New Year!!

Well the new year is about upon us and that means time for a change for some people. What better way to change than to change your self and body. Here at 7Flags we believe in educating our members to improve there health by any means that we can. So go out and start your new years resolutions at the 7Flags Xpress. We will be waiting for you!!

Looking Forward

Well the first holiday is past us now and we have a couple more to go. One great way to get in extra exercise during this time of year is when you go christmas shopping is that if you show up a half hour early that what you really expected to be there at and start walking around the mall/store till the time you want to start shopping. This is a great way to get some cardio in and also a great way to look for deals when you are covering the whole mall with a brisk walk!! Try this at your next shopping outing!!

Over-indulge

Over-indulging ones self during the holidays is a common occurence. At a single sitting on a holiday a person that eats until they feel uncomfortable can consume as much as 1400 calories from just that single sitting alone. That is not including the snacking on all the munchies before and after your meal. To control this, remember you are what you eat. If you stuff yourself till you are uncomfortable, you are going to feel miserable for the next 3 to 4 hours. But if you eat like you normally do everyday, you will feel just fine. A serving of turkey will fit in the palm of your hand, this is vital because most people either over eat on turkey or mashed potatos. So remember keep it sensable and keep it healthy!!!

Make Yourself Better First

A person can only do so much. You can only be so great of a husband, Dad, brother, sister, Mother, and loved one. You must take care of yourself first so that you know you are going to be around for as long as possible to be all of these names before this. In order to do that you have to take care of your body, you only get one of them. You must eat the right foods to encourage wellness. You must exercise regularly so you keep your heart working properly. Most of all you must do something for yourself, if its get a gym membership, walk with a neighbor, play with your kids, but you must make the effort to be active more to make sure you take care of yourself!!!

Self-Motivation

We are having good turn outs for our circuit classes over the noon hour. If you are having problems getting motivated to workout on a regular basis, this is the type of class that will help you start to get self-motivated again. You will be with a group of people instead of on your own all the time. You will see results fast and have a great time as well. We have full locker room shower facilities so you can shower quickly and get back to work at 7Flags at GreenWay. Come in for a visit or drop by for one of our classes at 11:30. Its a decision you won't regret!!!

Exercise Success

To make success out of your exercise routine you need to be first consistant. This is continually coming a minimum of two times a week for at least 2 months. If you can accomplish this you have gotten yourself into a routine that you can continue for years!! Another way is to completely cut out refined sugar and hygrogenated oil from your diet. If you do this you will instantly improve your health because these are the two leading factors in the beginnings of all illnesses such as obesity, heart disease, cancers, and overall sickness can be traced back to the food you eat and these two ingredients. Try these two tips and you will be on your way to improving your overall health for the better!!!!

When it Rains

When it rains no one wants to go outside, let alone go outside to exercise. Therefore you must move indoors to continue your health improvement goals. But there again you will run into a wall. When it rains many people get a type of seasonal depression. You feel sluggish; you don't want to leave the comfort of your own couch. But this can be fixed and eliminated by exercising. The exercise will release endorphins into your blood stream giving you a boost of energy that can last you all day even when it rains. You won't feel sluggish or down any longer. So be good to yourself and your loved ones on rainy days by doing some exercise at the 7Flags Xpress and be the happy go lucky person that you usually are!!!

XRKade Party

Ever thought of having a birthday party or building some cohesiveness with your co-workers, then try our XRKade. All of our extremely fun and challenging games involve team work. This is a great way to build a relationship with your co-workers or just bringing your friends closer together. Call Jamie at 515-987-3709 to get information on having your own exclusive party at the XRKade!!!

Bring a Friend

Hey Folks, some of us are starting to feel the cold already. Some of us get a little depressed when that happens. One of the best ways to combat this type of depression is through exercise. Now I know we all have some friends that go through the same type of thing. That is why you should bring a friend into the club with you to work out so that both of you get the benefits of exercise and start a program together so that you stay motivated and out of the cold sumps!!!

Controlling your eating during Winter

Here is something to help you from gaining what some call the blues of winter. A lot of us will no doubt gain between 10-15 pounds during the cold winter months because of one thing. Eating foods that are high in fat because our bodies are telling us that those foods will make us warm and cozy. One way to curb this is by using the 7Flags Dietician program because you have to write down everything that you eat that day. There is no hiding it. This program will tell you if you are doing things to gain weight or loose. This will help you keep accountable for yourself during those hard winters of Iowa. Lets not go backwards, only forwards this winter!!!!

