Why choose studio classes?

More and more people are turning to studio based fitness classes to achieve their goals. Whether it’s Yoga or Pilates to Circuits and Body Pump, at your local gym or village hall these classes are a hit!

They provide extra motivation, more variety and a sense of belonging compared to training on your own. Class attendees feel they belong to something and provide a great base to socialize and meet new people.

Instructors have the ability to be more creative and show off their talents and expertise to large groups whilst watching their class achieve fantastic results.

 All in all group fitness is a winner and here at Breadsall Priory Leisure Club we offer a fantastic variety of studio, outdoor and pool based classes to meet everyone’s needs and tastes. Our instructors are highly trained and experienced to deliver not only a great class but also a great service. There is a great buzz at the club between our members and instructors with fantastic results from our members who loyalty attend our classes.

 We deliver over 10 different types of class over 6 days a week culminating in over 40 classes a week so get yourself booked in now and find out what your missing out on.

Simon Tranter

Why I believe a cool down and stretching is so important

A cool down is very important for a number of reasons, it is a way to lower the pulse, it is stretching the muscles in the body and it also prevents blood pooling.

Blood pooling

Firstly blood pooling is something you want to avoid. It is something that occurs if you stop exercise too suddenly and the heart is still beating rapidly without the legs moving. It is the lack of pressure in the veins and the need for muscle contraction that make a cool down essential at the end of a session. For example you could be doing a few sets on legs raises and suddenly stop without cooling down. This could cause blood pooling. Your heart would still be beating without your legs moving. The collecting of blood in the legs can lead to dizziness or in worst cases even fainting as venous return does not match cardiac output. I would always encourage people to cool down after exercise it will leave you with a better recovery for your next session. Cool down exercises include going on the stepper, bike at low levels etc.

Pulse lowering

The reason pulse lowering is advised after exercising is to gradually reduce the heart rate. Going on a step bike at a low speed would be a good choice and every minute maybe go down a level or 2 on the intensity. This gives the blood vessels time to return to the normal width. It will maintain your cardiac output; remove metabolic waste products of exercise from the muscles and in my eyes most importantly return heart rate back to resting heart rate gradually. An example of this would be driving a car at 70 mph and doing an emergency stop every time you slow down, this wouldn’t be good for car breaks whereas slowing down gradually and pressing the breaks pads lightly is much better for the cars breaks.

Benefits of stretching

Stretching is important before and after exercise. Stretching will promote and increase flexibility and will also help to avoid muscular imbalance. Maintenance stretching and developmental stretching are slightly different. Maintenance Stretching is where you hold a stretch for 10-15 seconds. This type of stretching helps to achieve a healthy functional range of movement for everyday life. It should stop you feeling so stiff and tight the day after you train a certain muscle group. Developmental stretching is where you target a certain muscle which is tight or around a certain joint where a greater range of movement is desired. This type of stretch is held for 30 seconds at least. It is all about finding a comfortable position and focusing on the muscle relaxing. It is vital that the muscle is stretched to the point of tension but not pain. The muscles that will generally be used for this type of stretch are the gastrocnemius, hamstring, adductors, hip flexors and pectorals.

My conclusion to this is you should not work out without a cool down and without stretching. It will prevent injury and help the body to be much more mobile.

Corey Hodgkinson

Bootcamp Benefits

So training indoors or outside, what are the benefits? Bootcamp in its nature is tough, but yields great results, it involves pushing yourself to your limits, challenging every part of fitness and taking on the elements. Bootcamp training goes ahead rain or shine. Bootcamp sees you battle through cardio thresholds with cross country running, explosive power movements such as hill sprints,a huge variety of lifts, full body lifts and not forgetting training for agility and functional movement, by utilizing press ups, pull ups, climbs, tyre runs and cargo net crawls. The purpose of the training is to make you military fit, to master your fatigue and be able to rise to the physical demands whilst combatting the elements. There is no long rest periods or gentle recovery reps, it’s tough, it’s powerful and it gives great results for those who are willing to give it their all.

Further benefits involve having the ‘tough love trainer’ we all train harder when we have someone telling us to keep going, to push harder and lift quicker. In boot camp you have trainer support, you also have others around you, you can feed off their hard work as they can on yours and one of the biggest benefits is that its training you don’t find in the gym and it helps inspire and energize your own training sessions. It keeps it fresh and interesting, your workouts should evolve with you and always remain challenging. Don’t stick to just one program and let it become stagnant, take part in the upcoming Breadsall Priory Bootcamp and really achieve something this summer.

Launch Date Saturday 20th July 9am Sharp, Please arrive 15 minutes prior if it is your first session.

Prices: 1st Session Free!
           £5 for public
           Half price for Breadsall Leisure Club members
           £40 for a block booking of ten classes

Breadsall Priory MaxiMuscle Launch

We at Breadsall Priory Leisure Club are proud to announce our new range of protein bars, snack and shakes are now on sale in club.

What is protein?

Protein is an essential nutrient for life, responsible for numerous functions including supporting structural tissues (building tissue, cells and muscle). Proteins are made from a collection of amino acids, up to 20 in total, 8 that are classed as essential, as they are cannot be made within the body and need to be sourced from the diet, and 12 termed as non-essential amino acids. These amino acids can collaborate in a variety of ways, for example their different sizes, structural bonds and their molecular sequence will determine the proteins role and hence the variable functions it has.

Why is protein important for muscle building?

Muscle protein accounts for approximately 50% of the total body protein with the majority being used for muscle structure. Muscle growth relies on adequate proteins being available and this is itself reliant on the balance between protein intake and re-synthesis and protein breakdown; something which scientists call protein balance. To further explain, to achieve muscle growth an individual should combine weight training along with a positive protein balance; meaning that protein intake and synthesis is higher than protein breakdown.

During a heavy weights session your muscles are forced into protein breakdown, with the body splitting the amino acids to be oxidised into energy and/or used to synthesise new protein. Following training, to promote muscle growth this exercise induced protein breakdown needs to be turned around to be positive; Ensuring adequate protein is available supports this adn therefore this is a great time to consume some protein.

As with all things nutrition, as one question is answered, many more arise. You may now see the importance after exercise of protein for muscle building, but you may be now wondering if there is a specific amount or type or protein that provides the best support.

Prices:

Maximuscle bars – £2.00

Maximuscle Shakes – £2.50

Available from leisure reception today.

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