The Big Push

The newly refurbished cardio deck

With the new year fast approaching we’re anxious to get as much space as possible out of the ”under construction” category and put it back into service.  We expect to make major headway in this effort over the next few days.

We passed a major milestone over the Christmas holiday and reclaimed the main cardio deck on the second floor.  With the return of this 2000 square feet of floor area, we were able to make some major moves in terms of relocating cardio equipment.  All of the pieces that used to be above the men’s locker room were cleared from that space, as were about a dozen pieces from downstairs.

As we move sequentially through the process, the next step is to complete the remaining flooring on the second floor.  That is scheduled to occur over the next few days, and while it will present some challenges (access to some areas upstairs will be limited at times) once it is completed we’ll finally be able to begin “stretching out”.  There will be three new alcoves for cardio equipment…one overlooking the parking lot, one above the lobby, and one above the weight room.    The large multi-use space over the men’s locker room (where we used to have cardio equipment) will now be totally devoted to core and stretch.

With the completion of the new spaces upstairs we will be able to move the remaining equipment out of  ”Studio 1″ and begin work on that space.  We will also have room to bring in some new cardio equipment.   As soon as all of the equipment has been placed in its permanent location we will be attaching the new personal TV screens.  Unfortunately there will be a brief transition period (1-2 weeks) when no music or video options will be available on the cardio equipment.  But once the new equipment is in place you will have complete control over what you watch or listen to, with approximately 50 channels from which to choose.

COMING ATTRACTIONS-CARDIO

Good-bye cardio theater and hello personal viewing screens!!!

Our remodel is now over 90% complete, and we are rapidly approaching a huge milestone…the re-opening of the front entry and the upstairs cardio deck!!!  Obviously having the front entry back will make getting into the Club much more convenient.   But what really makes this such a pivotal time is that with the elevator and the main cardio area available for use we can finally start using our rooms as intended and begin moving  equipment into its permanent home.

For the past 16 months we’ve been shuffling equipment around, moving it upstairs, downstairs, and in and out of storage.  With that nightmare behind us, we are really looking forward to putting things where they belong and leaving them there for a while.  We’re also counting the days until we can finally put our antiquated Cardio Theater system out to pasture.  If you’ve ever been frustrated with your holiday lights, multiply that by about 20 and you’ll know how we feel about that thing.  That system has taken years off the lives of everyone who has ever had to work on it.

The building has been wired so that we now can install personal viewing screens on each piece of cardio equipment.  This gives users complete control over they’re watching.  These screens will be installed on most of the equipment that will be located in the original part of the building (there are a few pieces that aren’t compatible).  For the present time we are not going to put these screens on the cardio pieces in the addition.  Again some of them are not compatible, and we’ve also had several requests to keep those areas “media free”.  So we’ll start that way and see how it goes.

We’ve created quite a bit of additional space for cardio equipment, so we’ve ordered a nice selection of new pieces.  We’ll be adding a line of treadmills do all the things our present ones do, plus they allow you to walk at a lung-burning incline of 30%!  We’re also adding bikes….a few uprights and a bunch of new recumbents.  The latter feature a new “step-thru” design that makes them much easier to access if you have mobility issues.  Some will have padded arm rests, and all will have personal viewing screens.  We’re also adding a pair of Crossovers; they resemble an elliptical but they allow lateral movement.  This results in a workout that engages more muscle groups and provides great core training.

Speaking of core training, we’ve also ordered a wide selection of new equipment for the weight room.  But that’s another story for another day.  We’ll fill you in on those details in another day or two!

H.I.T. BOOT CAMP

IT’S HERE!  HealthQuest’s High Intensity Training Boot Camp

Our dynamic team of fitness instructors is taking the training outside this summer.  Classes will meet just a few short blocks away from the Club, at St. John’s Lutheran School.  There participants will be led through a fun and challenging exercise class that’s been designed to get you the quickest results possible.

