On any journey, particularly a health and fitness journey it can be exciting and scary, at different times we all need a little courage and a good friend. At Willows, our goal is to be that friend, someone who understands and can help and support when new challenges arrive. Our programs of support are designed to provide this; here is the story of one.

INSPIRING CONFIDENCE

Pelvic floor fitness for your clients

The female pelvic floor and incontinence during physical activity has for too long been a ‘hush-hush’ topic. By implementing a program of safe exercise progressions, you can help members and clients workout with a newfound confidence, write Troy Morgan and Carol Archer.

 We spoke of the elephant in the room of women’s fitness and found an amazing number of women waiting for help, an amazing number of women believing exercise for them was meant to be uncomfortable, and an amazing number of allied health professionals seeking networks of support for their patients.

Pause to look around at the women before you, in your next PT session or exercise class.   Did you know that, according to clinical research findings, almost half of your female exercisers may leak urine when they exercise?  Of the women who have ever had a baby, 1 in 3 could, statistically, suffer urinary incontinence, and 1 in 2 may have some form of pelvic organ prolapse¹.  All of these health issues will have significant impact on safe exercise choices for these women.

Add to these, research recently presented at the Pelvic Floor First workshop², in Melbourne as part of the Continence Foundation of Australia’s national conference.  The presenters included Professor Kari BØ, a highly respected international researcher in pelvic floor dysfunction from the Norwegian School of Sports Sciences.

Allow us to share with you, some of the statistics cited by Kari BØ, from results of clinical studies:

• 49% of female exercisers experienced urinary incontinence  (Urwin and Urwin 2003)
• 41% of female athletes had stress incontinence, and 16% had urge incontinence (BØ 2001)
• 26% of female group fitness instructors, including pilates and yoga instructors, reported urinary incontinence (BØ 2011)

Professor BØ indicated that, when consciously contracting the pelvic floor muscles

• 25% of women bear down, instead of lifting the pelvic floor muscles
• Between 30 and 45% of women are unable to contract the pelvic floor correctly

To provoke further thought:

• 2 out of 3 sedentary women with urinary incontinence had withdrawn from exercise because of it (BØ, 1989)

Yet how many of the women who cancel their gym memberships or personal training sessions would tell us that their reason for leaving is a weak bladder; that they leak urine when they jump and run, or are embarrassed about having to rush to the toilet in the middle of their favourite class?

How many women during a PT session or exercise class cite the reason they can’t do a particular exercise is because they leak or feel pressure in their bladder?

Yet some of the most challenging exercises for the pelvic floor are some of the most popular exercises prescribed in any centre:

• Abdominal curls or crunches
• Double leg lifts
• Medicine ball rotations
• Squats and lunges
• Lifting weights
• Any exercise with both feet off the floor
• Push ups and plank exercises on the toes
• Running, jumping, skipping and boxing³

By looking at these statistics we started a journey, and our Safe Exercise for Women program was born. It continues to surprise and inspire us with the stories of hope and achievement that it produces.

Our starting point was to talk to our current female clients to understand the extent of the issue in our centre and to start developing pathways that provided safe exercise progressions for them. We began to talk to Women’s Health professionals in our community, with experts throughout Australia to seek guidance, and we connected with the Pelvic Floor First project to help provide solutions.

We connected with women, not through the problems that a weakened pelvic floor may mean to their life, health and exercise.  Rather we connected and engaged with them by bringing to life the possibilities, which safe exercise can bring. We connected with women’s reasons for change by providing appropriate movement and referral pathways.

The women within our centre began to connect with the allied health professionals in the community through the pathways we provided, and a “tribe” within our centre quickly grew (Godin 2008)⁴. This tribe is managed by our fulltime Safe Exercise for Women coach Carol Archer, who provides the connection between general memberships, personal trainers, allied health and our safe exercise programs.

The speed at which referrals started to feed into the program was amazing and the program and pathways build each day.

The program has taught us that as fitness professionals we are positioned perfectly to raise awareness about the pelvic floor and exercise link, to encourage women to address their pelvic floor health, and to provide exercise programs that not only protect these multi-purpose muscles, but actively encourage pelvic floor fitness.

The big question – how can fitness professionals introduce pelvic floor safe exercise successfully, to ensure that their female clients and class participants are exercising appropriately?

