Zumba, the dance fitness program designed to make exercise fun is currently sweeping the nation and classes are now running four nights a week in Wednesfield.

With 60,000 fitness center locations in 105 countries and seven-and-a-half million participants (including a certain WV11 author!), not to mention a soon to be released video game, Zumba is something of a dance/exercise revolution.

Local instructor Vicky Thomas is currently running classes four nights a week in and around WV11 and is also considering running Zumba toning classes as demand is growing.

Zumba Classes in Wednesfield:

Mondays: 7:30pm – 8:30pm at Pool Hayes Arts and Community School

Tuesdays: 6:30pm – 7:30pm at Coppice Performing Arts School

Wednesdays: 6pm – 7pm at Coppice Performing Arts School

Thursdays: 8pm -9pm at Coppice Performing Arts School

Classes cost £4 per session, Alternatively you can purchase 10 classes in advance for just £35 saving you 50p per class.

For more information please call Vicky Thomas on 07599 333 718 or email vixen64@btinternet.com. If you would be interested in taking part in daytime classes please let Vicky know.

A series of mile-long fitness routes have been unveiled in parks around Wolverhampton – and residents are being encouraged to help themselves get in shape by trying them out.

Sunday 25th September marked Walk4Life Day, which celebrated walking and the many health benefits it brings, and to mark the occasion the four fitness routes, located at East Park, Springvale Park, Fowler’s Park and Wednesfield Park, were officially unveiled.

The way-marked routes were installed by Wolverhampton City Council’s Parks and Green Spaces team and are part of a nationwide campaign to create 2012 one-mile fitness routes in time for the 2012 London Olympics.

Walkers can log onto www.walk4life.info to record their walk times, track their progress and get a ‘fitness rating’ whenever they complete one of the routes. The website features over 11,000 walks nationwide and walkers can search for walks by postcode.

For more information about regular Walking for Health walks, please call 01902 444601 or log on to www.wolvespct.nhs.uk/wfh.

Wolverhampton Primary Care Trust has announced that due to the success of the scheme in Wolverhampton it would continue to fund swim sessions until the end of March 2011.

Councillor Matt Holdcroft, council cabinet member for leisure and culture told the BBC, the scheme had been “massively popular”.

He said: “Thousands of youngsters and older people have signed up for free swimming passes since the scheme was launched in April and this extension will enable many more people to take advantage of the initiative and improve their health at the same time.”

Free swimming sessions are available for the under 16′s and over 60′s at Wolverhampton Swimming and Fitness Centre, Planetary Road, Wednesfield.

Following our introduction and part 1 earlier this week, here’s part 2 of…

Six Short Steps to Weight Loss Success (part 1) by John Russell

Step Four: Reward Yourself!

Have you set a goal to go out walking five times this week and achieved it? Great, reward yourself…

Did you want to avoid eating any puddings this week and achieved it? Great, then reward yourself!

Here’s a list of potential gifts to get you started, why not add your own:

• A Book, CD or DVD
• Get some new workout clothes
• Go to watch a movie
• Go bowling
• Have a day away
• Have a relaxing bath
• Go for a walk
• Watch your favourite TV programme
• Have your friends round
• [Insert Your Reward Here]

Step Five: Still Finding is Hard?

With that all said, if you’re still finding it hard, help is at hand. The Wolverhampton Health Trainers are here to support, guide and motivate you to success.  It’s a free and confidential service available to people over the age of 16 who live, work or have a GP registered in Wolverhampton. Health Trainers see you on a 1:1 basis to help you make a lifestyle change in one of the following areas:

• Physical Activity
• Healthily Eating
• Weight Loss
• Reducing Alcohol
• Stopping Smoking

Step Six: Contact Us

If you’d like your own health trainer email healthtrainers@wolvespct.nhs.uk  or call on 0800 073 4242. To visit the Health Trainer website click here.

Good luck!

John Russell, Health Trainer

http://www.twitter.com/healthtrainers

This post if the first of two this week covering John’s “Six Short Steps to Weight Loss Success” – today we’ll cover steps 1-3, with 4-6 following later in the week.

Six Short Steps to Weight Loss Success (part 1) by John Russell

Let’s face it, sometimes it’s pretty hard to motivate ourselves. We all have those days when we’re super motivated, we feel like we can do anything. We go to the gym with a spring in our step and resist that chocolate cake as if it wasn’t there. Then there are those other days where everything goes, well… wrong.

Assuming you need to lose weight, what is it that keeps us motivated? For some people it’s all about health reasons, for others it’s about being able to play with their kids or grandchildren, or looking and feeling better… everyone’s reasons are different.