This new program is an exclusive offering available only to HQ members.  All fitness levels are welcome, but  space is limited.  Class sizes will be kept small so that each participant gets plenty of counseling and direction.  If you’re looking to add something fresh and exciting to your workout routine, this may be just what you need.

We will be offering 2 four-week sessions: June 13th-July 10th and then July 11-August 7th.  Available class times are M,W,F 5:45-6:45am, T,TH 6:15-7:15pm, and Saturday 7:00-8:00am.  You can register to take either two or three classes per week.  Class fees and registration information is available at the front desk at the Club.

Now That’s a FUN Run!

Are you a Survivor fan?  CrossFit enthusiast?  Just looking for something wild, crazy, and out of the ordinary?  Here’s something that  you might enjoy then, it’s called Warrior Dash. 

It’s basically a 5k run with a dozen obstacles thrown in to make it interesting.   They’ll have you scrambling over hay bales, slithering through muddy swamps, and leaping over fire, followed by music and beer at the post-race party. 

There’s a race scheduled for our area next fall, so you have plenty of time to train and to get your costume in order!

Using the Technology

Life Fitness recently announced improvements to its Virtual Trainer Web Site that expand its capabilities and make it easier to use.   The program, which has over  14,000 active users,  allows exercisers to record their workout results and to track their progress online.  They can also create personalized workouts for use anywhere, anytime on the Life Fitness Elevation Series products.  Healthquest currently offers treadmills and upright bicycles from the Elevation Series.

The Virtual Trainer, which is free, acts as your own personal training coach.  It can recommend a specific workout plan based on your individual goals, and help you create workouts that are customized and based on your fitness level and abilities.  It gives you the ability to create these workouts on your home computer, which you can save to a USB device and then upload directly into the Elevation Series consoles.  Your weight, time, speed, and resistance will all be entered automatically with one tap of the touchscreen.

Perhaps the site’s best feature is its ability to store and record your personal workout history.   With your USB device you can capture the results of any workout, whether you created it in advance  on the Virtual Trainer website or you simply entered it manually.   You can then upload that data into the Virtual Trainer, where it will be recorded and displayed on your personal dashboard.  You can then track your progress, compare it to your target goals, and see how your results change over a period of time. 

Below is a brief tutorial to help you get started using the Virtual Trainer.

A custom interval program

First, login to the Virtual Trainer website and setup your free account.  After that’s done you can navigate into the “Create and Download Workouts” area, where you will find two choices, “Popular Workouts”, or “Personalized Workouts”.  Once you make a selection here, you will see a screen that is very similar to the menu that comes up on any Life Fitness piece of equipment.  You will then be able to choose between “Hill”, “Fat Burn”, “Cardio”, and “Random” programs.  

Here you will be able to choose from the same workouts you’re used to using, or if you have the desire,  create something more specific to your needs.  The photo shows an interval workout that I created with fast, intense running periods followed by recovery walks.

 Once you have set the parameters of your workout. you will need to name the workout and save it.  After it has been saved you can then download the workout to any USB storage device.  HealthQuest has inexpensive USB bands for sale at the front counter, but anything you have will also work. The next time you’re ready to workout, simply plug the USB into the Life Fitness console.  Your pre-recorded workout will appear on the screen, so all you have to do is press “select” and you’re up and running (or biking).  You won’t have to enter any of the usual data, the program will automatically run just the way you set it up.

  

When you’re finished with your workout, the touchscreen will give you the option to save your results to your USB devivce (you can do this after any workout, prerecorded or not).  Then when you get back to your PC and log back onto the Virtual Trainer, you can upload those results onto the site, where all your data is recorded and saved. 

The program will graph your results over time on your PC

Once you begin to accumulate data, the program offers several ways to see your results charted and graphed.  You can track your progress in terms of time, miles, or calories, view results for the week, the month, or the year, and compare your actual results to your preset goals.

Recording your results can be a great way to see the progress you are making and to keep yourself motivated.  If you need something to help hold yourself accountable, the Virtual Trainer  might be just what you need to boost your adherance.  Give it a try and let us know what you think.

