, not all protein supplements are the same; aside from different flavours, there are also different sources of protein found in supplements. These different types of proteins each have unique properties and benefits. The following protein sources are all great options for supplementation; so read on to determine which work best for you! more »

Examining The 10 Most Common Food Sensitivites That People Are Afflicted With

Food sensitivities have become more prevalent in the last decade due to the extensive genetic modification of foods as well as the increased use of pesticides, herbicides and insecticides. Foods no longer have the same nutritional content that they did once upon a time, due to the depletion of nutrients from our soil. These factors all contribute to our bodies’ inability to properly digest foods, thus causing inflammation in the gut. This inflammation leads to food proteins entering the blood stream and our immune system building antibodies to the proteins. Therefore every time we eat that same food, our body begins to attack leading to sensitivity and
in more severe cases an allergic reaction. Allergies are different from sensitivities because with an allergy, the response is usually immediate or within a couple days and presents as hives, swelling, itching etc. more »

If you can’t quite comprehend why you haven’t been able to lose that belly fat, are feeling as sluggish as a sloth on cold medication, have body aches or all of the above, there’s a good chance you are having adverse effects to gluten. If you have to ask yourself “what is gluten?” chances are you’ve been treating your stomach like a trash bin, loading up on an assortment of refined and processed carbohydrates. Your rolls could be giving you rolls and that is not the way we want our diet to give back now, is it? more »

Follow This Program To Carve Out A Set Of Your Very Own Muscled Horseshoes

By The Editors | Shot on Location at Sports Specific Training in Oakville, Ontario | Photos By Arsenik Photography | Model: Micah Lacerte

This issue for our Signature Series training feature; we shine the spotlight squarely on the triceps. What makes the triceps musculature particularly interesting from a physiological standpoint and from a training perspective is the fact that this muscle accounts for two thirds of the size of your upper arm. So, taken literally, this means that for every two biceps sets you do, you should be doing three sets of triceps. more »

The skinny on dieting

Being a woman is tougher than ever. Celebrity diets have populated the magazines and are even gaining favour on television shows. Low calorie diets rave how “normal people” like you and me can look just like celebrities. But do you really want to be starved of nutrients, while your hormones are completely unbalanced,
causing feelings of helplessness and depression? more »

“just do it” differently & Harder to see results

A Japanese Proverb states, “Fall down seven times, get up eight.” Such is a metaphor for life, liberty and the pursuit of fitness. How many times have you run across a friend, colleague or total stranger who laments the fact that he or she doesn’t have the time or energy to exercise or eat well? It’s as if they have the gene for “excuses.” Yes, excuses. more »

Now Available

at Dischem, CNA and Wellness Warehouse-CT

Yoga can be practiced daily.  In the morning yoga loosens up the body, get the blood flowing and connect the mind ready to take on the day’s activities.

In the evening yoga releases the physical and mental tension after the day’s activities and promotes for better quality sleep.

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Feminique, the effective and smart one-stop, affordable exercise solution for women

At Planet Fitness, we understand that women sometimes like to work out a little differently, and that is why we have dedicated specialised training areas to help women become strong and healthy.

Planet Fitness member, Sally Martin:
“Sometimes when I exercise I enjoy my privacy,
I also like to know that the equipment I am using has been
designed specifically for women to ensure fantastic results.”

Feminique is an inspirational and effective full facility dedicated exclusively for women, and conveniently nestled in our Planet Fitness clubs. So it’s up to you, you can choose to train in the Feminique facility, or vary your routine and still have access to the rest of our world-class gym facilities when you choose to do so – at no extra cost.

Feminique is not merely a women’s group training facility. It’s a full service health centre which sports the latest equipment developments from world-leader Technogym, specifically designed for women’s bodies. Women are always pressed for time, and the Feminique 30 minute express workout exercises every major muscle group in her body and burns up to 500 calories through strength training, cardio and stretching. I am sure we can all find 30 minutes in our busy days?

Why choose Feminique:
• Feminique is all about the woman, for the woman
• Feminique offers the finest fitness and weight-loss facility designed for women
• Feminique provides an effective and smart one-stop, affordable exercise solution
• Feminique works every major muscle group with strength training, cardio and stretching in just 30 minutes
• Feminique offers: A full cardio area, Women’s group training, Vibration training, Our scientifically developed 30 minute circuit, Yoga, Pilates, plus access to our 5 star change rooms with a sauna/steam room.

