Only 7464 more people to go!

Today I have totalled up how far along the Fitness 10,000 challenge I have got to and I am pleased to announce that I am over 25% of the way there with a total of 2536 people! Yesterday was exactly 9 months until the start of the 2012 Olympic Games so if my calculations are correct I need to find 830 people each month in order to reach my target… Bring it on!

Yesterday, I met with the Loughborough Echo to discuss an article about the new Loughborough Half Marathon taking place next March. The Loughborough Echo are also sponsoring the event and have agreed to publicise the race every week up until race day and then to report on the success of the race prior to the event. I am working on recruiting Loughborough Echo Editor Andy Rush for the race. We all agree that he should do it – naturally, all the sponsors should take part – however, he has two young children to take care of and is a little conscious of the time commitment involved in training for a half marathon. I explained to him that by following the onesixeight: fitness half marathon training programmes he can be fit for the race by training 3 times per week and building up gradually. I am hoping that with all the hype surrounding the race and also pressure from myself and Michele from the main race charity LWA, he will take on the challenge wearing number 120 to mark the 120-year anniversary of the Loughborough Echo. I shall report back when I’ve managed to convince Andy to become part of my Fitness 10,000 challenge!

Other updates this week… I found out that my dad reads this blog so Dad if you’re reading this you need to become part of my Fitness 10,000 challenge – Mum too so I shall be bringing a rebounder home this weekend to make that happen!

I have also agreed to lead a new fitness class in Blaby in the New Year. This class will be an afternoon class so I suspect the Active Together team shall be targeting part-time workers and elderly people. I always look forward to working with new audiences so this will be a great start to the New Year.

On Wednesday I had a meeting with the Loughborough University RAG chair to discuss a Children in Need Bounce-athon. We have set the date for Wednesday 16^th November and hope that hundreds of students and staff will support the event by bouncing non-stop from 2pm-4pm. Weather permitting, we shall be making use of the university grounds outside the Rutland Building. Students and staff will take part in teams to ensure each trampoline is occupied for the full 2 hours, competing against other Halls and departments to generate the most donations for their efforts. I am already really looking forward to leading this event and hope to be able to add at least 100 people to my Fitness 10,000 count and raise lots of money for Children in Need as a result.

This week 2 clients and myself have taken part in my ‘triceps challenge’... I do like to set personal training clients homework to keep them motivated between sessions and this was something that I thought would be perfect for targeting the bingo wings! (Not that either of them have bingo wings!!) Anyway, we started by counting how many tricep dips they could do on day 1 – working until fatigue. I then set them the task of increasing the number of tricep dips they can do by 2 each day. For example, day 1 I could do 38, day 2 I had to do 40, day 3 42 and so on… for a week. My week is almost done and I can now do 52 tricep dips comfortably. Client number 1 has extended her challenge to 10 days so she will see her results next week and client number 2 will be tested later today. My reason for telling you this is to inspire you to take part too. You don’t have to do tricep dips, you can do the plank (next week’s challenge) adding on 10 seconds each day or squats or press-ups or any exercise. It is simple and very effective and each and every person who takes part will become part of my Fitness 10,000 challenge so please do let me know that you’re on board.

I hope you have enjoyed my update. I’ve finished my cup of tea and ready to get back out there helping the people of Loughborough to get fit. Mathew is also doing a fabulous job leading the Becky Says Bounce fitness classes at Charnwood Golf Range – with lots of new people starting over the next couple of weeks he has his work cut out to teach them the art of bouncing. Apparently next Tuesday is a special Halloween themed class and I can’t wait to hear all about it and see the photos! We have also added a new class on Mondays at 6.30pm – click here to book your trampoline or here to find out more about the classes.

Happy bouncing!

BB :-)

Feeling the winter chill already? Exercise to keep warm and become part of the Fitness 10,000 challenge

This week I started delivering corporate fitness classes for Walkers Crisps employees in Leicester. The classes are designed to help employees find time to fit exercise in to their day. I am confident that these classes will boost productivity as employees find themselves more energised and focused during the working day as well as improving their health and wellbeing.

My most exciting news this week came yesterday when the Loughborough Half Marathon (sponsored by onesixeight: fitness!) featured on the front page of the Loughborough Echo. The Loughborough Echo have decided to sponsor the Loughborough Half which means that the race is sure to get lots of publicity in the 5 months leading up to race day. Along with Bonfields Estate Agents, onesixeight: fitness and The Loughborouigh Echo are the 3 main sponsors of the event taking place on March 25th next year. I am really excited to be involved with the organisation and preparations and also to be running the race myself next year. I already have my number - can anyone guess what it is?? :-)
If anyone would like to Join Team 168 please visit www.onesixeightfitness.com/Team168 for more info. You will receive a free t-shirt, guaranteed entry and most importantly expert knowledge and advice to ensure you are in the best possible shape come race day next year. I have reserved only 50 places out of a maximum of 500 places for the entire race so be sure to register your interest asap!

Last night I also received a funny request from a client of mine who I have been training since the start of the year. When we started in January we began with some light intensity toning and bouncing exercises and have since built up her stamina to be able to go out running twice a week. For a while now she has been reporting how much fitter she feels and the noticeable differences in her fitness levels especially in comparison to her husband... Finally, her husband has given in and has realised that he too needs my help (probably because she's showing him up whilst on their skiing holiday!) and we start next week. If you and/or your partner could do with losing weight or improving fitness - why not do it together? I charge for my time, not the number of people in a session so you could even make it a family session! To find out more about the services I offer visit www.onesixeightfitness.com/personalfitness

Finally, this week saw the launch of my long awaited Groupon promotion. The offer went live on Tuesday and sold 28 vouchers in total. which is potentially 50 new people to add to my Fitness 10,000 target. As far as I know the offer is still live and can be accessed via the link on the email sent out on Tuesday. I am looking forward to new bouncing peeps coming to the classes and I'm sure Mathew will put them through their paces! If you have purchased a Groupon voucher please see www.onesixeightfitness.com/fitnessclasses to see when the classes are and call 07999338825 to book.

