2012 has been a pretty exciting year for Escape Fitness so far, we’ve launched several fantastic new products to market, installed some awesome new functional spaces in several prominent gyms and upped our communications to tectonic levels….but perhaps the biggest announcement of all is that Escape Fitness are growing throughout the globe at an alarming rate- we already had offices in Europe but January 2012 heralded the opening of our office in ASIA!! That’s right; the subtropical continent on the other side of the world is managed by Jonathan Fekete- a brand new addition to the Escape family, so we thought we’d give you all a little glimpse into Jonathan’s world!

1) How long have you worked in the fitness industry?

I have worked in the fitness industry for 15 years all over the world including the USA, Thailand, and Korea.

2) Have you always had an interest in fitness/working out?

I’ve been involved in sports since I could walk! I studied Human Biodynamics at UC Berkeley where I competed 4 years in the Decathlon for my university (Track and Field) and I really enjoy taking full advantage of the climate in Thailand and doing a bit of functional training in the rainforest- I’m trying to spot a tiger, but no luck yet!

3) Why Asia and how long have you lived there?

I’ve lived in Thailand for 5 years and 1 year in Korea.  Asia chose me for the international fitness business challenge, I think if you can make it in the Asia Fitness scene you can make it anywhere.

4) What’s your favourite product out of the Escape Fitness brochure?

Oh man, there are so many, but it’s going to have to be the Escape Olympic Power-lifting equipment and their new rubber kettle bells.

5) What does 2012 hold for you?

A lot of travelling to visit the Asia Pacific to build relationships with key customers and Life Fitness Distributors, I love travelling so I’m really looking forward to it.

6) What do you think 2012 holds for Escape Fitness?

2012 is a critical year for Escape Fitness, with so many new positions globally this is our chance to grow internationally and build our brand as the industry leader in functional equipment and the preferred partner for Fitness Solutions for everyone’s facility.

7) Top 3 S.M.A.R.T outcomes for 2012?

1. Offer the best solutions for floors, walls, training and functional equipment to differentiate my customers from their competitors.

2. Increase customer satisfaction for the Asia Pacific region and the Life Fitness Distributors I work with.

3. To create a partnership based on great products and business solutions that not only look attractive, but are built to last.

8 ) Finally- where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever worked out?

I was under water in Hawaii training with a surfing guru who had me running 15 feet underwater while carrying heavy rocks till I hit the surf break gasping for air, then swim out and do it again.

So if you’ve got a gym solution problem in Asia and you need help then get in touch with Jonathan! jonathan.fekete@escapefitness.com or why not get in touch with him on Facebook? Stay tuned for next week because Jonathan’s been doing some brilliant charity fundraising work for Oxfam and we want to tell you all about it!

For all of you avid readers of the Escape Fitness blog you will know that we are now working very closely with Biggest Loser PT and all around fitness legend Richard Callender. We had the absolute privilege of kitting out his gym in Richmond with some of our favourite products and he has been giving us ultra top secret sneak peeks at what’s been going on ‘behind the scenes’ at the Biggest Loser!

Every week Richard sends over a diary entry all about what the Biggest Loser contestants got up to with our equipment, and this week it’s all about dumbbells! If the below isn’t enough for you then why not follow Richard on Twitter? @RichardCallender.

What’s Richard had to say this week?

So it’s Week 2 and after the amazing weight losses last week and the huge record-breaking weight loss from Kevin (Orange team), its back to the drawing board and a back to basics approach to training for me and my training groups. What last week proved was that although the contestants are carrying huge amounts of weight, have below average levels of fitness and have battled demons for many years…they haven’t given up.  It was humbling to see them stand on the scales in front of their peers and viewing public and be judged.  The great news is that no one let themselves down and unfortunately after all the dust had settled, weights collated and eliminations completed, Sam (Brown team) left the Biggest Loser house.  But the big question is…did he learn enough about balanced eating and effective exercise to make a long term difference?  I guess we’ll see at the finale.

