Dom Uppiah Singing at the Carvery

Don't miss out on the the Oasis singing sensation Dom Uppiah who will be entertaining the masses from 1pm on Sunday 9th May. Make sure you book yourself a table to avoid disappointment. Have a great Sunday lunch whilst being entertained by one of best singers Norwich has to offer. Call 01603 462462 to book your table today.

Haven’t tried one of our classes yet?

Exercise classes are one the best ways to get into shape, you are guaranteed a great workout, you’ll be motivated throughout and you will make new friends. But why are people often so reluctant to step into the studio? Here are a few tip to helps you get over that first hurdle.

Tip 1
Pick the right class or the least intimidating things like aero tone or fitness yoga and pilates are not as intense as class such as spinning so are more suitable for a first timer. If you are serious about getting into shape and fast some of the high energy classes such as Body Pump or Body Combat my be more for you.

Tip 2
Speak to the instructor before the class and let them know that you are new. It is their job to ensure that you know how the class will work. The want as many people in their class as possible so they will be more than happy to show you the ropes.

Tip 3
Don’t hide at the back. Contrary to popular belief other class members do not care what other people are doing they’re too wrapped up in themselves. It is a good idea to position yourself somewhere in the middle then you can clearly see what the instructor is doing.

Tip 4
Find out when the class starts a new routine and when we are putting a new class on the time table. This way you will be in the same boat as all the other participants as everyone has to learn the new steps. When our new timetable launches we have a brand new class with Liz on Sunday mornings at 10:40. Triple challenge is the perfect class for beginners and experienced exercisers alike. Combining step, aerobics and toning this class has something for everyone. So May 9th is the perfect to give it a try.

Oasis Tennis Club

Another successfull winter league with the team being runners up to Southwold in division 5 meaning promotion to division 4.

The summer tennis is now underway and anyone interested in a game can come along when there is a clear day.

For more information please contact reception on 01603 462462.

Swinging Sunday Carvery

On Sunday April 25th we are hosting swing singer Les Trutch for our carvery. This will be great entertainment for all the family. Enjoy your carvery from 12:30 to 14:30. At £7.50 per person with entertainment included it is great value. Book your table at reception today on 01603 462462. Children under 5 £3.75

Watch this space!

We have a potential fund raiser event in the pipeline. A date has not yet been confirmed but member Geoff Woods and instructor Ryan Finney are planning a 10 hour spinathon to raise money for motor neurone disease. This is a step up from Geoff's 70 mile row he completed in 2008. They will be in reception all day so all donations will be welcomed on the day.

Upcoming Events

We have got a fantastic array of events at Oasis over the coming weeks. First off one for the kids. The Oasis Easter egg hunt is happening 12:15 on Sunday, 4 April. With face painting and craft making their will be fun to had by all the family. Weather permitting it will be held outside.

Second up on Saturday 10 April sit down to a three course meal accompanied by a jazz trio with award winning trumpeter Freddie Gavita. Arrive at 7pm with dinner being served at 7:30pm. With music through till midnight. This night of entertainment is £20 for members and £25 for non members. Book your table on 01603 462462 today

Crossfit Games 2010

Member Penny Carman and myself competed in the UK/Ireland Crossfit games on Saturday 20th March. This event pitched the fittest men and women in the UK against each other over a day of gruelling fitness tests including rowing, running, sandbag carries, chinups and generally lifting heavy object above our heads.

Penny did fantastically well in her events putting in and immense effort to hold her own against some more experienced athletes. I managed to finish 2nd in a field of 50+ which I was delighted with.

Check out www.crossfit.com for more information on Crossfit. It is a fantastic was of improving your overall fitness. Or you could come and see me in the gym and I'll be able to show you what its all about.

Sport Relief Spinathon

On Sunday we ran a 8 hour spinathon in aid of Sport Relief. With a fantastic effort by all those who took part we managed to raise over £600 which is brilliant. A big thank you for all those that took part.

Look out for some photos over the next few days.

Aero tone Tuesdays 10:45

We have a great class for you. Aero tone with Christine York is a fun, friendly simple aerobics class with lots of toning exercises to target all the areas that count. So if you are new to exercises classes this is the perfect place to start.

Tuesday 10:45

Oasis Pound for Pound Competition 2010

Over three weeks in Feb the Oasis held its now annual pound for pound strongest person competition. Lots of personal bests were achieved. Here are the results.

Squat
Although squatting less than he did last year 170kg was enough to clinch the win for Paul Emmons. But with only a 10% lead over big dead lifter Adam Pryke would it be enough to help him seal the overall victory. Tony Richardson and Ryan Finney both lifting personal bests were still very much in the frame.

Name Lifted Weight % of bodyweight
1 Paul Emmons 170kg 87.6kg 194%
2 Adam Pryke 125kg 67.8kg 184%
3 Tony Richardson 160kg 92.4kg 173%
4 Ryan Finney 115kg 70.6kg 163%
5 Cheryl Griffiths 100kg 66kg 152%

Bench Press

Another event with Tony Richardson coming in with a massive lift of 145kg on his first lift of the day. Straight away this put pressure on the rest of the field especially Darren Walsh who outweighed Tony and knew if he was to beat him must lift more than he had done before. He had a valiant attempt at 150kg but it proved a little much on the day. Adam Williams and Paul Emmons went for a more gradual approach making use of all their lifts. Adam Williams reigned supreme with a lift of 130kg at a bodyweight of 77.4kg meant it was enough to topple Tony of the top spot.