Here are Carol’s tips to help you get started:

• Learn about the pelvic floor and exercise, and why pelvic floor safe exercise is important for all women
• Explore the Pelvic Floor First website,  www.pelvicfloorfirst.org.au
• Do the two-part Pelvic Floor First pelvic floor online course available through the Australian Fitness Network⁵.   (We highly recommend this course!)
• Talk enthusiastically about pelvic floor facts, statistics and ‘something I read’ to everyone; your colleagues, female clients and exercise class participants.  Have some Pelvic Floor First resources on hand to distribute.
• Work within your scope of professional practice.  Women’s health physiotherapists assess pelvic floor action, teach correct muscle activation and prescribe specialised pelvic floor training exercises.  The fitness professional’s role includes raising awareness about the pelvic floor and exercise, implementing pre-exercise pelvic floor risk screening and referral procedures, and providing pelvic floor safe exercise options.
• Contact the Continence Helpline on 1800 33 00 66 to find Women’s Health and Continence professionals in your area.  Pass on this information to your female clients.
• Connect with your local women’s health professionals.  Have your own pelvic floor assessed, and practice pelvic floor muscle exercises every day, yourself.  Explain to local physios your interest in providing pelvic floor safe exercise for women, and initiate the idea of a referral network.
• Add the Pelvic Floor First “Pelvic Floor Screening Tool” to your pre-exercise screening for female clients.  It includes clear indicators for referral of women with pelvic floor risk.  Encourage your clients to be proactive – explain why a visit to a women’s health professional is important for their pelvic floor health and exercise safety.  Tell them that bladder leakage will not go away if they do nothing … and it could get worse.  There is something they can do about it … consult a women’s health physio.
• Understand that for women with pelvic floor risk, general gym programs and exercise classes for fitness will not be suitable.  To provide pelvic floor safe exercise for these women you will need to modify exercises, or find alternatives, that adhere to the Pelvic Floor First guidelines … and this is ongoing, not just for a few weeks.
• Order the free ‘pelvic floor and exercise’ resources for fitness professionals, from the Pelvic Floor First website:  The “10 step guide”, “PF and resistance exercises” and “PF and core exercises” will provide you with guidelines for pelvic floor safe exercise modification and programming.
• Take every opportunity to learn about modifying exercises to make them pelvic floor safe, and the small-step progressions that will be necessary for on-going safe exercise programming.  I recommend authors such as Michelle Kenway, Dianne Edmonds, Lisa Westlake and Mary O’Dwyer

Remember, pelvic floor safe exercise is NOT a simple matter of randomly saying “lift your pelvic floor” during an exercise session or fitness class.  There is so much more to be learnt, and understood.

•   Attend a Pelvic Floor First workshop to be inspired and enlightened!
•   Connect with Pelvic Floor First through the website, resources, e-newsletter, and email. They will provide fantastic information, support and encouragement.
•  Complete the new pelvic floor courses online⁶ to launch yourself into learning!
•   Remain mindful that the certificates of completion do not make us ‘experts’ in pelvic floor safe exercise.  They do, however, indicate our position as committed students and advocates of safe exercise for women.

 Remember, think “pelvic floor first” when you think about exercise for women.

The thinking that pelvic floor issues are an inevitable part of exercise for Women needs to change and we need to think about the positive changes we can make as fitness professionals.

We need to ask what will our legacy be.

Willows Health & Lifestyles Safe Exercise for Women’s promotional program won Continence Foundation of Australia’s, World Continence Week promotion competition in 2011.

1. Pelvic Floor First and Australian Fitness Network’s online course, “Positive Practice for the Pelvic Floor”
2. To read a report about the Pelvic Floor First workshop, published in the Dec 2011 edition of the Pelvic Floor First e-newsletter, visit www.pelvicfloorfirst.org.au
3. Bridge magazine, “Pelvic Floor Fitness” edition, Winter 2011
4. Godin, S. Tribes  We need you to lead us
5. 5.   Pelvic Floor First and Australian Fitness Network, online pelvic floor course,  “Part 1 Positive practice for the pelvic floor” and “Part 2 Proactive planning for the pelvic floor”  www.fitnessnetwork.com.au
6. Michelle Kenway    Inside Out  and www.pelvicexercises.com.au
7. Dianne Edmonds   www.thepregnancycentre.com.au
8. Lisa Westlake   Exercising for 2  and Mums Shape Up 
9. Mary O’Dwyer  Hold it Sister 

We all know resolutions are notoriously tough to stick with, but by starting small and committing to the process you’ll win the day. The Willows Health & Lifestyle way is all about supporting you in reaching your goals, so let’s look at a survival guide to achieving your health resolutions in 2012 and the new support programs we are introducing.

