Columbia Lake Health Club is closing

Sad news today that one of our competitors, Columbia Lake health Club is closing its doors effective Dec 21/12. After only operating for 5 years, it's a shame for our community to lose a facility which encouraged active lifestyles.

However the real tragedy is the loss of jobs for their employees. It will be hard for our local industry to absorb all of these dedicated people.

A community like ours should have more facilities for different people rather than fewer facilities which continue to cater to the same 15% of our fit population.We need to encourage more people to be active, not less.

At Northfield, we are about to launch our iCAN movement program in early December. Our goal is to educate those who need to live healthier lifestyles by offering a program of movement, meal options and motivation. Our motto is Move-Eat-Thrive! We have created a new space specifically for this program which is more private so people can move without feeling on display. Coaches will offer support & motivation & help celebrate successes no matter how large or small. Our goal is to eventually transition our iCAN graduates to our other fitness areas (where people are still not on display) and to help and encourage their ongoing successes. This is just one of the many ways that Northfield is unique in its offering.

For more information on our iCAN program, contact Kelly Ellis, Fitness Director at kelly@northfieldclub.com.

New York City passed the first U.S. ban of oversized sugary drinks on Thursday in its latest controversial step to reduce obesity and its deadly complications in a nation with a weight problem. (Reuters)

Seems a bit 1984 to me? Is this really going to reduce obesity? If the ultimate goal is to reduce the burden on our healthcare system, wouldn't education and support help people more.  In November, we will be launching our iCAN program at Northfield. Our goal is to educate and motivate people within our community to adopt a healthier, more active lifestyle. Temptations will always be around us. The goal is to try to make better choices.. most of the time.

Organic versus conventional food....

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 The debate rages with Stanford University doctors concluding eating organic isn't that much healthier. More here...

September is here!
Our expansion is progressing but due to some unforeseen issues, we do not anticipate opening up the new space until the end of October/beginning of November. The new Yoga studio, inhouse XRZone and iCAN movement areas will follow in mid to late November. We are excited about these new spaces and look forward to offering you additional programming once they are open..

In the mean time, we have added new kids and teen fitness programs, Andrew Mount, our new Assistant Squash Director arrives Sept 10th and willl be rolling out new junior squash programs in October and doubles programming in early November. The Fall fitness schedule starts Sep 10th and Kelly Ellis, our Fitness Director will be adding more classes once our Yoga studio is open in November. Junior and adult tennis programs are quickly filling up. Check out the beginner workshop if you want to try something new this season.

More natural light in cardio & cybex/free weights, doubles squash, infared yoga, iCan movement area & a designated area for kids (Xrzone).... Stay tuned for further updates... it will be here in no time!

New addition unfolding...

 View from outdoor courts into new cardio (above) & weight room (below)

                                              New cardio room

                     Windows above barn looking into cardio room

                     View from cardio room to outdoor courts & future deck!

Thanks to our amazing trades for working so diligently in this heat. ETA for opening is October 2012.

Construction Photos

 

                                      New Doubles squash court!

 

                                         Steel going up

                               Existing Cardio room/ future yoga studio

                                         Future cardio room

                                 Doubles Squash court & viewing gallery

Our trades are doing a wonderful job and moving faster than expected! We're excited for September!

Six Workout Wreckers

Doing cardio and weights but not getting the results you desire? Here are 6 workout wreckers you should avoid:  Click: six-workout-wreckers

Light in the tennis barn

Metal siding was removed from the tennis barn by court #1 today, providing some temporary light. Insulation was removed and steel reconfigured for the next stage of our expansion work. Steel goes up next week!
What happened to those woohoos?

Exercise Adherence Tips

As many as 80% of people who begin an exercise program do not stick with it. While initially, many people are motivated to begin an exercise program. It even can be fun. But what does it take to stay motivated? How can you increase the likelihood that you will continue exercising?

One of the best motivators is doing something because you enjoy it. Also, seeing progress and reaching your goals are very motivating. The following suggestions will help you have fun and reach your exercise goals:

Keep it fun

• Work out with friends. Not only will you have company, but you can give each other social support and encouragement. Also, it’s more difficult to skip a workout when some one else is counting on you being there.

