12 Days of Christmas Workout 2011 Winner is...

Drive Fitness Tarragindi are the winners of the 2011 12 Days of Christmas workout.

The top 5 lady and top 5 men scores on the 12 Days of Christmas workout combined to form the score for each Drive Fitness. Tarragindi had the top score, helped along with 3 lady and 3 men finishes, Mt Gravatt came in 2nd place and Seven Hills in 3rd.

During December the 12 Days of Christmas workout was available to everyone at each Drive Fitness. Just under 100 people took the challenge. I gave it a go myself and it was tough! Well done to everyone who gave it their best.

This years workout was put together with the intention of it being IMPOSSIBLE to finish within 30mins. We were shocked with some of the amazing results with almost 10 people finishing it between all Drive Fitness locations and a number of others getting very close.

Stay tuned for the next Inter-Drive Fitness workout challenge in the new year.

2011 12 Days of Christmas Workout

Helpful Drive Fitness Resources for the Holiday Period

Training

• Dumbbell training: basic whole body workout
• Body weight training: benefits, basic techniques & workouts
• Skipping: benefits, basic techniques & workouts

Eating

• 10 tips for surviving the Christmas party season
• Energy in alcohol revealed: 7 tips to lower energy intake while drinking
• Metabolism - is it under your control?

Thinking

• 10 tips to help stay motivated

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

From everyone at Drive Fitness we wish you a safe and healthy holiday and a very Merry Christmas & New Year. We thank you for another fantastic year of training and we appreciate you choosing to train with us!

Looking forward to new goals, different ways to challenge you and fun ways to keep you motivated! 

The Drive Fitness Team (David, Lisa, Jared, Tim, Kate, Nathan, Matt, Nathalie & Marcus)

Bench Press Challenge 2012: Saturday 10 March

The date for the 5th Annual Drive Fitness Bench Press Challenge (BPC) has been announced: Saturday 10 March 2012. This date gives us a nice buffer before the Easter Holiday - no excuses!

This early announcement comes with a reminder that there is less than 12 weeks to train from the start of the year to the event. We will need to get straight back into strength training from the start of the year to be well prepared.

The 2012 BPC will undergo a format change to accommodate increasing participant numbers, allow men and women to lift simultaneously and reduce the running time. We will update you on the format as we get closer to the event.

Kick of the year with some strength training in your exercise program and use the Bench Press Challenge as motivation to train hard. Stay tuned for more BPC news in the new year!

Christmas at the Corso in Seven Hills Recap

Drive Fitness personal trainer Kate welcomed locals at the Drive Fitness stand at the Christmas at the Corso fete in Seven Hills on Thursday 1 December. Despite the rain it was a great family afternoon and evening out with plenty of activities for kids, food and drink, live music and specials from local businesses. It was a fantastic opportunity for us to tell people about Drive Fitness and what we do.

This was our 3rd community fair involvement in 2011 and we look forward to supporting many more local fetes and festivals in 2012.

Walk & Run Club in 2012

I know you do too!

The last walk & run club session for the year will be meeting this Saturday 17 December at Drive Fitness Tarragindi at 7am.

2012 will see a few changes made to our walk & run club session format. We will be meeting at the same location for longer then 4 weeks so we have a chance to get to know some longer tracks. This will help to break the monotony of using laps like we did quite often during 2011. We will still use a lap format on occasions for time trials and intervals.

We will continue to mix things up using medium distance runs at moderate-high intensity (tempo training), short distance runs at high-very high intensity broken up with rest or periods of low intensity (interval training) and long distance runs at moderate intensity (continuous training).

We have two running events scheduled for 2012 already - the Twilight Run in March and the Bridge to Brisbane in late August / early September. We would like to see YOU at the walk & run club in 2012, returning Saturday 14 January at Drive Fitness Tarragindi at 7am. Remember, the Drive Fitness walk & run club is a FREE session for all Drive Fitness people! For more information please email David (dave@drivefitness.net).

Dumbbell training: basic workout 1

With a lot of gyms without free bars nowadays and medicine balls and kettlebells hard to find, putting together good free weight whole body workouts can be challenging. Fortunately you can still count on almost every gym (and some garages) having  a set of dumbbells - here is a basic, effective and time efficient whole body workout using only dumbbells. This program is perfect for weight control and general strength and fitness.

The 12 Days of Christmas Workout is Back!

It's back and it's harder then ever before. Every year on the 1st of December the 12 Days of Christmas Workout hits the whiteboard. It's a 12 level challenge that brings together the 'favourite' exercises of the year in the most difficult arrangement possible. The challenge - to get through as many levels as possible in a 30min personal training session.

We didn't even think it was possible to finish... but a few people have already made it to the end. Take the challenge and see how far you get next PT session. Remember, it's a challenge for YOURSELF to see how far YOU can get, not a competition with others (unless you want it to be).

To make things interesting this year, the top 5 lady scores and top 5 men scores will combine to form the score for that Drive Fitness. The Drive Fitness with the highest combined score is the winner. There are no prizes, just the glory of working hard for a winner's result. The winning Drive Fitness will be decided on Friday 16 December.

Twilight Run Date Announced - Drive Fitness Team Entry Available

With the growing popularity of our Bridge to Brisbane team event we are introducing another Drive Fitness running team entry in 2012 - the Twilight Run. Introducing another running event earlier in the year will be a great way to keep us motivated and keep our training on track!

The date has been announced, 18 March 2012, and entries are now open with early bird specials available. A Drive Fitness team has already been created so you can join our team during the online registration process - it's easy and takes only 5mins. Here are some instructions to help:

1. visit www.twilightrun.com.au
2. click on the 'enter' button on the left hand side (2nd from top)
3. select online entry from the list of options (top option)
4. select 'search for an existing team', then click 'select'
5. type 'drive fitness' into the search box and then click on 'Drive Fitness' in the search results
6. select the twilight 10km run (we are entering a 10km team)
7. follow the registration prompts to the finish, entering your details, and pay
8. give us a call or email if you have any problems registering and we will help you

Take advantage of the super early bird savings and get organised for 2012. Save up to 20% on your Twilight entry fee, simply by registering before 31 December. Entry fees increase in 2012.