1. Your Reason for
   Change

The starting point is making sure any goals you have are aligned to your values. If you just focus on a weight loss goal, for example, you are setting yourself up to fail because you need something that you can live by every day to achieve your goals. You need to find your reason for change and focus on the possibilities that change can bring. http://troymorgancoaching.com/2011/03/02/hello-world/

Research shows that focusing on possibilities such as asking yourself “Who do I want to be?” can arouse positive emotional attractors in your mind increasing your chances of
success, rather than focusing on your weaknesses which arouse negative emotional attractors in your mind, thus limiting your chances of success. (http://troymorgancoaching.com/2011/08/22/the-positivity-of-coaching/)

 2.  Commitment

Once you have your reason for change you have moved from just wanting to do something and moved to generating commitment to take action. Your reason provides an enduring commitment to the process, so write down a list of why it is good to carry out this goal. Once you have this constantly remind yourself of the reason and the good that it
will bring, continue to focus on the positive.

3. Plan

Being spontaneous doesn’t work with resolutions; you need to have thought about it beforehand. You have your reason for change and you have your goals now you need to break it into small steps and then get what you need: it might be new walking shoes, a dietitian visit or a gym membership.

The steps towards your goals need to be attainable rather than some broad aim and be specific – such as, “I will walk for 20 minutes five days a week”. If you change your approach to previous failed resolutions, you are on the road to success.

4. Manage the process

Work out how you’ll fit the goal into your day. Put in place structures that support this; for example, if eating breakfast every day has been an issue because of early morning time constraints ensure you have a breakfast option at work and eat it as you check your morning email. This may mean having structures such as a fruit basket in your office or
having cereal and milk on hand in the staff room.

Once you have your structures take action.

Anticipate obstacles and work out how to overcome them. Stay present by revisiting your reason for change regularly. You’ll feel the saboteur part of yourself trying to assert itself and you can short-circuit it before it takes hold.

5. Setbacks

There will be times when you have setbacks; it is not always smooth sailing reaching for something that is worthwhile. When you slip don’t give yourself a hard time and don’t use it as an excuse to give up. It isn’t failure; it’s part of the process. Ask yourself what caused the stumble and revisit your reason. Make adjustments to manage this in future.

Recognising setbacks as a learning process helps you develop self-mastery.

6. Acknowledge and celebrate success

Praise yourself when you stay on course; positive reinforcement helps keep you on track. Chart your progress so you can measure success, but be patient.

7. Support

You need to support to achieve your goals, share your goals with family and friends who can help you along the way. Working out with a friend, for example, can help you stick to your workout routine because you don’t want to let your friend down by not turning up to a prearranged appointment.

8. Your membership

Willows Health & Lifestyle Centre’s membership provides you with many support structures to help you achieve your goals. Do you realise that your membership has the support of Fitness Coaches who can provide you with an appropriate program to match your goals and body? Movement and exercise are great but they must match what is appropriate for you.

In 2012 we are introducing even more structures and events to support
you on your journey of health:

• Willows Health &
  Lifestyle Centre Australia Day Body Sizzle

The first of our Willows event days for 2012 is designed to introduce
you to new and exciting benefits your Willows membership can open, while having
fun and meeting other members of the Willows family.

This event will be held on Australia Day, Thursday 26^th
January where we will launch our new group fitness room and three new Les Mills
programs to the centre. The day will involve some super classes with crèche
being fully operational, there will also be a jumping castle, face painting and
sausage sizzle for children. The day will launch the first of our challenges
for the year: the six pack challenge – complete 6 of each of the new classes in
six weeks and go into the draw for some great prizes (details to be released
soon). The new classes to be launched are:

1. CXWORX

Based on cutting-edge scientific research, this program is the ultimate
way to get a tight and toned core. With dynamic training that hones in on your
abs, gluts, back, obliques, and “slings” connecting the upper and
lower body. This workout will leave you looking good and feeling strong.

2. RPM (Indoor Cycling)

Take on the terrain with your inspiring team coach who leads the pack
through hills, flats, mountain peaks, speed work and interval training.
Discover your athlete within – sweat and burn to reach your endorphin high.

3. BodyStep

Using a height-adjustable step and simple movements on, over and around
the step you get huge motivation from sing-along music and approachable
instructors. Cardio blocks push fat-burning systems into high gear followed by
muscle-conditioning tracks that shape and tone your body.

•  Lisa Westlake
  Seminars and Classes

This event is the first of our visiting specialists who will educate and  inspire. Lisa Westlake is owner and director of Physical Best. Physical Best combines Lisa’s  pysiotherapy and fitness skills to provide exercise programming and health and fitness events for all ages and abilities, even corporate groups. Lisa is a physiotherapist, highly regarded fitness instructor and a sought after national and international presenter, who has won several prestigious awards:-

Australian Fitness Leader of the Year 2000

Australian Fitness Presenter of the Year 2003

Australian Fitness Author of the Year 2009

On the 18^th February 2012, Lisa will be presenting an education seminar on: Exercising for Two – all you need to know about exercise and fitness programing for pre and postnatal women. Lisa will also be running some special group fitness classes for our Willows members leading into the seminar. Further details to come in the next few weeks.

