Ohhh Oxigeno...

Relax your mind and invigorate your body with Oxigeno. Much more than another Pilates/Yoga hybrid, Oxigeno takes you back to the basics: Movement – Flow – Breathing. This modern approach will give you increased flexibility, strength, improve your posture and correct muscle or joint imbalances. Release your stress and start moving again with Oxigeno.

Dolphins Health Precinct holds Oxigeno classes every Monday and Thursday at 10.30am - come along and feel invigorated!

The Benefits of a Foam Roller

Using a foam roller is called myofascial release, which is a type of soft tissue therapy used to reduce soreness and stiffness that limits range of motion. When you think of stretching, you think of pulling or lengthening the body to stretch like elastic. Stretching on a foam roller is more like stretching out pizza dough. The muscles are essentially stretched around the roller. 

The foam roller offers the same relaxation benefits of a massage. So, while you can use the roller during your warm up, as long as muscles are already warm, many exercisers enjoy using them after a vigorous workout to help relax and stretch. Keep your rolling sessions at no more than 15 minutes when you start.

You can expect to feel the same type of pain associated with massage as well. When you lie on the roller, keep your body centered, and start by rolling out the parts that can work 2 areas at a time, such as both hamstrings, both calves, or both quadriceps. Once you have rolled out the targeted area, remove the pressure from one side by lifting one leg, leaning on one thigh or crossing ankles to keep the pressure on one side.

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New Classes Starting 1st February

We are excited to announce some new and additional classes that will be starting 1st February 2013:

• Pilates - Tuesday 5.45am
• Radical Mix - Sunday 9.30am (this 45 minute class will feature 15 minutes of 3 Radical programs....for example, Ubound, X55 and Power. Radical Mix is great for our Members to get a taste of a few different classes and also great for Members just starting their fitness journey.
• Pilates - Sunday 10.30am

All of the above classes are trial classes until the end of March 2013, so come along and try them out. If all the classes are well supported then these classes are here to stay!

Ricotta, Tomato & Cucumber Crackers

Photography by Ben Dearnley

Quick, easy and healthy.... Have as a snack or for lunch!

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup fresh ricotta
• 3 Sandwich Size Original Vita-Weats
• 1 Lebanese cucumber, thinly sliced
• 2 vine-ripened tomatoes, thinly sliced
• snow pea sprouts

Method

• Divide ricotta among Vita-Weats. Top with cucumber, tomatoes, and snow pea sprouts

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New Timetable Coming Soon

Stay tuned as we are preparing to release an

even bigger timetable in February this year!

We Need Your Help...

Dolphins Health Precinct are getting involved with the MS Swimathon Fundraiser again this year. The MS Swimathon has raised $163,346 so far to support people living with MS.

Last year's Swimathon was lots of fun, raised much needed funds and was a huge success. We are hoping this year to be even better. 

Date: Saturday 9th March 2013
Time: 6am to 6pm
Goal: $30,000

Some stats from last year:

• 55 participants
• Raised $10,491 to date
• 12 hour swimathon – someone from each team had to be swimming at all times throughout the 12 hours
• 6am – 6pm
• Youngest participant was Georgina Fitzgerald – 2.5 years who did 10 laps
• Well over 6000 laps swum on the day
• Supported By Redcliffe Central Lions club on the day – breaky, lunch and dinner!
• Top 5 Teams
• Skips Squad $5,867
• OUTDOOR ANGELS $1,870
• HOOLIGANS HEROES $1,428
• MoretonBayRoadRunners $1,345
• THE DOLPHINS $748

You can register your team by clicking here. 

Please get involved and help us make this fundrasier bigger and better in 2013!

Australia Day Week!

Australia Day Week kicks off tomorrow at Dolphins Health Precinct. There will be random prizes given away and Australia themed group fitness classes. Come dressed to impress or just bring your A game as its Australia Week!!

DHP Cocktail (Birthday) Party

To celebrate Dolphins Health Precinct's 2nd Birthday we are throwing a Cocktail Party! It is going to be a fun night filled with a live DJ, giveaways and prizes (plus lots of dancing!)

When: 22nd February 2013 - 6pm

Where: Level 1, Redcliffe Leagues Club, Presidents Lounge

Dress: Cocktail

Cost: $29 per person (includes beer/wine/champagne/soft drink/cocktail food)

RSVP: DHP Reception or call 3880 3729

Coconut-Poached Chicken and Mango Salad

Try this delicious dish for a beta-carotene boost

Nutritionist Lisa Guy says...

This salad contains fresh ginger and coriander, both great remedies for calming unsettled stomachs and relieving nausea. Ginger helps ease inflammation and boost immune function, and coriander helps remove heavy metals such as lead and mercury from the body. Coconut milk is a source of caprylic acid, an anti-fungal compound useful for treating and preventing candida. Mangoes are packed with beta-carotene, to help keep gums and eyes healthy.