Our Walk and run club is a great way to prepare for running events and it's FREE. We will be making a few changes to the Walk & Run Club format in 2012 to involve some longer runs and new courses. For more information about our Walk & Run Club please give us a call (0402 358 127) or email (info@drivefitness.net).

Boot Camp Dates for Christmas and New Years Period

Drive Fitness boot camps will take a break over Christmas and News Years - don't worry, it's only a short one (2 weeks).

The last boot camp sessions for 2011 will be on Wednesday 21 December for Camp Hill and Thursday 22 December for Holland Park and Moorooka. If you have missed a few sessions recently due to the warmer weather or end of year busy period, try to get to your remaining boot camp sessions and finish 2011 strong.

The Camp Hill boot camp will return Monday 9 January and Holland Park and Moorooka Tuesday 10 January. Stay tuned to our blog, facebook, twitter or emails for reminders and updates on Drive Fitness boot camps during the break.

2012 will see the introduction of another Drive Fitness boot camp location, afternoon boot camp sessions & the move of our popular boot camp challenge to Saturday mornings (twice per year, dates announced early in January).

If you are not presently a boot camper but would like to be please give us a call (0402 358 127) or email (info@drivefitness.net) for more info.

Energy in alcohol revealed: 7 tips to lower energy intake while drinking

We all know that alcohol contributes to dietary energy intake, but to what extent? Let's put the other health consequences of excess alcohol consumption aside for just one moment and focus on the affect that alcohol intake has on energy balance and weight control. It's a fairly simple equation, more energy coming in than energy going out results in a positive energy balance, a positive energy balance results in weight gain. Foods and drinks that are high in energy and low in nutrition provide what is known as 'empty energy' and are detrimental to weight control - this describes the energy in alcohol. If abstaining is not an option looking for ways to lower energy intake from alcohol is the next best thing. Let's take a closer look at how and why.

Christmas at the Corso

Christmas at the Corso will be taking place this coming Thursday 1 December from 4-8pm at The Corso, Seven Hills (the street that Drive Fitness Seven Hills is located on). There will be activities for kids (face painting, jumping castle), live music, food and stalls.

Come and visit us - we will be there with Christmas special gift certificates for both personal training and boot camp.

Boot Camp Challenge 2011 Results

On Thursday 24 November the 3 Drive Fitness boot camps faced off in a variety of fitness challenges to determine the boot camp champions. The fitness challenges included exercises that have been used in boot camp sessions throughout the year including push ups, burpees, kettlebell exercises, medicine ball exercises, boxing, running, skipping, jumping and core work. The Camp Hill boot camp was not well represented on the day (Thursday is not a typical boot camp morning for this group - excuses, excuses) but Moorooka and Holland Park both had strong teams present ready to put it all on the line for the title of boot camp champion!

Rumour was that the carry over boot camp champions Moorooka were the favourites going in to the event, however it was all Holland Park on the day with a score of 230, beating Moorooka's 185. Holland Park did have a participant number advantage however this can't be taken away from the winners and new boot camp champions. Congratulations to the Holland Park team! Holland Park will have to defend their title in February / March next year. The Moorooka team will be keen to recapture the gold and Camp Hill boot camp trainer Kate will no doubt be eager to assemble the Camp Hill troops and put together a strong showing.

Honourable mentions go to Janine for being the single Seven Hills representative in the challenge and Gary from Holland Park for achieving a 4min bridge (ab brace) in the final core strength event of the morning. Well done to all boot campers for another year of early mornings and hard work. We will have more photos of the boot camp challenge up on our facebook page soon, check them out here: www.facebook.com/drivefitness.

10 tips for surviving the Christmas party season

Surviving the Christmas and New Years period with no or minimal damage to the waistline is near impossible. With high energy food options available in plenty and a social relaxed atmosphere that encourages drinking and over eating, the 'Christmas and New Years Party' is a dieters worst nightmare. Now, I'm not suggesting that you cancel all Christmas parties but there are some easy tips that may help damage control during the party season.

Boot Camp Challenge - THIS WEEK

The Boot Camp Challenge will be taking place this Thursday 24 November, 5:30am-6:30am at Glindemann Park, Logan Rd. We hope to see as many boot campers there as possible representing their team. The fitness events will be fun team challenges and everyone is guaranteed to get a great workout.

The rumour circulating around the studios is that Tim has a strong Moorooka team with a lot of new recruits ready to retain the Boot Camp Challenge Title, however Jared is confident that his more experienced boot camp team have what it takes to force the championship to change hands. There is also rumour that due to the Thursday not being a typical boot camp morning for Camp Hill, Camp Hill team numbers may be a bit low. As much as Kate would love to see the title in the hands of her Camp Hill side it looks like she may have to wait till next year! Camp Hill boot campers are still encouraged to join in, if there are not enough Camp Hill team members to form their own team, they will get a great workout and be able to join the Moorooka and Holland Park sides.

If you haven't let your boot camp trainer know that you will be there please let them know at your first boot camp session this week. If you would like to join a boot camp or would like more information about Drive Fitness boot camps please feel welcome to give Dave a call on 0402 358 127 or email at dave@drivefitness.net.

Thank you to Sovereign Homes & Instyle with TM

We would like to thank Sovereign Homes & Instyle with TM for sponsoring the Drive Fitness Christmas Party with prizes for our raffle. Sovereign Homes kindly gave us three different packages including towels, bags, hats, training shirts and stubby coolers and Instyle with TM kindly gave us a three different hair care packages.

Both Sovereign Homes & Instyle with TM are local businesses in Tarragindi. If you would like any more information about either of these local businesses we have attached the website addresses below.

http://www.sovereignhomes.com.au/
http://instylewithtm.com/

Christmas Party 2011 - All done for another year!

We had a great time! We hope you did too. As so many of you know the Drive Fitness Christmas Party is the highlight of my year. It reminds me of how far Drive Fitness has come since 2007, it gives me (and the other trainers) an opportunity to meet people from the other studios for the first time and it's our opportunity as a personal training team to truly celebrate and recognise the results and hard work that everyone has put in during the year.

