SERVICES

Life Matters is a professional health and fitness service which encompasses the use of sound nutritional advice with an understanding of heart rate training at it's highest level. Our basic philosophy is that a person wishing to get fitter, needs to have a better understanding of their self and offers the following services in both group and individual format.

The above menu in greater detail.

We aim to teach clients about recovery, self-management skills and strategies for dealing with symptoms especially sports related, so as to help:

• promote higher levels of wellness, stability and quality of life

• decrease the need for costly, invasive therapies

• decrease the incidence of severe symptoms

• decrease traumatic life events caused by severe symptoms

• increase understanding of these illnesses and decrease stigma

• raise participants' level of hope and encourage their activity level by working toward wellness

It is hoped that by working together we can look closely at:-

• Ongoing work

• Dealing With Injury Trauma

• Building Self-Esteem

• Changing Negative Thought Patterns To Positive

• Building A Lifestyle That Promotes Wellness

Background: Under the 1977 Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations, trade unions recognised by an employer have the legal right to appoint safety reps, volunteers elected from the workforce, who have a series of legal rights to information, consultation and time off for training. There are about 200,000 safety reps overall.

This year, for the first tune, the TUC surveyed safety reps through their unions, with a series of questions aimed at identifying there concerns and experiences. The full results of the survey will be released later this year, and individual research projects based on its findings will be carried out in 1997. So far, 7,268 safety reps have responded, from large and small organisations - over 1,000 from workplaces with fewer than 30 employees. They were asked to identify the main hazard in their workplace of concern to their colleagues.

Stress and overwork: The most commonly reported concern was occupational stress and overwork, further confirmation that British workers risk ill-health as a result of the hire and fire culture which has led to widespread job insecurity and pressure on employees to work longer arid longer hours.

Overall, 68% of Safety Reps identified stress as one of the top five health and safety concerns of their work colleagues, a much higher rating than for the next most mentioned hazards (see below). This figure did not vary greatly according to the size of the workforce represented, although nearly three quarters of safety reps from organisations employing fewer than 100 staff reported stress as a major concern -73% in firms with fewer than 50 staff and 72% for those with 50-100 staff. The ratings for workplaces with more employees were not significantly smaller, with 64% and 65% of safety reps from medium sized enterprises (100-200 workers and 200-1000 workers) reporting stress as a major concern. And in the largest organisations, with over 1,000 employees, 68% cited stress as a major issue.

Stress and overwork clearly affects workers in all sizes of firm, and in the public sector as well as the private sector.

Jobs which cause stress: Breaking the responses down by industrial sector suggests that the public sector has higher levels of stress than the private sector, suggesting that the impact of years of public sector cuts has left workforces demoralised and under pressure. But other sectors show severe cause for concern too.

An alarming 89% of safety reps in the voluntary sector cited stress as a major health and safety issue, the highest rate of all sectors. Union reports from members in the voluntary sector have highlighted poor management practices, bullying and, above all, the abuse of voluntary sector workers' commitment to their clients as sources of significant problems in recent year. Voluntary organisations are always under pressure to deliver more services to disadvantaged groups, with fewer resources, but this is no excuse for piling the pressure onto staff.

Education ranks second in the stress ratings, with 80% (1,459) of safety reps from the sector reporting it as a major problem. Recent concerns about rising class sizes, violence in schools, and the extra workloads associated with educational cuts and the introduction of curriculum reforms have all been identified as major sources of stress for teachers.

Cuts in the finance sector as a result of mergers and heightened competition are thought to be the key factor in the high level of stress reported by banking and finance sector safety reps, with 78% of them citing it as a top complaint of their work colleagues.

Stress and overwork was the only health and safety issue which attained the 50% mark across all sectors. Of 13 identified sectors, stress was cited by more than 70% of Safety Reps in the voluntary, education, banking and finance sectors, local government (74%), central government (72'%), health services (71% (71%), leisure services (71% ) and transport and communications (70%). Workers in agriculture, distribution and hotels, energy and water, and other services all reported stress as a major problem.

What causes stress? The Health and Safety Executive has issued guidance for employers on preventing occupational stress which identifies a number of potential causes, including overwork and lack of clear instructions. Stress can lead to a range of physical ailments, such as heart disease, mental problems, lack of sleep, loss of resistance to illness, and even allergies.

The TUC survey asked safety reps who identified stress as a major problem to explain in more detail what factors affected their members.

The main cause identified was "new management techniques", such as quality circles and performance related pay. These new techniques can limit a trade union's ability to defend working people from unreasonable demands made by management. Rather than negotiating changes with unions, managers may impose the changes, which makes the individual employees feel undervalued and without any influence over their work patterns. These are precisely the cause of stress identified by she HSE.