Click here for a virtual tour of our beautiful Feminique facilities at Fourways Mega Club

Feminique is available at Wanderers, Bedfordview, Fourways, Centurion Gate, Hennopsview, Plattekloof and Witbank.

Please note that facilities vary from club to club, so please complete the form if you’d like to be taken on a tour of the facilities.

The all new boxing programme is fantastic for cross training and overall body strength which challenges you both aerobically and anaerobically.

It improves mental toughness and confidence, burns calories and fat and is an ideal workout for core strength training. This being the one area that most people want to improve.

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CARDIO

The general recommendation for cardio respiratory exercise frequency is 3 to 5 sessions per week. A few benefits of cardio respiratory are to decrease anxiety, tension and depression, increase heart function and increase blood flow to active muscles.

The following classes are aimed to improve cardio respiratory fitness:
**AQUA BOX
An aerobic-boxing session in the water.  This session includes easy following upper and lower body movements’ or basic combinations.
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The general recommendation for muscle conditioning frequency is a minimum of twice weekly.
Benefits of these classes aim to improve muscle strength, muscle endurance and functional fitness:

AB BLASTER
Still searching for the 6-pack?  This 30-minute conditioning session of abs and lower back will keep you coming back for more.  Equipment such as Stability Balls and BOSUs can be added to make this session more challenging.
AWESOME ARMS
No more excuses for flabby arms!  This 30-minute conditioning session focuses on shoulders, biceps, triceps and forearms.
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The general recommendation for mind, body is 2 to 3 sessions per week.
A few benefits of these classes aim to improve balance, flexibility, coordination and strength with particular emphasis on breathing, and connecting mind and body.

PILATES MATWORK
This non-impact Matwork session connects the mind and body by strengthening the core, improve coordination and increase flexibility whilst executing all movements with control, precision, flow and emphasize breathing.
PIYO
A combination of Pilates and Yoga movements.  These movements consist of dynamic and static poses to improve core strength and flexibility with the focus on connecting the mind and body.
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FLEXIBILITY

The general recommendation for stretching is 3 sessions per week, although it can be performed daily. Benefits of flexibility exercises are to maintain or increase our range of motion at key body joints.

The following class is aimed to improve flexibility:
STRETCH IT OUT
Need a good stretch?  Improve your flexibility of all major muscle groups and join this session of dynamic and static stretches. 
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With dance being the current trend, there are typically various dance classes on offer. As a benefit, most of the dance disciplines below will give you a great cardio respiratory workout and improve coordination.

**BELLY DANCING
Get out of your head, into your body, and let the dance of transformation begin.  Learn basic individual steps and transform the dance into your own.
CARDIO DANCE
Dance is in!  Join this high low aerobic session which includes all the latest dance moves.  As this is a choreographed session, coordination is needed.
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CARDIO

The general recommendation for cardio respiratory exercise frequency is 3 to 5 sessions per week. A few benefits of cardio respiratory are to decrease anxiety, tension and depression, increase heart function and increase blood flow to active muscles.

more »

CARDIO

The general recommendation for cardio respiratory exercise frequency is 3 to 5 sessions per week. A few benefits of cardio respiratory are to decrease anxiety, tension and depression, increase heart function and increase blood flow to active muscles.

The following classes are aimed to improve cardio respiratory fitness:
BEGIN TO RIDE
Begin to ride at an easy comfortable pace.  As the session covers basic techniques, cycle set up & safety guidelines, it is ideal for new riders.
more »

Planet Fitness has launched a new concept in Personal Training. Following global trends and a major shift in the way Personal Training is offered, sees the launch of Group Personal Training. Group Personal Training is available at Planet Fitness clubs, Bedfordview, Wanderers, Centurion Gate, Village Walk, Craighall, Rivonia, Rosebank, Roodepoort, Lynnwood, Plattekloof, Durbanville and Witbank.
 

Planet Fitness will have dedicated Group Personal Training studios to offer our new service. Each of these studios will house the latest fitness accessories and equipment that is utilized in the most cutting edge Personal Training sessions.

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• It’s not about having a body that’s thinner, or faster, or stronger than the person next to you.
• It’s about knowing there’s a place where every body is welcome.
• It’s not just about working out, it’s about working through it with someone who can help.
• It’s not just about having someone to spot you, it’s about helping you see your potential.

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