from VICIOUS CYCLE KAWASAKI – originally published at www.insidemotorcycles.com, September 18, 2009
HALIFAX, NS -- After sustaining several injuries in a freak accident during round 4 of the Atlantic Roadracing League that included a broken neck at C6, and a fractured shoulder, Vicious Cycle Kawasaki Rider Terry Steeves is recovering well and quicker than expected.
Steeves reports that he is pain free and working hard on his recovery; doctors feel the bones will heal strongly with no lasting effects. Doctors initially prescribed a neck brace for up to six months, but almost two months into his recovery they feel with his current progress it could come off as soon as early December. Steeves' doctors expect him to make a full and complete recovery, and will continue to assess his progress weekly.
Steeves is currently attending physiotherapy and easing back into training. The staff and trainers at Slim Gym's in Halifax have done everything they can to get him back into the gym, and regaining strength lost in his arm due to some minor nerve damage. Early results are encouraging.
“Everyone is helping me out so much, it’s awesome," Steeves said. "I’m stronger every day thanks to the support from my friends, fans and sponsors.”
Steeves attributes his rapid recovery in large part to his dedicated trainers at Slim Gym's in Halifax. Credit also goes to the expert and caring staff at the Queen Elizabeth II hospital.
“I feel like I’ve had a team of doctors following me since the beginning," he added. "They have always gone the extra mile to make sure we understand the nature of the injuries and exactly where I’m at in the recovery process.”
Despite his injuries, Steeves is in good spirits and attended the final round of the Atlantic Championship, at Atlantic Motorsports Park in Shubenacadie, NS. Though he missed being on the bike and racing, he enjoyed watching and catching up with everyone. He is already talking about the 2010 season, and looking forward to getting back on track.
Steeves extends his sincere thanks to all the great staff and doctors and now friends at the QEII for their help and care through all this. He would also like to thank all his friends and fans for all the cards, calls emails and best wishes. A special thanks of course to his fiancé Nicole for her support and understanding.
Gyms aren't for me – right?
by SILVER DONALD CAMERON – originally published in the Chronicle Herald (Nova Scotian), March 8, 2009
The mature male body is a depressing sight. As we age, says my friend Ervin Touesnard, "we all develop Furniture Disease — our chests slip into our drawers." And then the doctor says, "Hey, you’ve put on a bit of weight. Not good. At your age, you’re at risk for heart disease and stroke. Get some exercise. Start going to the gym."
What a revolting idea.
Gyms are for smooth young athletes, not for myopic, jiggle-bellied grandfathers with furniture disease. Gyms are peppermint liniment and louts snapping towels at one another. Gyms are for infantile oafs like Don Cherry. Besides, I’m too busy.
Fine, the doctor says. If you’d rather save a little time now and spend a lot more time dead, that’s entirely up to you.
Hmm…
For women, there’s a whole chain of gyms called Curves. But there’s no Curves for men. True, says Big Jim McNiven, but there’s a gym in Halifax’s West End Mall called Slim Gyms: Fitness For Men. Come with me.
Big Jim introduces me to a short-haired, bright-eyed guy in his 40s by the name of Donnie Hunter. He’s not much bigger than I am. The gym is full of grey-haired fellows in shabby shorts and nondescript sweats, lifting and bouncing and heaving and twisting. I catch a few phrases of relaxed banter.
Donnie wants to know my fitness objectives. I tell him I have heart issues and wish to stay alive. "Great," he says, "a cardio workout first. We’re going to do a few measurements, get some baseline data and walk you through the process. How’s that sound?"
He measures height, weight, chest, waist, biceps, thighs, blood pressure, body mass, body fat. He helps me strap a heart-rate monitor around my chest, with a wristwatch readout. A wall chart tells me that a man my age should have a heart rate during exercise of 120 to 130. When my wristwatch says 150, it’s time to slow down.
Like Curves, this gym does "circuit training," a system developed by the military. I move around the room, grunting at each "station" for 45 seconds. Pneumatic machines provide resistance as I push or pull with my arms and legs and back. After each machine, I have a low-tech station — a small platform to step up onto while lifting dumbbells, a set of bungee cords to pull while high-stepping, a wobbling rubber hemisphere that challenges my balance.
