One of our own is in the 2010 Winter Olympics with the potential for capturing Gold.  Elana Meyers, from Douglasville, has been a Gold’s Gym member and recently one of our elite Gold’s Gym Personal Trainers. 

Now she is in Vancouver representing the USA in bobsledding. She is living a childhood dream of competing in the Olympics, although she thought her sport would be softball.  When the summer sport was dropped from the Games she reinvented herself in the sport of bobsledding.  With strong convictions and staying true to herself she made the 2010 Winter Olympic Bobsledding Team. The transition was not easy but she was determined to reach her goal, and it paid off.    

Know Your Own Strength

Elana’s parents taught her that she could do anything she wanted to do if she wanted it bad enough and was willing to fight for it.  She definitely wanted it. With the help of people who love her, her hard work and determination have brought her to this point in her life. Elana has stayed true to herself and believes God has a plan for her.  She hopes the 2014 and 2018 Games are in those plans, but she knows how to adapt and will be great with however her exciting life plays out. 

Working for Gold’s Gym has been a positive omen for her, and “Gold” is her goal now.  Three cheers for our hometown gal, for whatever happens she makes us proud to know her.

Gold’s Gym

Preston Barnes an “off and on” member at Gold’s Gym since 1991. Like every one of us he struggles with the issues of life, stress, weight loss, and general health and fitness. He has been searching for the right time to make the right move.

Preston’s Inspiration

His wife (Beth) has recently gone through a program here at Gold’s where she successfully accomplished her personal goals of weight loss and body sculpting.

Laced with reasonable self-discipline, the powerful exercise programs of strength training, group exercise, and cardiovascular sessions have totally changed her life in good ways.

Preston has been inspired by his beautiful wife and is ready to seriously change his body and his life with Gold’s Gym Personal Training and Group Exercise.

Preston is the owner of Provident Office Environments, Inc. and is on the Board of Directors of the Douglas County Chamber of Commerce. This past month when we hosted The Douglas County Chamber of Commerce Coffee Card Exchange, Preston graciously volunteered to go through our Gold’s Visual Fitness Program where he got to see a virtual image of how he looks now, and then how he will look when he reaches his fitness goals. This program also displayed the incredible health-risk reductions made when a person gets in shape again. That made a powerful impression on Preston, as well as all of our Chamber of Commerce Members who were watching the demonstration.

The Weight Loss Journey Begins  

Preston is 44 years old and weighs in now at 253 lbs. His percentage of body fat is 32.5%. He has a goal of dropping 50 – 75 lbs., and reducing his body fat into the mid-teens. For 12 weeks he will work with one of our personal trainers and utilize our outstanding fitness equipment and total fitness environment to see what differences he can make.

He just started a full program working with one of our elite Personal Trainers, Terry Maxwell, going through a solid cardiovascular and strength program several times a week. Preston said he already feels the difference.

Personal Training and Good Nutrition

Terry has given nutritional advice and guidelines to Preston. Although he says he feels hungry at various times, that will begin to change as he starts to eat more often (6 x a day), and wean his body from the bad to the better nutritional foods. The body fights any change tooth and nail but will adapt relatively quickly.

Preston has taken his “before” pictures and is putting them in strategic locations (refrigerator, bathroom mirror, car visor, etc.) where he can see them when he is in need of motivational gunfire during each day. Thinking right, staying on schedule, and working the plan will help make this dream become reality. Those of us here at Gold’s Gym are pulling for him and have all the confidence in Preston successfully reaching his goals and discovering his youthful body (and mind) once again. We will be following his progress while sending our own positive energies to help him succeed. Give Preston a high five when you see him.

Tom Butler, GM Gold’s Gym Hospital Drive, Douglasville, Georgia

Obesity Increases Risk of Cancer

Being overweight increases the risk of developing a number of cancers, including breast, womb and prostate. According to a study by Cancer Research the number of men and women under the age of 45 who are morbidly obese has doubled in the past decade. This increase in obesity means more people are at risk of developing cancer. Professor Jane Wardle, the director of Cancer Research UK’s health behaviour unit, said slim people stayed roughly the same size over the 10 years, but the weight of heavier people dramatically increased. The charity said a more sedentary lifestyle – often sitting at a computer – takeaway meals and snacking were all contributory factors.

