True Gx Newsletter May 09

... is for the

Million things she gave

... means the

One and Only best friend

... is for the

Tears she shed

... is is for her

Heart of purest gold

... is for her

Eyes, that watches over you

... means

Right, and Right she'll always be.

Put them all together, they spell "MOTHER," "MOTHER," A word that means the world Happy Mothers day to all wonderful women in our life Your Editor Raine

History and Customs... In the U.S. Mothers' Day is a holiday celebrated on second Sunday in May. It is a day when children honor their mothers with cards, gifts, and flowers. First observance in Philadelphia, Pa. in 1907, it is based on suggestions by Julia Ward Howe in 1872 and Anna Jarvis in 1907. Although it wasn't celebrated in the U.S. until until 1908, there were days honoring mothers even in the days of ancient Greece. In those days, however, it was Rhea, the Mother of the gods that was given honor. Later, in the 1600's, in England there was an annual observance called "Mothering Sunday." It was was celebrated during Lent, on the fourth Sunday. On Mothering Sunday, the servants, who generally lived with their employers, were encouraged to return home and honor their mothers. It was traditional for them to bring a special cake along to celebrate the occasion. In the U.S., in 1908 Ana Jarvis, from Grafton, West Virginia, began a campaign to establish a national Mother's Day. Jarvis persuaded her mother's church in Grafton, West Virginia to celebrate Mother's Day on the anniversary of her mother's death. death. A memorial service was held there on May 10, 1908 and in Philadelphia the following year where Jarvis moved. Jarvis and others began a letterletter-writing campaign to ministers, businessmen, and politicians in their quest to establish a national Mother's Day. Day. They were successful. President Woodrow Wilson, in 1914, made the official announcement proclaiming Mother's Day a national observance that was to be held each year on the 2nd Sunday of May. Many other countries of the world celebrate their own Mother's Mother's Day at different times throughout the year. Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, and Belgium celebrate Mother's Day on the second Sunday in May, as in the U.S.

Copyright © 2004 - 2008 by Jerry Wilson.

DREAM OF BECOMING AN INSTRUCTOR?? INSTRUCTOR?? 26th - 28st June 09 (CUT OFF DATE: 5th June 09)

10th - 12th July 09 (CUT OFF DATE: 21th June 09 )

18th & 19th July 09 (CUT OFF DATE: 27th June 09)

For more information, please contact: Alex C @ 03-79647333; Jack @ 03-92067000; Annie @ 03-80250300 ; Lorraine @ 03-62033313 Contact the Instructor Education Department of Les Mills Body Training Systems Phone: 02 6282 8192 Fax: 02 6282 0563 Or for further training information, dates & registration forms, visit www.lesmills.com.au

Many athletes and trainers use plyometric jumping exercises to build power and speed, improve coordination and agility and effectively improve sports performance. If you've been doing the same thing for a while, you're probably ready for some new workout ideas to get your body in good shape. You already know to vary your cardio workouts and try different intensities and activities, right? Here's another way to challenge yourself and increase your endurance, burn more calories and lose body fat.

Plyometric Training Plyometric training has long been a staple of athletes who need to work on their explosive strength. Plyocity defines it as "exercises that enable a muscle to reach maximum strength in as short a time as possible. This speed-strength ability is known as power." With athletes, plyometric training involves intense exercises specifically designed for their particular sports such as jumping off a platform and rebounding off the floor onto a higher platform. Most of us don't need exercises of that level of difficulty, but it's possibly to incorporate basic plyometric-type moves into your workout to add more intensity and challenge. Before we get started, keep in mind that plyometric training: • Is very advanced and intense! If you're a beginner, don't mess with it • •

• •

until you've been exercising consistently for at least 3 months. Requires strength and endurance, so make sure you have some weight training under your belt Should be added VERY slowly and in VERY short intervals--beginning with 10-30 seconds and slowly working your way up to 1 minute. In between, walk in place until you recover. Should be followed by a day of rest. Trust me, you'll know why. Should only be done about once a week. It's easy to injure yourself with this type of training, so be cautious.

Safety Considerations Plyometric training isn't necessary to challenge yourself and, in fact, may very well cause injury. Most athletic injuries are caused by forces upon musculoskeletal structures that exceed the structure's tensile limits. This means injury is caused by excessive force. What could be more forceful than bounding off a 2 to 3 foot box and back up onto another box?" Now, what exactly are those exercises? Plyometric Exercises The exercises below are just a few exercises you can incorporate into your own workouts. Tips for doing these exercises: • Add them at the end of your usual workouts • Sprinkle them throughout your workout. • Alternate each exercise with recovery periods on those days when you

don't have a lot of time but want a challenging workout • Do them 1-2 times for anywhere from 10 seconds to a minute and always

recover with a few minutes of walking or light cardio before you repeat them. You can repeat them more often or for longer intervals to progress. • Make sure you get a nice long warm up in before you start. • All exercises are high impact. When you land, make sure your knees are bent to take the stress off your joints. Obviously, the lower you squat and the higher you jump, the harder the exercises will be. Stair or Step Leaps If you use a step, begin with the platform at it's lowest level (progress by adding risers). Stand in front of the step, brace your abs, bend your knees and jump onto the step with both feet. Step down and repeat for 10 seconds to 1 minute. On a staircase, simply hop up the stairs, landing with both feet on each step. Each time you leap, brace your abs, bend your knees and use your arms to help you keep your balance. If you can't land with both feet simultaneously, stagger your landing and work your way up to both feet.

Plyo Lunges Stand in a split stance, right leg in front and left leg in back. Bend knees into a lunge (keeping front knee behind toe) and, in an explosive movement, jump up, switch legs in the air and land in a lunge with the left foot forward. Go as slow as you need to to keep your balance. Go faster, jump higher and/or lunge lower for more of a challenge. Side-to-Side Lateral Jump Begin by placing a small object (such as a piece of tape) on the floor. Stand on one side of the object and bend your knees into a slight squat. In an explosive movement, jump over the object, landing with knees bent into a squat. Continue jumping from side to side for 10 seconds to one minute. As you get better at it, you can use larger objects (such as a small ball or a step). If you use a step, you can ease into this exercise by standing sideways to the step, jump on top of the step and then step down on the other side (it's better not to jump off the step). Be VERY careful to use objects that won't slide if you land on them! Start with an object you can easily clear when you jump. Plyo Jumps Stand with feet together. Bend your knees into a squat and then jump up as high as you can. Land with knees bent (to protect your joints) and immediately go into a squat and repeat the squat/jump for 10 seconds to 1 minute. Raise your arms as you jump to add more intensity. Below are some resources for finding plyometric videos http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLzI1mcvIv8 Remember, plyometric training is an advanced activity and most of us don't need to do too much of it to reach our goals (once a week is enough). Easing in a few plyo exercises is a great way, however, to raise your heart rate quickly and to improve your stamina, strength and muscle endurance.

Congratulations to Meei Liew, winner of the MISS FITNESS 2009 FAME Philippines regional finals.

The event was held last March 28, 2009 at the SM Mall of Asia Center stage, Manila. Top caliber athlete vied for numerous titles and the rights to represent the Philippines in the FAME Championships! Welcome to the world class elite in fitness! First Place Winners: All Athletes - Winners! Having achieved their Body Proud physique and getting up on the FAME Stage to showcase the results of their efforts, makes each and every one of them a winner!! Congratulations!!

John Tan – 5 May Mary Yap - 7 May Janet Choo – 17 May Terence Tan – 25 May Clement Chai – 13 May Vincent Bong – 20 May