So Week 2 in the Biggest Loser is quite often the week in which the weight loss drops and this is for so many reasons.   I feel it is as much psychological as it is physical because after the massive highs of Week 1 where everything is a novelty and exciting, Week 2 is the reality check and can bring you down to earth with bang.

My aim for Week 2 is to build on the functional exercises and movements we used with the ViPR and incorporate those into sessions alongside the use of dumbbells for all around conditioning, strength gain and eventually weight loss.  Educating the contestants is as important as exercising with them.

Dumbbells are one of the first pieces of equipment you have experience with when you start working out and over the decades there have been so many variations on the same theme but few things can still compete with them for sheer versatility. 

The contestants generally do not possess that much muscular strength at this early stage and so my aim this week is to keep constantly changing their workouts to tick the boxes marked strength and endurance to get their muscles working and becoming the calorie powerhouses they need to burn fat.

The workouts were mixed and involved lots of basic movement patterns initially (squats, chest presses, bent over rows, bicep curls, tricep kick-backs, etc) but then progressed through to wood choppers, transverse movements and even plyometric exercises towards the end of the week.   The thing I love about dumbbells is that I had the contestants lifting them, swinging them, pushing them, throwing/catching them, running around them and much more…and every workout pushed them a little more.

Each workout was taxing but always involved elements of interval training to build on their cardiovascular fitness alongside their resistance training.  High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is massively important to me when training contestants/clients for weight loss and almost every facet of fitness because it forces your body to adapt quickly to ever changing and ever increasing levels of stress and therefore a physiological change has to occur quickly. 
Mixing HIIT and dumbbells is a great way to burn through the calories, increase your metabolic rate,  increase your fitness and long term it can burn up to 10% more calories over a 24hour period compared to slow –medium paced cardio.  Dumbbells should be one of your closest friends.

A good week of training, let’s see what the scales say at the end of the infamous Week 2.

Tune in next week for Richard’s next installment, or if you missed last week’s then you can read it here!

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!! So you all saw our fantastic ‘Love me, Love my TRX post from last week, and we’re bringing you the second drill of this series…TAG IN 1-ON-1!

You’ve heard it before, but we’ll say it again: there’s no “I” in team. And often, a group effort yields the highest results. Besides the extra encouragement and motivation, working out with a partner also taps into our primal competitive spirit, forcing you to work that much harder to either keep pace or surpass the efforts of those around you. How many times have you been running on a track or trail, and out of the corner of your eye, you see someone gaining on you, and what do you do?? Like Seabiscuit, you speed up and put it into overdrive.

You can apply this same approach to your training, using your friends or teammates to push you to work a little bit harder. We’ve recently had several people ask us for partner or team drills that can be performed on the TRX Suspension Trainer, so grab a friend and your TRX and get ready to put your strength and conditioning into overdrive with the drill in this video, Tag In 1-on-1. The idea here is to really push yourself but also each other. Think high energy, high intensity. And if your friend is slacking, don’t be afraid to let him or her know….

We’ll be showing you three more partner drills on the TRX during the next few weeks, so stay tuned!

Don’t have 2 TRX Suspension Trainers? Not to worry, get yours here.

Ok- so we are half way through February, and we need to know- how many of you have already broken your New Years Resolutions?

At the beginning of each year, people set training goals with the best of intentions; faster, longer, stronger, better in some way at something. The reality is, by the time we flip the calendar to February, most of these goals have fallen by the wayside. Sound familiar? If so, we’re here to tell you it’s not the goal that’s important; it’s your method of getting after it.

If you ensure your goals are S.M.A.R.T from the get-go, you’ll be well on your way to realising them.

S.M.A.R.T. stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely.

S = Specific: Do you know exactly what you want to accomplish with all the details? Goals must be well defined. They must be clear and unambiguous.

M = Measurable: Can you quantify your progress so you can track it? How will you know when you reach your goal? Define specific criteria for measuring progress toward the accomplishment of each goal you set so that you can measure and keep track of your progress.