We would like to thank everyone for coming, it was a huge turn out. We had over 170 people on our guest list which is 100 more than last year! I would just like to mention that the music volume on the night was much louder then we expected and we apologise if this made mingling difficult. This is something that has already been taken into consideration for next year and we have already put a poll up on facebook asking for suggestions for next years venue -  head to our facebook page to have your say (www.facebook.com/drivefitness).

A BIG congratulations to our 2011 Best Results winners Emmanuel and Tania and Trainer's Pick winners Amanda, Donna, Damien, Mandy, Suzie, Joe and Jo. Every year deciding award winners gets harder and harder!

We were very impressed that the fitness related prizes were the first to go in our raffle, the foam rollers and medicine ball didn't last long! Thank you to Sovereign Homes and Instyle with TM for sponsoring our Christmas Party with prizes for our raffle. Looking forward to another great party next year already!

10 easy hydration tips

You could argue that water is the most important nutrient of all. It is essential for so many physiological functions including regulating body temperature, maintaining blood volume, muscle contractions, lubricating joints and removing waste products from the body. Without adequate water intake dehydration can occur. Symptoms of dehydration can be uncomfortable and tiring, interfere with work productivity, decrease training and sport performance and be a potential serious health threat if left untreated. 10 easy hydration tips are identified in this article to help prevent dehydration and its associated symptoms.

The Christmas Party - It's Finally Here!

We look forward to this all year! The Drive Fitness Christmas Party is our BIG annual social event, our awards ceremony and a great chance for us to give away some prizes and catch up with everyone!

We are hoping to max out the capacity of our function room at the Oxford 152 - come along and help us do it. The details are as follows:

Who
All Drive Fitness clients and their partner or friend.

What
Join us for a social occasion (no hidden fitness challenges) to chat with friends, meet new people and see everyone out of sweaty gym clothes. Finger food will be provided and drinks will be available from the bar. Certificates will be presented for best 2011 results and notable achievements throughout the year. All guests will receive a free ticket entry into our fitness raffle which includes many fitness related prizes.

Where
The Oxford 152 on Oxford St, Bulimba. We will have our own private lounge and bar area for our guests.

When
18 November 2011, 7pm start.

Boot Camp Challenge Reminder Thursday 24 Nov

What: A challenge where each of the Drive Fitness Boot Camps participate in a series of fitness activities to accumulate points for there team
When: Thursday 24 November 5:30-6:30am
Where: Glindemann Park, Logan Rd, Holland Park (Holland Park Boot Camp home field)

If you haven't let your boot camp trainer know you will be participating please do so by the end of this week. This challenge is always a lot of fun and we hope to see all teams well represented.

Walk & Run Club Results Mt Gravatt 12 November

On Saturday we had two options available, a 5 lap time trial or 4x1 lap intervals with rest in between. Well done to everyone who is still making it along on Saturday morning at this busy time of year.

Next week there will be NO walk & run club due to the Drive Fitness Christmas Party the night before. I encourage everyone to go for there own run on the Saturday or Sunday to keep things going. The following week we will be meeting at Tarragindi. Only 4 walk & run club sessions left in 2011!

Stef: 5 lap time trial, 44.30
Sarah: 5 lap time trial, 44.30
Mary: 5 lap time trial, 39.57
Tim: 4x1 lap intervals, 4.03, 4.22, 4.46, 4.41
John F: 5 lap time trial, 31.05
Lynette: 5 lap time trial41.17
John M: 4x1 lap intervals, 4.49, 4.49, 4.49, 4.49
Dave: 4x1 lap intervals, 3.58, 4.03, 4.33, 4.41
Margie: 4 laps continuous, 41.17

Overcoming your fear of exercise (part 5): failure

I saved this one for last deliberately. I believe the fear of exercise failure is far more common then people tend to admit and it's a serious road block for so many people who want and need to exercise. When it comes to exercise the fear of failure can exist in so many different forms, these include: (1) fear of not achieving the fitness results you want, (2) fear of not being able to stick to your training program, (3) fear of not making it through your exercise session, (4) fear of not being able to do what your trainer has asked or what you have asked of yourself and (5) fear of not meeting your own, your trainer's, friend's and / or family's expectations. I'm going to jump straight into the 7 most effective strategies for overcoming the fear of exercise failure.

Dead Lift Challenge 2011 Photos Are Available

The Dead Lift Challenge 2011 photos have arrived. We have uploaded a selection to our facebook page (www.facebook.com/drivefitness) - check them out!

If your photo does not appear on our facebook page and you would like it emailed just send David an email at dave@drivefitness.net and will get your photos sent through to you as soon as possible.

Thank you everyone for making our first ever Dead Lift Challenge such a great event. We look forward to running it again next year.

How to stay hydrated during exercise - pre, during & post exercise guidelines

As we start to move in to the warmer months of the year hydration during exercise becomes even more important. If the fluid lost during exercise is not replaced dehydration will occur. Dehydration causes dramatic decreases in training and sports performance and if untreated can result in overheating, loss of consciousness and death. The large variability between individuals makes it impossible to prescribe a 'one size fits all' hydration plan but I have put some pre, during and post exercise guidelines together that should work for most of us. Check them out!

Tim is Growing a Mo - all for a good cause

During November each year, Movember is responsible for the sprouting of moustaches on thousands of men’s faces in Australia and around the world. The aim of which is to raise vital funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and depression in men.

Drive Fitness personal trainer Tim Wildin is growing a Mo for Movember. If you would like to follow Tim's 'mo-gress' or donate to him you can visit his 'mo space' here: http://au.movember.com/mospace/1956786/. For more information about Movember visit the website: http://au.movember.com/.

All the best Tim - as long as it's gone by the 1st December!

Walk & Run Club Mt Gravatt Saturday 5 November Results

Well done to everyone who completed the 40min continuous run on the weekend. All recorded results are below.

I apologise to everyone who was there on Saturday - I gave you the wrong details about this coming Saturday's walk & run club. We will be meeting at Mt Gravatt for one more session before returning to Tarragindi. This Saturday 12 November we will have the option to either work four 1 lap intervals with rest periods equaling the time it takes to complete the lap or a 5 lap time trial (in as short time as possible).