Breast and Coloretal Cancer Linked to Obesity

Prof Wardle said two cancers that claimed most lives in Britain – breast and colorectal – were among those that had been linked with obesity. “We are seeing evidence of a rise in the number of cancers that can be caused by obesity just when we are seeing a reduction in those caused by smoking,” she said.
Being overweight or obese upsets the metabolic environment and accelerates cell damage as well as the fat secreting hormones that could trigger tumours, she went on. Obese people are at a greater risk of getting cancers of the womb, gall bladder and kidney and could also increase the risk of prostate and pancreatic cancers. “The biological link between obesity and cancer is complicated but maintaining a healthy body weight will reduce cancer risk. “We need to continue raising awareness of the dangers of obesity and offer information to help people lose those extra pounds.”

Learn more about how exercise can increase your health and wellness.

Decrease Dependency on Asthma Medication

Children with asthma who improve their physical fitness are likely to experience beneficial effects on disease control and quality of life, according to a study published recently in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise , the official journal of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). The results show aerobic training to be effective in improving cardiopulmonary fitness and decreasing daily use of inhaled steroids in asthmatic children, outcomes that should have positive implications for disease management in a group that tends to have lower cardiorespiratory fitness than their healthy counterparts.

Gold’s Gym Chapel Hill offers family friendly fitness programs! Learn more and get a FREE WEEK to Gold’s Gym!

Combine Cardio and Strength Exercises for Better Results

Most people know that exercise can help beat type 2 diabetes, but one type of fitness regimen might work best, a new study shows. Specifically, workouts that combine aerobic and resistance training exercises appear better at controlling blood sugar than either type of activity alone, researchers say. The finding is new, because “most other studies have looked at just one kind of exercise, either aerobic or resistance,” noted lead researcher Dr. Ronald J. Sigal, an associate professor of medicine and cardiac sciences at the University of Calgary, in Alberta, Canada. The study is published in the Sept. 18 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Gold’s Gym helps people everyday reduce their risk of diabetes. Whether you live in Douglasville, Villa Rica, or Lithia Springs, GA Gold’s Gym has a location for you!

By David Fullwood

How do you feel about yourself?

I’m asked that question quite frequently.  You guessed it, mostly by people that do not exercise.  They ask, do you really enjoy all that work, sweat, effort?  Frankly, I never thought of it that way, work, sweat, effort.  I believe I’m just as driven by what I don’t want as what I want.  Every person wants to feel and/or look certain way.  How you feel about yourself will effect every single minute and moment of your life.  Not everyone wants to feel the same or look the same.  It’s a very subjective thing.  I know how I don’t want to feel.  I don’t want to feel down, sluggish, overweight, tired, unattractive etc.  Since I don’t enjoy those feelings, I do whatever I can to avoid the things or behaviors that make me feel that way.  Hence, I’ll do whatever I can to feel good.

It’s about the results.

So you see, it’s not the means I enjoy, it’s the results.  I want to feel good, why would you not want to feel good.  It’s a feeling you deserve.  I also know, when I feel good, I help others feel good.  My answer is simple, “Because I can”.  It’s on the verge of being a little cocky, I know.  I don’t mean it that way.  I think of those three words as words of confidence.  The way I see it, as long as you can, you should.  I guarantee you’ll feel better if you do.  We all want to feel useful and we all want our bodies to be useful. 

Do you want to manufacture more energy?

The human body is designed to move and generate energy.  The more you move, the more you can, the less you move, the more you can’t. Capture or recapture strength, confidence, esteem, energy and other good feelings in your life.  Use exercise as a way to feel the best you can about yourself.  When someone asks you, Why do you do it?  You can say proudly, “Because I Can”.