Serves: 4 

Preparation time: 25 mins (plus cooling time and five minutes' standing time) 

Cooking: 20 mins

Ingredients: 

• 500ml (2 cups) chicken stock 
• 4cm-piece fresh ginger, peeled, 
• thinly sliced
• 6 coriander stems
• 310ml (1¼ cups) coconut milk
• 4 (about 800g) chicken breast fillets
• 2 tbs lime juice
• 1 tbs fish sauce
• 1 tbs finely grated palm sugar
• 2 fresh mangoes, peeled, thinly sliced
• 1 avocado, peeled, thinly sliced
• 1 red capsicum, thinly sliced
• 3 spring onions (shallots), thinly 
• sliced diagonally
• 1 long fresh red chilli, sliced diagonally
• 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
• 1/2 cup fresh coriander leaves
• Roasted cashews, chopped, to serve

Cooking method:

• Bring stock, ginger, coriander stems and 250ml (1 cup) coconut milk to a simmer in a deep frying pan on low heat. Add chicken. Cook for 15 minutes or until just cooked. Remove and set aside for 5 minutes. Shred when cool.
• Meanwhile, combine lime juice, fish sauce, palm sugar and remaining coconut milk in a bowl.
• Combine chicken, dressing, mango, avocado, capsicum, spring onion, chilli, half the mint and coriander leaves in a bowl. Transfer to a platter. Sprinkle cashew and remaining mint and coriander over.

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My Story - A Weight Loss Journey

Julie - Before and After photos

A very inspiring story from one of our Members, Julie Lamb.

In my early 40’s I suddenly developed extreme pain in my ankles and then my feet, it was like walking on glass. I had tests done for all sorts of possible causes and nothing showed up. Some minor osteoarthritis in the joints, but needless to say the pain was unexplainably awful and it limited my ability to walk and I simply became obese from too much food and drink and no exercise whatsoever as we lived on a small property out from town.

I turned 48 in May 2011, I didn’t own scales but I knew I was getting really heavy as most of my cloths weren’t fitting and I’d had to keep buying larger sizes, it was becoming more difficult to walk even short distances. 

One day I got brave and put $2 in one of those weighing machines and when I saw the figure flash at me, I was shocked, Wow! I couldn’t get away from that number fast enough! I was 105 kilos and I had no idea what to do about it due to my limited mobility. I just couldn’t stand the pain to walk off the weight. 

As life would have it, my husband got a job in Brisbane and in June 2011 we moved to the Peninsula and I started to walk for a small amount of time everyday, 10 minutes tops as it all hurt to much and some days I didn’t want to walk at all but I couldn’t get that figure of my weight out of my head. 

In November 2011, I read about Aqua classes at Dolphins Health Precinct and its Aquatic Centre simply by chance as we were becoming members of the Leagues Club, they had a pamphlet sitting on the counter and out of curiosity I grabbed one to take home and have a read. 

I saw the timetable and read about all the different classes. I knew I was incredibly unfit and I was a little fearful about others knowing this but really they knew by simply just looking at me. I’d never joined a gym in my life and I didn’t really know what to expect but with my families encouragement, I took myself off to my first ever exercise class, the Aqua Splash. 

I thought oh my god! No Pain! I can actually do this! And it was so much fun!!! 

Aqua exercising has changed my life, with watching what I eat and drink and going to the Aquatic Centre as part of my lifestyle routine, I have lost 28 kilos and most of it in the first 8 months. I am now maintaining and I won’t mind if a little bit more comes off in its own good time. I turn 50 this year and I think I look 10 years younger as I certainly feel it! 

Now I walk everyday for at least 30 minutes usually 40 and I attend the Aqua gym classes sometimes 6 times a week, I do Mix, Circuit, Deep and I’m still doing the occasional Splash. I also have a small lifting routine I do at home with bar, dumbbells and resistance bands. 

I'm still suffering foot problems but I do have a lot more mobility and I really trust it can only get better!  

Many Thanks to the Trainers (especially the Aqua ones) and the staff at  Dolphins Health Precinct for making me feel welcome and like anything is possible, and for helping me with my many questions about health and fitness along the way. 

Cheers! Julie Lamb xx 

Work Against 12 Times the Resistance of Air...

Dolphins Health Precinct offer many variations of aqua aerobics for all fitness levels. Click here for a current timetable.

Water aerobics is often considered a low-intensity workout program appropriate only for pregnant women or the elderly. However, water aerobics actually offers multiple benefits for any fitness level. Water aerobics classes come in a variety of formats, including step and Zumba. 

