Nick Pratt - Fitnance Trainee & Strongman

GYM TRAINING

I train about 5 or 6 days a week and one of those days I train for the strongman events.
Each work out in the gym lasts around 1hr and 30mins with about 6 exercises per a work out. I find the most effective way for me to train is to break my work outs down to body parts or movements. I always like to train major muscle groups at least 2 times a week (such as legs, shoulders and back).
A lot of my training is based on strengthening and conditioning each muscle with a small amount of body building. I like to keep a fair amount of my training low reps with heavy weights and a high number of sets. I find I get the best results are from 1 or 2 basic and major exercises per a work out and keep and rest to support muscles and muscles that would help with the certain movement.

STRONGMAN TRAINING

Until I get some of my own equipment I am only training with strongman implements once a week. On that day we normally train for around 3-4hrs starting with eater supper yoke, farmers walk or log press and then ending on the atlas stones because they are always last in the competition. To warm up with the walks we normally start with a lightweight and walk for distance then move the weight heavier just for about 25m (eg start with 55kg a hand for 50m end with 125kg for 25m).
Training for the stones normally starts with a fairly light stone and does it for reps moving up weights after each set then we Try to aim for our 1RM stone after that we drop back down to a lighter stone and see how high we can get it over the bar.

Luke C Gregory

Luke C Gregory


Over 25 Years Martial Arts Experience.

Senior in Ju Jitsu (Japanese Martial Art)

Senior (5th Degree Black Belt) Chen Family Shadow Boxing (Chinese Martial Art).

Qualified in China as Senior Kung Fu instructor.

Qualified in China as Senior Tai Chi instructor

Third brother (Senior Instructor and Disciple), and international representative of Guangzhou XiaoWu Martial Arts and Health Academy, under Senior Master ZhangXiaoWu Who in 2005 was recognised by the State Government as 'Superior Martial Artist' of GuangDong Province, China. Master Zhang is himself a lifelong student of Grand Master Chen ZhengLei.

In 2004 Luke won a Gold Medal at Ma-An Shan International Shadow Boxing Championships: Ma'An Shan, An Hui Province, China

In 2008 Luke won Gold Medal and a Silver Medal at ChenJiaGou International Invitational Shadow Boxing Championship: ChenJiaGou, Henan Province, China

Guido back at Fitnance

Guido is back... If you like the artwork on the car park wall, you will love the new art work Guido has being spray painting on the back wall and bathrooms in the gym.

As you can see from the pictures he has done a fantastic piece of artwork

“THE Former Origin Greats” Billabong To Beaches Camp: Mudjimba 2009

Imagine surfing, abseiling, canoeing, mountain biking and archery with your heroes. What an awesome experience!! In fact, it was a life changing experience for a group of indigenous boys from Doomadgee and Mornington Island who recently participated in the ‘Billabong to Beaches’ Camp at Mudjimba.

The boys come from disadvantaged backgrounds with histories of alcoholism, substance abuse, violence and sexual assault. The Camp’s aim is to improve their life skills to enable them to make better life choices and motivate them into leading a positive life for themselves and their communities.

The 14 boys spent the previous week in Longreach, working on horsemanship and leather skills. After the camp the boys returned to Longreach for another week of honing their mustering skills. Most of the boys are aiming to get jobs on stations when they finish.

The Former Origin Greats organised for Australia’s fastest man, Patrick Johnson; 2x World Kung Fu champion, Luke C Gregory and Australian Triathlon representative, Chris Weier, to join the boys on the week-long camp. They mentored the boys through their challenges during the week.

Pat Johnson grew up in the small community of Leichardt River and experienced firsthand the same anti-social behaviours the camp is trying to combat. Johnson went to University in Canberra, before beginning his athletics career. He started running at the University Games at the age of 24. Since his relatively late start in the sport he has represented Australia at three Olympic Games and numerous Commonwealth Games, in addition to being selected in the Australian Athletics team to compete in the World Athletics championships in Rome later this year. His message was that the boys needed to be strong and chase their dreams.

“I want to be a 100m runner, like Pat” said Noel (pictured). Noel had his 16th birthday during the camp. He proudly wore the jacket his hero had given him.

The non-profit Former Origin Greats was established in 1997 by the late Richard ‘Tosser’ Turner. Its Indigenous Programs have been developed with a commitment to closing the gap for indigenous youth through mentoring and career advice. All 166 members are former Queensland State of Origin players. The FOGS have organised another seven of these camps over the year.

Fitnance Trainee - Mathew Garland

Mathew Garland

DOB: 13/4/92

What school I currently attend: Brisbane State High School

Subjects I’m currently studying are
Maths, English, HPE, Construction, and Art and Rugby studies.

Favourite Sport: Rugby Union and Touch football

Favourite food: Subway foot long, Chicken curry.

Nickname: Matty G

Favourite sporting team: Queensland Reds and South Sydney Rabbitohs.

What would like to do after school: Become a professional Rugby player and personal trainer.

Sporting Achievements:

· Under 15s Metropolitan east rugby team
· Under 15s Queensland rugby team
· 2007 National talent squad
· 2008 National talent squad
· Under 16s Queensland 1 rugby team
· Reds Scholarship 2008 and 2009

"He very kindly took me into his confidence providing a fascinating insight into the physical development of the entire squad in terms of strength, power and fitness. In terms of rugby union, Steve was the worldwide leader in his area of specialisation. His vast experience in professional sport, particularly rugby league, ensured that the ground-breaking Wallabies under coach Rod Macqueen were ahead of their time."