Name Lifted Weight % of bodyweight
1 Adam Williams 130kg 77.44kg 168%
2 Tony Richardson 145kg 91.2kg 159%
3 Paul Emmons 130kg 87.4kg 149%
4 Adam Pryke 100kg 68.2kg 147%
5 Ryan Finney 90kg 70.2kg 128%

6 Zaiphan Morris 95kg 79kg 120%
7 Cheryl Griffiths 67.5kg 65kg 104%
8 Darren Walsh 93.6kg No Lift -

Dead lift

Everyone knew it would be all down to the dead lift. Paul Emmons had a slight lead followed by Tony then Adam. However if Adam lifted to his potential nobody would be able to come close to him!! Like on the bench press Tony came in with massive lifts of 225kg and 230kg in the opening rounds. Dark horse Ryan Finney pulled a huge lift of 182.5kg out of the bag in the first round leaving him in contention for the top spot. There was a glimmer of hope for everyone when Adam Pryke failed on his first attempt at 190kg. Could he possibly not get a lift in and leave the door open for one of the others. Paul Emmons pulled 190kg of the floor with apparently no problem what so ever. Although he couldn’t produce it again with a heavier weight. He needs to over come his mental demons then maybe 200kg will be a possibility. There it was, Tony thought he had won it, Paul knew he hadn’t, Ryan was just glad of the opportunity to compete against more experienced athletes. But it was Adam who came storming through to take the dead lift, lifting nearly three times his body weight.

Name Lifted Weight % of bodyweight
1 Adam Pryke 190kg 67.8kg 280%
2 Ryan Finney 182.5kg 70.2 260%
3 Tony Richardson 230kg 92kg 250%
4 Paul Emmons 190kg 87kg 218%
5 Cheryl Griffiths 120kg 66.4kg 181%

Overall Winner
It was always going to be close and it went down to the final event. Paul went it into the dead lift with a slight lead, Tony in second and Adam third. This was all about to change. With a new nick name Adam ‘the ant’ Pryke regains his title of the Strongest Pound for Pound at Oasis. Next year we are going to be spiking his protein shakes with sugar so he can gain some weight so the rest stand a chance. Cheryl Griffith again became the strongest female. Come on ladies is there anybody who is going to challenge her next year.

Well-done to all those you took part and supported the event.

Name Total Lifted % of bodyweight
1 Adam Pryke 415kg 611%
2 Tony Richardson 535kg 582%
3 Paul Emmons 490kg 561%
4 Ryan Finney 387.5kg 551%
5 Cheryl Griffiths 287.5kg 437%

What’s new in 2010 – Part 2

In the last post I filled you in on what’s new for 2010 establishing that we are going back to our primal roots with a functional training programme, so now here is the programme. This programme is sure to target all areas of the body using functional movements. You will also notice that there is a lot of variation in the workouts too. Our caveman ancestors didn’t have a set regimes and scientists have recently found evidence to suggest at the humans of 20,000 years ago were stronger, faster and fitter than their modern day counterparts. So if it is good enough or our cavemen cousins it is good enough for us. The workouts don’t have a set day to perform them on, just make sure that you get them all done inside seven days .

Workout 1
Go for a brisk walk for a hour

Workout 2
Perform the following circuit 10 times
5 x Press ups (on your knees or toes)
10 x Situp
15 x Squats ( standing feet shoulder width apart keeping the chest up, push your buttocks back and down, with the weight going through your heel. Bend at the knees until your thighs are parallel with the floor)
Rest as needed

Workout 3
Go find a park sprint as fast as you can for approximately 100m, rest for 2 min repeat 5-10 times. The sprint can easily be replaced for swimming, cycling or rowing.

Workout 4
Using one dumbbell (between 3-10kg will be more than enough for all) perform the following paired exercises back to back, rest for one minute after they are both completed, repeat 4 times per pair of exercises.

(a) 10x One handed clean and press
Stand with the weight between your legs, keeping your chest up and back straight bend your knees and pick the dumbbell up, pull it up to your shoulder then press it above your head. Return to the floor with bent knees and a straight back.

(b)10 x Dumbbell rotation
Stand upright holding the dumbbell in two hands close to your navel. Keeping your hips facing forward rotate your shoulders to one side, back to the front then the other side, the feet stay planted to the floor.

(a) 10x Dumbbell lunge
Hold the dumbbell in your right hand, standing upright feet together. Step back with your right foot, whilst keeping your body tall drop the right knee to just above the floor. From this lunge position push off the right foot and return to the start position. Try and keep your body as upright as possible. Perform all 10 repetitions on one leg then change to the other side.

