80% Quit the Gym Within a Year – Here’s How to Be the 20%

 Why Gym Dropout Rates Are So High

How to Avoid Becoming a Dropout Statistic

Local Gyms in Oxfordshire to Consider

1. Hall Personal Training  – (Kidlington, Oxford & Deddington, Banbury)
   Specialising in small group training and 1-on-1 personal training, with a focus on tailored fitness and nutrition plans. Hall Personal Training offers a non-intimidating environment where clients see real progress.
2. BEAT Fitness – (The Hatchery, Middle Aston)
   Beat Fitness is a gym located in the Oxfordshire area, offering a variety of large group classes. Their focus is on inclusive fitness, catering to diverse needs with classes such as non-contact boxing, circuit training, and strength programs.
3. David Llyod – Oxfordshire Health & Racquets Club (Oxford Business Park)
   Located in Oxford, this facility combines fitness with luxury, including spa amenities, a crèche, and a variety of classes.
4. The Athlete Centre – (Horspath, Cowley)
   Perfect for those who enjoy functional fitness, The Athlete Centre specialises in strength training and CrossFit.
5. The Gym Group – (Oxford)
   For those seeking affordability and 24/7 access, this no-frills gym is a good option. However, beginners might need to invest in external guidance for a structured program.

Breaking the Cycle. Making Your Fitness Journey Last

“I’ve got a gut feeling about this…” is something we say when we expect to feel a certain way, either positive or negative, about a behaviour or event that’s about to happen. Unfortunately, having a “gut feeling” if you suffer from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) rarely leads to good fortune, and instead is a telltale sign that your gut isn’t happy and one of the following – abdominal pain, cramping and/or diarrhoea – is soon to be expected.

IBS affects up to 20% of the general population (1) and although it’s not life-threatening, it can cause embarrassment, pain and discomfort, resulting in social anxiety and an overall decrease in quality of life. We see the impact of it every day among our members, and work closely with those affected to try and identify triggers and manage and reduce symptoms.

The mechanisms that cause IBS are still unclear and there are a huge number of theories in the medical world. Some scientists believe it’s linked to food poisoning, as one in nine people who experience food poisoning develop IBS in later life (2). Other scientists believe it could be related to stress, dietary allergies and intolerances, genetics, intestinal infections and pathogens, and/or intestinal permeability. As a result of this confusion, if you look for help online at the moment, you’ll find reams of information telling you to:

• avoid certain foods such as gluten, diary and sugar
• avoid foods high in fibre
• avoid food that are low in fibre
• avoid certain fruits and vegetables
• avoid alcohol, fizzy drinks and caffeinated beverages
• eat at the same time each day, avoid skipping meals, eat slowly
• drink more water
• reduce stress

Just looking at this is enough to stress us out! There’s so much conflicting information out there it makes it difficult to know where to start, and what to give up. So, what should you do? And what process do we follow with our members?

Now, it’s important to note that we’re not doctors, but there does seem to be a rather strong (3) suggesting that alterations in our gut microbiome could be a major contributing factor to IBS, and the use of probiotics looks promising in tackling the related symptoms.

In our experience with members, a good place to start is with an elimination diet. These specific diets aim to strip back the most common ‘flare up’ foods with the intention of slowly reintroducing them back in to your diet one at a time. This is a great exercise as it allows you to introduce one food type at a time while monitoring whether or not it causes any symptoms. At the end of this process you should have a good overview of the foods that cause you flare ups and those that your gut’s happy with. Dr, John Berardi has some great information on elimination diets here: https://www.precisionnutrition.com/elimination-diet-infographic

Alongside an elimination diet, studies (4) have found supplements such as oil of peppermint taken daily (300-600mg) appear to reliably and effectively reduce abdominal pain in those suffering from IBS for as long as it is taken.

As mentioned above, the use of probiotics is getting more and more attention in this area. A 2020 meta-analysis (5) looking at 35 random controlled trials involving 3,452 participates found supplementation of a broad spectrum probiotic led to favourable improvements in certain specific IBS-related outcomes, including abdominal pain, bloating and flatulence.