Looking forward to seeing everyone there. We only have 5 sessions left in the year so lets make the most of them.

The remaining 2011 schedule is as follows:
12 November - Mt Gravatt 7am
19 November - No Walk & Run Club - Christmas Party the night before
26 November - Tarragindi 7am
3 December - Tarragindi 7am
10 December - Tarragindi 7am
17 December - Tarragindi 7am
24 December - No Walk & Run Club (finished for remainder of the year)

Saturday 5 November results:
Ross: 5 laps, 41.50
Julia: 6 laps, 40.00
John F: 6 laps, 40.15
Dave: 8 laps, 40.35
Tim: 7 laps, 42.59
Stef: 5 laps, 46.00
Evan: 8 laps, 40.38
Ana: 5 laps, 42.00

Christmas Party FREE Raffle

Everyone that attends the Drive Fitness Christmas Party will automatically go in the draw to win one of many fitness gifts. This year there will be over 15 fitness gifts being given away including foam rollers, skipping ropes, fitness boxing gloves, protein powder, Drive Fitness singlets, medicine balls and more.

We are looking forward to a great evening. If you haven't added you name to our guest please do so by Friday the 4th November. It is going to be our biggest Christmas Party yet and we want everyone to be there.

The Drive Fitness Christmas Party will be at the Oxford 152, Oxford St, Bulimba on the 18 November at 7pm.
If you would like more information about the Christmas Party you can see the invite here:  http://drivefitness.blogspot.com/2011/10/christmas-party-2011.html.

The Boot Camp Challenge is Coming - Thursday 24 November

Twice each year the Drive Fitness boot camps face off in a challenge, Team Moorooka VS Team Holland Park VS Team Camp Hill. On Thursday 24th November 5:30-6:30am it all happens again at the Holland Park Boot Camp location (Glindemann Park, Logan Rd). Click here for our boot camp locations: http://www.drivefitness.net/brisbane_boot_camp_locations.html.

Moorooka are looking to retain their title, Holland Park are eager to regain the championship that they lost earlier this year while Camp Hill would love to get their name on the board for the first time.

The boot camp challenge registration is open now. If you are boot camper and will be there on the morning please let your boot camp trainer know. If you would like to join a boot camp call us now.

Christmas at the Corso: Thursday 1 December

On Thursday 1 December 4pm-8pm The Corso in Seven Hills will come alive with a Christmas Festival. For those of you not familiar with The Corso, it is the street that Drive Fitness Seven Hills is located on (click here for a map of the location: http://www.drivefitness.net/studio_locations.html).

Drive Fitness will be there handing out balloons and offering Christmas specials for both personal training and boot camp. There will be live music, food, activities for kids and Santa will be there too.

Come along and say hello to us while you enjoy a great Christmas themed evening for the whole family.

Free weight exercise alternatives to popular exercise machines (part 3): chest press

I've got to be honest, I just don't see the point in the chest press machine. This is not just me being anti-machine training, previously in this series of articles I have acknowledged the potential usefulness of both the leg press and the lat pull down machines. Yes... on both occasions I did continue on to say how free weight options are better, but I still confessed that both the leg press and lat pull down could be excused in some circumstances. Not this time! Straight up, if the chest press machine is a regular exercise in your training program it's time for a change!

Christmas Party RSVP by this Friday!

Friday 4th November is the RSVP date for our Christmas Party.

 If you haven't added your name to our guest list at your Drive Fitness please do so during your next session. All boot camp trainers will be taking a guest list to boot camp sessions this week for boot campers to RSVP.

We are really looking forward to the night and we hope everyone can make it to our biggest Christmas Party ever! Click here to see the Christmas Party invitation.

Dead Lift Challenge 2011 Results & Re-cap

Congratulations to everyone, you did amazing! Everyone either equalled there best ever lift or achieved a personal best on the day. It is fantastic to see such great strength improvements from everyone. The atmosphere was very tense to begin with, the bar set up on a stage with the camera pointing at it was intimidating at first but the nerves soon settled and everyone appeared to relax. Everyone was very supportive - it was this group encouragement that helped everyone get the most out of themselves on the day.

Photos of the event will be available in the next couple days. A selection of these will be uploaded to facebook otherwise you can email us and we will send you your photos directly.

In the Men's division 1st place was won by Ian with a lift of 150kg and relative score of 2.443, 2nd place was won by Alan with a lift of 210kg and relative score of 2.439 and 3rd place was won by Mitch with an equal lift of 210kg and relative score of 2.378.

In the Lady's division 1st place was won by Narelle with a lift of 105kg and relative score of 1.992, 2nd place was won by Amanda with a lift of 110kg and relative score of 1.913 and 3rd place was won by Deanna with a lift of 95kg and relative score of 1.641.

Biggest lift in the Men's was tied between Alan and Mitch with 210kg and in the Lady's it was won by Callie with 120kg! Looking forward to  next year's event alreay. A full list of results are below sorted alphabetically.

David's 5 favourites: healthy snacks

nestle diet yogurt

For me snacking is a very important part of my training, if I don't snack regularly throughout the day I lack the energy to perform at my best during my training sessions and I don't recover as quickly following exercise. For a snack to work for me it has to meet the following convenience and nutritional requirements:

• easy and quick to prepare and portion
• able to take with me to work or training
• able to store for a couple days
• contains approximately 10g or more of protein
• contains unprocessed or minimally processed carbohydrate
• contains no or minimal saturated fat and sugar

Dead Lift Challenge this Saturday 29 October

Just a last minute reminder and update for the Drive Fitness Dead Lift Challenge taking place this Saturday 29 October, 8:30am at the Mt Gravatt Studio (64 Clausen St, Mt Gravatt - just off Logan Rd near the Zupps car yards). Could everyone participating please arrive early to ensure we get a good start on the weigh ins. All spectators are welcome and encouraged to attend and morning tea will be available.