Other causes of stress identified by safety reps included long hours, having major implications for health and safety in Britain. Transport rated highest in the long hours stakes, with 46% of respondents citing hours of work as a main concern. Previous TUC research has shown that British workers work longer hours than most other European workers, and that, against the trend, the working week in Britain is actually getting longer. The European Union has enacted a Working Time Directive which would place limits on the working week, and the British Government is trying to resist implementing it (a judgement will shortly be made on the case currently before the European Court). The TUC's finding that longer hours are a major source of occupational stress shows that working time is a health and safety issue, as the European Commission and the TUC have consistently argued.

The causes of stress: Factor causing stress as a proportion of Safety Reps identifying the factor as a cause of stress in their workplace

• New Management Techniques48%

• Long Hours 31%

• Redundancies 24%

• Harassment 21%

• Shiftwork 16%

• Bullying 14%

Note: percentages do not total 100% because more than one answer could be given.

The top health and safety concerns by sector: The sectoral breakdown of the survey shows the major concerns of workers in each sector. These figures demonstrate that other major problems facing workers in Britain include Display Screen Equipment (DSE), slips and trips, and back strain.

Some 5 million people in Britain work with DSE, also know as VDUs, with the number increasing rapidly. Many people using VDUs, will suffer problems such as RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury) if their work station and seating is not properly set up, and this explains why, across all sectors, 43% of safety reps indicated that VDU use was one of the major concerns in the workplace. The TUC is currently fighting proposals from safety deregulators in Britain and Europe to scrap European safety laws in DSE.

Slips and trips are, according to the HSE, the major source of workplace injuries, costing British business tens of millions every year. The HSE has recently launched a campaign to make employers and workers more aware of the dangers, but the TUC believes that much more needs to be done by employers to make sure that the number of workers suffering injuries is reduced. Recently, HSE figures were released which showed that nearly two thirds of all injuries in the hotel and catering sector were the result of slips and trips - contributing to a doubling of the injury rate in that sector over the last decade. The TUC survey shows that slips and trips are also a major health and safety concern for workers in construction and energy.

Major safety issues by sector

TUC proposals for action: The TUC will by analysing the results of the survey in much greater detail in the next few months. But the main messages are already clear.

• Occupational stress is a major health and safety concern for working people -across all sectors and in all sizes of enterprise. New management techniques and long hours are the major factors which are causing people concern about stress.

• The Health and Safety Executive needs to do more to ensure that employers reduce the risks to their workforces. A major TUC conference on union action to combat stress at work is being held on 7 October 1996 to determine the agenda for action.

• The government should abandon its opposition to the Working Time Directive, and accept that it is a health and safety measure.

• On other hazards, the government should drop its proposal to undermine the Display Screen Equipment Directive, and the HSE should consider ways to increase activity to reduce slips, trips and Calls.

Do you recognise yourself in here, do you need some help?

Dietician or Nutritionist.? First off, I am not selling any commercial products. Nor am I telling you that you can get fantastic weight management results if you follow some super duper diet.

I am into Balanced Diets and I am into weight management via healthy lifestyle choices and this includes exercise programs.

If you see a commercial diet or product that makes a claim, then ask yourself the following especially if the diet or supplement sounds too good to be true:-

1. What are the credentials of the person offering advice, are these credentials in nutrition and are these credentials from an accredited college or university? A Registered Dietitian (RD) has the education, experience and passed a national registration test to practice nutrition in addition to requirements for ongoing education to continue practicing. Some states license who can provide nutrition or dietetic services. Ask for nutrition credentials, what the credentials mean and whether the person is licensed to practice in your state.

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2. Is this person selling supplements or pills that must be taken or used in combination with their diet? Unless the supplement is backed by nutrition research substantiating the need for a specific nutrient, most people don't need a daily vitamin or mineral supplement. Ask why a supplement or pill is necessary and what research shows the need for their supplements.

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3. Does this person push pills because they claim that our soils are depleted of nutrients or that processing removes most nutrients? Food is the best source of nutrients needed by the human body while only about 10 - 15% of most vitamin or mineral supplements are absorbed. Food labels list the nutrient content (protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals) for thousands of foods both raw and processed that are sold in grocery stores and some restaurants. Ask how long you would need to take their supplements and the monthly cost. Ask yourself how much food could you buy for this same amount?