Every case is different, and before supplementing it’s crucial to work with a professional who understands your unique symptoms. While there’s no one way to eliminate IBS, working out the foods that trigger your symptoms and taking steps to manage your symptoms can make life a lot more comfortable.

References

1. PMID 22426087
2. PMID 28069350
3. PMID 28069350
4. PMID 389344
5. PMID 32014597

We’re on the six-week countdown until gyms (hopefully) reopen. So how can you make the most of your time at home? George gives us his top tips for designing a top-quality home training programme.

The main difference between writing a programme for training at the gym and training at home is going to be where you place your focus first. When we train in the gym, we have access to a huge variety of equipment, allowing us to place your goal at the centre of programme design. This isn’t the case when we’re training at home, so rather than thinking about the goal first, we’re going to assess what equipment you have first and then work back from there.

Equipment & Goal

Everyone who undertakes resistance training should be rotating through the different phases of training – strength, hypertrophy and metabolic/conditioning work. Given the lack of kit available to most of us at home (a dumbbell or two, a kettlebell and a resistance band if we’re lucky!) it makes sense to spend this time focusing on a form of training that doesn’t require huge progressions in load, namely metabolic/conditioning work. This will allow you to come back to the gym in a more conditioned state, allowing for faster adaptations, a win-win in my eyes.

So what does this look like? Well, it means:

• Training multiple muscle groups per day (both upper and lower body in the same session)
• A ‘circuit’ of 3-4 exercises
• Higher reps and reduced rest periods – extra fun!

If you need some more info on different training phases, check out this blog post for lots of handy hints.

Reps

Load limitation also means we need to increase the number of reps we perform per exercise. There’s not much benefit to be gained doing six reps with a weight we could use for 15-20. Regardless of the weights you have, we want to be aiming to end the set with about two reps left in the tank. This is sometimes called ‘Reps in Reserve’ (RIR).

A good rep range to aim for would be 12-15 reps per exercise, ending each set with 2RIR. We won’t be looking to achieve muscular failure during this type of session.

Rest Periods

With increased reps comes reduced rest, counterintuitive I know, but that’s the way it is. Resting for 90 seconds after each circuit of 3-4 exercises would be a great start.

Training Frequency

Given the type of training, we should be able to train each muscle group more often, increasing frequency of each group to around three times per week. The individual’s training age will come into play here.

Piecing it together

So, when you’re writing your next at home programme, remember to think about:

• Training multiple muscle groups per day (upper & lower body)
• A circuit of 3-4 exercises
• 12 to 15 reps per exercise
• Rest 90s after each round

I would suggest starting with two different programmes and alternating between them, completing 3 workouts per week. This way you end up completing each one twice every other week.

Examples

Total A

A1 – Dumbbell Goblet Squat                                 x 12 reps

A2 – Dumbbell Overhead Press                           x 12 reps

A3 – Dumbbell Reverse Lunge                              x 10 reps p.s

A4 – Bent Over Banded Row                                x 15 reps

*90s Rest

*Complete 4 rounds

Total B

A1 – Kettlebell Swing                                               x 15 reps

A2 – Single Arm Dumbbell Row                           x 12 reps p.s

A3 – Dumbbell Split Squat                                      x 10 reps p.s

A4 – Dumbbell Floor Press                                    x 15 reps

* 90s Rest

*Complete 4 rounds

Progressing

My preferred methods for progressing metabolic programmes are:

Increasing the number of rounds

Week 1 – 4 rounds

Week 2 – 4 rounds

Week 3 – 5 rounds

Week 4 – 5/6 rounds

Reducing rest periods

Week 1 – 90s

Week 2 – 90s

Week 3 – 75s

Week 4 – 60s

If you need any help designing a programme, feel free to drop me an email here. Alternatively, you can join our online personal training service, which will last as long as lockdown does.

Today is National Fitness Day, and as personal trainers we think that’s a pretty good excuse to celebrate, and more importantly, take a while to think about what fitness means to each of us. “Fitness” means different things to different people. For some, it’s running a sub 7-minute mile, and for others it’s about getting up and down from the floor with ease. It all depends on a person’s age and goals. So, what markers of fitness could you use for goal setting? Well, Becky has a few ideas… some more serious than others!