We have approximately 40 participants registered for our first ever Dead Lift Challenge. This is well over what we expected. All participants have done really well to develop dead lift technique and the strength and power required to lift the starting weights on the day. The benefits of developing dead lift technique and strength extend far beyond just being able to participate in the dead lift challenge, this is one of the most functional training exercises with the most applications to daily tasks and sport movements.

We hope everyone lifts well on the day - this is a great way for us to get a baseline measure of leg and back strength for monitoring down the track. See you all there!

Not Long to Wait... Christmas Party

On Friday 18 November 2011, 7pm we will all get together for our 4th and biggest Christmas Party! The Drive Fitness Christmas Party has always been our most popular event (I wonder why?) and we can't wait for another fantastic night.

In 2008 we had our first Christmas Party at the Mt Gravatt Hotel with under 40 guests in attendance - it was a great night.

In 2009 we relocated the Christmas Party to Dicey Riley's at Mt Gravatt to accommodate growing guest numbers. We returned to Dicey Riley's in 2010 and had over 70 guests!

This year, we will meet at the Oxford 152, on Oxford St, Bulimba and we are expecting over 100 people to make it. The Christmas Party is a great opportunity to catch up with people you have crossed paths with in training, a chance to win FREE prizes just for being in attendance, enjoy some food and drinks with friends you have made and be a part of the certificate presentation that acknowledge the best results from throughout the year.

We look forward to seeing you there. Please RSVP by the 4th November by writing your name on the guest list at your Drive Fitness studio. All partners / friends are welcome of course!

To read the Christmas Party Invitation please click here. You're Invited to our Christmas Party

Free weight exercise alternatives to popular exercise machines (part 2): lat pull down

I'm not going to give any bad reviews about the lat pull down - in my opinion a free moving cable lat pull down is a good transitional movement on route to the chin up. What I will say is that there are better options available - free weight options. A lot of people simply don't progress or vary from the lat pull down because they are not aware of the benefits or they don't know which exercises are suitable replacements or progressions. Allow me to introduce the body row and chin up. I know I sing the praises of these exercises all the time but for good reason - let me tell you why!

Walk & Run Club 22 October Results | NO Walk & Run This Week

Everyone did well to make it to the top of Mt Gravatt Outlook from Drive Fitness Mt Gravatt studio on Saturday 22 October. All recorded times are listed below.

There will be NO Walk & Run Club session next Saturday due to the Dead Lift Challenge. The first ever Drive Fitness Dead Lift Challenge will be taking place at the Mt Gravatt studio from 8:30am. Any one who is not participating is welcome to come along for morning tea and to spectate.

Walk & Run Club will return Saturday5 November. We will be meeting at Mt Gravatt studio for interval training. See you all there!

Mt Gravatt studio - Mt Gravatt Outlook times:
Donna: Completed (no time recorded)
Matt: Completed (no time recorded)
John F: 36.06
Tania: 54.20
Grant: 32.25
Julia: 37.30
Jo T: 39.22
Jo H: Completed (no time recorded)
Richard: Completed (no time recorded)
Dave: 28.25
Tim: 35.00

Introducing ISOCOOL Protein Powder

We have introduced Ultimate Nutrition ISOCOOL protein powder to our studios. ISOCOOL contains:

• 23g whey protein isolate
• 0g carbohydrate
• 0g sugar
• 0g fat
• only 90cal (350kj) per serve
• less then $2 per serve (when purchasing 900g container)

It has become increasingly more difficult to choose a protein powder with all the different options available. We recommend ISOCOOL for recovering from training and building / maintaining lean muscle mass while controlling body weight. A lot of protein powders have high amounts of sugar, but not this one (contains 0g per serve).

Important things to look for when choosing a protein powder include.

• tastes good when mixed with water
• mixes well with water
• high in protein
• low in carbohydrate and sugar
• good cost value per serve

For more information about the best way to meet protein requirements read this article: Calculating and achieving daily protein requirements.

What foods are high in carbohydrate?

bread

One of the first and most important steps in controlling and losing weight is to recognise which foods are high in carbohydrate. If you don't know where the carbohydrate is coming from in your diet it's impossible to control your intake. Anyone who has read my articles or discussed nutrition with me will know and I'm definitely not an advocate of high protein - low carbohydrate diets for a variety of different reasons however I recognise the importance of identifying carbohydrate in foods to avoid excessively high intake. Excessive dietary carbohydrate leads to high energy intake which if not accompanied by an equally high energy expenditure will result in weight gain and obesity. Becoming familiar with the foods in each food group that are high in carbohydrate will help to keep carbohydrate intake under control.

New Drive Fitness Online Event Calendar

We have launched an online calendar to make it easier for you to look ahead at future events and group fitness session details. The calendar lists all Drive Fitness social and competitive event details (such as the upcoming Dead Lift Challenge & Christmas Party) and all boot camp and walk & run club session times and locations.

You can access the event calendar from our website: www.drivefitness.net, hover over the 'community' tab in the top navigation bar and then select 'event calendar' from the drop down menu. To visit directly and save as a bookmark you can follow this link: https://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=q6nn04k9t17rmphv7otoqa2rhc%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=Australia/Brisbane.

The event calendar is the easiest way to double check walk & run club session locations, confirm boot camp session days & times and to date save for upcoming special events.

Free weight exercise alternatives to popular exercise machines (part 1): leg press

The leg press is the most popular leg machine in the gym, hands down. You might see a few different variations but all leg press machines essentially work the same muscle groups - quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes and calves. I can appreciate that the leg press has its place in some circumstances but it's impossible to deny the overall better strength and fitness value of free weight leg exercises such as the squat. Free weight leg exercises provide a wider range of fitness benefits and serve a far greater functional application. In the first part of this series we will take a look at the leg press machine and what it is not able to offer you, introduce the dumbbell squat and barbell squat and explain why these free weight exercises are much better options.

Walk & Run Club Update & 2011 Schedule

The walk & run club was cancelled last week due to wet weather. As a result, we will stick with the plan from last week to run / walk up to the top of Mt Gravatt Outlook from the Mt Gravatt Studio this Saturday. Just a reminder also that there will be no walk & run club on Saturday the 29 October due to the Dead Lift Challenge taking place at the Mt Gravatt Studio. Everyone is welcome to participate or spectate and enjoy morning tea with us.