New Special

We are doing it again!!! We are offering memberships for no joining fee whatsoever!!! It's time that we start to make exercise and healthy living a priority and that is what we do here at 7Flags Xpress we help you understand that health is not in medications from your doctor but in preventing yourself from having to take those medications. So we are making it easy for you to get started on the road to recovery of your health. Come out and join the place that will be by your side the whole way!!!

Challenge

I had two 12 year old boys score 555 on the 3kick machine in 2 minutes. They worked as a team. I would like to see someone else tie or beat that score!!!! Good luck!!!

Don't Miss Out on Our Special!!!

Don't miss out on our fall special membership rates. For only 6 more days you will be able to purchase a membership at our great club for half off our Joining fees!!!! Don't miss out!!!!

Challenge

New challenge!!! Who among you can beat a 3 minute plank??? Anyone??? Enjoy!!!

Quote to Live By

"Don't work to fit in with the crowd, work to be different and distinguish yourself as such!!"

Exercise of the Month

Squats!!! Squats are a great exercise not only to increase your lower body strength and explosive ability but also to help you loose additional weight quickly. The legs are such a large muscle group in sheer size and mass compared to the other muscle groups of the body. Doing squats will quickly increase your heart rate requiring your body to burn even more calories that just normal lunges would require of it. So next time give squats a try and see how far your fitness can go!!!

Crime and Punishment

The Crime- eating TGI Friday's sizzling steak fajitas with 1,480 calories. The Punishment- 2.5 hours of straight jump rope at a slow pace to burn off those calories. Leason Learned- make smart decisions when eating out. Ask for extra vegetables instead of fries, go for vinegarette dressings instead of regular fat oil dressings. These little changes can pay huge dividends if you are a regular resturant eater!!

Get Moving

If any of you heard the President's speech last night you will know that with the amount of money we already spend on health care, our country is very unhealthy. A lot of our costs can be controlled simply by getting moving. Heart disease (the #1 killer of Americans), Cancer (#2 killer of Americans), and Diabetes (#4 killer of Americans) can all be controlled, stopped, or prevented with regular exercise and most importantly proper eating. So if you want to take matters into your own hands, get up, start exercising and start taking care of yourself!!!!!

Challenge

Think you can beat 200ft in 4 minutes on the treadwall????? I dare ya!!!

Picking the right fruit and vegetables

Here is a little guide on picking the best most nutritious produce at the time. Bell peppers- should have lots of weight for its size, brightly colored, wrinkle free exteriors and the stem should be a lively green. Broccoli- rigid stems with tight florets clusters that are deep green. Watermelon- you want a dense melon free of cuts and sunken areas, the rind should be dull, with a creamy-yellow underside, if you hit the melon it should have a hollow sound. Finally raspberries- plump and dry berries are best, look for a good shape and intense uniform color. Use these tips on your next grocery shopping day!!!

Workout Fun

Tired of the same old routine of getting on the treadmill, then lifting a few weights??? Well thankfully here at the 7Flags Xpress you get to really mix it up with our exclusive XRKade. Every peice of equipment in the XRKade is another form of FUN cardio. So next time you are in the club give the XRKade a try and you will realize that there is a great fun workout waiting in the other room for you!!!

Food Swap

According to Men's Health research they have found that when people swapped half the meat and rice for there meals and replaced it with lightly buttered broccoli, they ate 86 fewer calories and felt just as full!!! Vegetables are fullfilling because they contain water, which bulks food up. There other top vegetables to replace food with are cabbage, zucchini, cucumbers, cauliflower, and peppers!!!! This this out next time you eat to see what happens.

Motivation

I know just as well as others that motivation can be the downfall of exercise or lack there of. I have just a couple hints to help keep that motivation triving and helping you reach your goals. First is try to find a friend to workout with. It's much more fullfilling and enjoyable if you workout with a friend so that you two make each other accountable. The second is set small specific goals for yourself that you work to achieve every week. Wether it be lose a pound a week or make it to the gym three days in a row. Just accomplishing this little milstones will give you a great deal of confidence and motivate you to keep on going!!!!

Weekend Control

Remember you can out do an entire weeks worth of exercise in a single day on the weekend. Either it be late night drinking, buffet eating, or a combination of both. Remembering that almost everything is good in moderation is the key to sustaining your long term goal of better health!!!! Will power is were its at!!!

Football season

Football season is right around the corner. During the month of September we are going to have 20% off our sports merchandise here at the club so that you can have the colors you want to cheer on your favorite teams!!!!