Let’s start with mobility and agility, key components of any fitness programme. These terms could refer to how flexible somebody is, but there’s more to it than that. Does the body move with ease when changing positions? Can the body sit and stand in a variety of different positions? All the movements we do in our day to day lives, from the day we we’re born, will contribute to how mobile we are. Here are a few ways you can assess yourself here:

1. Can you perform a strict banded overhead squat? This will assess hip, ankle and shoulder mobility.
2. How close can you get your hands and feet while performing an inchworm? This will assess hamstring and hip mobility.
3. Can you get up and down from the floor while using just one hand (or no hands) in less than 5 seconds? This will assess how agile your body is, as well as assessing your mobility.
4. Bonus advanced test: can you perform a pistol squat? Not only will this assess mobility at the knee, hip and ankle joints, but it will also test the strength at these joints.

If you struggle with any of the above, the most effective way to improve your mobility is to strengthen the areas that don’t move with ease and spend more time in positions that challenge you.

Next, let’s look at strength. This is the area most of our members come to us to work on. When you think of a strong person you may think of Eddie Hall lifting cars or Ronda Rousey pinning down her opponents with ease. But strength can be far more subtle than that, it’s simply the capacity to withstand force or pressure. Sadly for us ladies, on average we’re just are not as physically strong as men, however there are plenty of ladies stronger than plenty of men out there. Don’t forget that! Ways to assess your strength could be:

1. Can you perform a technically proficient press up from the floor?

Ladies – Most women cannot perform full floor press ups without training. Any woman who can perform just one is classed as having above average strength for a woman. Trained women should aim for between 1 and 10 floor press ups.

Gents – Men should aim for 5-20 floor press ups.

This will test upper body strength in the pectorals (chest) and triceps (back of the arms). Floor press up strength is also largely dependent on bodyweight. If you struggle with floor press ups, try them at a 0.5-1.5-metre incline. This will reduce the load through the upper body.

2. Can you lift your bodyweight in the form of a barbell deadlift?

Ladies – This is a very tangible target for most women of all ages after 1 to 12 months of training.

Gents – Men should aim for between 1.5 and 2x body weight within 1 to 12 months of training.

These goals will largely depend on your body weight, however, do remember mass moves mass, the heavier you are the more you may be able to lift.

3.  Bonus advanced test – Can you push your car on a flat surface with a driver in the front?

This will largely test lower body strength, particularly in the quadriceps. [Disclaimer – obviously only try this in very quiet streets or car parks…]

Let’s move on again to cardiovascular fitness, the most common form of fitness to assess. You remember the bleep test at school, right? When we think of fitness we tend to think of how long or far a person can continue to work. While there are many ways to assess a person’s cardiovascular fitness in a science lab, for example we can test lactate threshold or VO2 max, these scientific terms aren’t overly helpful for most casual gym-goers who want to assess themselves. Ways to assess cardiovascular fitness could be:

1. How long can you continue to increase and sustain your speed on a bike?

Find a bike (or assault bike if you’re feeling brave) that shows speed in km per hour. Starting at between 18-22 km per hour continue to pedal increasing speed by 1km every minute. Once you can no longer increase your speed and sustain it for one minute its game over. Non-athletes should aim for between 7-12 minutes of work. Bear in mind starting at a lower speed may allow you to work for longer, and readings may be different depending on which bike you choose.

2. Bonus advanced test – Can you beat the London underground from Marylebone to Paddington station using no other form of transport other than your feet?

It’s only 1.3 miles….

No running tests we hear you cry. We find it best to leave running out of the equation when it comes to testing cardiovascular fitness, so there will be no mention of that dreaded bleep test.

Whether you’re a regular gym-goer or not, why not use National Fitness Day to think about what fitness really means for you, and set yourself some goals for the rest of the year? That’s exactly what we’ll be doing. If you need any help setting yours, drop us an email and we’d be happy to help.

Our society today is used to getting everything instantly – if we order a package from Amazon it arrives the same day, and if we want to know something then the answer is just a google away. But when it comes to fat loss, is quickly really the best method, or does slow and steady win the diet race?

