National Fitness Day is the most active day of the year. A day when people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities come together to celebrate the fun of fitness and also recognise the incredible benefits being physically active can have on our lives.
Free activities
This year we will be celebrating National Fitness Day with a range of FREE activities at each centre so that members and non-members can participate side-by-side. Please ensure that you’re following your local centre on social media for updates on what activities will be available and to be the first to see the timetable for the day.
Refer a Friend
We also have a membership referral offer. Bring a friend or family member to participate in an activity on National Fitness Day, and if they become a member, you will be entered into a prize draw to win an iPad Pro! For more information about our referral campaign, see here. Winners will be announced the first week of October.
And finally, for all those people out there that like to push themselves hard in the gym, we’re hosting our annual national gym challenge with some fantastic prizes provided by Life Fitness, Les Mills, Physical Company and Future Fit for Business. See below for further details.
The Gym Challenge
We have some amazing prizes for the winners of each category, provided by our key fitness equipment suppliers:
Equipment: 1 Pair of Dumbbells (7.5kg Women / 12.5kg Men)
Predicted Time: 12 - 20 minutes
The prescribed weights (7.5kg for women / 12.5kg for men) are relatively light for functional fitness standards, so this workout becomes a high-intensity cardiovascular and muscular endurance test! It’s not expected that many people will be able to complete all of the exercises without some breaks or ‘breathers’; this is deliberate!
This is a ‘pyramid workout’. The movements get more complex and demanding as the reps decrease, peaking at the 10-rep mark with the ultimate full-body exercise, before working back down the other side.
How: The treadmill should be set with a 0% incline. Press quick start and start the stop watch. The treadmill will take a few seconds to start and get up to speed. This time needs to be included. The speed is dependent on your own ability and should be adjusted manually by yourself throughout the exercise.
After 800m you must press stop before stepping off the treadmill.
Why: This is the ‘buy in’. A solid pace to spike your heart rate and pre-fatigue your legs before you pick up the weights!
How: Standing with a dumbbell in each hand, arms relaxed and fully extended at your sides, step backward into a lunge until your back knee gently taps the floor, then drive forward to stand. Alternate which leg you step backwards with each repetition.
Why: This exercise will heavily tax the quads and glutes, whilst also requiring a significant amount of grip and core strength.
How: Start with the dumbbell on the floor between your feet. Keeping your chest up and back flat, explosively pull the dumbbell from the ground into an overhead position with your arm fully extended in one fluid motion. Lower the dumbbell to the floor and then repeat on the opposite side, alternating sides after each repetition. The dumbbell must touch the floor each time.
Why: A highly functional, explosive hip-hinge movement that works the hamstrings, glutes, core, and shoulders while keeping the heart rate elevated.
How: Place both dumbbells on the floor parallel to each other shoulder width apart. Drop down into a burpee, with your hands on the dumbbell handles and your chest and thighs touching the floor. Then jump or step your feet back up to your hands on the outside of the dumbbells, swing the dumbbells back between your legs slightly like a kettlebell swing, and explosively snatch both of them overhead simultaneously until you are fully extended with the dumbbells above your head. Lower the dumbbells back to the floor and repeat.
Why: This is the peak of the pyramid for a reason. It is a push-up, a hip hinge, and a double overhead press rolled into one brutal, lung-busting movement.
How: Standing with a dumbbell in each hand, arms relaxed and fully extended at your sides (same starting position as Reverse Lunges), set your feet shoulder-width apart. Keep your chest high and lower down into a squat until the crease of your hips drops below the top of your knees. Maintain a strong core and straight back. Drive up through your heels to return to a full standing position and repeat.
Why: This is another quad, glute, and core builder which will be extremely taxing after the previous exercises.
How: Holding a single dumbbell with arms hanging fully extended in front of you, hinge slightly at the hips and explosively shrug to "clean" the weight up to shoulder height, then immediately dip at the knees if needed and drive the dumbbell overhead until the dumbbell is help overhead by a fully extended arm (the “jerk”). Switch arms every rep.
Why: A dynamic finish before the run. It breaks the body down into a pull, a catch, and a push, requiring coordination, balance, and stamina - not to mention a high cardio capacity.
How: The treadmill should be set with a 0% incline again. Press quick start. The treadmill will take a few seconds to start and get up to speed. This time needs to be included. The speed is dependent on your own ability and should be adjusted manually by yourself throughout the exercise.
The clock should be stopped once you have completed 400m run on the treadmill and pressed the stop button. This is your total time for the challenge. Well done!
Why: This is the ‘cash out’. Your legs will feel incredibly heavy from the previous exercises. The goal here is to finish as quickly as possible despite the accumulated fatigue.
