Press Office

Break The Bulge But Not The Bank

Date: 01 Sep, 2004

Fancy getting in shape for Christmas, but don't want to commit to a 12 month gym membership?  Desperate to tone up but strapped for cash?  Help is at hand with leading health club group Esporta, who are offering a month's trial membership in September and October, enabling you to drop that dress size and squeeze into your favourite little black number in time for the December celebrations.

Follow this simple and effective plan from Mark Talley, Esporta's health and fitness manager, and you'll be stealing the limelight this Christmas!

Exercise

• Aim for 3-5 sessions a week, each of 30-60 minutes.  Include weights and cardiovascular activity as equal parts to your exercise programme.
• For the cardiovascular work, try interval training: for example running very fast for 1 minute, gently for 1 minute and repeating this for twenty minutes.  Over time increase the intervals to two minutes and increase the speed of both the fast running and the more gentle running as well as the overall time spent exercising.  Many running machines have preset programmes offering interval training.
• For weights and resistance work, do 2-3 sets of 12 repetitions on exercises, make sure you are still working hard on the last couple of reps and don't slack off.  Here are some sample exercises: 
  Lower body: fitball squats and leg curls
  Upper body: fitball chest and shoulder presses
  Arms: arm pulldowns and arm curls
  Abdominals: fitball crunches and the plank
• Personalised fitness advice is available through Esporta's On Track programme for new members, this involves three one-to-one consultations in the first eight weeks of membership.

Motivation

• Exercising with a friend or a workout buddy at the gym can keep you motivated.
• A personal trainer can give you that extra incentive to keep to your exercise schedule.
• Set small goals, for example improving a time or distance.

Nutrition

• Don't diet, try to consume everything in moderation. Eat a balanced diet of fruit, vegetables, carbohydrates and proteins and cut back on fats and sugars.
• Eat small and often, five light meals a day is ideal. Never skip breakfast and drink two litres of water every day.
• Don't completely cut out treats, reward yourself once a week for following your plan and try to be good the rest of the time!
• Try 'Weight To Go', a structured programme offered by Esporta which includes nutritional education, support and advice alongside a personally tailored exercise plan.

And a final tip from Mark Talley,: "Keep off the scales, weight doesn't matter.  It's your shape we're trying to improve; a pound of fat is the size of a small football, a pound of muscle is the size of a bar of soap!"

Esporta's Drop a Size promotion invites you to sign up for a month in October.  For further details visit www.esporta.com and click on 'I'm not a member yet' to find your nearest participating club.

Ends

For further information please contact:
Catherine Humphries/Pippa Trentham, Corixa Communications
Tel: 0117 949 3394
Email: pippa.trentham@corixa.co.uk
Date of issue: September 2004