The walk & run club schedule for the remainder of 2011 is as follows:

22 October - Mt Gravatt 7am
29 October - No Walk & Run Club - Dead Lift Challenge

5 November - Mt Gravatt 7am
12 November - Mt Gravatt 7am
19 November - No Walk & Run Club - Christmas Party the night before
26 November - Tarragindi 7am

3 December - Tarragindi 7am
10 December - Tarragindi 7am
17 December - Tarragindi 7am
24 December - No Walk & Run Club (finished for remainder of the year)

Only 2 Weeks Away: The First Ever Dead Lift Challenge

On Saturday the 29 October 2011 Drive Fitness will launch our first ever Dead Lift Challenge. This will be a fast and furious event expecting to only take 90mins for everyone to participate and for medals and trophies to be awarded. Final scores are relative to body weight and trophies will be awarded for biggest lift in both Men's and Lady's divisions.

Come along and enjoy a morning tea and a social fitness event. As well as being fun, social and semi-competitive  it will serve as a great way for you to monitor you lower body and back strength from year to year.

Registration is still open. Chat to your trainer and register at reception at your Drive Fitness studio.

What: Dead Lift Challenge - a great test of leg and back strength and power, core and grip strength, endurance and technique. Join us for morning tea and medal presentation after
When: Saturday 29 October 8:30am start (expected 90min duration)
Where: Drive Fitness Mt Gravatt (64 Clausen St, Mt Gravatt)
Who: Everyone is welcome

Calculating and achieving daily protein requirements

protein powder

Dietary protein provides the essential building blocks for all body tissues. These building blocks are called amino acids. There are 20 different amino acids found in the body, 10 of which are classified as essential amino acids and the other 10 non-essential. Don't misinterpret this classification system, all amino acids are 'essential' for healthy body functioning.The body can manufacture non-essential amino acids however it cannot manufacture essential amino acids meaning that they must be obtained from the diet. Protein intake is absolutely necessary for growth and repair of muscle, bone and connective tissue. Inadequate dietary protein will delay or prevent recovery from exercise, the building and maintenance of muscle mass, inhibit training and sport performance and increase the risk of injury and over training.

Overcoming your fear of exercise (part 4): looking silly

Up amongst the most common fears of exercise is the fear of looking silly. It is not unusual to feel self conscious or embarrassed while doing new things, in front of unfamiliar people with equipment you have never used before. I have hit my chin with the bar during an overhead press, had the weight plates slide off while squatting and trapped myself on the bench press. I have seen people fall off a treadmill, stack a box jump, bounce a medicine ball off the ground and hit them self in the nose and drop a kettlebell on their foot (no one was seriously injured and these haven't all occurred during my personal training sessions). Mistakes and accidents may occur during exercise but you don't have to fear these things happening.

You're Invited to our Christmas Party

It's that time of year again and we would love your company. Join us to celebrate a fantastic year of fitness results and to catch up with a few friends that you have made along the way.




Who
All Drive Fitness clients and their partner or friend.

What
Join us for a social occasion (no hidden fitness challenges) to chat with friends, meet new people and see everyone out of sweaty gym clothes. Finger food will be provided and drinks will be available from the bar. Certificates will be presented for best 2011 results and notable achievements throughout the year. All guests will receive a free ticket entry into our fitness raffle which includes many fitness related prizes.

Where
The Oxford 152 (Bulimba Hotel) on Oxford St, Bulimba. We will have our own private lounge and bar area for our guests.

When
18 November 2011, 7pm start.

Please RSVP by the 4 November 2011. You can RSVP by writing your name on the Christmas Party guest list at your Drive Fitness studio.

See you there!

Walk & Run Club Update: Last Week Results & This Week Details

A good show of commitment from everyone that showed up at the Tarragindi studio last Saturday in the light rain. It would have been an easy morning to stay in bed. Some of our 5 lap time trials were cut short on account of the rain getting too heavy - well done to those that finished it off regardless. If you did the Tarragindi 5 lap time trial with us on 17 September you can see your previous time here: http://drivefitness.blogspot.com/2011/09/walk-run-club-tarragindi-5-lap-time.html. Results from last Saturday are below.

Next week we will be meeting at the Mt Gravatt studio for a walk or run up to Mt Gravatt Outlook and back. It is roughly a 5.5km course with a 2km hill in the middle of it. If you did this walk / run with us last time on 20 August you can check your last time here: http://drivefitness.blogspot.com/2011/08/walk-run-club-mt-gravatt-outlook-times.html. This will give you something to beat! See you all there at 7am.

Saturday 8 October 5 Lap Time Trial Results:
John M: Large Laps (33.50)
Grant: Large Laps - only 2.5 complete (16.00)
Julia: Large Laps (34.50)
Toby: Medium Laps - only 4 complete (24.17)
David E: Large Laps - only 4 complete (21.45)
Kym: Small Laps - only 4 complete (27.43)
Kate: Small Laps - only 1 complete (3.50)
Lianna: Small Laps (21.55)
Rachel: only 4 complete (33.44)
Tim: Large Laps (29.44)

Fruit with the lowest sugar content

strawberries

We all know that fruit is an essential part of all healthy diets. Fruit contains fibre, vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants all of which are important for many physiological functions. What you also need to be aware of is that fruit contains sugar. The sugar found in whole fruit is natural (not artificially added) however it is sugar none the less and contributes to overall energy intake just like any other sugar found in any other food (natural or artificial). Avoiding fruit altogether because of its sugar content is not the answer but selecting your daily fruit serves wisely can help to lower total daily sugar intake, lose or control body weight and reduce the risk of chronic disease.

Walk & Run Club Tarragindi 45min Run Results 1 October 2011

Well done to everyone who pushed out 45mins of continual running last Saturday. We are returning to Tarragindi this Saturday 8 October for a repeat of our 5 lap time trial. Check out your 5 lap time trial results from a few weeks ago so you know what time you need to beat this week.

See you all there 7am as usual.