Low Impact

Exercising in water makes you feel about 90 percent lighter, reports the American Council on Exercise. When you jump or run in the water, your body does not experience the same impact that these moves cause on land. This makes water aerobics an ideal activity for those with arthritis, back problems, foot or leg injuries, and knee conditions. Pregnant women and the obese also benefit from the reduced impact.

More Discrete

If you find other group exercise classes intimidating because of complex choreography or windowed studios, the pool offers some discretion. Most moves are performed underwater so only you know if you missed a step!

Calorie Burn

Expect to burn between 400 and 500 calories per hour in a water aerobics class, according to the Aquatic Exercise Association. The actual amount you burn will depend on your size, the intensity of your movements, as well as water temperature and depth. In general, faster movements incorporating the upper and lower body in deep water elicit the greatest calorie burn.

Strength

When exercising in water, you work against 12 times the resistance of air, according to an article published in "American Fitness" in 1996. Simply kicking and cupping the water helps contribute to muscle development, which translates into a higher metabolism and healthier body. Many water aerobics classes incorporate equipment like water paddles, noodles, single or double buoys, and kickboards to further induce strength gains. Push-ups or triceps dips performed on the pool deck also help build strength.

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10 Tips to Make Your Diet Stick

1. Try new foods. It’s the new year so choose one a month. Try it 10 times and you will like it. Become familiar with smell, taste, texture and flavour. The wider the range of foods you eat, the more nutrients you will be ingesting.

2. Reward and recognise your achievements. Focus on the positive. Use the strategies that kept you on track to help implement the next challenge.

3. Get started straight away. Ban procrastination. This time next year you'll have wish you started sooner!

4. Set yourself up to succeed. Identify the challenges and find the solutions to overcome them. Write down the strategies you will use. Don’t leave it to chance.

5. Choose a time and day to shop. Write it down in your diary so you don’t end up with a bare fridge.

6. Divide up tasks. Take it in turns to cook, shop and wash up so it isn’t an overwhelming task.

7. Have frozen meals ready to defrost. That way you won’t have to resort to unhealthy takeaway options.

8. Allow some treats. But don’t go overboard. Have one scoop of ice-cream rather than two, gourmet yoghurt on berries rather than cream, fresh fruit with a few squares of dark chocolate.

9. Modify your cooking methods. For example, try oven-baked potatoes brushed with oil rather than deep-fried chips. Crumb your schnitzel and brown in the pan with a little oil, then finish dry-baking in the oven.

10. Make an appointment with yourself for activity. Start at a pace you can continue with, for example, walk three days a week at lunchtime and twice a week after work rather than walking every day at 5am, which you know you won’t continue in winter.

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Sushi Wednesdays at DHP

Sushi Wednesdays are now on at Dolphins Health Precinct Cafe... We are proud to be able to have fresh, healthy and delicious sushi available for all to purchase every Wednesday. Come and try it this coming Wednesday!

Want to know the benefits of sushi?

Fish - As fish, sushi gives us very few calories. Remember that white fish like red snapper or sea bass, provides less than 100 calories per 100 grams. Meanwhile, mackerel, eel and tuna fattier cut give us less than 200 calories in the same amount. They are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, essential for preventing heart disease, stroke and arthritis.

Rice - Rice is a food that gives us proteins and carbohydrates. It is also free of gluten, making it possible for mostly all to eat.

Rice vinegar - Rice vinegar has antibacterial properties. In fact, it is used to preserve food. It is also said to help prevent the risk of hypertension, which improves digestion. And did you know that in dilute state, it is a potent skin conditioner?

Ginger - The accompaniment of ginger for our sushi is also a healthy food for us. It is a natural antiseptic, aids digestion and strengthens the immune system, which helps fight colds and flu.

Soy sauce - Soy products provide us with iron, magnesium, potassium and protein. They possess phytoestrogens, which are used for treatment of menopause.

Nori - Do you know what a nori seaweed is? It is very nutritious as it contains minerals (including iodine), protein and vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, niacin and vitamin C. The darker the nori, the better the quality of this seaweed.

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The Importance of Fibre

Dietary fibre is found in cereals, fruits and vegetables. Fibre is made up of the indigestible parts or compounds of plants, which pass relatively unchanged through our stomach and intestines. The main role of fibre is to keep the digestive system healthy.

Other terms for dietary fibre include ‘bulk’ and ‘roughage’, which can be misleading since some forms of fibre are water soluble and aren’t bulky or rough at all.

Fibre keeps the digestive system healthy

Dietary fibre is mainly needed to keep the digestive system healthy. It also contributes to other processes, such as stabilising glucose and cholesterol levels. In countries with traditionally high fibre diets, diseases such as bowel cancer, diabetes and coronary heart disease are much less common than in the West. 

