IT’S VFC’S NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER…AND ITS ALL ABOUT CHRISTMAS!!
Hey Team and welcome to Novembers newsletter and its only right that we can now officially start banging on about Christmas and everything happening at VFC.
As we have been going on about for sometime we will be holding the VFC Annual Christmas Party at Klosterhaus House in town. The food orders are in the process of being submitted, the drinks have been ordered so all you now need to sort is your outfit….eeekk.
Regardless whether you are joining us or not for the evening do we would love for you to come and join in our Christmas WOD on the same day being held at the same time at both locations. It’s going to be a lot of fun, Christmas tunes playing and Christmas jumpers and socks are VERY much encouraged. Amy might even get the reindeer outfit again, if you ask her nicely!
Talking of annual events we will be hosting the prestigious VFC Awards again this year and the survey will be out shortly for you to register your votes on all the usual VFC categories. From Best Dressed to most improved and everything in-between, each one needs a winner and that’s up to you! Winners will be announced on the 10th December at the Christmas Dinner.
As a heads up classes will be cancelled across sites the day after the Christmas Party (and if you saw poor Coach Ella last year you will understand why) but Leanne will be hosting a nice easy flow restorative yoga session as usual at 9am at St Werbs and 11am at St Philips. These are bookable through the usual apps and no doubt will be well sort after so please only book in advance if you are sure that thick head won’t be keeping you in bed.
Talking of thick heads (this is flowing nicely along) Harley and Finn have some tips for what seems like a month long marathon of eating, drinks and celebrating in pup corner so check it out.
And talking of pups we have two new ones to welcome to the Valesco pup pack and two to say goodbye to (and of course their humans) who are heading for pastures new to this month.. For all the information check out Coach’s Corner from our Head Coach Ellie re this month coaches updates.
A few festive notes in this month’s newsletter so grab a snowball (whoooo?) and settle in for a good old read.
Thank you for another month of love, support and all round positiveness. We really appreciate all of you making Valesco what it is.
Lots of love,
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 Amy to Dan Griffiths and Rod Brandao V2. “They have absolutely thrown themselves into everything we offer and are making massive improvements in their movement patterns. They are great guys to have in class and have made loads of friends already. Regular in the Barbell class and Sunday Sweat to…thats commitment for you.”
Shout out from Coach Ella to Christa Kaizer and John Pratt in the V2 morning Crew. “Week in and week out they’re in bright and early ready to smash their sessions. Always lovely to have in class too!”
Also from Coach Ella “Monty V1 6am crew – he’s been putting loads of work into his kipping skillz and working towards his kipping pull ups. The progress he made throughout the latest block was awesome”
Shout out from Coach Will to Tony Bhajam “gives it 110% every class and has been working on cues to improve. He smashed his Front Squat PB in test week. Keep chipping away mate and believe in yourself”.
From Coach James to Matt Patman and his lad Oli. “Admittedly I’ve only coached his dad but the interest and excitement he’s showing at a young age is awesome and there are so many other things he could be choosing to spend his time doing – but he’s choosing to spend it getting fit and strong. It’s cool to see him watching others so intently and really wanting to learn while he’s in the gym, taking on board all the advice from Gem and his dad. Kids going to be beast! Also deserves a shout out to Dad for being so supportive and encouraging of such a cool thing”
Also from Coach James to India Jenkins. “Quite new to Valesco but is regular and consistent with classes, both during the week and in team workouts and/or Sunday Sweat on the weekends. She works hard and looks to have settled into the community really well! Always lovely to have in a class and is moving better and looking stronger each time I coach her!”
GYM NOTICES
The new 12 week cycle – what can I expect?
We hope you are enjoying the start of the new cycle with some new movements thrown in. We have included a breakdown of all the days and movements below, so if you didn’t make it in last week here is what you are in for;
Monday – Pause Back Squats
Tuesday – Push Press with some great strict complexes thrown in
Wednesday – Metcon Mayhem remains (as if we would take it away from you, we know you all love to hate it)
Thursday – Strict Handstand Push Ups – moving to Kipping the second half of the cycle.
Friday – Deficit Deadlifts
Weightlifting is working on that pesky Power Clean and Gymnastics is focusing on Pull Ups, so no need to lose or slow those gainz from the previous 12-week cycle.
THE VALESCO CHRISTMAS PARTY!
SATURDAY 10TH DECEMBER – TEAM WOD 9.30AM AND EVENING DO FROM 7.30PM!
Whether you are booked in for the evening do or not we would love to see you for a workout in team WOD at 9.30am being held at both VFC sites. This will be slightly longer than the usual Team WOD so clear 2 hours in your diary and come and have a festive throwdown with all the Valesco crew.
Muddy Shoes
Please make sure you aren’t bringing in the outside (as much as possible) into our indoor space. It’s a big gym to keep clean and we do our very best but please help us by not wearing trainers into the gym that you have been for a 5 mile muddy hike in. Nobody wants to lie down, do burpees or stretch in a puddle of mud (well apart from Tough Mudder but that’s slightly different). If you do notice you have made a mess please ask the coach for a mop and clean it up.
LuluLemon Bath Discount Voucher
Maddie, our brand new coach has managed to secure a 20% off full price items at LuluLemon in Bath valid between Monday 28th and Sunday 18th December, so if you want a bit of retail therapy and are heading to the Lulu store in Bath drop us an email on stwerbs@valesco.fitness and we will get it sent over to you.