• Choose an activity you like. If you know you do not like jogging, chances are you won’t stick with it.
• Learn a new activity. Take up a martial art, snowshoeing, or conquer the climbing wall. The new challenge will keep you coming back to meet the next challenge.
• Begin easy and slowly increase your effort. Trying too much too soon can result in sore muscles or injury. Pain is not fun – and it is not necessary. Be realistic with what you expect to accomplish and aim for small but regular improvements.
• Cross-train. Rather than do the same thing everyday, do different activities. For example, take an aerobics class once a week and a spinning class another day. This type of training will work different parts of your body and will keep you from becoming bored with exercise.

 Monitoring Progress

• Set realistic, measurable goals. Setting goals in terms of distance, time, amount lifted allows you to clearly see changes. You also will know exactly what you are aiming to do (e.g., run 3 miles or swim for 30 minutes). Begin with a realistic short-term goal (e.g., run ¼ mile and then walk ¼ mile). You will easily see your progress toward your goal.

•  Keep an exercise journal. From the first time you exercise, keep track of how much weight you lifted, how far or for how long you walked, etc. You could make a weekly or monthly graph of your improvements. Seeing improved results will motivate you to work toward new goals.

Outdoor Tennis Courts

Outdoor Tennis Court #3 is open! Court #4 will be open tomorrow as lines have just been painted. Note: The weather wasn't as cooperative this week so in order to ensure that you had some outdoor playing time this weekend, we had to omit the top coat on court #3.
Rest assured within the next 10 days  we will complete the work which will mean outdoor court #3 will be closed for just 1-2 days.

Enjoy playing in the sunshine this weekend!

Wheelchair accessibility to tennis courts

During our construction phase this summer, please be advised that our tennis courts will not be wheelchair accessible. We hope to have the courts fully accessible by mid September.

We apologize for the inconvenience.

Northfield Team

Reader's Choice Awards

Don't forget to vote for Northfield!


Northfield has been nominated as the best fitness club in Waterloo by Waterloo Chronicle readers. To register & vote Click here . Final voting is open until Wed May 16th at midnight. 

Thank you for your support!

Congratulation Miranda Ranieri

Miranda won her third straight Canadian Women's Open Squash Title this past weekend at White Oaks. Great job Miranda! Click here for the Record article.

Stairs by Squash 5 & 6

Attention Members:
The stairs are going to be removed by squash courts 5&6 on Wed and Thurs this week. Work will take place between 1-5pm. It may be a bit noisy so plan your workouts accordingly.

thank you

Wanted: Super Heroes

If you're looking for a different kind of challenge. One that may make your hair stand on end and maybe separate you from the pack. Check out www.thedropzone.ca.

Be a super hero for the day and help raise funds for Easter Seals which supports kids with physical disabilities in Ontario.

Geronimo!

Ladies Luncheon May 3, 2012

Tennis, Zumba and great food! What more can we ask for..
For more photos click here

2012 Tennis Doubles Club Championships

Congratulations to all of our Tennis Doubles Club Champions.

2012 Mixed Doubles Winners:

C level – tim knight & Cecile Devaud

B Level – Chris Smyth- Lisa Hoffman

A Level- David Kepka- Meghan Shannon

2012 Mens/Ladies Doubles Winners:

Winners:

Ladies C – Cecil Devaud & Christine Thompson

Ladies B- Roxanne chartrand & Irene Janzen

Ladies A- Meghan Shannon – Valeria Kolomiets

Mens C – Brad Morris- Alistair Watson

Mens B – Colin Gabriel – Jon Lucas

Mens A – David Kepka – Chris Edwards

Click here for Mens/Ladies Doubles photos.

Click here for Mixed Doubles photos.

Tennis Singles TBA after this weekend. Good luck players!

Construction has begun!