The gym has 40 "signature workouts," easily tailored for individuals. It offers custom workouts for men coming out of physiotherapy and rehab as well as sport-specific workouts for golfers, tennis players, runners and others. Two qualified trainers roam the floor, coaching and encouraging and joking. For $45 a month, I can come in whenever I choose.
"We’ve done focus groups, and people love what we’re doing," Hunter says. "They love it that everyone’s greeted by name when they arrive or leave. They love the club atmosphere, the fact that there’s always help available and they’re never made to feel self-conscious. The average gym has a 30 per cent retention rate. We have 85 per cent. Our job is to help people, but you can’t help them if you don’t keep them coming in.
"We have amazing guys, from every walk of life. Probably 65 to 70 per cent of them have never exercised, never been in a gym before. We have 40 or 50 doctors. We have accountants, civil servants, hairdressers. We have a glider pilot in his 80s who wants to fly across a desert, and he’s here so that if he crashes he’ll be in good enough shape to walk out."
Donnie Hunter’s gym has a huge potential market. The country is full of flabby chaps with clogged blood vessels who are being hectored by their wives and physicians. Are Donnie and his partner, Dale Letcher, planning to franchise?
"Yes," Donnie nods. "The next location is about a year away. We’re picking the franchisees, writing the operations manuals, finalizing the gym design. We’ve all been lab rats in there."
He laughs. "You know what my dream is?" he says. "Something like those McDonald’s golden arches, with a sign that says, ‘More than one million helped.’ Wouldn’t that be something?"
Canada's Adult Fitness Tax Credit
You can help encourage Canada's government to institute a Federal-level tax credit. Click here to find out more.
Nova Scotia – Leading The Way
FIC Is Proud To Announce, The Implementation Of The First Adult Fitness Tax Credit Support is growing by leaps and bounds for the implementation of a federal Adult Fitness Tax Credit. Recently the province Nova Scotia announced they would extend their current Healthy Living Tax Credit to include adults - effective January 1st 2009. The expanded Nova Scotia tax credit will allow all Nova Scotians to claim up to $500 per year for their gym memberships and recreational activities. The amended fitness tax credit will encourage all Nova Scotians to participate in healthier lifestyles, through increased physical activity. Once fully implemented, the expanded tax credit is expected to save Nova Scotians more than $8 million per year in fitness related expenses. The Nova Scotia credit for children's sport and recreational activities was first introduced in 2005, providing a credit on up to $150 in registration fees for eligible children's fitness activities. And the maximum expense was recently increased to $500 in 2006. During the past two years, FIC has made multiple submissions to the Ministry of Finance in Nova Scotia, detailing the benefits of expanding their current credit to include adults. Therefore at FIC we are thrilled to announce the new Adult Fitness Tax Credit in Nova Scotia. In order to receive the benefits of the new credit, fitness clubs in Nova Scotia, must register with the department of Health Promotion and Protection. This will allow their members to claim the cost of their gym memberships. This can be completed online by visiting: www.gov.ns.ca or by calling the Ministry at: (902) 424-4807. In addition, FIC has been very encouraged by the recent correspondence received from the province of Québec and British Columbia, who have both stated to FIC, that they support the implementation of a fitness tax credit for all ages, and are considering implementation. According to Dave Hardy, President of Fitness Industry Council of Canada These encouraging steps will pave the way for the implementation of a federal Adult Fitness Tax Credit and will set the stage for other provinces to implement similar tax measures – which will give Canadians the ability to claim their fitness related expenses both federally and provincially in Canada. Once again, Fitness Industry Council of Canada is leading the trend by supporting incentives to keep Canadians exercising and helping to encourage more citizens to get active. Support an Adult Fitness Tax Credit today by visiting www.adultfitnesstaxcredit.ca To learn more about the Nova Scotia Healthy Living Tax Credit please click here.
