ALL THE NEWS AND VIEWS FOR THE MONTH OF MAY FROM VFC
Hey Team and welcome to May’s newsletter. There has been so much going on and so much coming up we honestly don’t know where to start. Lets start with a look back at May that was.
The month of May was focussed on Mental Health Awareness week and it was so great to see so many of you in support of looking after your mental health, engaging and supporting the week of activities that took place. We were of course disappointed to have to delay the ‘Brews and Chats’ evening due to illness and other commitments but we would like to get this back in the diary ASAP. Please do keep your eyes peeled for more information coming out on this soon.
We had some lovely chats with members, who came and stopped in for a cuppa and a biscuit and have a chat with us. Please never wait for a special occasion to come and talk to us. We always have a full kettle, milk of all types and there is often a biscuit…. as long as Amy and Leila haven’t gotten there first!
So looking forward, what’s happening in the coming weeks at Valesco?
Well who doesn’t love a new bit of gym stash? We certainly do and there are two brand new ranges (from a new supplier) for you to choose from. The order form is on the side and the orders have been coming in thick and fast already and with Pay Day on Friday for many of us, why not treat yourself? Let’s be honest you more than deserve it.
Valesco Summer Picnic and annual (silly) outdoor games will be taking place on Saturday 11th June from 1pm in Victoria Park, Bedminster. Its a really great opportunity to share some food, relax and get to know your fellow Valesco members that bit better. Partners, Children, Dogs and Friends all welcome.
Don’t forget a picnic blanket, some food & drink and your sunscreen (fingers crossed).
Four of a Kind is our next scaled competition at Valesco on Sunday 3rd July and already half the team spaces have been snapped up. We would love to have as many VFC teams there representing as possible. Check out the fancy new posters (thanks to Coach James) for full information and a fancy ass QR code to scan to take you straight to everything you need to know. Maybe your keen to compete but don’t know anyone to make a team? We have a few people in that situation so if that’s you just drop us an email hi@valesco.fitness and we can create some VFC dream teams.
Think that might be it for now and we are super excited for another month of training, gainz and sweaty workouts!
Lots of love and summer vibes,
Amy, Ellie and Leila xx
MEMBER SHOUT OUTS
Welcome to the monthly Member Shout out section where we like to celebrate some of the good things we see in the gym day in and day out.
Shout out from Coach Stew to Janek Gryta. Has his first power lifting competition in a few months, but is also working on his fitness. Regularly attending metcon mayhem and team WOD. Hating it and questioning his fitness at times but keeps turning is always smiling and is definitely getting fitter. Well-done mate!
And from Coach Stew to Alex Stock. Picked up butterfly pull-ups in about 5 minutes on Saturday morning. Also a regular at 6am crewmember. Getting strong AND fit. Always a pleasure to coach. Keep it up Alex!
Shout out from Coach Amy to Tom Salter for being a general all round nice guy and someone who has taken a great approach to his training. Tom has regularly gone above and beyond to help clear away after a session, chat to other members and has made some significant improvements as part of the healthy Habits challenge undertaken in January. Thanks for being a top bloke to have about Tom.
Shout Out from Coach James to Maria Alvarez. She’s super consistent with her training, always has a smile on her face and is sneaky fit! Anyone that lasts as long as she did doing Death By Burpees the other week has my respect! More specifically though, a couple of weeks ago in class (I think it was a weightlifting class?) there was a new member in one of her first classes. Maria was aware and did everything she could to help her feel comfortable. Swapped her clips which were easier to use, made sure she had the right bar, helped her load and unload her bar, even to the point where Maria was the last one ready for the barbell warm up because she making sure our newer member wasn’t. Lush. Saw it all from Open Gym and it’s a classic ‘what type of person are you when nobody (apart from me creeping in Open Gym) is watching?’ also from Coach Steve – I’d second this. She was the only one in 7.30pm last Tuesday night and she was ‘hating life’ in the metcon but she kept pushing herself through even though she had no one else to go up against and her. In her words “shoulders are about to fall off”
Shout out from Coach Ellie to Sara Lake for always giving 110%, for doing the stuff she doesn’t love as well as the stuff she does and for having a wicked sense of humour! She never fails to make those around her laugh & smile! Absolute pleasure to have in every class.
Shout out from Coach Leila to Joannie Nakakawa-Hampson. Since starting she has gone from strength to strength. She even surprises herself some weeks. From not being able to perform sit-ups when she started. She is now smashing out weighted sit-ups as well as RX’ing the running in Wednesday WOD’s. Keep up the good work
Finally A MASSIVE CONGRATULATIONS from all the coaches to Kate Shlugman and her new husband Harrison who finally got married, in a wonderful setting in Crete, this month. We know you have both waited a long time for this and we all wish you the love and happiest in the world in your future together.