Squash House League Winners

Division 1: Pat Runstedler over Sved Ali

Division 2: Alec Moore over Steve Kroetsch

Division 3: Jalal Iftilcar over Jeff Dawkins

Division 4: Dan Yanke over Arjune Walia

Division 5: Andrew Dean over Chuck Lownie

Division 6: Jonathan Dietrich over Don Lawrence

Division 7: Matt McKay over Stef Loker

Division 8: Larry Smith over Paul Hildebrand

Division 9: Brian Knight over Alex Munroe

Division 10: Laura Kirkpatrick over Lorie Silverthorne

Thank you to Waterloo Printing for sponsoring the winter House League.

Congratulations to all of the winners and finalists.

2012 Squash Club Champs winners & finalists:
A1: Brad Jones over Miranda Ranieri
A2: Syed Ali over Trevor Bechtel
B:   Wojtek Trebacz over Jalal Iftilcar
C:   Ossama Elbadawy over Dan Yanke
D:   John Webber over Matt McKay

Ladies C:     Joanne Papp over Heather Bagg

Deep Court: Kelly Katoji over Cal Keil

Doubles:      TBA

Congratulations to our winners and finalists. For photos click here.

We're expanding!

It's official. We are expanding!

Stay tuned for regular updates on the progress of our addition.

Club champs

Great turn out for Tennis Doubles club champs this weekend. Congratulations to all of the winners and finalists. Click here for photos.

Don't miss squash finals this Thursday 5:30-7:30pm and tennis singles April 27 & 28.

 

New bikes are here!

Teenology & Kids-N-Motion Bootcamp

New programs start week of April 2. A great way to keep kids and teens healthy and active.
For more info go to www.northfieldclub.com & click on upcoming activities.

Friday Night DANCE PARTY at Northfield

What is Dance Party?

At Northfield we are introducing a cool, hip, upbeat, heart-thumping cardio workout with non-stop music and movement to all the Latin Rhythms. Every Friday at 5:00pm let the rhythm move you, energize you and get your sweat on!  If you don’t know how to dance, now you can – all levels encouraged!

Dance Party is a fun, effective, and simple way to burn calories and tone your body. The invigorating and explosive Latin rhythms create a party-like atmosphere that delivers results as well as a “feel happy” workout. The routines feature aerobic interval training with a combination of fast and slow rhythms that tone and sculpt the body. It targets areas such as glutes, legs, arms, abdominals, and the most important muscle in the body, the heart! It is a mixture of body sculpting movements and easy to follow dance steps. No previous experience in dance is needed to have fun at Northfield’s Dance Party. 

Come out & give it a try.

Give the “All-Year Resolutions” a Try!

Don't Overwhelm Yourself at the Beginning

You wrote out your list of resolutions and it looks like a tall order, but this is the year you’re definitely going to follow through with them all. But January and February come and go and half of them have been justified into oblivion. You catch a bad case of “excusitis” - we have all gone through it.

Making changes is a process, one that requires consistency. When you leave things until the last minute you get overwhelmed. Instead, if you start out slowly, making a few changes at a time, you gain momentum and are able to enjoy the process, making sure you accomplish all of your goals.

Goal setting at the beginning of the year can be very overwhelming. However, if you set out a timeline that encompasses the entire year you can celebrate all the mini-goals you accomplish along the way. There is no rush to make up for lost time, which I think is the feeling a lot of people have around the New Year. You are where you are in life and there’s no making up for lost time, but you can make changes and add things to your life – slowly!

Look back at your list of resolutions and pick one or two things to focus on for the next month. Build systems to help you achieve those two things – let’s say you want to drink more water and start going to bed earlier. Systems that help you drink more water are: carrying a water bottle with you most of the time, buying flavored water until you adjust to regular water, writing post-its in places that will remind you, etc. Systems to help you get to sleep earlier are: setting an alarm for when it’s time for you to start preparing for bed, having a ritual that relaxes you, reading a favorite book each night, etc. Systems are the key to achieving goals when life gets a little hectic, as it always does.