Meet Jessie Jollymore
Jessie Jollymore is a Registered Dietitian and Diabetes Educator who has authored two cookbooks, toured in Canada delivering her dynamic seminar to health professionals on The Power of Connection", and has worked throughout Nova Scotia delivering relevant nutrition programs that make a difference. As the resident Dietitian at the North End Community Health Center, Jessie has a clinical nutrition practice and pioneers several innovative projects. None have been more impactful than, the North End Walkers program and the Urban Community Garden project which garnered in depth media attention Nationwide. With a focus on providing engaging, relevant, dynamic nutrition sessions specifically tailored to meet your needs, Jessie will help you in taking an active role in improving your health, well being and living the life you love.
Obesity poses more of a health risk than Smoking:
New study indicates extra weight worse than a pack of cigarettes
According to a new study form the American College of Cardiology - Overweight people are being struck with heart attacks more than ten years sooner than average weight individuals. "The leading theory in cardiology right now is that the fat tissue is actually producing factors that precipitate heart attacks," says Dr. Peter McCullough, lead author of the study. The theory is that cholesterol builds up in the coronary arteries and inflammatory or other chemicals produced by fat cells trigger the plaque to suddenly rupture, causing a blood clot to form and unleashing an acute heart attack. Researchers found that, the heavier the person, the younger the age of a first heart attack. "It's not uncommon in daily life to see people [very overweight]," McCullough says. "I'm sure there are people in your office and people you see [like that]." In addition, rates of smoking were equal across the board. "We really can't blame it on smoking." "Those patients at the highest body weight on average lost 12 years of life before their first heart attack." The second most important factor was smoking, "where they lost just under 10 years of life before a first heart attack. McCullough says people could reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease by losing weight and body fat. According to the Canadian Community Health Survey, 23 per cent of Canadians aged 18 and older are obese. To view the complete article please click here.
Three Thousand Free Gym Memberships Up for Grabs:
New incentive created to encourage young women to work out
GREAT BRITAIN-- 80 per cent of women don't do enough exercise to benefit their health. That’s the finding of a report by the Women's Sport and Fitness Foundation (WSFF) in England. Even more depressing, the survey - released last November - revealed that young women aged 16 to 24 are only half as active as young men. The WSFF report also found that 23 per cent of women were put off sport for life by Physical Education lessons at school. Researches explain the cultural pressures to be thin rather than fit causes younger girls to lose interest in working out. But the fitness industry isn’t going down without a fight: to encourage young women back into being fit and healthy, the WSFF and the Fitness Industry Association (FIA) have launched Sweat in the City, a unique fitness scheme for women aged 16-24. The pilot programme is offering 3,000 free gym memberships to young women living in London who do little or no exercise. Successful applicants to the scheme will receive free gym memberships for 12 weeks, group exercise sessions every fortnight, advice on healthy eating, mentored gym sessions and support from an online mentor. In exchange, participants will answer questionnaires about their approach and attitudes toward fitness. To view the complete article please open click here.
Your Weight May Affect your Miscarriage Risk:
Obesity linked to loss of pregnancies, new study reports
Being heavy now poses a new risk for potential mothers: a new study in the UK indicates that obesity significantly increases the risk of recurrent miscarriages. Researchers found, that after examining the BMI of almost 700 women who had suffered at least 3 unexplained miscarriages, 45% of the women were found to be overweight or obese. In total, 1% of the women were underweight, 54% were of normal weight, 30% were overweight and 15% were obese. "Ours is the first study to look directly at the link between BMI and recurrent miscarriage,” explained Winnie Lo of St Mary's Hospital, London. “This shows that obese women who experience recurrent miscarriage are at greater risk of subsequent pregnancy loss.” Ms. Lo advised that all women with recurrent miscarriage should be weighed at their first consultation. Those who are found to be obese should be counselled regarding the connection between a healthy weight and a healthy pregnancy. To view the complete article please click here.
Meet our Partners
The following partners are among the people that Slim's has been working with to bring you the Slim Gym's experience.
Meet our Advisors
Click here for information about our Board of Advisors.
