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