EVOLUTIONARY FITNESS

When the masses are sick and overweight it might be an idea to find out what the masses are doing…….and do the opposite!

Today in Newcastle, 200 People Jiggle Around in Front of Lights in a 3 hour 'Zumbathon'!

On Saturday 11th February, Evolutionary Fitness held it’s first official Open Day. The purpose was twofold;
1) to celebrate the opening of our brand new extension, including male and female changing rooms with showers and Treatment/Personal Training Room.
2) to celebrate 32 months of trading and training!!

The day kicked off with one of our trade mark team workouts, which saw 4 teams battle it out over 5 events. The atmosphere was fantastic with everyone entering into the true spirit of the day.

There was a great mix of fun and enthusiasm combined with a healthy dose of competition! At the end of the workout the aptly named ‘The Winners’ were crowned ‘Champions’ followed very closely by ‘Colin’s Crew’. Well done to all.

In between polishing the glasses for the fizz (thank Laura!) …Laura offered her magical sports massage to help ease those well worked aching muscles.

After the workout, we had the Official Opening Ceremony of the new facilities, conducted by our very glamorous longest standing client and dear friend Bernice.

Bernice  recited a wonderful and moving poem (yes, Laura did shed a few tears!) before cutting the ribbon and opening the doors to the shiny new rooms!

Next, it was the coaches turn to sweat!  First we had a gymnastic display from our Junior Coach and ex-competitive gymnast Amy.

Amy, without so much as a warm-up, showcased her impressive gymnastic skills and showed us what can be achieved with regular stretching and focused practice!  This was proceeded with a head to head workout between Chris and Laura. The two of them fought it out with a workout known as ‘Christine’ (3 rounds; row 500m, 12 x Bodyweight deadlift, 21 x box jumps). A notoriously tough workout, the race was a close run thing with Chris chasing down Laura, until she managed to break free on the 3rd round, finishing just 20s in front!!

Whilst the coaches caught their breath, the crowd tucked into a fantastic spread!  We were told it was superb with not an ounce of gluten in sight! There were rumors of chocolate biscuit cake, apple scones and potato pie but by the time we got there, there was only salad left so either it was a paleo delight, or the rumors were true and all the evidence had been eaten!!!??! We leave you to decide!

The centre piece of the spread was a celebratory cake made by the very talented Irene.  Thank you Irene, it was a wonderful, heartfelt addition to the celebrations…perhaps the only cake featuring Kettlebells you’ll see all year!

We then had a slide show from the last 32 months depicting the many smiles, grimaces, PB’s, blood, sweat and tears shared (well, maybe not so much of the blood, thankfully!). This was followed by a quiz on all things EF/Paleo/Strength and Conditioning and much to our delight, it appears that most of you do actually listen to what we say…Who’d have thought it!

The day was a great success and we would like to thank everybody who came. It’s been a wonderful adventure to date and we sincerely look forward to the next chapter. We thank each and everyone of our clients for their loyalty, support, love and laughter.

Enjoy the New Facilities!!!

More Health and Fitness News & Tips at Greatist.

Some interesting results coming through from our Survey with one particular ‘fat/oil’, clearly taking the lead already .  We’ll do a blog post on the most popular oil/fat so be sure to cast your vote below!  (Don’t be shy, it’s all anonymous!)

And whilst you try amd remember which oils you’ve used lately here’s some good breakfast advice from The British Dietetic Association…

Breakfast cereals, porridge, bread, rolls, English muffins, scones, malt loaf, fruit bread, currant bun and bagels are all good sources of energy that will help kick start your metabolism and they’re all low in fat too. (The British Dietetic Association ‘A Healthy Breakfast -The best start to your day…’ Web Article; 2012)

And by ‘good’ we mean ‘bad’, and by’ bad’ we mean a one-way ticket to Obese Street and Diabetesville.  Do you and your family a favour and ‘Google’ ‘Insulin Resistance’ and ‘Gluten’, or better yet just stop eating this processed stuff.

PS: We calibrated our scales yesterday and they’re bang on the money!

Please remember (you won’t) that the scales are just one small part of your fitness story.

When we calibrate the scales we need a ‘known’ weight in order to reference the scales against.  We could use 50kg of sand, 50kg of iron, or indeed 50kg of jelly, and it wouldn’t matter.  If the scale is accurate, it will read exactly the same thing each time (i.e. ’50kg’); it tells us nothing about what it’s actually weighing.  So, although these examples all weigh the same, if we were mad enough (we are) to put them in three little black dresses, the different effects would be startling…and probably a little disturbing too!