As you consistently achieve your mini-goals, you’ll start having success and seeing results. Once these things start to become habits and you feel comfortable with them, tackle a couple other goals from your list. Slowly as the year progresses, you’ll have more and more goals incorporated into your everyday lifestyle, not causing you stress and leaving you overwhelmed.

On January 1, 2013 you’ll wake up excited and happy to achieve even more. Have fun! 

Kelly, Ellis, Fitness Director

Frede Doubles Tennis Tournament

Thank you to Frede Construction for sponsoring this weekend's sold out event. With over 75 participants and 5 divisions, we managed to finish the last match at 10:30pm! If this year's sign up is any indication of the future, remember to register early for next year's event.

Click here for results & more photos.

11 of the Healthiest Foods in the World

Grown without chemicals and loaded with nutrition, these 11 foods will keep you (and the planet) healthy for life.

Click here

Whirlpools Re-tiled

Just a reminder that our whirlpools are now closed for re-tiling until Mar 6/7th.

Why are we renovating now instead of the summer?
Because trades are available now. It's their slow season. This job was originally planned for last summer and unfortunately got bumped. Given this is a relatively small job, we seized the opportunity to have the work completed now rather than get delayed again. Construction/Renovation beats to it's own drum :)

How Do Chocolate Products Stack Up, Nutritionally?

	Chocolate has come a long way over the years to become the universally-adored, versatile food ingredient it is today, not to mention one of the most popular gift choices for many occasions. But dark chocolate or milk chocolate, cocoa powder or chocolate syrup - how do some of these chocolate products compare nutritionally? Read more here

Darkness is the cure for a good night sleep

If you can't sleep at night, you may find the back light from your clock, laptop, cell phone or tv,  are playing havoc with your sleep-wake cycle.

Our bodies are governed by a sleep-wake cycle that starts with our eyes. When our eyes register darkness, they send a signal to the brain to start producing melatonin, the hormone that makes us feel sleepy. But when light shines in our eyes, it tricks our brain into thinking it’s still daytime. Over time, this can seriously mess up our sleep-wake cycle.

So what can we do? Here are some suggestions:

• Dim the lights gradually starting a couple of hours before bedtime.
• Put away laptops, iPads, cell phones and turn off the TV at least an hour before you go to sleep.
• Don’t have a TV in your bedroom, and banish laptops from bed.
• Read in bed, instead. Books are great, of course, but if you prefer tech, choose a basic Kindle, which doesn’t have a backlit screen.
• Use the smallest clip-on reading light you can get away with and direct the light onto the pages — or the device — and away from your eyes.
• Check your bedroom for extraneous sources of light, no matter how miniscule.
• Are there streetlights outside your windows? Use blackout curtains or shades and make sure they fit the windows tightly so no light seeps in around the edge.
• Charge laptops, phones, cameras, and other devices in another room.
• Banish night lights, even from the bathroom.
• Use an alarm clock without a lighted dial, or turn it to face the wall.Need to get up during the night? Keep a flashlight next to your bed and use it to go to the bathroom or let the dog out. (Point it away from yourself so you don’t look into the beam.)

Be strict with yourself for a few weeks and see if your sleep improves. If you find yourself feeling more rested and relaxed, you know you've found your solution to a good night sleep.

Eating for Performance

Guest Speaker

WHO: Dr. Sean Delanghe, DC

WHEN: Thursday, February 23 @ 5:30pm  and Friday, February 24 @ 7:30am

WHAT: “Eating for Performance”

Join us in the lounge.

February PT Clinics

Check out the new clinics for February offered to members at no additional charge. This month the trainers will introduce you to using kettlebells - a phenomenal way to engage your muscles just a little differently than a dumbbell. Plus there will also be clinics to show you how to use the BOSU in a variety of ways to challenge your balance. The schedule of clinic times is posted on the website.

New Precor equipment to DEMO

Precor has just dropped off a new recumbant bike and an AMT machine for you to demo over the next 2 weeks. Please give us your feedback as your comments will shape our equipment buying decisions in the future.

Your health

What is the single best thing we can do for our health? Find out here.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to all.
May 2012 bring you much happiness and health.

The Staff at Northfield