Before you start, take 30 seconds now to think about what’s motivating you to lose weight.

Ready? Okay, let’s get into it.

Step One: Set Yourself a Weight Loss Goal.

It may sound silly, but most people don’t know what they want, all they know is that they don’t want what they’ve got right now!

So what do you want? To lose one stone? Two stone? More? Make it specific, realistic, achievable and time based. Below is an example of an unrealistic goal…

“I will lose three stone by next month”

If you’re losing weight, target yourself to lose 1 – 2 lbs (pounds) per week. Based on this you could expect to lose anywhere between four and eight pounds a month. This means you can realistically look to lose up to a stone every two to three months! This might not sound a lot, but if you lost 1llb a week starting from today, this time next year you’d be almost four stones lighter. It all adds up.

This means your Ideal Goal might look something like this…

“I will lose one stone by 1st November 2010” or…

“I will lose one stone in the next 60 days”

We call this goal your “Main” Goal or your “General Goal”.

Step Two: Set Yourself Mini Goals.

A “Mini Goal” is a smaller goal you use to achieve your “Main Goal”. First of all you need to know what you’re going to do, for example a mini goal might look like this.

“I will exercise at least 5 times a week”

Why not make it more specific by saying where you’re going to do it, who (if anyone) else you’re going to do it with and when you’re going do it and for how long for example:

“I will exercise for at least 30 minutes a day on at least 5 times a week by walking around the park with my colleague Karen on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday immediately after work”.

Try it with yourself and apply it to your own situations.

Step Three: Keep a Diary.

Keeping a written record of your Mini Goals and knowing how close you are to achieving your Main Goal is a great motivational tool.

A diary will also help you to keep track of how successful you’ve been in the past.

Keep your diary in a visible place, this will keep your goals in the forefront of your brain! Some common places to keep your diary include, your bag, on your notice board, or on the kitchen counter.

Check back later in the week for the next instalment and you want to make sure you don’t miss it, you can sign up for Wv11.co.uk email notifications here.

]]> http://www.wv11.co.uk/2010/08/18/six-short-steps-to-weight-loss-success-part-1/feed/ 2 http://www.wv11.co.uk/2010/08/16/introducing-john-russell-health-trainer/ http://www.wv11.co.uk/2010/08/16/introducing-john-russell-health-trainer/#comments Mon, 16 Aug 2010 09:00:25 +0000 James http://www.wv11.co.uk/?p=2484 Whilst attending the recent Wednesfield Community Fayre at Wednesfield High, Wv11.co.uk bumped into NHS health trainer John Russell.

John was very interested in the website and offered to write a monthly(ish) column with tips on getting fit and staying healthy.

Although this won’t appeal to everyone, we’re pretty sure there’s a few people out there (ourselves included!) who would welcome some handy tips on getting fit and most importantly, motivating yourself to get fit!

So this week we’ll be bringing you John Russell’s “Six Short Steps to Weight Loss Success”.

Check back later in the week for the first instalment, with the second one following shortly after.

“On Tuesday 15th June from 11am to 3pm we are holding an open day at the Community Centre on Griffiths Drive to showcase the work of the groups using the centre. We will also be marking  the official launch of our new Over 50′s Fitness Programme which will be launched by Dr Adrian Phillips, Director of Public Health for Wolverhampton at 11am.”

“The state of the art Gym equipment has been funded by Wolverhampton Primary Care Trust who are working with Wolverhampton City Council improving the health and well being of our communities.”

“Everyone is welcome – so please come along and find out about the other activities we run at the Community Centre, including Art Clubs, Craft Clubs, Card making, Friendship Club, Computer Courses, Children’s Centre activities and more. Refreshments will be provided!”

The Carver Wolverhampton City Marathon takes place this year on Sunday 5th September.

There are several opportunities to get involved either running (full marathon, half marathon, relay challenge event or the children’s mini-marathon) as well as the 19.4km cycling event which includes wheelchair racers.

The WV11 team are considering entering the cycle event – is anyone else interested in entering with us?

For entry details and information on road closures, please visit: www.wolverhamptoncitymarathon.co.uk

The applicant (Mr H.S. Gill) has requested a change of use of the ground floor from retail (Use Class A1) to a dental surgery (Use Class D1).

View the full application here.

This powerful video highlighting the plight of 106 year-old Louisa Watts who was evicted from her care home Underhill House in Bushbury recently appeared online. The video urges voters to ‘evict’ the 8 councillors who voted to close the home.

Louisa’s 78 year-old son Derek Watts (of Ashmore Park) is standing as an independent candidate for Wednesfield North in the upcoming local election.

Read more about Louisa’s plight at the Express & Star.