A = Attainable: Is your goal a challenge but still possible to achieve? Goals must be achievable. The best goals require you to stretch a bit to achieve them, but they are not impossible to achieve.

R = Realistic: Is your goal realistic and within your reach? Are you willing to commit to your goal? Almost certainly your goal is realistic if you truly believe it can be accomplished.

T = Timely: Does your goal have a deadline? Goals must have a clearly defined time frame including a starting date and a target date. If you don’t have a time limit, then there is no urgency to start taking action towards achieving your goals.

Whether your goal is to increase your new member sign ups by 20%, increase member retention or log a PB on your daily run, this is the year your goal will become reality. Below are some common fitness goals and the Escape Fitness Training tools that will help you reach them.

Get Stronger

Is everyone else around you getting just a bit faster and stronger? Or are you just heading in the other direction? Get the full body fitness system by using the hardcode ultimate Steelbell workout for fitnatics looking to vary their workouts. This helps you to build the strength and stamina you need to keep up with – and pass – your competition. Check out an awesome workout below from Hyperwear!

You know you need one of these in your life!!

Improve Metabolic Conditioning

Are you looking to put your metabolism into overdrive? Do you want a workout that will give you more energy, burn more calories and turn you into a lean, mean machine – even if you only have half an hour? Get the fitness system (including TRX & KETTLEBELL DVD: Iron circuit Conditioning AND TRX & KETLLEBELL DVD: Iron Circuit Power) for an explosive workout!

Buy it and try it!

Increase Flexibility and Balance

Has it been a while since you could touch your toes? Do you want to be limber like a dancer and steady like a gymnast? Or do you just want to feel more balanced in your everyday life? Get the ultimate fitness system: The Easy Tone Step- a must for all you aerobic bunnies! The ETS builds core strength and improves flexibility to help prevent common injuries. Check out this video from Steve Barrett and Jutta Schuhn which shows the ETS when we first launched it in Austria.

Persuaded? Get yours here!

Lose Weight

You try to stay fit, but life gets in the way. You need a workout that’s quick and efficient and a smart, focused nutrition plan. If you’re looking for a healthy lifestyle without being totally inconvenienced, why not try the Reebok Step AND Escape Fitness’ Edge Dumbbell? It’s the optimal combination which offers a huge selection of cardio and strength workouts that will help you burn calories, blast fat and stay fit for the long run.

Check out those products here and change the outcome of your 2012.

So what’s your goal going to be? Set your sights high, realize that nothing is impossible and get committed! This is one year your fitness goals won’t fall by the wayside.

At Escape Fitness we’re feeling a little loved up…….don’t worry (we never kiss and tell) we’re actually crushing on the TRX Suspension Trainer! So for this Valentine’s Day we thought we’d bring you a V’Day workout, grab a partner and get after this TRX lower body workout. Here, TRX Group Programming and Development Manager Dan McDonogh takes you through a four-exercise, lower body sequence designed to be performed in tandem with someone you love. . . to compete with.

TRX Lunge
TRX Overhead Squat
TRX V-Sit-up
TRX Elevated Hip Press

Perform 14 reps of each exercise (get it?) and make sure to perform the lunges on both sides. Challenge your partner with the pace and progressions of each exercise and match your partner’s pace. This sequence challenges the quads, glutes and hamstring and should light up the anterior core (your abs) as well. Have fun with this lovely training session.
So every day this week we’re going to bring you a different partner workout! We’ve got 4 awesome ones for you to try, so check them out and post a pic of you and your partner working out on our Facebook Page (LINK HERE)

If you don’t have two TRX Suspension Trainers, don’t worry! You can get one here.

The Biggest Loser has been airing on ITV now for a few weeks and Escape Fitness has been working closely with celebrity personal trainer Richard Callender to ensure the contestants are using all of the best kit. Now obviously we weren’t allowed on set during the actual filming (despite our most concerted efforts) so we askd Richard to keep a workout diary……and we want to share it with you!!