(b) 10x One handed bent over row
Hold the dumbbell in your right hand, standing upright with feet shoulder width apart. Lean forward pivoting from the hip, sending your buttocks back and keeping your back straight, lean forward until your upper body is parallel to the floor. Pull the dumbbell to your hips and then straight the arm again


So there you have it your very own functional training programme. I would recommend using this programme for one month, then look to change it around again. If you are new to exercise I would suggest that you get the all clear from your doctor before starting something new and always air on the side of caution with the weights. Remember you can always increase the weight once you are proficient at the exercise. Go for it and good luck!

What’s new in fitness for 2010 – Part 1

The new year is now in full swing and people are eagerly starting their new exercise campaigns but many people are bored with the same old running on a treadmill or pedalling for endless miles on a stationary bike. So what are the latest trends in the fitness industry which are going to keep you motivated for the year ahead.

Strangely enough in 2010 the fitness industry is taking a backwards step in time. Fortunately not back into the 80’s with lycra clad instructors. But back even further taking fitness to its primal roots. When humans first learnt to stand on two feet there were no treadmills, rowers or X trainer and they didn’t need to go the gym to get fit. They ran, jump, squatted, lunged, throw things, and picked up heavy objects and they were very lean and fit. Bring this forward to the 21 century we use the term functional training. This basically means training the body in a way which serves a purpose. If you are a fire fighter you need to be able to carry heavy objects while breathing heavily. You could train for this by performing hill sprints carrying a weighted ruck sack. But what does that mean to the general population.

Most people don’t have a physical job so why do you need to train functionally. Your body is designed to work as one unit so it should be trained that way. Working your body as a whole rather than isolating individual muscles on machines dramatically burns more calories as more muscles are being used at any one time, it’s great for improving cardio vascular fitness. Just try and dig a hole in your garden and see how out of breath you get. Not to mention the strength benefits you gain. Many people spend hours on the floor performing crunches trying to get the illusive flat stomach. Get up onto your feet adding a rotational movement whilst holding a weight is going to get you there a lot faster. Isolating the muscles leaves you open to muscular imbalances as areas of the body are neglected. Functional training leaves no muscles un worked therefore reducing the risk of injury Out goes the seated shoulder press machine in comes the single dumbbell clean and press (pick the weight up off the floor bending the knees with a straight back and lift it over head).

Soon I will give you the details in order for you to put functional training into practise. But if you can’t wait that long drop pop a comment down and I'll send the programme over too you.

Sport Relief

Oasis will be supporting sport relief this year. We have a couple of things happening. Firstly member Sue Crooks will be walking, rowing and cycling a mile on March 20th. This may not sound like a great feat but in 1991 Sue suffered major head injuries in a car accident leaving her with partial paralysis of the left hand side of the body. She raised £333 last year and is hoping to beat it this time. If you wish to sponsor her please leave your pledge on the notice board in the gym.

Secondly we are holding a spinathon on Sunday March 21st. This will run from 09:00-17:00. This is open to anybody. All you need to do is book the slot that you wish to spin. We are breaking the day down into 30minute slots. You can do as many 30 minutes as you wish. Each slot cost £3 with all the proceeds going to sport relief. If we can fill the whole day we will raise over £600 which will be great. Book your place in the gym today

Look out for further posts detailing when your favourite instructor will be spinning

New gym instructor

Katy Glenville is another new addition to the gym team. We have brought her in to baluster the ranks during the busy period after Christmas. She is very lively, enthusiastic and knowledgable on all areas of health and fitness so if you are in need of your programme spicing up then go see her in the gym. She will be more than happy to help you out.

Class News

BODYPUMP

Fridays 6pm with Sallie-Anne

BODYPUMP™ is the original barbell class that strengthens your entire body. This 60-minute workout challenges all your major muscle groups by using the best weight-room exercises like squats, presses, lifts and curls. Great music, an awesome instructor and your choice of weight inspire you to get the results you came for – and fast!

If you want more information about body pump give the gym a call on 01603 462469 or check out this link below

http://www.lesmills.com/global/en/members/bodypump/bodypump-group-fitness-program.aspx

This class is open to non members too. So for just £5 you can get a fantastic workout. Don’t miss out.

Bring your friends for free in February - Extended!!

We have now extended this fantastic offer until the end of March

Through the month of February and March all members can bring in their friends and family for free (Please note terms and conditions apply for this offer). In order to take advantage of this offer you must book in with the gym team. Those of you who wish to use the gym with your friends will be given free 30 minute training session with one of our gym instructors. If you wish just to use the swimming pool you will still need to book in at the gym. If your guest joins you will receive £10 off your next month’s membership or your renewal. Also on the day you bring in your friend you can receive tea or coffee in Harry’s for 50p. Speak to a member of the gym team for more details.

Welcome to the all new Oasis gym blog

Welcome to the first post of the all new official Oasis Sport and Leisure Club gym blog. Hopefully you will find this interesting and informative. You will be getting at least weekly updates about all things Oasis. I will keep you up to date with the usual goings on plus lots more articles about health and fitness related things to help keep you motivated through to the summer. If you have any feedback or comments please post them on the blog.

Paul