This photo above shows a 5lbs bundle of muscle alongside 5lbs flub of fat.  So clearly, dense material, like muscle, will help with the, ‘Does my bum look big in this’ question.

As a Brucie Bonus, muscle also ‘demands’ more calories than fat in order to keep happy.  Mcardle, Katch & Katch (required text at University) came up with a formula which takes into account ‘lean body mass’ when calculating Basal metabolic Rate (BMR).  Remember BMR is usually, by far, the largest component of total daily calorie expenditure.

A basal metabolic rate is the amount of energy used by an individual at rest in a 24 hour day. Rest in this case is defined as having absolutely zero physical activity.

Let us compare a 65kg athletic female (14% body-fat) with a 65kg obese female (32% body-fat) using the Mcardle BMR calculator.  Once you’ve punched in the numbers you will see that the leaner woman needs over 90,000 calories per year more than the obese female just to sit on the couch!  When we factor in exercise, presuming the more ‘muscley’ woman can exercise longer and harder (a fair presumption?), the two calorie requirements are even further apart.

The answer dear readers, as ever, is SQUAT more and to Hell with the scales!

Here is a list of common, and not so common, Fats.

The question is, ‘Which do you normally use?’

Tick as many, or as few, as you would normally use on a fairly regular basis.

Thanks for taking part!

We’ll get back to you with the results by the end of the week.

Some great insight from a very well-respected strength coach.

12-Reasons-You’re-Not-Losing-Fat  (Be aware some ‘earthy’ language used)

The reasons are simple…but not easy!

The Not So Fresh Prince.

When we were studying Sports Science at University, waaaaay back in the 90′s, there was a very well-respected Sports Physiology tome entitled ‘The Lore of Running’.  At nearly a thousand pages long, with research references at every turn, it was affectionately referred to as the Runners Bible…or, as i seem to recall, ‘that Bl@&dy Heavy Book!’

Dr Tim Noakes; No More Pasta!

Its’ Author, Professor Tim Noakes (pictured here with a Paleo dish if ever i saw one), was a Research Scientist, Physician, as well as a Serious Runner (with 70 marathons, including seven, 56-mile Ultra Marathons under his belt).

Dr Noakes was therefore that rare breed who could combine Scientific understanding, with Athletic insight.  Rarer still was his ability to present this technical information effectively to the intelligent layperson, and provide an outstanding  Practical Fitness Guide.

But, as Will Smith will testify, the 90s were a long time ago!…

…So, how do the carbo-loading days of the 1990′s stack up with today’s Science?

…Does anyone actually still go to those Great North Run Pasta Parties? 

Who better to answer that question, than Dr Noakes himself.  Click Here  for Dr Noakes current take on his previous nutritional advice.

Sound familiar?….The following article comes from today’s Journal.

SUGAR is so harmful that it should be controlled in the same way as tobacco and alcohol, according to a team of leading public health experts.
Three American scientists from the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) maintain sugar is more than just “empty calories” that makes people fat.
They argue that high calorie, sweetened food is indirectly responsible for 35 million annual deaths worldwide due to lifestyle-related conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer.
Professors Robert Lustig, Laura Schmidt and Claire Brindis call for restrictions and controls on sugar that mirror those on tobacco and alcohol.
The three set out their views in the leading science journal Nature.
They pointed out that, at the levels consumed in the West, sugar altered metabolism, raised blood pressure, disrupted hormone signalling, and caused significant damage to the liver that was still not fully understood.
The health hazards were similar to the effects of drinking too much alcohol – which was, in any event, manufactured from the distillation of sugar.
Worldwide consumption of sugar has tripled in the last 50 years, fuelling a global obesity epidemic.

Going against the mainstream health and fitness industry is not always easy…

…indeed, we regularly find ourselves shuddering at the phrases ‘tone up’, ‘burn calories’ and our all time favourite… ‘what ab exercises will get rid of my belly?‘ ….

So in our constant efforts to educate and explain here’s a great article that describes exactly why we do what we do…(contains some bad language)

http://www.70sbig.com/blog/2012/01/sick-of-the-bro/

How important is animal protein to the human diet?

Clearly important enough to risk life & limb for…