For those of you who don’t know Richard Callender has been in the fitness industry for 18 years and as a personal trainer for over 24! Also add on his considerable expertise in choreography, the fact that he’s sold close to 500,000 fitness DVDs including Katie Price’s, Vicki Entwistles’, Dancing on Ice and 3 Biggest Loser editions and you’re starting to get the picture.

Richard has a gorgeous gym and PT studio in West London that houses some of Escape Fitness’ latest equipment, but at the moment he’s locked firmly away on set training these Biggest Loser hopefuls, so we’ve had to make do with e-mail contact with him for now AND twitter, @richardcallender.

Check out Richard’s latest entry:

So, it is Week 1 on the Biggest Loser, and with the new recruits having already completed and survived the 5km run to the Biggest Loser House I know they are primed and ready for the intensity of the workouts to come.  I mean, how can you start with a 5km run on your first day (with many of the contestants weighing in excess of 20 stone), complete it successfully in sub 60 minutes and then expect us to lower the already raised bar?  It’s not going to happen.

This first week we split into various training groups so we can see for ourselves who has what level of ability, strength and mental focus.  Rob Edmond, Charlotte Ord and myself are all pleasantly surprised with the attitude of most of the contestants and as a result we have some amazingly, eye-opening workouts.  Already there are some ‘star’ performers and as time goes on we’ll look closely at what makes them this way.

For many of my workouts this week I based it around the ViPR because it is a great tool for increasing the levels of many of the key factors needed in fitness, conditioning and weight loss; strength, speed, agility, balance, cardiovascular conditioning and psychologically it moved away from the expectation of simply ‘hitting the weights’ from the contestants.  Now the term ViPR stands for Vitality, Performance & Reconditioning and these are exactly what the contestants on The Biggest Loser are after because they lack vitality, possess very little performance attributes initially and with the effect of their lifestyles they are massively out of condition.  The ViPR is perfect for them at this stage.

My workouts were varied but they all involved lifts, twists, carries and movement through various planes of motion which meant the contestants burned calories significantly through both cardiovascular and resistance training as well as learning how to carry and mobilise their significant weight disadvantage.  Most of the workouts were completed using the 4- 6kg ViPRs to ensure that the guys had full control over their movement patterns and were able to use the correct techniques for maximum benefit.  To be honest after the first few workouts the guys developed a strong love/hate relationship with the ViPR.  It made them work at a threshold way above their comfort zone (the hate), but they could see their technique and ability increase exponentially (the love) and they all suffered from DOMS (the love/hate mix) so knew something was changing.  Workouts were often split into strength, cardio, functional movements and mixed phases with the emphasis on completing the movements within time constraints starting from as little as 30 seconds to as much a 1minute drills in the first week.

Week one on the Biggest Loser is always about setting the bar high to achieve great results because the contestants need that psychological boost from great weight loss to establish a confidence in you, the trainer, and your methods and thankfully after week one Rob, Charlotte and myself had hopefully gone a way to concreting that.  Correct nutrition, effective training, exercise selection, adequate rest and huge amounts of confidence strengthening are some of the key elements that create big changes in anyone’s health, fitness and well being and The Biggest Loser is an example of what happens when all these elements can be used in a controlled environment.

Wow? It kind of makes you feel like you’re there right? We’ve all been trying out a hardcore workout using the ViPR in the Escape office and are LOVING it! If you want to test you ViPR skills then check out the video below!

Don’t have a ViPR? Well what are you doing!?! Get one here: #INEEDVIPRINMYLIFE

PLUS- We want to know how you’re getting on with your workouts, so please comment on the post below or why not hit us up on Facebook?