We’ve lost count of the number of members who have come to us after trying fad after fad – vowing to start a radical fasting programme, going on a juice diet, or trying to give up alcohol completely when drinking several units per night. They’re looking for a quick fix. Most personal trainers, nutritionists and health professionals warn against these quick fixes, arguing that adopting a slow and steady approach is healthier in the long run and better for long term weight loss; after all, this gives you time to adapt to new habits, making them more likely to last and therefore avoiding a huge rebound in weight gain when you crack under the pressure of an unrealistic nutrition plan.

But in our industry, it’s crucial to keep an eye on the science and research – things constantly evolve. So, what does the research say?

In recent years, several papers have looked at the impact on the rate of weight loss when it comes to regaining weight. A 2013 report in the New England Journal of Medicine went against conventional wisdom, concluding that “the rate of weight regain is the same irrespective of the rate of weight loss.” More recently, a 2019 study looking at weight loss across a year in obese menopausal women found the women who restricted their food intake by 65-75% for the first four months and then 25-35% for the remaining eight months lost 15.3kgs compared to 8.4kgs in those women who restricted their calorie consumption by 25-35% across the year. The severely restricted group were also 2.5-3 times more likely to lose at least 10% of their bodyweight, as well as finding the regime three times easier to stick to.

Sounds like a promising start for an initial period of restriction, however the research also shows us that over half of those who originally lost the weight managed to put it all back on within the first two years, regardless of how quickly they lost it to begin with. This regain in weight has little to do with the rate at which you lose it, but rather the mechanisms behind losing the weight.

This is crucial information for those who are losing weight, and those who are helping them to do it, to understand. Often, it’s not the losing weight that’s the issue, it’s the keeping it off once the job is done. Why is that?

Well, whether you’re trying to lose weight slowly or not, the body begins to fight back in an effort to return back to its initial starting weight. It does this by altering your hunger hormones, decreasing the hormone leptin that is responsible for food intake and energy control, and increasing the hormone ghrelin that helps to regulate hunger and appetite. The levels of these two hormones change as we begin to lose weight and remain altered even after a year. Evidence suggests the change in these hormones can offset the weight we’re trying to lose by increasing our food intake by around 100 kcals per day for every kilogram lost.
Not only do we find our appetite increases as we try to lose weight, but typically, our general day-to-day movement decreases. Non-Activity Exercise Thermogenesis (NEAT) is the number of calories we burn outside of formal exercise. Subconscious movement such as standing, holding your posture, fidgeting, chewing gum, walking to and from the car etc. all require energy – small actions that we rarely think about but in fact can equate in upwards of 1,000+ kcals per day. Sadly, as we begin to lose weight we also begin to (subconsciously) move less, as the body begins to put the brakes on in an effort to conserve calories.
So, as we lose weight, our appetite increases and our general movement decreases. The balance of those calories every day doesn’t need to change much to move us out of a deficit or maintenance, and back into weight gain.

So now we understand the challenge, what lessons should we learn from this?

The most important thing when embarking on any diet is the support network you have around you. If your environment isn’t set up for success, if you haven’t got a team of people cheering you on, supporting you, and helping you overcome the barriers your face then it’s going to be an uphill struggle. Once that’s all set, it’s about working out what kind of fat loss will work for you. Are you a very on or off person who does well with strict rules, has good discipline and likes to see fast change? If so, then starting off with a slightly more restrictive plan may benefit you. If you’re somebody who likes flexibility, who wants to gradually build better habits and still have the odd treat, then taking the slow and steady approach may be better.

But keep in mind that your efforts will have to continue even when you reach your goal weight. In many respects, this is the most important period for consolidation, and you’ll need that support around you to carry on.

If you’re struggling to lose weight or just confused on what you should or shouldn’t be eating, why not check out our nutrition services? Or you can learn more about building a personalised diet here.

Welcome to our new video course on ‘How To Build a Personalised Diet.‘

Whether you’re looking to lose weight, build muscle or improve performance, the next six videos will give you the tools, the knowledge, and the know-how to construct an eating plan of your own that’s built on healthy, enjoyable and sustainable nutrition principles.