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4. Are whole groups of foods like starches omitted or magic foods that must be eaten daily? Healthy diets, including weight loss diets, contain foods from all food groups. Omitting whole groups of food decreases your intake of vitamins and minerals supplied by the omitted foods. Ask how you would get the vitamins and minerals in the foods omitted by this program or what food properties or nutrients are provided by magic foods that they must be eaten daily.

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5. Does these people have special tests they can perform on you to determine your nutritional status? Tests to determine nutritional status are best performed by a Registered Dietitian or medical doctor. These tests can include physical exam and blood or urine tests performed by a medical laboratory. Hair, eye and muscle strength tests are bogus and cannot determine nutritional status of any vitamin or mineral. Ask what their tests prove or disprove, how they remedy deficiencies noted on their tests and the research supporting their treatment recommendations.

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6. Does this person use testimonials (It worked for me so you should try it) rather than nutrition research to substantiate their diet or supplement claims? Nutrition practice is based on research that has passed the rigors of multiple research studies and review by other scientists. Ask about the research behind their diet or supplement.

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7. Do they promise quick, dramatic results rather than long term success? Most nutritional remedies take time to take effect, especially weight loss. Ask what you are supposed to eat when you go off their products and if your nutritional deficiency or lost weight will return.

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8. Do they claim they use "natural" products rather than synthetic ones? Your body is a biochemical factory that only recognizes chemicals and doesn't have the ability to tell the difference between "natural" and "synthetic" nutrients. What is natural about a pill unless you have seen a pill tree, bush or plant. The human body has evolved over thousands of years eating whole foods, not supplements. Ask them what the difference in similar supplements between their products and brand name synthetics.

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9. Do these people downplay or not explain negative aspects to use of their diet or supplements? There are positive and negative aspects to every food and supplement. Make sure you know what you are taking and how it can harm you before you hand over your money. Ask if there is any health risks to following their diet or taking their supplements.

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10. Are these people telling you to take mega doses of their supplements (10 times the RDA for a nutrient) because the RDA's are set too low or do they recommend you take supplements for which there is no RDA? The RDA's are based on clinical studies of people's need for a nutrient. If a RDA doesn't exist for a nutrient, then the research has not yet been done to prove its requirement for humans. Unfortunately, food supplements are not regulated by the FDA and can make any health claim that prescribed drugs and labeled foods cannot. Ask if there is a RDA for their supplement, what percent of the RDA does one dose of their supplement provide and why do you need more than 100% of their product's nutrients.

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If the program or people can't answer your questions, walk away or hang up. If their answers sound like hogwash, it probably is.

Lastly, remember that nutrition professionals are practicing nutrition and we don't have it perfect yet. But we learn new information as nutrition research is published and we pass this information along to the public to improve their health and quality of life.

I am not a Dietitian, I will not sit down and write you out a menu, I am not qualified to do so. I am a Sports Therapist with a qualification in Nutrition.

This qualification has helped us to understand that a balanced diet is one which contains carbohydrate, protein, fat, vitamins, mineral salts and fibre. When in the correct proportions they will aid towards a more eco friendly body. It recognises that water is also very important and a most for sport participation. For a complete picture click on to the scales to read more.

Life Matters will offer an E-Nutrition Service whereby a nutritional service will be offered via e-mail based on supplied and received information for those for whom a full consultation is not a part of their current full time agenda or time table.

What is Sports Therapy: - 

• Fitness Testing
  Exercise Prescription
  Remedial Sports Massage/Body Massage
  Posture/Flexibility Analysis and Treatment
  Dietary Analysis and Nutrition Advice

A massage is carried out at the convenience and safety of your own premises it is designed to offer:-

Physical Benefits

• Improves Circulation

• Relaxes Muscles

• Aids in Digestion

• Speeds up the Elimination of Waste Products

• Relaxes the Nervous System

• Nourishes the Skin

• Enhances the Immune System

Psychological Benefits of Massage

• Helps us to satisfy the need for touch and caring.

• Reduces anxiety and mental stress

• Creates a better sense of well-being

• Increases the awareness of our body-mind connection

The end results is it:-

• Detoxify your body

• Moisturize your skin

• Leave your mind and body feeling refreshed, relaxed, and wonderful

Do you need a personal trainer?  A Personal Training is dedicated to providing a comprehensive exercise program that motivates people of all ages and all athletic abilities. We view each client as a unique individual, we create an innovative personal program for every person we train.

Through ongoing study, we keep ourselves on the cutting edge of fitness philosophies and technologies and pass along information to our clients that will enhance and facilitate their workouts, maximize results, and promote better health.

We do everything possible to help each client achieve his or her personal health/fitness, post-rehabilitation, and/or athletic-performance goals though the utilization and application of systematic scientific principles.