Lose 3 Times the Fat in Half the Time?

Sounds almost too good to be true, doesn’t it?  But those were the results of a study which measured the effect of interval training versus training at a steady pace.  Read about it in this NPR article, Running Hard, But Just for a Few Seconds. 

For many years the fitness community has promoted the idea of “zone training” for fat loss.  The idea was to get your heart rate up into the aerobic “fat burning” zone and to stay there as long as possible.  Meanwhile runners and most other athletes knew that interval training, mixing bursts of intense effort with lower intensity recovery periods, provided the most benefit in terms of performance gain.

Spinning was the first major trend that took off using the principles of interval training.  Since then there have been many additions to the class schedule that adopt this idea of alternating high and low intensity periods.  HealthQuest offers Spinning, Kickboxing, Power Circuit, Blast,and Cycle Core, all of which incorporate interval training into the class.

I haven’t seen the move to interval training  adopted as readily in the cardio area of the Club.  While there are a few serious runners doing them, it’s more for race training than fat-burning.  Most people seem to be quite content to punch in a speed and stay there from start to finish.  I think that it’s because many of us just like to “zone out” and read or watch TV when we’re on the equipment.  That’s hard to do if you’re constantly monitoring times and adjusting speed and resistance.

While doing intervals takes considerably more focus, the benefits seem to be more than worth it.  And the best part is that unlike the serious runners doing long, tough, intense periods of work, you’ll be better off keeping your intervals short, like the ones mentioned in the NPR article.  Here’s another article that goes into more detail on that subject: Intervals & Fat Loss.  It suggests that intervals of intense exercise should be kept under 15 seconds, with rest periods that are 1.5 times longer than the work period (you may initially need longer rest periods, depending on your fitness level).

Based on this research it’s hard to discount the payoff  interval training offers.  If getting leaner is your goal, it might be time to get a little more involved with the keypad on the cardio equipment.

Critical Cool-Down?

“The cool-down is enshrined in training lore. It’s in physiology textbooks, personal trainers often insist on it, fitness magazines tell you that you must do it — and some exercise equipment at gyms automatically include it. You punch in the time you want to work out on the machine and when your time is up, the machine automatically reduces the workload and continues for five minutes so you can cool down.”

That’s the lead-in to this interesting article by Gina Kolata of the New York Times.   Is that cool-down period really that important?  Read it and make your own decision.  

 

Barrier Breaker

In  1945 the world record for running the mile was set at 4:01.4.  Despite repeated attempts, that mark held for 9 years.  Many people believed that this was the limit of human performance, and that breaking the 4-minute barrier would be impossible.

Then in on a windy spring day in1954 Roger Banister stunned the world by clocking a 3:59.4.  It is regarded as one of the most impressive athletic performances in the history of sports.

Once Bannister had proven what was possible, the floodgates opened.  Less than 2 months later John Landy ran a 3:57.9 (nobody remembers the second person to do something), and within 3 years the sub-4 club had an amazing 16 members.

I would like to introduce you to another barrier breaker.  His name is Guido Muller; he is from Germany and his age is 70.  I started to write that he was “70 years old”, but given what he has accomplished, using the word “old” just didn’t seem right.

Guido also competes in track and field, and is something of a legend in masters sprints and hurdles.  But what he did this year has earned him a place among the all-time greats.  He too broke a record many thought was impossible.  And unlike Bannister’s sub-4 mile, I don’t think there will be many others joining Guido anytime soon.

At a meet in Germany, he won both the 100 meter and the 200 meter sprints.  But it is what he did en route to winning the 400 meters that earned him his spot in history.  He became the first man over the age of 70 to break the one-minute barrier, clocking an amazing 59.67.

If you have any background in running track, you know just how difficult this is, regardless of your age.  It’s one full lap around the track….at pretty close to a full sprint.  If you’re more familiar with running on a treadmill, this equates to 15 mph… faster than our treadmills can even go! 

