Sara Venter
How lucky can a girl get
I was a 400m hurdler for many years. I have competed for RAU open athletics club
and Gauteng at SA’s. I stopped running about four years ago and for three months
did no exercise. I was highly frustrated at the time as before that I was training
for 2 hours a day, 7 days a week and then was not exercising at all. This has been
a huge change for my body and mind to deal with. So I decided to join the gym. I
have been using the Virgin Life Care HealthZone machine since I joined and it is
a great tool to monitor and track my measurements. The result of using the HealthZone
is that I’m more motivated to improve my health and training regime.
Virgin Life Care ran a campaign whereby if you measure yourself regularly at the
HealthZone you could win a trip to paradise. I thought I might as well carry on
as usual and see what happens. To my surprise I received a call to say that I won
a trip to Barra Lodge in Mozambique for two PLUS a Nikon Camera, Nikon Binoculars
and a Mellerware travelling iron. I had to keep on pinching myself to make sure
this is not a dream…. but it was for real. Who would have thought that you could
be rewarded for looking after yourself. This is what Virgin Life Care has just done
for me and it was so easy!
I love using the HealthZone before every workout. It motivates me, and in a way
it puts me in touch with a holistic approach to what is required to stay healthy.
This has been a win-win situation for me and I would recommend everyone to use the
HealthZone. Look what happened to me – I’m off to Mozambique!
Bon voyage!
Thanks Virgin Life Care.
Faruk Areff
Eating and exercising better to control diabetes
Faruk first started using Virgin Active in January, 2005. Although he realised he
needed to improve his body mass index, weight and body fat %, he wasn’t too worried
about changing his lifestyle. However, when he was diagnosed with diabetes that
December, he became determined to eat better, exercise more often and monitor himself
regularly:
He started to use the HealthZone consistently; measuring himself at least 8 times
per month.
To lower his cholesterol, he made big changes to his diet: cutting out all the fats,
sugary foods and his favourite; cheese! He also replaced high Glycemic Index (GI)
foodstuffs (like white bread) with low GI alternatives.
He began to eat more fruit and although not a vegetable lover made the effort to
increase his intake of vegetables.
He followed a regular training routine in the gym: cycling for 20 minutes, using
the toning circuit for 5, the treadmill for 20 (10 for walking, 10 to jog) and finishing
up with 15 in the steam room. While the cheese-and-sweet lover in him suffered,
by the 1st of February, 2008, he had lost over 23 kilograms!
Losing the weight made him feel much healthier in body and mind. He no longer felt
tired/lethargic and the word can’t no longer exists in his vocabulary
He’s a happier person and is determined not to gain all that weight ever again:
all his six-monthly glucose and cholesterol blood tests reveal that he has these
well-controlled.
To add to his success, Faruk was the lucky winner of a trip to the Protea Hotel
Kruger Park courtesy of Virgin Life Care!
Leonardo Snyman
Getting better results
I’m Leonardo Snyman and I’m 25 years old. I’ve been training for years, but have
never really seen results ): ! Although I have always been fit, I really struggled
to stay motivated to go to my Club.
At the beginning of 2008, I decided to change my gym routine and eating habits.
I started to go to the gym everyday, stopped eating junk food and took up mountain
biking. Tracking my results with the HealthZone at Virgin Active has been of great
help. Using it helps me set goals for weight, body fat % and body mass index.
After following a healthy eating plan and exercising regularly, I have lost the
excess weight and feel great!
Eric Tshetlho
Losing weight through regular gym use… and no beer
When I first started using my Club, I weighed 85kg at the HealthZone. When my doctor
told me I was obese, I felt bad. I used to drink beer. I asked my doctor if the
beer has any effect on my weight and he said yes. I stop drinking beer and my weight
dropped to 66kg!
The gym has worked for me and I’m glad. I try my best to go to the gym at least
three times in a week. I do not have any regrets: It’s better to have a healthy
weight than beer!
Johan Lesch
There are worse things than a HealthZone
This is my journey so far: I was on annual leave in 2005, it was my sisters’ wedding
and I was really enjoying myself. I had been overweight my whole life and was used
to it: Just before I left Cape Town the wedding photos came back and I was shocked
at how fat I looked. The smoke before my eyes lifted and I decided there and then
that I will change. I returned to Kimberley on the 5th of December 2005 and bought
myself a scale; my diet would start on the 6th!
I have been to the gym off and on for most of my high school years but never ever
followed a diet. I weighed in at 125.7 and for my height (1.82) I was severely obese.
I followed the Body for Life program initially and from there I consumed all the
information I could regarding bodybuilding and good nutrition.
At first, I never used the thing in front of the gym where you measure yourself
(Virgin Life Care HealthZone). Let’s face it; that station is probably the most
intimidating station in the gym except maybe for the chin-up bar!
The first time I used it was on the 16th of February, 2006: I was shocked that I
measured in at 32. body fat % and 114.3 kgs. Keep in mind at this point I had been
on diet for more than two months and lost more than 11kg… makes you think what my
body fat % would have been at the start maybe more than 40%.
I haven’t reached all my targets yet but I am making strides every day; my final
target is to be under 10% body fat and weigh between 90kg and 100kg. Currently I
weigh 94.5 (still weigh myself everyday, bad habit) and according to THAT station
at the gym, which is not that intimidating anymore my body fat now stands at about
21%.
After two years living healthy and joining the movement: Weight: 125.7kg to 94.5kg
Body fat %: 32.1% to 21% Emotional state: Feeling crappy to feeling great!
Thanks Virgin Active and Virgin Life Care!
Bill Wain
High blood pressure won’t get me down
I'd got caught up with home renovations and wasn't finding time to go to Virgin
Active. In February I started getting headaches, which kept returning as soon as
the headache pills wore off. I'd been for a full medical last year and so didn't
suspect any other problems with my health.
My son, who is a medical student and keen gym-goer, encouraged me to get back to
the gym. To be honest, the main reason I returned was to check my blood pressure
at the HealthZone; it turned out to be quite elevated - a bit of a wake-up call!
Now, I try to go to the gym twice a week, checking my blood pressure before each
session. I have also been walking around the neighbourhood in the mornings with
my wife and daughter. Within two weeks my blood pressure was back to normal, and
I haven't had another headache.
I'd been threatening to cancel my membership, because I just wasn't utililizing
it enough. Deep down though, I knew that if I could only discipline myself to get
there, it was good for me. And the strange thing is that when I'm there, I always
enjoy it!
So I'm back on track, and hope to be a more regular Club-user now. It's proved that
just a little exercise can make a big difference!
Liana Petzer
A healthier lifestyle
I joined Virgin Active in July, 2007, because I realized that I had to start a healthier
lifestyle by eating and exercising better. I didn’t know where to start and booked
a few sessions with a personal trainer, Jacques, at my Club.
Jacques worked out a training and eating program for me. When Jacques did an assessment
on me, it shown that I had 30kg to loose and my fitness level was almost non-existent:
my resting heart rate was 94 and my body fat % was 36.7%! Today, 8 months later,
I am 17kg lighter, my resting heart rate is 58, my body fat % is 22 and I scored
a good rating on my latest Virgin Life Care health and fitness assessment!
I know I am not at goal yet, but I feel great and love my new lifestyle. I enjoy
going to my Club 4 to 5 times a week and am really motivated to achieve my health
targets when I do my next assessment.