• Food and Exercise Wisdom for Sport

The first of our quarterly in-house Health Seminars for 2012, this seminar will provide you with all the nutritional and physical performance information you need to take your sports performance to the next level. This seminar will also see the launch of Willows new Sports Conditioning Program. The seminar will be held at the end of February with details released at the end of January.

• Peak2Park

Willows are once again a proud supporter of this great Toowoomba family fun run/walk event and will be holding training sessions leading up to the event in January. Engage in taking your fitness to the next level while helping others. Peak2Park is held every year in Toowoomba on the first Sunday in March. The event is held to raise money for local charities. Peak2Park began in 2006 and has continued to grow, drawing hundreds of participants each year. Now a premier community event for the Toowoomba calendar, Peak2Park is now recognised Australia-wide. http://www.peak2park.org.au/

•  Small Group Training Membership

Weare launching a new membership option in March 2012 that provides you access to
all the great benefits of Personal Fitness Coaching and working together in a group. The program will make Personal Fitness Coaching more affordable than ever before, stay tuned for more details.

• Safe Exercise for Women Coach and Support Programs

This great support program will be introducing even more Pelvic Floor Safe programs
in 2012. Remember that Carol Archer, our Safe Exercise for Women Coach, is available for appointments to ensure your program at Willows is Pelvic Floor Safe and access to this support is included as part of your membership so ask at Reception for details.

• New Products

Two new products to be launched in the first quarter in 2012 will take your program
to the next level. The first of these products is a heart rate tracking system that will not only track your performance while in the centre but also when you are working out away from the centre. The program will download all your workouts and present them automatically to your email, stay tuned for the promotions coming soon.

The second product is an online nutrition program that provides you with live
support and eating plans.

Appropriate support can mean the difference between New Year Resolution success and
failure. So with your reason for change in hand and the support of a Willows Health & Lifestyle Centre membership, 2012 is going to be your year of health!

Take a Tour of Willows

Do you wake up every morning full of energy and vitality?

Do you go home every night full of energy and vitality?

Do you even remember what it was like to have energy and vitality?

Are you still feeling a little slow and sluggish coming out of winter?

Spring is a great time for new beginnings and to introduce new habits into your everyday to increase energy and improve health.

Six ways to boost energy levels this spring

1.    Eat a well-balanced, nutritious diet

Nothing takes away from the importance of eating a nutritious, well-balanced diet. Limiting processed and greasy fast foods, and eating mainly fresh, natural foods is the best way to stay healthy and vibrant.

Making a well-balanced diet part of our lifestyle can be tough and the path can be littered with roadblocks making it difficult to navigate. Ruth Logan from Eat Wise4Life will make this path easier for you this month with her Weight Wisdom seminar on the 27^th October at Willows Health & Lifestyle Centre.

The seminar will cover: how to become a ‘diet’ critic; current controversies regarding weight loss programs; when and why to use meal replacements; low carb/high protein diets for weight loss; energy density of intake; quality versus quantity issues; the influence of alcohol in weight control; healthy snacks and interpreting food labels.

 For more information check our website www.willowshealth.com.au and book your place now.

2. Stretch

Lack of stretching and movement leads to reduced blood flow to the muscles (as less oxygen is getting to the muscles), toxins build up in the muscles and results in muscle pain and fatigue. Regular stretching does more than just keep our muscles and tendons in a healthy state though; it also keeps the brain’s arteries open and unclogged. Because the brain accounts for 15% of the body’s blood flow (while being only 2% of its overall weight) maintaining a free flow of oxygenated blood to our most vital organ is an excellent way to create more vigour in our life.

Willows Health & Lifestyle Body Balance classes are a great way to introduce some more stretching into your day, try something new today.

3. Gratitude

Gratitude yields energy. Every night before you go to bed, spend 5 minutes being thankful for all the experiences you had during the day: the people you interacted with, the work you accomplished, the food you ate, etc. As you do this, really try to feel the gratitude emanate from within you. This is a wonderful practice for increasing energy and productivity.

4. Adequate Sleep

Inadequate sleep makes weight loss difficult, decreases your immune system, increases the risk of heart disease and obviously decreases energy levels. Research shows we need 8 to 8.5 hours per night to ensure our health and energy levels.