PUP CORNER
Hey Pup fans, its us, the terrible two, Harley and Finn.
First and foremost we wanted to take this chance to welcome Fizzy Cola and Eddie into the Valesco Coaches Pup Pack. We can’t wait to cause more mayhem and nuisance with you and show you the ropes at VFC.
Secondly we wanted to talk about Christmas and how to navigate all the snack and treats, the over indulgence but still have a great time with our loved hooomans.
Unless you are a hermit, it is that time of year again…when everyone wants to ‘do drinkies’ or celebrate – better known as the festive period, or as we like to call it, bulking season.
You have worked hard on your fitness and strength over the last year and understandably, you don’t want it all to go down the loo within a month. We have all been there – had a bit of time off, come back to the gym and thought “What have I done?“ “Why does it hurt so much?”
So our advice on how to train around this?
- Give yourself a break. Everyone deserves a bit of down time. A few nights out will not demolish all your hard work.
- Be realistic. If you are going out with your Christmas jumper on, with the intention of getting a bit giddy, don’t book the 6am class the following day. You will unnecessarily make yourself feel bad for cancelling…plus get a stinger of a fine!
- If you have a night out planned, get an extra session in the day of, or the day before.
- Give yourself a day to recover and come back to training hydrated and rested.
- If your best made plans don’t work, who cares? Nothing happens in January, so you can catch up then.
Give yourself a pat on the back for all of the hard work you’ve put in this year. Think how far you’ve come. Be kind to yourself, and enjoy some downtime!
Love and Licks,
H&F xxx
VFC Vouchers on sale now for Christmas!
Never know what to buy as a gift ?
Bored of the same old tat?
Why not give the best gift of all?
Why not purchase the gift of fitness and all round gainz…and access the best fitness community in Bristol :-)
We have gift vouchers available to buy in person or via email with presentation vouchers available on request.
Maybe a ‘Learn to Lift” course including unlimited membership for 30 days for only £59 would be the perfect gift for you loved one.
Alternatively your loved ones could buy vouchers for you, helping pay towards your membership for just a few weeks or even a year!!
Just ask a coach or drop us an email if you are interested.
COACHES CORNER
This months Coaches Corner is from Coach Ellie and it’s all about the new additional and the sad farewells to the VFC coaching team.
Sarya joined the team last week and we are delighted to have her on the Valesco team! Though coaching part time until she joined Valesco, Sarya took a career change to be with us! She discovered her love of coaching last year and has been carving out a career in the coaching and Functional Fitness arena ever since! Sarya’s ambition is to help people become the best version of themselves and provide them with the happiest hour of their day, and loves being part of a community!
Sarya’s little side-kick is a tiny pooch called Fizz! Another pup joins the pack!
‘Hey, I’m Sarya and I’m the newest addition to the Valesco coaching team. I’ve been coaching for the past year and have been doing functional fitness for about 4! I stumbled upon functional fitness when I decided I needed to push my body and mind more and then fell in love with the community more than anything, everyone is just so nice! I also love to compete. I love helping people become fitter and healthier, in particular helping them realise their potential and making them feel empowered.
My absolute favourite thing to coach is Olympic weightlifting’
Maddie starts with us at the start of December and brings with a wide variety of coaching experience – we cannot wait for her to get started! She has been coaching since 2018 and is passionate about making training sessions that are engaging and accessible for everyone. She loves to develop knowledge, strength and confidence for each individual and getting to know everyone she works with. Maddie also has a dog – Eddie – a big loveable & cuddly Labradoodle – the Valesco pup pack is growing and we love it!
‘Hey I’m Maddie up until now you may have seen me training (dancing around) in open gym but as of December I am excited to be joining the Valesco Coaching team! I started out in the fitness industry back in 2018 and since then have been working as both a Group Fitness Coach and PT. I love delivering high-energy sessions; ensuring you are moving well, getting stronger and feeling more confident in the process. The community is what makes Valesco and I can’t wait to get more involved!’
Both Maddie & Sarya will work across both sites so you all get to work with them and benefit from their knowledge, expertise & high energy!
Sadly we say farewell to Joe this month (sort of)! Joe leaves us for new (very green, literally) pastures as he moves up & left into Wales to pursue his career as Mountain leader and grow his business – Tomahawk!
Joe will still be training with us for a few weeks yet so hopefully you will be able to wish him well next time you see him.
Joe – A huge thank you for everything since you joined the team! Coaches and members alike have learned a great deal from you and we are all sad to see you go!
We wish you all the very best with your move up to North Wales and perhaps one day you will see a few of us on a Tomahawk mountain adventure with you!!
RECIPE OF THE MONTH
With all the potential festivities and being short on time why not get your slow cooker in motion and pop this taste lasagne on the go overnight and pop any leftovers in the freezer ready for…well let’s be honest, you just can’t be arsed to cook. Packing 5 of your day it also has the added bonus of topping up on some good, easily digestible marco and micronutrients to recharge any drained batteries.
Until Next Time, Big Love Team Valesco xxx
Save The Date
The Valesco Christmas Party – Saturday 10th December.
Strength in Depth Finals Weekend – Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th January 2023
2023 Key Dates to be shared next month
Who Wore It Best
It’s a bit of an oldie but we simply love this picture of Barb, Leo and Ellie in their matching purple jumpers….just too cute and perfect for this time of year.
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!