David S: 8 Medium Laps
Julia: 6 Large Laps
John M: 9 Medium Laps
John F: 6 Large Laps
Grant: 9 Medium Laps
David E: 7 Large Laps
Aveen: 3 Small Laps
Margie: 4 Medium Laps + 1 Small Lap
Jenny: 4 Medium Laps + 1 Small Lap
Stef: 6 Medium Laps
Jo: 7 Medium Laps
Lynette: 6 Medium Laps
Evan: 11 Medium Laps
Rachel: 5 Large Laps

Body weight training: benefits, basic techniques & workouts

You can train the whole body and achieve great fitness benefits without using any equipment. All you need is your own body weight, correct technique and a workout program. Well, you have your body weight with you everywhere you go, now let me introduce you to 5 basic body weight exercise techniques and 5 body weight workout programs. Don't be fooled - these workouts may only use your body weight for resistance but they are guaranteed to be a challenge and achieve results!

Dead Lift Challenge Registration Opens next Monday 3 October 2011

The Dead Lift Challenge is now less then 6 weeks away! Join us for our first ever Dead Lift Challenge at the Drive Fitness Mt Gravatt on the 29 October 2011. It will be our last event for the year before the Christmas Party so come along and enjoy a fun, social fitness challenge and morning tea.

Registration will be available at all Drive Fitness locations from next Monday 3 October 2011. Register at the reception counter or with your trainer. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to be involved.

What: Dead Lift Challenge - a great test of leg and back strength and power, core and grip strength, endurance and technique. Join us for morning tea and medal presentation after
When: Saturday 29 October 8:30am
Where: Drive Fitness Mt Gravatt
Who: Everyone is welcome

Walk & Run Club Tarragindi Interval Splits Saturday 24 September 2011

Well done to everyone who reached our target for the morning of 4 x 700m max efforts. The gradual hill at the start doesn't make it an easy task. Next Saturday we will be meeting back at Tarragindi for a continual 45min run. Looking forward to seeing you all there.

Alice: 4.20, 4.05, 4.24, 4.30
Rebecca: 4.00, 4.05, 4.35, 5.05
John M: 3.55, 2.58, 2.53, 3.00
Grant: 2.49, 3.10, 3.15, 3.23
David E: 2.19, 2.32, 2.42, 2.28
Stef: 4.11, 4.33, 4.42, 5.05
Sarah: 4.11, 4.33, 4.42, 5.05
Kate: 3.23, 3.35, 3.32
Narelle 4.00, 3.35, 4.30, 4.00
Julie: 3.30, 3.18, 3.28, 3.32
John F: 3.22, 3.22, 3.17, 3.24
Aveen: 4 laps continuous 31.55
Margie: 4 laps continuous 31.55

Walk & Run Club at Tarragindi this Saturday for Intervals

This Saturday 24 September 2011 we will be meeting at the Tarragindi studio for 4x600m intervals. Join us at 7am.

The following two weeks will also meet at the Tarragindi studio. Next week we will be working for 8 laps (3 different lap sizes depending on your level of fitness) and the following week will be a re-test of a our 5 lap time trial.

Looking forward to seeing a few new faces at Walk & Run Club as the weather warms up in the mornings. See you there!

Consume protein at every meal to promote weight loss and weight control

beef steak

You have probably heard how consuming adequate dietary protein promotes muscle recovery and optimises strength, power, size and fitness gains after exercise (more info about protein intake for muscle recovery here: What should I eat after training?). What you may not have heard is how regular protein intake can help you to lose and control body weight. Consuming small amounts of protein at every meal is a powerful weight loss and weight control strategy that is easy to implement.

Kettlebells are coming to Seven Hills!

Kettlebells

Drive Fitness introduced kettlebell training at our Tarragindi location early 2011 and at Mt Gravatt a couple months later. Since then kettlebells have become a very popular part of Drive Fitness training programs and we have been seeing some great fitness, strength and power results from incorporating kettlebell movements into our sessions.

As well as helping to achieve some great results, kettlebells have provided some variety for those fitness enthusiasts who are always on the look out for a new and interesting challenge.

We think it's time we brought kettlebells to Seven Hills and let everyone there experience what we have been raving about at Tarragindi and Mt Gravatt.

As always, we are constantly on the look out for new, but effective, training principals and equipment to incorporate into the Drive Fitness method of exercise prescription. We have seen some undeniable results since experimenting with kettlebells over the last 9 months and we feel they have past the test and are worthy of our tick of approval. Our trainers are qualified and capable kettlebell instructors and we hope everyone enjoys 'playing around' with something different.

Starchy vegetables: a weight loss pitfall

sweet potato

When we think about eating for weight loss or weight control we rarely consider the vegetable food group as one that requires attention. We receive a very general message from most sources recommending that we consume 4-5 servings of vegetables every day but we very rarely hear about starchy vegetables specifically, what they are, how much carbohydrate they contain and how they affect our energy intake and weight.

Walk & Run Club Tarragindi 5 Lap Time Trial Saturday 17 September 2011

Well done to everyone who made it along to the first Run Club after the Bridge to Brisbane for a 5 lap time trial. We will re-test our Tarragindi 5 lap time trial in about 8 weeks time. Next week we will return to Tarragindi for some interval work on our small Tarragindi lap.

Rose: 5 Medium Laps (31:07)
Lynette: 5 Medium Laps (39:44)
David S: 5 Large Laps (38:16)
Janine: 5 Medium Laps: (39:35)
Owen: 5 Large Laps (41:18)
Julia: 5 Large Laps (34:42)
Aveen: 4 Small Laps ( 29:13)
Grant: 5 Large Laps (34:14)
Tania: 5 Medium Laps (39:44)
Katie: 5 Medium Laps (39:44)
Rebecca: 5 Medium Laps (33:19)
Jane: 5 Large Laps (40:00)
Alice: 4 Medium + 1 Large Laps (33:46)
David E: 5 Large Laps (31:00)

Drive Fitness Records (updated 19 September 2011)

Our Drive Fitness Records have been updated with our new Bridge to Brisbane record holders and results. Congratulations to Andrew & Emma for improving our best Bridge to Brisbane 10km times.