You only need a personal trainer if you want what we are offering.!

What is Fitness.? The Five S's.. Stamina.. Suppleness.. Strength.. Speed.. Skill.

STAMINA..
Physical or moral strength to resist or withstand illness, fatigue, or hardship; endurance.

Suppleness.. 
The quality or state of being supple; flexibility; pliableness; pliancy.

Strength..  
The power to resist strain or stress; durability.

Speed..  
To go, move, or proceed quickly.

Skill..  
Proficiency, facility, or dexterity that is acquired or developed through training or experience.

What are the benefits of fitness testing? Performance in any sporting event is the result of a multitude of factors, which include the amount of training performed, the body's adaptation to the training, motivation level, nutritional status and weather conditions to name a few. Physiological parameters only account for a portion of any performance, and so the role of any exercise instructor is also similarly limited. Through fitness testing, the factors involving physiological processes, over which there is some control, can be measured and ultimately improved upon. 

Competition is the ultimate test of performance capability, and is therefore the best indication of training success. However, when trying to maximise performance, it is important to determine the client's ability in individual aspects of performance. Fitness testing attempts to measure individual components of performance, with the ultimate aim of studying and maximising the client's ability in each component. 

Of the many benefits of fitness testing, the major use is to establish the strengths and weaknesses of the client. This is done by comparing test results to other people in the same training group, the same sport, or a similar population group. Previous test results of large groups are often published as normative tables. 

By comparing results to successful athletes in those sport, you can see the areas which need improvement, and the training program can be modified accordingly. This way valuable training time can be used more efficiently. However, beware that some athletes perform well in their sport despite their physical or physiological attributes, and it may not be advantageous to be like them. 

Fitness testing is important for several reasons:

1. Acquired data can be used by the instructor to design an individual exercise program for their clients, resulting in maximum benefits as it allows assessment of current fitness levels relative to age and sex
   

2. To help identify areas of health and injury risks with possible referral to the appropriate health professional
   

3. Data identifies strengths and weaknesses so changes can be initiated.
   

4. Testing body composition determines if fat loss is occurring even if body weight isn't changing. This often happens during the first two or three months of an exercise program.
   

5. When performed regularly (every two or three months) results can document improvement (or lack of) and modifications, if necessary, can be applied.
   

6. Enables you to set attainable goals and to evaluate progress.
   

7. Serves as a powerful motivating factor, encouraging you to continue to improve.

In an ideal situation, a fitness test would be carried out by a professional person within the comfort of a sporting establishment like a sports centre. Most sports centres have a variety of equipment including a computer that will allow you to assess your clients with the very latest of technology.

Sometimes, it is not always practical to assess a client at a sports centre and in these cases it would be necessary to carry out a field fitness test.

In the absence of high tech equipment and the comfort of a sports centre, we have to look at the limitations of a field test when monitoring the basic goals of a fitness test.

1 Blood Pressure Measurement: This measures the force of blood against the walls of the arteries when the heart pumps blood around the body. Untreated high blood pressure is linked to heart disease and strokes. This test can be safely carried out almost anywhere by an instructor with either a manual or automated sphygmomanometer.

2 Height and Weight: Height and weight are accurately measured. This test can be performed anywhere with a basic tape measure and flat upright surface and a set of scales.

3 Body Fat: It is the amount of fat in the body rather than the weight as a whole which is a major health factor. This measurement identifies the percentage of fat content in the body against the lean and water content. Excess body fat can be a risk factor for heart disease and other conditions. This test can be performed anywhere with a set of scales, tape measure and skin fold calipers.

4 Grip Strength: This measurement is an indicator of overall strength. It measures the strength of the lower arm. The handle of a simple machine (Dynamometer) is squeezed as hard as possible as instructed by the instructor and has no limitations in the field.

5 Lung Testing: This test can be carried out before the lungs have been exercised and providing there is a clean and safe area to perform, can be carried out in the field with no limitations.

6 Stamina: This measurement is for the efficiency of the heart, lungs and circulatory system. Our every day activities are affected by a low cardio-respiratory fitness such as the ability to climb stairs. The test requires the individual to cycle for six minutes, building up intensity gradually on a stationary cycle.

The aim is to take the individual's heart rate to a percentage of their maximum. The heart rate is monitored throughout so that the level of cycling will never be made uncomfortable. In the absence of a stationary cycle, there are other outdoor tests that can be performed to establish a basic sub max VO2 reading, eg, the step test using a box or the beep test using a set distance a whistle and a stop watch as well as a beat counter.