PODCASTS
Team! Guess what? We’re back once again…
This time, Ellie and I (James) discuss a selection of training hacks that we know of and, in most cases, use ourselves. Expect to learn how to avoid losing jewellery, how to avoid missed sign-in charges, what to do if you just can’t get on with protein shakes, how to stop procrastinating while training time and much more.
We had so many hacks for this episode that we are splitting it into two, so sit back and spend the next 20 minutes enjoying part one.
We love hearing your thoughts and if you have hacks of your own, send them over! If we get enough, we may even do a part 3 with the stuff we’ve learnt from you!
Have a great week team and as always, be sure to have a lovely day!
Is well worth a listen and you can do that on Spotify here!
GYM NOTICES
New stash orders!
The order sheet is on the Den and we can’t wait to see lots of the two new designs being rocked by you guys and girls! First order will be going in before the BH weekend so get your orders on fast!
The Queen’s Jubilee:
There is an extra BH the WB 30/05 – both Thursday and Friday are BH’s and the opening hours of the gym will be impacted by them. Our opening hours will be 0700 – 1400, on both days, with 3-4 classes each day and plenty of open gym. We will expand open gym as much as possible around class times and Wodify will be updated to reflect this and the reduced open times as of next week. The weekend following the BH will be usual weekend hours.
Parking: YES…AGAIN. But it’s important we need to all be a part of managing the limited space we have a little better…please…
– 7AM please wait for 6AM to leave (we will finish the class 2 minutes early so they can leave before you park)
– If you park in front of the ROLLER SHUTTER please pull all the way up to it if there is space or as close to the car in front at you can!
– YOU CANNOT park in the electrical centre or Johnstones paint BETWEEN THE HOURS OR 0645 & 1730 (1730 & onward evening classes you are OK to use the full car park) – they are working businesses who need their own parking spaces. Please make full use of what we have, the side street by the RSPCA & the slip road on by Bristol Gas.
– LOOK OUT FOR CARS! Sounds silly but if you are on foot or a bike please don’t not walk or cycle behind moving vehicles. It is a tight, busy space and you have wider visibility than the drivers so please walk to the edge of the car park and around to the front door if it is busy
Gym etiquette – sounds fancy, it really isn’t! It just helps us create a nice environment for all to be and train in….
Lateness – we know it is occasionally unavoidable but people who are regularly late will be asked to attend a later class. Arriving late is both unsafe (as you miss the warm up) and disrupts the class for everyone else.
Packing away after class – We start together so we finish together. Where workouts are ‘For time’ and we all finish at different times, everyone waits for the last person in their class to finish the workout before any kit gets packed away. If you finish before others enjoy the extra time to recover and cheer on those who are still working.
OPEN GYM:
Noise – The noise often coming from open gym, whilst a coach is talking through the session or explaining movements, is too great. We understand there is going to be some noise but talking loudly across open gym, repeatedly dropping barbells or assault bike sprints make it very hard for the coach to be heard which impacts the members’ experience in class. In an ideal world we would have a bigger space but we do the best we can with what we have. To ensure it is a nice space for all to use please be mindful of what is going on in the class and if a coach is delivering instruction please be respectful and keep the noise down.
Training in class spaces – On occasion, when classes are quieter, you can ASK the coach if you can use a class space. Please be prepared for them to say no and accept it if they do, they will have their reasons.
Don’t be a creep – Please also ensure you don’t creep into more than 1 space and start to encroach on members in class. You may be experienced and comfortable doing burpees right up next to someone in class….they may not be so comfortable.
Safety – Hitting high percentage lifts and bailing in close proximity to other members is never OK.
MEMBERS FACEBOOK GROUP:
ARE YOU ON OUR MEMBERS ONLY FACEBOOK GROUP? It’s an awesome little place to ask questions, find out information or just share funny memes or moments from the gym. If you aren’t a member but would like to be please follow this link and request access.
Members FaceBook Group
DOES YOUR WORKPLACE NEED TO GET OUT MORE?
Do you work in an office near by and think training with us and your colleagues once a week is something you would all benefit from?! Have a look at the page and pass it on to your workmates if you think they might be interested!
https://valesco.fitness/vfc-
We offer weekly sessions, for local businesses, to come in and workout with their colleagues! Through fully coached training sessions, we help companies and their staff get fit, build stronger working bonds and have some fun during the working day.
Gone are the days of working through your lunch break & role play playing team activities! Group workouts that improve the health of your team, concentration in the office and team dynamics is where it is at!
EXBAND.FITNESS
HAVE YOU JOINED THE EXBAND GAINZ TRAIN YET?
These are 15 minutes fully coached pre recorded sessions that you can do anywhere at any time so what’s not to love? You even get to see some familiar Valesco faces!!
If you are looking to build endurance in your muscles, prevent injury or generally just look and feel better THIS IS FOR YOU and with only 15 minutes of your day? You’re getting a huge bang for your buck.
With a two-week FREE trial and only £7.99 per month after that it’s a bit of a steal.