Heart Rate Training

Timex Personal Trainer

I mentioned previously that I was going to order a heart rate monitor.  I’ve used it a couple of times now and thought I would give a quick report of my initial thoughts.

After doing some research and reading a lot of reviews, I decided that the Timex Personal Trainer would do everything that I needed.  You could set high and low alerts, and it reportedly interfaced well with our Life Fitness equipment.  It also functioned as a watch when you weren’t using the heart rate feature, and I needed a new watch.  For around $50 I figured I couldn’t go wrong.

Unfortunately when I tested it out, I found that it only works with our older LF bikes and not with the new treadmills and ellipticals.  I guess the new equipment is only compatible with Polar monitors.  So rather than getting my pulse displayed on the screen, I have to look at the readout on the watch, which is not quite as nice.

In most cases this wouldn’t be that big of a deal.  But on some of my interval workouts I’m going pretty fast and running until totally exhausted.  The last thing I want to do is take my focus away from my run, break my form,  and try to find my pulse down on my wrist.  Fortunately I’ve found that I can keep the reading in front of my face by hanging the watch on the console.

I purchased the monitor because I have found that using heart rate training has really helped my performance level.  I compete in Master’s track & field competitions, and one of the events that I train for is the 1000 meter run.  This is a miserable distance….two and a half times around the track at a very high rate of speed. 

This distance completely taxes both your aerobic and anaerobic  systems, so your training also has to incorporate both.  That’s where the monitor comes in…you can tell instantly what your pulse is and make sure you’re training properly.  I’ve found that it is a much more reliable way of keeping your training level exactly where you want it to be.

Where I’ve found this to be extremely important is on my easier training days, where I’m trying to maintain my pulse as high as I can (140-144) while still staying aerobic.    If I chose to simply run 30 minutes at 7 mph on these days, that would put me in the right neighborhood.  But I’ve found that there’s a wide variance in my heart’s response from day-to-day.  Some days this would be too easy, while at other times it would push me above my aerobic limit.

So now I watch my pulse and am constantly adjusting my speed and distance.  This way I am pushing myself to higher levels on the days my body is fresh, and avoiding overtraining on days where I don’t have the same level of energy.  I’ve been very pleased with the results so far.  When I started I could only go 2.5 miles before I started to push into the anaerobic zone.  Six weeks later I’ve been able to increase my speed and I’m over 3.5 miles on my best days.  What I’ve found most surprising is how much variance there can be from one day to the next. 

I got an extremely good example of that this week.  I ran in a track meet this past Saturday:   Santa Barbara Masters Meet.   I did more sprinting than I had trained for, and as a result my calves were badly trashed.  Sunday and Monday I was seriously considering using the elevator to get up the one flight of stairs to my office.  Tuesday and Wednesday saw some improvement, but not much.  Wednesday afternoon I decided to try an easy run and see it that would help loosen things up a little.

I did the same warm-up I usually do on my easy run days…half a mile @ 6.5 mph followed by another half mile @ 7.5 mph.  At this point on a good day I would continue on for another 2.5 miles at 7-8 mph.  But not today!  Even though I hadn’t run in four days, my body just wasn’t ready.  My pulse was close to 140 after only a one mile warm-up!  Could I have continued?  Sure, I wasn’t that tired.  But my pulse rate was telling me that I needed some more rest, and that in turn will help me avoid overtraining.

Belly Dancing Begins

HealthQuest's Belly Dancers

Looking to break up your normal workout routine with something fun and different?

For the next 4 Thursdays you can learn how to belly dance in a special class at HealthQuest.

Join Tiaja as she demonstrates the many benefits of this ancient art form.  Work on coordination, flexibility, and balance while strengthening all of your core muscles.

The first class will be held Sept. 24th at 6:30 pm and will continue for four weeks.  There is an additional fee for this class, and it is open to both members and non-members.  You can pre-register and get additional information at the sales desk: 254-7200