I think that's about it for this week. Next week I shall be launching a design a t-shirt competition for the Loughborough Half, discussing a photo shoot involving lots of bouncing university students, meeting potential new clients, starting new classes and with new clients and also running the new Poppy Run in Ashby with Team 168 - email me if you would like to take part as it's not too late.

Keep bouncing!! :-)

The sun is just setting on what has been a fantastic week!

Monday started with a morning of personal training followed by an afternoon of promoting future corporate fitness classes to Walkers Crisps employees in Leicester and then on to my evening classes at Sport Park on the Loughborough University campus and an Active Together class for Oadby & Wigston council.

Tuesday, I launched a new Zumba circuits class for Loughborough University’s student Active Lifestyles programme. This is something new for me and I hope it will be a great success following on from very popular traditional Zumba classes on campus. Also on Tuesday I had a top-secret meeting to discuss a new ‘healthy living’ group to be launched in Loughborough in the new year. The group will combine my knowledge of fitness and healthy eating with help from Saints & Sinners healthy eating café owner Natalie Monk and life coaching from Heidi Eastell and is aimed at no only ladies who have tried countless diets and weight-loss programmes and not seen the long-term results they wish for, but also those looking to educate themselves on how to make the right food, exercise and lifestyle choices. Plans are being made on this new concept and I shall keep you updated with further progress and most importantly how it will add to my Fitness 10,000 target.

A couple of weeks a go I approached Outwoods Edge Primary School in Loughborough to ask if they would like to take part in a ‘bounce-athon’ for Children in Need. The P.E teacher, Mr Baker, was very keen on the idea and asked if I would be interested in getting involved with their Olympic themed activity weeks each term leading up to the 2012 Games. I bounced at the chance to work with 350 pupils at the school doing 5-hours of continuous bouncing with them (not all in one go of course!) The event took place yesterday and was a huge bouncing success! Not only did the kids get a great 15-minute workout each, they also had lots of fun, which I think is the main thing. I shall be working again with the school after half term organising another bounce-athon and also I hope to start an evening class for the school mums in the near future.

In other exciting news this week, I am pleased to announce that not only am I working towards helping 10,000 people get fit before the start of the Olympics next year, I now have another instructor to help me! Mathew Kirkland, a qualified Level 2 exercise to music instructor from South Africa, is a great addition to the onesixeight: fitness team and is also very enthusiastic about achieving the Fitness 10,000 challenge with me. Mathew will now lead the Loughborough Golf Range classes which means that I can go elsewhere and help more people get fit at the same time!

This week has been a very busy week and I have approximately 400 people to add to my Fitness 10,000 target – taking me up to the 2,500 mark and a quarter of the way there! Starting next week and continuing over the next few months I shall be working with Walkers Crisps delivering fitness sessions to their employees. I’m really excited about this new contract as it will allow me to reach out to 1,500 members of staff at the site! Here’s to a great week ahead – keep bouncing peeps! :-)

The sunshine may have ended but the bouncing continues...

This week has been a fantastic week for onesixeight: fitness! Firstly, I am excited to announce that onesixeight: fitness has a new group fitness class instructor for the Loughborough bounce fitness classes at the Charnwood Golf Range. Mathew is a qualified level 2 gym instructor and exercise to music specialist with experience in all types of group fitness classes. I am very excited to have him on board and think that he is a great addition to Team 168 - plus he will now be helping me in my quest to get 10,000 people fit before the start of the Olympics next year.

This week I have had several meetings with potential strategic partners to work on new projects. Things to look forward to include a new health and wellbeing group in Loughborough - more information coming soon! I am also linking up with other health and wellbeing professionals to deliver a new corporate wellbeing workshop to local businesses. We are hoping to roll this out in November so watch this space. And finally, I have been getting more requests for group fitness classes in other areas of the East Midlands. Areas that I am looking to expand into are Derby, Ashby de la Zouch and Newtown Linford. If you live in any of those areas and would like to find out more about the classes to be held there please email me. I am still also looking for a suitable venue for Ashby so any suggestions would be gratefully received.

On the subject of additional classes, this week I launched a third class at the Charnwood Golf Range in Loughborough. This Wednesday night class called Intro to Rebounding is suitable for beginners and also those more advanced participants and combines conditioning exercises with rebounding. The class is at 6.30pm and is included in the special offer of unlimited classes for £30 per month. To find out more or to book your trampoline in the class click here.

As usual, this week I have trained personal clients, lead a new class for Oadby & Wigston Borough Council's Active Together programme in Wigston and also presented a fitness quiz at my weekly networking group called Loughborough Network. The participants involved all count towards my Fitness 10,000 challenge so I shall update the total at the ned of this month.

This weekend I shall be spreading the word about new Urban Rebounding classes at Loughborough University starting next week and also handing out flyers about the Loughborough Half Marathon at the Leicester Marathon. I am hopeful that both promotional activities will help promote onesixeight: fitness and ultimately lead to more people getting involved and adding to the Fitness 10,000 total.

One last group session to report - Soar Valley Press invited me to their office in Billesdon to lead a session for their 5 team members. The 45-minute bounce session was great fun and they all said how energised they felt and how much of a good workout it was but most importantly how FUN it was! Since then, I have had several enquiries from other small businesses who would like a similar session in their workplace. If you think that your business could benefit from being energised and boosting morale feel free to contact me here to discuss arrangements.

I hope everyone has had a great week and that you are all keeping active! Keep bouncing!