Steven Gourley
Dec 05, 2009
When it comes to food, we're not all islands...
We live in a world where we admire and reward independence, success through effort and believe you get what you deserve, reap what you sow, stand on your own two feet. The idea is succinct yet very far from reality. We are not islands, we shelter in storms and play in the sun, we crave contact, seek acceptance, adopt cultures often without regard - we are in fact significantly more at the whim of the tides of our environment than we care to admit. And therein lies a window to our health problems that is often underestimated and overlooked by a fraternity that at its core pursues research and inquiry on the basis that we are islands and the seas that lash our shores and winds that buffet our outcrops matter not. Imagine the uproar if I was to suggest we were obese or ill because our parents have made us so, our governments have been paid to do so, and the battle of the marketing minds is, and has been since the sixties, lost to those with profit aims rather than aims that develop the health of their countrymen. Imagine if I was to say it's our belief that we are in fact responsible, independent individuals that has actually enabled an anti-health environment to develop. That one simple belief that we are islands has allowed us to ignore the seas and breeze long enough that now we find ourselves collectively surrounded by all the things that are bad for us. That we have been trained to love what is bad for us. That we have been conditioned to covet the commodities that build wealth within existing power bases rather than encourage fulfilment through family, friendship, physical and spirtual development. We have gone from apples to donuts in less than 100 years with a mix of reckless abandon and delight? The sweet dough, cloud-like texture, the multi-coloured sprinkles on a sticky deep chocolate coating, the instantaneous dissolution of substance with the briefest flash of satiety leaving us wanting more. We now swell with abundance and pay for our generational melancholy. What will it take to shift all of this? read more...
Sep 22, 2009
What is the financial value of a great personal trainer?
We asked you all what the financial value of a Personal Trainer was. Here's what you said along with a summary of the financial value of having a great Personal Trainer in a fitness club. read more...
Jun 17, 2009
What's the best workout for losing body fat?
If you've ever worked in fitness or told someone you do you will have been asked this question at some stage. What follows is some of the science relating to fat loss and an even more important consideration to keep in mind... read more...
May 22, 2009
Which exercise works the gluteals best...[blog]
We posted a poll asking the following: Presuming your client could complete each of these movements well, which is the best compound exercise to strengthen the gluteals? Read on to find out the results and some of the science behind (nice pun) the answer... read more...
May 20, 2009
A new exercisers view of getting into the gym...[blog]
A reminder for all of us in industry from those trying to start a new habit... read more...
May 16, 2009
Little fitness club, big membership challenge [blog]
What do you do when your club is 500 members or less and you need to grow in the market? How do you find the next member when you don't have big budgets or bling? read more...
May 09, 2009
Taking that first step...and falling on your ass [blog]
Being bloody minded gets you no where - and that's a crowded place... read more...