7 Flexibility and Suppleness: Poor flexibility increases the likelihood of injury and decreases the efficiency of working muscles. The test records the flexibility in the lower back and hamstrings by sitting on the floor, legs outstretched and reaching as far forward with hands touching a measurement board. This test can be performed anywhere with a box and ruler in the field with no limitations.

8 Muscular Strength and Endurance: This test is often left to the last of all the testing and providing there is a clean and safe area to perform, can be carried out in the field with no limitations.

The main differences between a high tech studio fitness testing and a typical sports centre fitness test are:

• Costs.

• Training of staff.

• Equipment.

• Equipment expertise.

• Time.

• Availability.

A lab/studio fitness centre is expensive, both trained staff and equipment are not cheap. Some sports people might not like the concept of being wired up and having their faces covered with measuring devices. The amount of time some sports people have available, they might feel is better used elsewhere within their own training program.

A lab/studio set-up is only as good as the equipment being used and the people who use that equipment as well as their motivation behind their research or testing.

• Good research is extremely difficult to perform and is liable to subjectivity.

• Most people have the tendency to grossly underestimate the extreme difficulties of every aspect of data collection.

• To design a fitness test properly requires clear objectives, hard facts and a flexible attitude toward hypotheses.

• Often a lab/studio research design in fitness testing is selected and the preliminary data does not conform to the original hypothesis. This hypothesis failure demands immediate redesign and reevaluation. It is a precious opportunity for creative and critical thinking.

• What if the testing equipment is unreliable and/or inappropriate?

• Was the testing procedure inappropriate to prove or disprove the tester's hypothesis?

• Was the sample size statistically significant?

In the process of evaluating the pros and cons of lab/studio testing verse field fitness testing we have to ask ourselves,  "If the fitness tester possessed good testing tools, would they then be able to perform valid research?" If you give the typical exercise tester a expensive testing machine, you have gained only one dimension of research control - that which is manifested in the mechanics of the equipment being used. 

Don't just get yourself tested, get it done by someone who knows what they are doing.

The deal on Crew Class Indoor Rowing.! The concept is great - like spinning, the class is set to music with approximately twelve or more Concept2 rowing machines set in an arc with the instructor in front. Intensity is altered by use of music, keeping the strokes per minute (spm) the same but pulling harder (more use of the legs and back), increasing the spm with the same amount or less pull, or changing the aperture of the ventilator which increases the amount of air resistance. What is great about the crew class is that each person works at their own level of intensity. No one is judged on the distance rowed, how fast they rowed or how hard they pulled (the last two influence the amount of time required to row 500 meters and can be seen on each machine's monitor).

Another benefit of the crew class is that as your fitness level improves, there are numerous opportunities all over the world to compete in indoor rowing competitions or regattas. The competitions are generally held in the late fall through mid-winter with the ranking lists closing in mid-February. 

There are competitions in the 2000m (time), and 30 minutes (distance). 

Other competitions include distance covered in 60 minutes of continuous rowing and the amount of time required to row the distance of a marathon. The marathon can be done either at a competition held specifically for a marathon row, or (as with the 60 minute row) at the individual studio with an impartial observer to verify the time and distance.

Everyone is ranked in the individual's country according to sex, age and weight (lightweight and heavyweight), and is then given a World Ranking by Concept2 in the US. If teams enter the competitions, they are also ranked in their country.

PERSONALLY I love indoor rowing and have competed in a few races of which this is a snippet from an Italian newspaper after winning one race in Notre Dame in Paris, France -

More than happy to share tips and techniques with those who share my passion.

Competitive Sport exposes players to injury due to the nature of the activity. However, with a muscular-skeletal assessment many aspects of preparation can be applied for prevention of injury and avoidance of recurring injury.

Fitness Training is an essential part of most peoples' lives. It is an area where control over injury should be easy, but even with the perfect technique and fitness there are still many situations where problems can occur.

Running or Aerobic classes are commonly used as a means of fitness and weight control. This type of frequent exercise is perfectly acceptable but can often lead to mechanical injuries.

Occupational injuries and conditions are nowadays very common due to the amount of time spent at work. Repetitive activity exposes us to many stresses and strains that can either gradually or suddenly cause pain, leading to debilitating conditions. 

Recreational Activity can be a dangerous area for picking up serious injury, often because of the relaxed approach to the task and lack of muscle warming and stretching.

Prevention is really better than cure.!

This Web-Site is my window to the world. It is a place where I am willing to share my creative talents with all those who share a similar interest. I consider this site to be a public domain but would ask, that all those who copy information from this site will at least respect the fact, that I am the copyright holder of this site and a mention of where your copied information came from would be greatly appreciated.