2 new records are up for grabs next month at our first ever Dead Lift Challenge on the 29 October. The Dead Lift Challenge will decide a MAX and RELATIVE dead lift Drive Fitness record. Talk to your trainer next session about challenging for the new dead lift records or one of our other Drive Fitness records listed below.

Test / Event	Record
Bridge to Brisbane 10km	Andrew Hartung: 47:36min (2011) Emma Waller: 49:37 (2011)
Beep Test	Jason Purcell: 12.0 (2009) Rachel Dubois: 10.1 (2010)
50m Sprint	Mark Shellshear: 6.62sec (2010) Cassie Tyler: 7.97sec (2009)
Max Bench Press	Emmanuel Polichronis: 140kg (2011) Callie Conomos: 67.5kg (2011)
Relative Bench Press	Mitch Edwards: 1.525kg/kg bw (2011) Angela Verner: 0.817kg/kg bw (2011)
Max Dead Lift	coming soon
Relative Dead Lift	coming soon
Max Chin Ups (1min)	Jason Purcell: 20 (2009) Christina Willcox 5 (2009)
Max Push Ups (1min)	coming soon
Max Wall Sit	Andrew Ridgway: 5:43min (2010) Michelle Foster: 6:30min (2011)

http://www.drivefitness.net/drive_fitness_records.html

New David's Articles: Overcoming your fear of exercise (part 3): pain & soreness

David's Articles: Overcoming your fear of exercise (part 3): pain & soreness

Most people don't like pain or things that cause it. If it's been a while since you have exercised and you're afraid of the pain during and ...

click here to read the full article

Overcoming your fear of exercise (part 3): pain & soreness

Most people don't like pain or things that cause it. If it's been a while since you have exercised and you're afraid of the pain during and the soreness that follows you are certainly not alone. One of the biggest concerns expressed to me during the initial phone call or meeting with a new client is the fear of not being able to push through an exercise session due to the pain or not being able to function the next day due to the soreness. Being afraid of exercise for these reasons is completely normal - people naturally fear pain and soreness and as a result avoid things that cause it. I would like stress to you that exercise does not have to be painful and you don't have to be sore the following day (or 2, or 3) to benefit from an exercise program. In this article  I would like to help you interpret the things you might feel during exercise and re-assure you that 'no pain - no gain' is not necessarily true.

Boot Camp Returns to the Park

With the return of some warmer weather and more light in the early mornings our boot camps have returned to their outdoor locations. After 2 months of training in the studio everyone is well and truly ready to get back to the park.

If you have been waiting for this change before getting back into boot camp your wait is over. Give us a call or email to find out more and to enlist for a boot camp start date. Our outdoor boot camps take place at 3 convenient outdoor locations in Camp Hill, Holland Park and Moorooka. For more information about our boot camp locations and times please see our boot camp page on our website here: http://www.drivefitness.net/brisbane_boot_camp.html.

Bridge to Brisbane Team Places Released

The Bridge to Brisbane team results have been released. Drive Fitness came 62 out of 1690 10km teams. This is a great achievement and an improvement on our place of 87 in 2010 and 150 in 2009. Well done to all Drive Fitness team members who contributed to a fantastic over all place. We look forward to continuing improvement in 2012!

Bridge to Brisbane Results & Wrap Up

Congratulations to everyone who participated in the Bridge to Brisbane yesterday (Sunday 11 September 2011). We had some fantastic results with both the Men's and Lady's Drive Fitness Hall of Fame records broken - Andrew Hartung claiming the Men's record with 47min 36sec and Emma Waller retaining and improving the Lady's record with 49min 37sec. A special BIG congratulations to these two Drive Fitness record holders and everyone who improved their time from last year. This is a very big achievement! We had some great results from our trainers also. David achieved his best 10km time ever with 45min 55sec and Nathan achieved a 46min 44sec. Thank you to everyone who regularly joins us at Walk & Run Club sessions. This has been a great help for me and others - training as a group helps to keep us all accountable.

Drive Fitness was well represented with a team of 50 participants. It was very impressive to see so many people involved and enjoying the event and the Drive Fitness singlets stood out in the crowd making it easy to catch up with and encourage other Drive Fitness runners during the race. As a personal trainer it was one of the most satisfying days for me. I know I speak for all of the Drive Fitness trainers when I say that it was a great feeling to see so many people achieving their goals by completing the 10km event. We already have plans for early next year to enter a Drive Fitness team in the Brisbane Twilight Run!

Thank you to everyone that helped prepare the BBQ for after the event. It was a well deserved and needed breakfast following a big effort. Thank you also to everyone on our team for being such an encouraging and supportive group for each other. It's great that amongst some competitiveness everyone is supportive and happy to share in each other's achievements.

Walk & Run Club sessions will continue every Saturday 7am from next week (follow the Walk & Run Club link at the top of this news page to see the schedule for the remainder of 2011). I would just like to encourage everyone to keep up the training for next year.

Bridge to Brisbane 2011 results for the Drive Fitness team are as follows (alphabetical by first name):

Alan 1.00.35
Amanda 59.30
Amy 1.03.58
Ana 1.23.19
Andy 47.36
Angus 1.17.04
Belinda 1.38.38
Callum 1.02.17
Dave.E 45.55
Dave.S 1.04.47
Deanna 2.05.12
Declan 53.30
Emma 49.37
Erin 1.16.22
Grant 54.00
Janine 1.07.49
Jase 58.23
Jenna 1.16.22
Jo 1.01.39
John.F 56.50
John.M 49.21
Julia 59.03
Kate 1.13.18
Lynette 1.16.23
Maggie 2.05.13
Marcus 51.52
Mark 47.55
Mary 1.16.36
Matt 1.15.27
Melita 57.46
Michelle 1.22.34
Narelle 55.44
Nathan 46.44
Nudge 57.46
Owen 1.19.02
Pete 1.00.33
Rebecca 1.16.36
Rob 1.00.52
Rose 1.02.54
Ross 1.10.50
Sally 1.08.38
Sarah 1.14.43
Shayne 1.07.20
Stacey 59.33
Stef 1.14.43
Stephen 51.52
Tania 1.25.36
Thomas 1.03.46
Tim 1.00.34