Weather

Bad Weather???? Where are you going to turn to get in your much needed relief from the stress of work, school, bills, and unfinished household chores??? Come to the 7Flags Xpress at GreenWay to get you stress relief fix for the day so that you may have a peaceful sleep and so that you are a better parent, friend, and healthier person for yourself.

XRKade Fun

Remember the XRKade is one of the most fun ways you could ever exercise. The interactive gaming lets you be completely in control instead of the machine being in control. Lets see h0w much fun you can have in a half an hour of XRKade use a day??

Having trouble sleeping??

Need a way to help you get to sleep some nights. Here are a couple that will be sure to help you get that good nights sleep that you deserve. The best sleep aid is A glass of Red Wine. Red Wine contains melatonin which is a lseep inducing hormone. The director of the Edinburgh sleep center, Dr. Chris Idzikowski says, "If a nightcap helps, by all means indulge." The second leading natural sleep aid is a banana. Bananas have the sleep-inducing chemical tryptophan. Bananas area also easy to digest so you can get to sleep without feeling that fullness affect. The next time you have trouble sleeping, try one of these two aids out and see what happens!!!

Brain Twister

Here is a little brain twister for all of you. Here is what you do. Sitting at your desk pick up your right foot and move it in a clock-wise circle. After doing this for a couple seconds pick up your right hand and draw the number 6 in the air. What happens to your right foot???

Snacks

What proportion of an obese man's daily calories are consumed after his last meal of the day??? 25% are consumed after the final meal of the day. So try your best to avoid snacking late at night!!!

Your Ideal Weight Calculator

Are you having a problem losing weight?? Here is a quick way to find out how many calories you should be consuming to get to what you think would be your ideal weight. Multiply your Ideal body weight in pounds by 10. This will give you the ideal amount of calories you should be eating a day to acheive this ideal body weight. Example if I want to weigh 160 pounds, multiply that by 10 and you get 1600 calories. Then you do your best to stay within that ideal calorie count to reach your Goal!!!

Beating Sleep Deprivation

One of the best ways to help wake up and beat a less than average sleep night is by eating beef. Creatine cane beat the effects of sleepless nights. Beef is a very rich source of creatine. So if you have another sleepless night grab some of your leftover steak for breakfast and that will help get your motor running!!

Working Off the Weekend

One of the new popular drinks for summer is called "Magic apple juice." This beverage has 210 calories that usually gravitate straight to your mid section. Now here is what it takes to work those calories off:
At the beach- 53 minutes of treading water in the sea
In the garden- 63 minutes of playing corquet
In the park- 18 minutes of playing football
On the town- 110 minutes of playing cards
At home- 21 minutes of carrying boxes up stairs
At the gym- 8 minutes on the treadmill at 8mph, 15% incline
Which would you like to do??

My 7Flags Dietician

"My 7Flags Dietician" is a internet based meal planning and calorie counting software that helps you decide what foods are best for you and when. 7Flags has exclusive rights to this impressive software that helps you not only see what foods are best for your goals but also gives you suggestions on what to eat, shopping lists, and is simple to use anywhere with an internet connection. Ask Jamie for a demonstration next time you are in and you can see how well he is eating!!!

Give a little for those who don't

This month at 7Flags we are having a Food Drive to benefit the Anawim Project being done by Hubbell Realty group. Our goal is to stock all 9 homes full of food between the two clubs for these less fortunate ones. So everyone give one item and we will have this goal met in no time!!!

Healthy Foods

Can anyone tell me what the healthiest berry is?? According to research most have agreed that the healthiest berry for you is blueberry's. They give you the most antioxidants and vitamins per serving than any other berry. Now try to incorporate some blueberries into your everyday meals and start receiving the rewards of healthy eating!!

Resistance Training

For optimal results from resistance training is it better to lift heavy weights for low reps or light weights at higher reps??? What do you all think?

Food and Exercise for Thought

How many steps does it take to burn off the calories for consuming one plain chocolate M&M? It takes 108 steps to burn off that one M&M. But most people can not eat just one so lets make that more realistic. Lets say you eat 15 M&M's. So that would bring your step count up to 1620 steps. The average person will cover two feet per normal step. So the total distance you would have to walk is 3240 ft. That is over half a mile for eating just 15 M&M's. Think about that next time you want to have a snack!!

Can you beat this?!?!

Today one of my personal training clients scored 401 in a two minute bout on the 3 Kick unit! I challenge any one else to beat that score. If you can I'll throw in a free personal training session.

Hurry special ending soon

Summer is nearing an end and so is our membership special of no joining fee. Prices to join start at $19.95/month. Stop in and see me to check out our beautiful club in West Des Moines.