EXBAND.fitness to get signed up or https://www.instagram.com/exband.fitness/ to see what all the fuss is about – go on, give us a follow…….please!
PUP CORNER
Hey Pup Fans,
It’s Finn and Harley here and we have been told that there is a bumper Bank Holiday weekend coming up when the hoomans get 4 weekend days at once.
We love the weekend days. Means we get a nice snuggle in the hoomans bed (not allowed in there at all in the week, huff!), drink their cold tea and get extra long walks and an adventure or two.
They said something about the Queens Jubilee?!? Apparently its celebrating Her Majesty The Queen becoming the first British Monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee, seventy years of service, having acceded to the throne on 6th February 1952 when Her Majesty was 25 years old. The Queen is 96 years old and for us to reach that age we would need to hit 13.7 dog years…. unlikely with our nose for chaos!!
So on that note we thought we would share with you how we look after ourselves to live as long as possible. We have listed our pawsonal favourites below;
- Get plenty of sleep. Mum reckons we are only awake for about 5 hours a day, its amazing the mayhem we can cause in such a short amount of time
- Eat well. Luckily this is looked after for us but we do like to steal the odd treat when no one is looking
- Stay Hydrated. Plenty of fresh water for us each day….goodness knows what would happen if we had sugar or caffeine
- Plenty of exercise and fresh air. We LOVE our walks and we always nag the hoomans to take us out everyday…. even on the days they are feeling a little lazy
- Limit your alcohol intake. We act a bit daft all the time without this but we do know you hoomans like to get a bit giddy sometimes, just maybe not too often
Anyway gotta go….mischief to cause…
Loves you bye,
Finn and Harley xx
COACHES CORNER
This months Coaches Corner is written by Coach Steve and it’s all about consistency.
Don’t underestimate the power of consistency
We all may have different things that are motivating us for going to the gym and training. It might be to lose weight, stay/become more healthy, run a marathon, improve your performance in your chosen sport or to get in shape for holiday. One thing that we all have in common though is that motivation has its highs and lows and some days we really can’t be arsed! I can assure you EVERYONE feels like that from time to time and you are not alone. But it’s how you respond to that feeling that matters. What can we do to keep going when our enthusiasm gets super low?
You might be able to think of several things now we talk about it but one of the most important things you can do is consistency. Consistency is key to succeed at what you are trying to achieve. I am directing this more towards the topic of the gym and training at the moment but it is applicable to anything.
Our health is one of the most important things that we have for ourselves in life and our personal fitness (and it’s important to point out here that it is exactly that – PERSONAL. Because it is different for everyone) plays a big part in happiness and what we can get out of life in terms of longevity but also quality of life. So it is important we allow ourselves the time to keep fit and improve our overall health.
Make it easy for yourself – what is the best time of day for you to train that fits in around your other commitments in life like work and/or taking the kids to school. Pick a time that you are relatively confident you would realistically be able to stick to.
If you find yourself struggling with consistency make sure you have clarity on what it is you are trying to achieve. Also, take time to make sure what you want to achieve now is what you wanted to achieve a year ago, 6 months ago or even last week. Things change, our circumstances change and that means our routine may need to change in order to be consistent in reaching what we are setting out to do.
You may be aware of James Clear, author of atomic habits. He has a rule – Never miss twice. He argues that missing a habit once isn’t the end of the world and doesn’t affect you in the long term. It’s missing it twice, three times or even four that gets you. ‘One mistake is just an outlier. Two mistakes is the beginning of a pattern.’ If you can avoid missing your routine more than once that is what will benefit you. It might be that you just don’t have it in you to give the 110% or even 80% of what you would normally give but it’s the act of just turning up that counts and the rest will follow.
Don’t underestimate the power of consistency!
Healthy Picnic Recipes and Ideas
Healthy Picnic Recipes and ideas
So instead of one recipe this month we thought we would share a whole load with you in readiness for Valesco’s Annual Summer Picnic. If any of you make any of these delicious looking dishes, there will certainly be plenty of space on our picnic blankets for you. They look incredible!!
Until Next Time, Big Love Team Valesco xxx
Save The Date
Summer Social – Outdoor Games and Picnic – Saturday 11th June
Scale It Up – 4 of a Kind – Sunday 3rd July. Registration is OPEN
Valesco is 7 years old. Birthday Party – Saturday 10th September
Scale It Up – Safety in Numbers – Sunday 9th October. Registration is OPEN
Strength in Depth Finals weekend – 26th and 27th November
The Valesco Christmas Party – Saturday 10th December
Who Wore It Best
We literally thought we were seeing double in this 7am class with Justin Luton and Robin Lewis sporting almost identical outfits…and then they chose to workout next to each other! Strong twining guys.
Have you turned up looking the same as another Valesco member? Then we want to see. Send your snaps to hi@valesco.fitness to be in the next newsletter. We love seeing them!