Serina Hi Everyone,
I can’t believe we are now in April and heading towards the summer. Where have those three months gone?
I have now started preparing the garden for the summer and this year I have invested in a brand-new hot tub, which my granddaughter uses as her swimming pool. I have booked my holidays this year, which as always gives me that extra motivation to look at my workout routine and change those hearty meals for something a little lighter. I have achieved my highest Myzone points again this month- I’ve not made the top 10 yet but that is my aim for next month.
These last few months we have been very busy working towards improving our customer experience. We have the new arrival of the air bike and an additional ski erg on the gym floor and have added some new mats to the studio classes. Lisa is working on the class timetable, we are looking at classes on Wednesday and Thursday evenings, so any suggestions would be very much appreciated.
The air-con for the changing rooms has now been separated, allowing the men to have a cooler temperature and the women to have it a little warmer. We have replaced the ceiling tiles, and all the hanging rails and had all the drains professionally cleaned.
What we are going to do:
• To keep our pumps in the spa from damage, we are having to replace the manifold. In layman’s terms, this is the structure that holds the pipework and
pumps in place.
• I am working with the maintenance team to schedule in the painting of the studios in the next couple of months and we are adding more checker plating to the free weights area, behind the racks.
• We are awaiting the delivery of new tiles, as soon as these have arrived, we will be replacing the white tiles around the pool step entrance.
Why did our steam room keep stopping? What are the effects of silica in the water?
Two different forms of silica end up in water: reactive silica and colloidal silica. Reactive silica is a very weak acid that dissolves in water, while colloidal silica has a glass-like structure that can damage surfaces, glassware, and fixtures.
While both forms of silica are harmless when ingested, they can also leave behind cloudy or milky spots on surfaces and fixtures, as well as white, chalky build-ups of minerals called scale.
We had our water tested after continuing breakdowns of the steam room, which we could not explain. It’s only when talking to our pool expert that we discovered we have more silica in our water supply than in previous years.
This is what has been causing the steam room kettle to scale so quickly and stop working. We have rectified this with a more robust kettle, and we have placed a filter on the pipework that leads into the steam room.
All our pipework has been descaled and procedures to combat scale build-up have been updated to help minimise closures.
Congratulations to:
Maxine who won free guest passes for the gym floor battle rope challenge.
Damian Gibbs for hitting his Iron status.
Paul Fisher, Madelene O’Connor, Anthony Brue, Christine Bardoe, Rahman Langroudi & Jim Hillier, for obtaining their gold statuswell done everyone.
If you are thinking about purchasing a Myzone belt why not try out our demo belts on your next workout and see what the buzz is all about? If you are still not sure don’t just take my word for it, read about David’s experience and why he chooses to train with a Myzone belt.
My “Myzone” Experience. David Line
During another failing gym membership mid 2022 I was introduced to the Myzone concept, but I didn’t invest in one at that time and soon afterwards moved on and re-joined Birchwood gym in November 2022.
After a slow start in the lead-up to and over the Christmas holidays I was enjoying the experience at the gym in early 2023 but by May/June time I was sensing I was beginning to waver and question the value of keeping it up.
In the meantime, my wife Jackie had stayed with the previous gym and invested in Myzone, and I could see how motivational it
was for her and other members.
I could see they love the Myzone and the information it shares, connecting with the community, which isn’t just limited to your gym, and sharing their workouts, which helps in keeping them accountable and motivated. So, in July 2023 I invested in the little gadget, and I must say I haven’t looked back.
I would not have believed the motivational benefit of such a simple device, which is provided by the desire to progress from Bronze to Silver and beyond as you sustain a regular workout level from month to month if I hadn’t experienced it for myself.
There is a real desire to reach the required number of MEPS (1300 each month) and not run the risk of dropping down a tier until you build your scores back up again. MEPS is short for Myzone Effort Points which are earned by exercising in your target heart rate zones over a period so the more effort you put in the more points you earn.
1300 might not sound very difficult to achieve but for most people of even limited fitness abilities if you are regularly exercising every month, depending on effort, you will begin to see the benefits, I’m sure. I know it might not be the same for all but for me at 15 months into my current membership, with no thoughts of dropping out anytime soon, it has given me the momentum to carry on.
Amanda’s English Channel Swim 2024
In September 2024 I am taking on the challenge of a lifetime to swim across the English Channel.
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Although the distance across the English Channel is 21 miles, due to currents, winds, and other factors, I anticipate and train to swim significantly more miles. On a good day the Channel is hard, on a bad day it is really hard.
With my very limited open water experience I have already put in two and a half years of hard training, suffering and sacrifice to prepare myself for this crazy challenge. The reason I am putting myself through this madness is to raise funds for the Evelina London Children’s Charity, who care for more than 95,000 children a year.
For more information please follow the links below:
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ amanda-maunders
https://facebook.com/100093128493470
You don’t have to go to the same lengths as Amanda to swim the English Channel, by using our free swim tag bands you can swim in the comfort of the pool. Please see reception for more details.
Message from Lisa...
Great news!
Heather is due back from maternity leave on 7th May for Tuesdays only, Heather has been dreaming of coming back and is looking forward to teaching a new playlist.
Heather unfortunately has dropped Wednesday classes, but the lovely Kelly is going to continue the Wednesday and Thursday spin classes.
We have added some more small mats for the studio, these mats are ideal for pump and impact classes, and we have long blue mats for yoga and Pilates classes.
No Shows
The number of members who did not attend classes for February was 373, even though this is an improvement on the figure for January, which was 440, I still would like to see this go down even more for the coming months. It’s just a few simple steps that will help reduce noshows and allow those who are on the waitlist to take a space that is no longer needed. We are close to several members losing their right to pre-book classes, please don’t let that be you! Below is a reminder on how you can cancel your class booking.
Class Cancellation Steps
• Cancel a class up to an hour before the class starts on the Elite Live app, to do this you’ll need to go into booking history, find the class and then click on the ‘bin’ icon to delete your booking.
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• Call reception to cancel the booking, the lines are open from 6 am on weekdays and 7 am on weekends / Bank Holidays.
• Email at reception1@birchwoodparkgc.co.uk.
Your support is very much appreciated to help us run a smooth and effective timetable for everyone to enjoy.
In April I will be changing our notice boards to a community board, where we will be advertising local businesses. If you have a business or know a local business that will be happy for our support, then please bring in their poster or advertisement for us to display. All advertisements will be scanned for appropriateness.
Get ready For Easter Fun at Birchwood Park
Get ready For Easter Fun at Birchwood Park