A couple of weeks ago Escape Fitness launched the EasyTone Step at the Reebok Club in London. We had a whole host of guests attend to our event including Steve Barrett- Reebok’s international master trainer, Sandra Radav (the UK’s face of Zumba) PLUS all of our brilliant key account customers: Virgin Active, David Lloyd, Fitness First etc. We had a lot of fun with these guys, with a dedicated workout (taken by the gorgeous Steve Barrett) a Q and A session with EasyTone air technology inventor Dr Phil and to round the day off, in our true style- a champagne and canapés finale just to keep everyone smiling when they leave. All in all the day was a thorough success! Check out our video below to see just how much fun we had at this awesome event:

So, for those of you who don’t know, the EasyTone Step is a revolutionary new piece of equipment from Reebok- it uses the same EasyTone air technology that graces the 17.5million pairs of shoes sold world wide (You might remember the rather famous face of Kelly Brook, Eva Mendes and Kim Kardashian being spokeswomen for this fantastic product)

The integrated balance pods below the step platform have been engineered to create instability- forcing muscles to compensate and adapt while working out. You control the intensity of the instability using the adjustable airflow valve on the underside of the platform. A fantastic addition to any group workout, a great key feature of this product is that it provides a multi-purpose functional training platform that offers a huge diverse range of exercises. Plus, the EasyTone Step has reversible usage which means your class can work out with their pods up or down! Choose low airflow stability to start with and increase the airflow as your class becomes accustomed to the workout and their core strength and balance improves. The result is a challenging yet extremely rewarding and beneficial fitness experience for all.

If you’re interested in taking home your very own EasyTone Step then check it out here: http://www.escapefitness.com/easytone-step.html

It’s perfect for working off those holiday season pounds you might have put on!

Ok, so Christmas is just around the corner and today we want to talk about movement preparation! You’re going to be eating a lot of turkey over the festive season and then you’re going to want to work it off, so it’s really important that you think about movement preparation! That is right, the art of preparing to move, we know what you are probably thinking – “why should I prepare to move? I move all the time!” And whilst that’s true….you do not sprint, bike, jog, play sport, climb, fight or swim ALL THE TIME, and before all of these activities you should be….what? PREPARING TO MOVE! That’s right.

The principles of movement preparation are very simple, but it all starts with a key question:

Why do we warm up? Most of us know that a good warm-up increases the heart rate, increases blood flow to the working musculature, increases body temperature, and decreases the viscosity of the muscles. Anything that achieves those results is going to be far superior to doing nothing in terms of improving performance and reducing the likelihood of injury. Science tells us that a dynamic movement routine leads to a higher vertical jump, greater strength and power, and faster sprinting times. If we want to truly complete our “movement preparation” though, we’d better take the time to prepare to move.

And it’s this latter point- that we prepare our neuromuscular systems to be efficient and best prepared to perform-that requires special attention when composing a movement preparation scheme for an athlete, an amateur…really, for anyone.

Check out this video to really understand how the movement preparation experts at Trigger Point Therapy are supporting the fitness industry:

Have you heard about SMRT-CORE yet? LENGTHEN, STRENGTHEN, and INTEGRATE! MYOFASCIAL TOTAL BODY TRAINING uses an integrated, inhibitory, strength training process. Each Micro Cycle is designed to train myofascial lines and the myofascial slings of the core while focusing on specific muscle groups. SMRT-CORE trains the body as an integrated unit with core integration and functional stabilisation: MOVEMENT PREPARATION WITH PURPOSE. This is basically Trigger Point Therapy’s M.O and they’re bringing it to the nation with passion and education! We’re happy to announce that our education providers Faster Health & Fitness are now going to be offering the UK Trigger Point Therapy courses!! Get your REPS points and get in the know! Stay tuned in January and we’ll announce the new courses that are going to be available for 2012.

For more information then contact FASTER Health & fitness on: 08455 19 16 15

PLUS!! If you want to try out the Grid and get a SMRT-CORE see here, or give yourself a Myofascial release with the Trigger Point Ultimate 6 Kit here

Finally if all the above isn’t enough – why not check out our Expert Guide to Foam Rolling HERE for some in-depth training and workout moves to prepare your clients.