Is it time for your to manufacture energy or get the results you need and want?  If so, Gold’s Gym Douglasville, GA wants to help you get started with a FREE MINI-MEMBERSHIP.  No strings attached, no hassle, no problem!

By Skip Johnson

The Best Just Got Better!

By Steve Pacheco

One Gym Two Locations in Douglasville, GA

When it comes to Douglasville, GA health clubs, Gold’s Gym, off of Chapel Hill Rd is unique in many ways.  One such way is its close proximity to its sister gym, Gold’s Gym on Hospital Drive.  As the newer of the two locations, the Chapel Hill Gold’s Gym plays off very well on the features and benefits offered at the Hospital Drive location. 

Douglasville Health Club has Personal Training & Group Fitness 

It provides complimentary programming with a distinct emphasis to Group Fitness and Personal Training.  In turn, our members have total access to a very diverse choice of programs and features at both clubs to meet their individual fitness needs.   It is literally a “one gym, two location” philosophy which actually expands the benefits to our members to a wide ranging choice of fitness benefit options.  Whether one’s fitness goals are weight loss, strength training and toning, or relaxation through yoga based group classes, Chapel Hill compliments Hospital Drive’s theme of family fitness. With two group fitness studios and ample space for personal training, it provides a logical extension of choices to our members beyond the more traditional workout options and racquet sports offered at the Hospital Drive location.         

Total Fitness with Variety of Choices

Losing weight for example, is a most popular fitness theme.  Classes, either in the pool or in a studio are a great compliment to the more traditional activities associated with weight loss.  While walking, running and solo cycling on a stationary cycle appeal to some, many find motivation and inspiration in the group fitness setting.  At Chapel Hill there are as many as 65-70 group fitness classes offered per week.  Adding the classes offered at Hospital Drive, this number is pushed to nearly 120 classes per week.  This is but one example why Gold’s Gym at Chapel Hill is so unique to the Douglasville, Georgia community. 

Gold’s Gym Chapel Hill wants you to experience all that two locations has to offer.  Claim your FREE MINI-MEMBERSHIP today! 

By Kathy Scapin

Are you tired of thinking about your weight?

Most of us can’t get through the day without thinking about the extra weight we have acquired over the past few years and the resulting lack of energy that accompanied this weight gain. If we lived during the time of our ancestors, when famine was a common occurrence, we would feel fortunate to have genes that allowed our body to store fat to get us through the lean times.  Today, those same genes seem to be a curse as food is more plentiful and portions are out-of control.

Work, family, outside commitments have us barely hanging on and the daily stresses multiply and compound.  We grab fast food to get us through one more lunch and dinner.  At the end of the day, we fall into bed and mutter that tomorrow will be different.

You Can Make a Change!

If you could rid your body of the unwanted weight and gain the energy needed to get through the day, would you be willing to make two changes to your daily routine?  Incorporating two small changes sounds manageable doesn’t it?  We can all think of an example of where small changes produced big results. I think back to the magnificent canyons I just visited and the small steady stream that formed the canyons.

1. Simplify the dinner menu. Drop the pasta, bread, potatoes and rice from the dinner meal. These foods, if consumed, should be consumed in moderation during the day. Dinner should consist of a lean protein such as fish, chicken, legumes, or veggie burger, and accompanied with a vegetable and/or salad. Be careful with the salad dressing.
2. Add 30 minutes of activity to your day. Take your walking shoes to work and tell the office staff you are “running” an errand at lunch. Taking 30 minutes of alone time to exercise can rejuvenate you. If you are more pressed for time, think of creative ways to incorporate the 30 minutes of activity.  Walk the dog, invite someone on a walk who you need to catch up with, spend time with the spouse or children. If you are looking for new ways to meet friends, join a local health club.  You can always find a friendly exercise class, or work out buddy.

Within the first couple of weeks you will notice your energy begin to return. The weight will start dropping off, and you’ll sleep better.  Congratulations, you are now back in control.

Gold’s Gym cares about your health and wellness.  With personal trainers to help you every step of the way, you can make a change and lose the weight!  Start now with a Free Mini-Membership!  No strings, no hassle, no committment!