As most of you would be aware Axis momentarily was managing the PT rights to a 24/7 club as well as our gym at Kelvin Grove, however we have recently given that up to entirely focus on our operation at Kelvin Grove and really make it in to the best possible gym we can, and improve our service to your guys, our clients and members.

I want to thank you, sincerely for your ongoing support and welcome all the new clients that have joined us over the past 6 months, whether it be short term or long term. It’s wonderful to see so many new people at the gym and enjoying being there (well sometimes enjoying being there when your not pushing yourselves to the max)!

From a staffing perspective most of your will know that Luke Dixon and Myself are the primary trainers at Axis now, both being there on a full time basis and no doubt you see one or both of us when you come in to exercise!

Additional to Luke and Myself, we’re extremely fortunate to still have John McPaul as an ongoing trainer who has been with us since December 2009. It’s certainly great to still have John around and assisting clients tremendously!

Tom Simpson also joined us late last year as a new part time trainer and we’ve had some fantastic feedback from clients and has been an invaluable member of the Axis team.

Again, I’d like to take the opportunity to thank you again for your support. We’ve got some exciting things planned for this year and look forward to keeping you updated about them when they come to hand.

As always if you have any feedback, problems or concerns please don’t hesitate to contact us on info@axiscorporate.com.au or 3354 8600.

Yours in good health,

Mark Blomeley

Soft drinks and alcohol have several things in common which relate to their effect on health and nutrition. One of the biggest factors of these two drinks is their extraordinary lack of nutritional value. Both contain ‘empty calories’ – calories that have no protein, fat, vitamins/minerals or ‘good’ carbohydrates that will likely only contribute to an increase in fat deposits.

 On top of this, the excess of consumption of soft drinks has been associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes, reduced bone mineral density and dental erosion/decay. Excess consumption of alcohol has been proven to alter liver metabolism and increase the risk of pancreatitis and some cancers

Of course these drinks can still be consumed in moderation with little risk of adverse effects. The problem arises when these drinks are taken in excess and become a daily habit. Soft drinks generally contain approximately 300 calories per 600ml and are packed full of high GI sugar therefore help you to pack on the pounds. Giving up soft drinks is going to go a long way to help you lose weight.

Most alcohol in itself does not contain carbohydrates (apart from beer which contains approximately 10g per stubby) but generally contains between 70 to 100 calories per standard drink. Alcohol is truly empty calories. Alcohol surprisingly is the first substance burnt by the body (before carbs, protein or fat), the problem is that the other sorts of calories you consume (i.e. carbs, protein or fat) don’t have time to be burnt so are stored as fat instead.

Having a poor metabolism is definitely something you can improve. We all know people who can scoff down whatever they want and not gain a kilo. These people are genetically gifted (although the junk will still catch up with their bodies later). However, you should not have to settle for nibbling on a few vegetables because you gain weight so easily. The first step, if you honestly think your metabolism is much slower than it should be, check in with your doctor or naturopath and make sure you do not have an under active thyroid. If you do, this can be corrected by medication prescribed by your doctor, or herbal mixes from your naturopath. If that is all okay (and even if you are on medication this will help), you will need to start firing up your metabolism.

Weight training is vital! The more lean muscle you have, the more calories you will burn, even while sleeping! Fatty tissue is only being dragged along for the ride. As I have said before, you do not need to worry about accidentally getting ‘big’. Females simply don’t produce enough testosterone to become overly muscular. Even most males have to work extremely hard and eat very, very well to make significant gains.

You will need to start teaching your body to eat again. If you drop your calories too low for an extended period of time, your metabolism will slow down as well to compensate. This is a survival mechanism. You never want to drop calories to below your Basal Metabolic Rate (www.bmi-calculator.net), or basically, the bare minimum your body burns each day just being you. You can use your BMR and activity level, to work out a rough guide to the maintenance levels of calories you require.

This is just a guide and individuals will need to find their own maintenance level (the amount of lean muscle they carry will have a big effect on this). If you want to lose weight, you could start by reducing your maintenance calories by 15-20% and see how you go. If you are sitting well under you BMR, you are very likely to hit a point where you cannot lose any more weight because your calories are too low (I have actually tested this out myself and it really does happen!). So if this is you, start increasing your intake by around 50 to 100 calories at a time until you are at an acceptable daily calorie intake. Your weight may come up a tiny bit as your body re-adjusts, but you should then start seeing weight loss again (for more information about this, talk to us). Note: If you feel that your metabolism is too fast for you to ever gain any weight, you can also address this issue. Start by increasing your maintenance calories by 300 or so per day, and start a challenging weight training program with lots of compound movements and good technique.

The types of foods you are eating will also make a huge difference. All calories are not created equal. Aside from the difference in nutrients, 50 calories of donut, will give you that much energy. However 50 cal worth of broccoli comes with a lot of fiber. Fiber causes the body to have to do a lot of work to digest the food. In the case of broccoli and a lot of other vegetables, it is believed that the hard work the body puts in burns through all the energy the broccoli provides, and then some extra!

So the inclusion of lots of fibrous fruits and vegetable in your diet will help to fuel your metabolism. Some foods are much more thermogenic than others (use more of the body’s energy to be digested). These foods include lean meats, fish, eggs and whey protein. Including a sufficient amount of lean protein will also stimulate the metabolism. This is also the method by which it is thought that chili and green tea can assist the metabolism.

Eating small meals every 3-4 hours will also help with you metabolism and hunger regulation. Eating all of your food at the end of the day places a huge strain on the metabolism. When you eat a large meal full of carbohydrates, all of the blood rushes to the region to aid in digestion. This is why a big lunch can make you sleepy. At first eating 5 to 6 small meals a day can seem strange, but after a week or so, you will start to feel more regulated hunger and satiety signals.

The number of resistance and rehabilitation exercises that can be done with Thera-Band products is enormous. While a new resistance training machine may be needed for every different movement pattern, Thera-Band straps and tubing can be attached to any fixed, stable structure and movements of almost kind can be performed. They are easy to setup and provide a useful alternative to machines or cable weights in movements that may be otherwise difficult to replicate with resistance. They can also be used in addition to a regular resistance training program that consists of free weights, cables and machines. For example, Thera-Bands could be used for an athlete looking to improve his/her explosive pressing or jumping movements.

For advanced exercisers, they can be used to alter the ‘strength curve’, so that where a movement might normally be easy at the top of a movement (like a pushup) – as the band stretches more it gets more difficult. So the movement is challenging throughout the full range of motion.

Some common exercises include internal or external shoulder rotations for shoulder rehabilitation, squat + press, rows, chest or overhead presses.

There is a large range of intensity that these exercises can be performed at due to the varying resistance of both the colours (the ‘light’ yellow band up to the ‘heavy’ gold and silver bands) and distance in which you stretch the band. For example, a gold band stretched to 250% of its original length equates to a resistance of 40 pounds. On top of this, multiple bands can be used simultaneously in order to get just the right resistance for the individual and the movement being undertaken.

Though Thera-Band straps and tubing are very versatile and safe when used correctly, care needs to be taken as there is a risk of them breaking when stretched too far. Stretching a band over 300% of its resting length greatly increases the chance of failure and bands should be checked frequently for cracks or breaking of the tubing. Latex and non-latex varieties are also available for those with allergies.

Overall, Thera-band straps and tubing can be a valuable addition to any resistance training program, whether for overall health or pre- / rehabilitation exercises. They provide resistance in movement patterns otherwise difficult to perform with cables or machines. Their versatility in being able to perform many different exercises by simply changing the anchor point is a cheap alternative to large amount of machines that would be needed to perform the same movements, while yielding similar results.