Griffen Fitness - Newsletter

September newsletter

Greetings healthy people,

You are now receiving this newsletter from the headquarters of Griffen Fitness Limited. As the Director of the board, I welcome you to September’s newsletter. Not much has changed, although you’ll notice the new Griffen Fitness logo above and see the website www.griffenfitness.com kicking about, so what’s in store? Stay tuned!

Highland Boot Camp logo I’m excited as the Highland Boot Camp is booking well and we have also released our winter dates for the Edinburgh Boot Camp. Life Coach Eilidh Macdonald-Harte and I also organise corporate boot camps if your workplace could do with a bit of energising.

What’s in Season for September
It's good to eat seasonal fruit and vegetables, so here's a list of what's in season locally:

VEGETABLES
Artichoke, aubergine, beetroot, broad beans, broccoli, carrots, courgettes, cucumber, fennel, french beans, garlic, kohlrabi, mangetout, onions, peas, potatoes (maincrop), radishes, rocket, runner beans, sorrel, turnips, watercress

FRUIT
Apricots, blackberries, blueberries, cherries, gooseberries, kiwi fruit, loganberries, melons, raspberries, redcurrants, strawberries, tomatoes

Easy Recipe: Bruschetta
Lovely ripe tomatoes are in season, and now if the best time of year to eat fancy tomatoes on toast aka bruschetta. Tomatoes are packed full of vitamins and antioxidants, including Lycopene (which is meant to have protective qualities against some cancers). This simple recipe is really tasty for a snack or starter.

One unsliced loaf of proper bakery bread, experiment with your favourite
Ripe tomatoes, I use ½ a tomato per slice
Handful of basil, ripped
Good quality olive oil
Ground black pepper
Clove of garlic, halved

-    Slice the bread medium thickness and brush both sides of each slice with olive oil
-    Finely dice the tomatoes and mix in basil, black pepper and balsamic vinegar (optional).
-    Grill the bread so lightly browned on both sides, then rub each side with half a clove of garlic.
-    Heap the topping on each slice just prior to serving.

Fad or Fab: Blisters no more
Do you get blisters when running? I do, especially if my feet are hot at the end of a long run. I thought I had tried everything, including meths on the feet, Compeed and blister-preventing socks (see November 2007 Fad or Fab) all of which had little effect. Imagine my joy when Rat Race teammate Ian introduced me to the simple solution of zinc oxide tape. It’s basically an easy-tear adhesive tape that you can strap any problem spots with. It is very gentle to tender skin and prevents rubbing. Add to this, you can pick it up from any good running shop for a couple of quid. Truly fabulous!

Bodywork: Facial Gymnastics
“Facial gymnastics?” I hear you ask “What on earth is that?” These were exactly my thoughts when I first heard of this natural alternative to a facelift. The premise behind facial gymnastics is that you learn a number of exercises to help tone facial muscles and therefore help prevent wrinkles. Gurn yourself beautiful, if you will. I went along for three sessions of Dr Hauschka facial gymnastics with Lorrie at Anthyllis to find out for myself. I was intrigued by the idea that you can exercise your face in the same way you can exercise your arms, legs and torso. Does it work though? It’s still early days, however after doing the brow lift exercise I definitely felt I was holding less tension in my forehead. I was never aware that I could hold tension in my face. I have to admit, it did feel a little silly at times, but if it works, why not?

Lorrie has very generously offered newsletter subscribers 33% off, book in for 3 one hour sessions for £100 (instead of £150). Phone 0131 313 2001 or email mail@anthyllis.co.uk

Website of the month: Be Resourceful!
There’s loads of good information on fitness out there, and not just online. Edinburgh City Libraries now has a free reservation service. That’s right, if you have an Edinburgh Library card, you can reserve for free, ANY book from the library you like. I like to reserve the latest exercise books and cookbooks, which I then pick up from my closest library. Just visit http://prism.edinburgh.gov.uk/TalisPrism/index.jsp with you library card and PIN number. Also, if you’re a member of LoveFilm, did you know that you can borrow exercise DVDs? Something to keep you entertained in the darker months perhaps…

Article of the Month: A Manifesto for a healthy Leith
(from the August edition of The Leither magazine)
We’re inundated with information telling ‘Leithers’ how lucky we are to live in Leith now it’s ‘up and coming’. Leith residents are told that we’re a unique and vibrant community. We’re reliably informed that there is a wealth of investment in the area. But are our leisure facilities improving? Is all this investment just going into identikit block shape housing and long-term transport plans (ahem)?

As a vibrant and cohesive community Leith needs to stand up and make demands. Right now. Here is a makeshift manifesto, if you will, of demands for leisure facilities for the good people of Edinburgh’s port, the deeeelightful Leithers, who have put up with so much for so little in return. Perhaps I should have been a politician rather than a Personal Trainer, but I prefer the job of running around parks, so here goes:

For every big block of flats that are built in a hurry, we want just a wee bit more public space. The more people in the area, the more space we require.
We would like our public spaces to be kept as nice and clean as Inverleith Park or any of the nice private gardens on Queen Street who have their own gardeners. We welcome more environmental wardens to slap on the wrist doggy poo non-cleaners. Pilrig Park can be a messy minefield…
More regular sweeping of the local cycle paths would make passage less treacherous on the ol’ tyre rubber.
It would be wonderful if the numerous watering holes in the area were to offer more inspiring non-alcoholic options – Roseleaf officially lead the way with their fresh juices.
An outdoor circuit would be fabulous, and feasible for Leith Links. Chin up bars, step up platforms, and tricep dip benches positioned in a circuit would encourage more folk to exercise outdoors. The more folk who are seen exercising publicly, the more ‘normal’ it will become and then the more ingrained in our culture it will be. I’m thinking here of the proliferation of folk I witnessed exercising outdoors in Bangkok and Hong Kong on recent visits. OK, the weather is warmer there, but who wants to be exercising in tropical heat? If anything, Edinburgh has the perfect weather for exercising and not sweating profusely.
Having chatted with a friendly bod from the Leith Community centre in Kirkgate I discovered that their sports hall is fully booked with a waitlist. We need more covered space for community groups to meet and get active, especially in the darker months when not everyone wants to be outdoors. How much would a sports hall / activity venue cost compared to a tram?
What about a fulltime leisure officer for Leith? Pie in the sky? Or a sensible way to help us reach the ‘healthy living’ targets the powers that be have set. How are we going to tackle obesity without adequate resources? So many questions!
More support for community organisations like Greener Leith and Transgression Skatepark who have already got off their lardy rears and are doing something about it. And that means you, dear reader. Get active!
Support local eateries who are busting a gut to serve healthy nosh to all and sundry. One-man wonder Paolo, who runs Spicy Pot right next to the Balfour Bar, Leith Walk is a fab example – lovely fresh salad and affordable gourmet grub, bring it on!

So if you didn’t have ants in your pants about the leisure provisions in Leith before, I hope this has made you truly scratch about your Y-fronts. If you’re a Leither, see below for a very special giveaway.

And Finally… A Bicycle Bell bonanza giveaway
Greener Leith have generously donated eight We love Leith bike bells to giveaway. Simply email me at tracy@griffenfitness.com with your idea for a healthier Leith for your complementary bell. Click here to read more on the new We Love Leith local shopping campaign. They’re looking for local businesses who can help. Greener Leith are also organising a free event on the afternoon of Sunday 20th September where The Shore will be shut to traffic and open to good times. Come along!

:)
Tracy

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Contents

September newsletter