Most Australians don’t consume enough fibre. On average, most Australians consume 18-25g of fibre daily. The Heart Foundation recommends that adults should consume approximately 30g daily. Australian experts suggest that children should eat 10g of fibre a day plus an additional gram for every year of age. For instance, a 10 year old child should eat 15-20g of fibre per day. 

Disorders that can arise from a low fibre diet include:

• Constipation
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Diverticulitis
• Heart disease
• Some cancers

Two types of fibre

There are broadly two categories of fibre and we need to eat both in our daily diets:

• Soluble fibre - includes pectins, gums and mucilage, which are found mainly in plant cells. One of its major roles is to lower blood cholesterol levels. Good sources of soluble fibre include fruits, vegetables, oat bran, barley, seed husks, flaxseed, psyllium, dried beans, lentils, peas, soymilk and soy products. Soluble fibre can also help with constipation.
• Insoluble fibre - includes cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin, which make up the structural parts of plant cell walls. A major role of insoluble fibre is to add bulk to faeces and to prevent constipation and associated problems such as haemorrhoids. Good sources include wheat bran, corn bran, rice bran, the skins of fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds, dried beans and wholegrain foods.Both types of fibre are beneficial to the body and most plant foods contain a mixture of both types.

Ways to increase your fibre intake

Simple suggestions for increasing your daily fibre intake include:

• Eat breakfast cereals that contain barley, wheat or oats.
• Switch to wholemeal or multigrain breads and brown rice.
• Add an extra vegetable to every evening meal.
• Snack on fruit, dried fruit, nuts or wholemeal crackers.A daily intake of more than 30g can be easily achieved if you eat wholegrain cereal products, more fruit, vegetables and legumes and, instead of low fibre cakes and biscuits, have nuts or seeds as a snack or use in meals.

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X55 for an Extreme Workout

Get ready for an eXtreme makeover… Fifty Five minutes of butt toning, leg shaping, calorie busting, torso trimming fun! Utilising steps, hand weights, cables or NO equipment at all, X promises to work your body in ways never thought possible. X55 is the perfect solution for trimming the waist and toning those legs.

Click here to view the latest timetable and find out when you can join a X55 class at Dolphins Health Precinct.

BOOTCAMP is Back!

DHP Bootcamp is BACK! Every Monday and Wednesday at 5.15am. With the cost at only $15 per session, there is no reason not to get motivated by Bootcamp!

All Bootcamp trainers are qualified and highly passionate about helping you get in shape, fast!

Intensive Week - Learn to Swim

Dolphins Learn to Swim Intensive Week is a great opportunity to get your child a great head start in swimming with a concentrated learning program.

Dolphins Learn to Swim Intensive Week has two intensive blocks:

• 14 - 18 January
• 21 - 25 January

Pricing:

• 3 Day $37.50
• 5 Day $60.00

For more information or to book, please see Dolphins Health Precinct Reception.

Group Fitness Hours

Group Fitness Classes at DHP are back on normal hours - kick start your 2013 with our exciting range of classes!

To view the current timetable, click here.

Low-fat Tiramisu

Ingredients

• 185ml (3/4 cup) freshly brewed espresso coffee
• 80ml (1/3 cup) Kahlua liqueur
• 2 x 200g ctns extra light spreadable cream cheese
• 375ml (1 1/2 cups) low-fat vanilla custard
• 125g (3/4 cup) icing sugar mixture
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 9 savoiardi (sponge finger biscuits), coarsely chopped
• 3 tsp cocoa powder

Method

• Step 1: Combine the coffee and Kahlua in a large jug. Use an electric beater to beat the cream cheese, custard, icing sugar and vanilla in a large bowl until smooth.
• Step 2: Divide half the biscuit among six 375ml (1 1/2-cup) capacity serving cups. Drizzle over half the coffee mixture. Top with half the custard mixture. Dust with half the cocoa powder. Repeat with the remaining biscuit, coffee mixture, custard mixture and cocoa powder.
• Step 3: Cover with plastic wrap. Place in the fridge for 2 hours to chill.

Notes

You can make this recipe up to 1 day ahead. If you don't have espresso coffee, you can use 1 tbs instant coffee granules dissolved in 185ml (3/4 cup) water.

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Beginners Triathlon Training - Starting Next Week!

Dolphins Health Precinct will be offering Beginners Triathlon Training starting 8th January 2013 at 6pm. The Training runs for 4 weeks, at only $29 per week. PLUS, get 1 Week FREE!

Includes 3 sessions per week with a Trainer:

• Swimming Technique Session
• Ride & Run Sessions
• Mini Triathlon with a Trainer
• + A Triathlon Program

Register ASAP as spots are limited!

Happy New Year

The staff and management at Dolphins Health Precinct wish you a very Happy New Year and a fantastic 2013!

Please note we are still on our amended timetable which can be found here.