Gordon Bray - Rugby Commentator

The workout rules you should break (Part 3)

Do squats for a firm burn

To flaunt a sexy arse at your next B&B love-fest, do hip extensions instead of squats. The move hits 55 per cent more of your hamstrings and 79 per cent more of your glutes, says a study by the American council on Exercise. Get on your hands and knees. Keeping knees bent, lift right feel to ceiling, then lower it back to start position. Do 12 reps. Repeat on other side.

Source: Womens Health Magazine (April 2009)

The workout rules you should break (part 2)

Do crunches for hard abs
Turns out pilates ab moves are superior to crunches for sculpting your midsection, says a US study by Auburn University. An exercise called “the teaser” activates 39 percent more of your rectus abdominus muscle (your six-pack) and 266 per cent more of your external obliques (love handles). Lie face up on a mat. Lift legs so thighs are perpendicular to floor and knees are bent 90 degrees. Raise hands to ceiling. Lift torso and straighten legs so your body forms a “V”. Hold for one second, then roll back down, keeping your legs raised. Do eight to ten reps.

Source: Womens Health Magazine (April 2009)

The workout rules you should break

Unlike wine, cheese and Leo DiCaprio, workout strategies don’t improve with age. That’s because each year, hundreds of study results tweak conventional thinking. The latest research results have been found to come up with updates that will land you a scorching body ASAP.

Position hands shoulder-width apart

You’re often told to do this for upper-body moves like press-ups, bench presses and lat pull-downs. Why? It gives you a stable start point. But that doesn’t mean stay there set after set. “Spreading your hands a few centimetres further out stresses more of the inner portion of your biceps; bringing you hands in a few centimetres builds more of the outer part,” says personal trainer Steve Lischin. Switch your position after every set for balanced strength and overall tone.

Source: Womens Health Magazine April 2009

Duncan Free - Steps to Success

The Free Steps to Success:

1) Have a vision (clear)
2) Visualize
3) Learn from your mistakes
4) Strive for Excellence
5) SMART training
6) Train HARD
7) Prepare your P.E.T. Physical, Emotional, Technical
8) Focus on your strengths
9) Enjoy what you do. Have FUN. Variety
10) Stretch yourself. How do you know your limit?

Monday morning Cardio

Today's session saw the group undertake a new cardio challenge. Tasks were to: Grind 1k, Stepper for 20 calories, Row 500m, Run 1k, Bike 2k's, Max. push ups & Max. chins / Lat pull downs.

Each exercise was scored 1-5 (5 being highest) depending on given times or number of push ups / chins. (Max. 35 points per round)

50 minutes were allowed to complete the tasks as many times as they could, with all the tasks needed to be completed in round 1.

Results were: (round)

Jim (1) 28 points (2) 9 points

Parra (1) 23 points (2) 9 points

Gary (1) 28 points (2) 27 points

Shannon (1) 17 points (2) 7 points

Tom (1) 33 points (2) 14 points

Rockets Record Goes

Rodney "Rocket" Hill was informed this morning that his long standing record for maximum sit ups in 60 seconds had been beaten.

The previous number of 55 was raised to 57 by Cert. 4 student Matt Ruthenberg. Matt commented to Fitnance on his achievement by saying " next time I will try"

Rodney after a long period of silence told Tanya " I want to do the bleep test"

Well Matt on the new record. Make sure to check out the other records and maybe you can get your name on the Fitnance Hall of Fame.

Fitnance Calorie Counter - 02/03/09

Aim of the calorie counter is a cardio workout using the Stepper, Treadmill, Rower, Bike and Grinder. Total calories are recorded from 4 sessions. (1 x 10 mins, 2 x 5 mins, 3 x 3 mins and 5 x 2 mins)

Results are as follows

(total calories burnt)

Gary 704.6, Tom 592, Steve 463, Parra 463, Deb 364,

Shannon 343

Jim 530, Hamish 457, Fiona 581, Jackie 469, LL 339, Averil 467

Ayesha 361, Joe 377, Peter 416, Bob 372, Di 328

Well done everyone, Chris

CREATINE

Works by achieving higher stores of phospho-creatine in your muscles. This then allows you to train harder in gym and cause more "Stimulus" that makes your muscles grow.
Usually comes in a powder form. Creatine will help provide the energy to lift the last few reps on a set of 8-12, it will not make you stronger in a 1 rep maximum situation, but can let you last longer and lift more reps at a given weight over 4reps.
***I do not recommend paying inflated prices for "extra" ingredients in a protein shake. Again just a simple Creatine Monohydrate or Creatine Malate will be sufficient. It is also recommended that when you are using creatine that you do not drink alcohol, as it has the opposite affect .
For dosage and loading principles look for the AIS NUTRITION FACT SHEET: CREATINE, as it sums up the recommendations perfectly. http://www.ais.org.au/

TOP TIPS FOR WORKING OUT AT HOME

· Vary the location for your exercise. Use the local park or a deck for some of your routine.
· Record your favourite shows. If you’re on the treadmill or exercise bike you can reward yourself by catching up with your favourite shows!
· Commit to a set time. Consistency and routine are crucial to success.
· Try not to break your appointment time with yourself. The dishes, laundry and phone calls can wait.
· Invest in motivational equipment. Ensure you have plenty of boredom beakers. A choice of DVD’s and exercise aids like dumb-bells and resistance straps will help.
· Don’t talk yourself out of a shortened workout. 15-20 minutes of cardio is better than none.
· Put together several workout mixes for your MP3 player. Great music helps workouts go faster.
· Wear comfortable clothing and footwear. It will make exercise more pleasant.
· Dancing is a great exercise so find time to move to some music. For once you can dance like no one’s watching.
· For best results, warm up for 10-20 minutes with light aerobic exercise like walking, cycling, or jogging.