5. Try Something New

Challenge yourself and put yourself outside your comfort zone to boost energy and produce personal growth. There is a mountain of research that show the benefits to our body and mind of trying something new and guarding against diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

This can be as easy as challenging ourselves to read more, enrol in an online course or try a different approach to exercise such as trying a new class.

Willows Health & Lifestyle Centre has made this easy for you this month with the introduction of our RPM classes and the Spring launch of our walking/running club.  So,  have a go today and boost your energy levels.

6. Make Movement Part of the Everyday

We require a plan to make this happen and the perfect health plan is a plan you will do.

What can you fit in at the moment?

What priority is health and fitness in your life at the moment and is this reflected in your everyday decisions?

Movement is not just about planned activity in, say, the four walls of a fitness centre; rather, it is about building activity into your whole day. Taking the stairs instead of the lift, parking further from work, having walking meetings instead of sitting at the cafe and involving the family in a walk to the park.

Movement builds energy and stamina but also guards against a multitude of health risks.

For more information in finding a plan that helps boost your energy this spring and is right for you have a chat with one our Personal Fitness Coaches they are here to help.

Our team are here ready to help.

If exercise was a drug that could be prescribed, it would be the number one prescription medication in the world, based on the continued growth of evidence describing the benefits exercise can bring. You may say this is a biased statement from someone so tied to the health and fitness industry, but the evidence is hard to ignore, particularly in relation to chronic disease. Exercise can improve every aspect of your health.

This message is reaching the community if we go are to by the flood of people joining fitness facilities and the continuing growth of health and fitness facilities around the country – from personal training studios to 24 hour fitness centres to the huge Virgin Fitness Clubs with every fitness amenity you could wish for under one roof.

However as fast as fitness centres see members pour in through the front door, these same members seem to be running out the back door! The retention rate for membership in fitness centres is not great, but even for members that stay, some industry figures suggest only 15% of the membership base are using the facility on a regular basis.

Why is this so?

Let’s look firstly at why people join fitness centres. The number one reason is because people are looking for results; whether that be to lose weight, to treat a chronic condition or to get ready for that school reunion/wedding/first half marathon – they are all looking for some sort of result.

So where does it go wrong?

Inside fitness centres there may be different equipment, different amenities, but the goal is pretty much the same – to get people moving so that they can obtain the result they are after.

So if this is true, I believe the difference that counts is the support which members of fitness centres receive; the support which makes you feel comfortable using the facilities, the support to help you plan your program, the support to progress through that program safely, the support to change the intensities of your program to push through plateaus, and most of all the support to help you find your “why”.

The “why” you would set your alarm to exercise in the morning, the “why” to continue when motivation is low and the “why” you turn into the facility you choose in the afternoon instead of going straight home.

How does Willows Health & Lifestyle Centre provide that support to you?

First of all our membership is all-inclusive; that is, it provides both services and support. The support allows you to get the most out of your membership and find your “why”.

A Willows membership opens up unlimited access to the centre and a world of services:

• The latest state-of-the-art equipment in our pin and free weights areas
• Indoor Heated Pool and Sauna
• Cardio Room with treadmills, cross trainers, stationary bicycles, rowing machines
• Group Fitness Classes
• Squash Courts

Your membership provides the support to help you get the most out of the centre’s services and drive you to achieve the RESULTS you desire.

• Initial consultation and program: this helps you feel comfortable at the centre and also gives you direction on how to reach your desired results.
• Program reviews every 8 weeks: this helps you continue to move forward at a safe rate and also adjust your intensity levels to push through any plateaus.
• Quarterly Health Seminars: these in-house education sessions are free for members and are presented by our staff and also outside experts including dietitians, physiotherapists, GPs and other allied health providers.
• Quarterly Health Promotions: these promotions create awareness of health issues in the community, not just for yourself but information you can take home and discuss with your family.
• Women’s Health Fitness Coach: this service ensures all women’s health issues are addressed in exercise prescription and is also an information service for all female members. The program ensures continued education of all our staff including Fitness Coaches and Group Fitness instructors.
• Interactive On-Line Services: resources on our website, facebook page continually allowing interaction of the centre’s activities and information to keep you on track, Blogs to help your motivation and Willows TV (YouTube) which has interviews and how to sessions about health and fitness.
• Quarterly Centre Challenges: to help your motivation and connect you to the other members in the centre.

All of these support structures are underpinned by trained staff, who are available to you if you have any problems and if they don’t know the answer, they will find it for you.

For extra support, our in-house allied health centre gives you direct access to Exercise Physiologists, Dietitians, Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists and Massage.

So could the difference in achieving the results you desire be the support you receive?