9th March 2016 | Portsmouth

Manager’s Welcome

Firstly I would like to start by saying a big thank you to all those members who have taken the time to personally feedback their experiences of membership at Roko since I joined the club in November.

I believe we are truly creating a listening culture and acting swiftly on the points raised. From the recent forums we have added equipment, began upgrading and decorating the club and improved cleaning standards throughout the club.

On March the 17th at 7pm I would like to hold another Members forum to discuss what we have achieved from the last set of forums and discuss the areas we are still to improve for the next three months.  If you would like to be a part of this group can you please email rk03receptionright@portsmouth.roko.co.uk to register your interest?

Alun Davies, General Manager

Member Offer this Easter Have you been thinking of adding that special someone to your membership or encouraging a friend to start training with you? We think this offer might just make the difference - and will add some much needed cheer to the children at QA Hospital this Easter  Resist temptation this Easter… share an Egg! As a member, join a friend before the 27th March and they will receive NO JOINING FEE.  Simply donate an Easter Egg! All chocolate eggs will be donated to the Children’s Ward at QA Hospital. Contact the membership team for more information on 02392 657799.

Club feedback - You Said, We Did

This month I would like to update you on Januarys discussion points,  bring up the ‘hot topics’ from February and let you know exactly what we have done and what we have planned for the near future!

In January we revealed that we will be fully refurbishing our shower facilities in the spring. These works have been pencilled in to start after the Easter holidays around the 11th of April – more details to follow.

We also informed you of works to the club's audio system that were to be taking place. These works were successfully carried out and we now have a huge database of high quality music across the club. Feedback has been very good – we are still working on the balance of volume levels so please feel free to feedback.

On to February feedback…

You said – “Can you look into the possibilities of further lane ropes in the pool and be clearer on your lesson timetable?”
As of Monday 7th March, we will be putting 3 lane ropes into the pool at all times other than certain swim lesson times. This is on a trial basis and we would love your feedback on how it affects your experience in the club! From this we can look at our timetabling and make adjustments to enhance your swimming experience.

You said – “Your timetabling is extensive, but focuses on high energy classes”
We are looking at a full review of our studio timetable with the intention of offering more variety at peak times. The club will also launch a new junior programme on the 9th and 10th of April offering new and exciting classes for you and your family.

You Said – “Too often cars are speeding in the car park and parking where they shouldn’t be”
In March we will be repainting the Zebra crossing at the bottom end of the car park and some of the car park safety markings. We are also logging registrations of cars parking in places that are unsafe and issuing polite reminders. Discussions have begun regarding how we can better manage car parking, which we hope to share with you going into the summer.

You Said – “General etiquette around the club could be better”
Please find a list of complaints raised in the month and the clubs position on them:

• Bring a gym towel with you to wipe down equipment after use, there’s nothing worse than a sweaty bench or treadmill when you want to workout!
• Use the bathroom and have a quick shower before using the pool and Jacuzzi areas. This allows us to maintain high quality water conditions whilst keeping chemical levels to a comfortable level.
• Please refrain from certain acts of personal grooming in the spa area and changing rooms such as shaving, cutting hair or cutting nails.
• Replace weights and equipment after use. This will allow everyone to use the equipment they want without having to look around the gym floor, which isn’t beneficial for any workout!

Comment cards can be found at Reception and all feedback is welcomed. You won’t find the comment box on reception anymore, but please hand the cards to reception who can find any of the management team to speak to you straight away for an instant response. It is our intention to respond within 48 hours to all feedback.

Fitness News

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome Becca to the fitness team; some of you will recognise her from her role in new member sales. After completing her Fitness qualifications earlier this year Becca had been excited to take the next step in her career. Please join me in making her feel at home on the gym floor!

Becca has already devised this months gym floor challenge the “Dryathlon” This consists of 1km run, 1km row & 5km cycle. So far our Operations Manager, Rob Stroud has the time to beat of 15m 39s which I think is quite impressive! Well done Robert!

You may have noticed a few changes to the gym floor; we have extended the functional area and replace some old equipment with new. The new black matting has now arrived and will be put down early in March. We are looking to move some equipment around to make better use of the space we have so keep an eye out for those changes. On a note of safety can I please remind members that suitable footwear should be worn at all times on the gym floor. This is for your own safety as well as hygiene reasons.  Thanks you in advance for you cooperation with this.

If you have any ideas on how to further improve the gym then please come and speak to me or email sdeakins@portsmouth.roko.co.uk We have lots more planned for this year so please keep an eye out.

Nutrition Advice
Added Sugar is a Disaster, we all know that added sugar is bad. Some think sugar is a simple matter of “empty” calories, while others believe it to cause diseases that kill millions of people each year. It is definitely true that added sugar (sucrose and high fructose corn syrup) contains empty calories. There are no nutrients in it and if you eat a lot of sugar then you’re likely to become deficient because you aren’t getting enough foods that actually have nutrients in them. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. There are other, much more serious dangers of sugar that are now reaching mainstream attention. Sugar, mainly due to the high fructose content, is being implicated as a leading cause of obesity, cardiovascular disease and type II diabetes.

How does fructose do this? Well, fructose is metabolized strictly by the liver, over time causing non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, insulin resistance, elevated triglycerides, abdominal obesity and high cholesterol. Then fructose makes our brains resistant to a hormone called leptin, which effectively makes our brains want to get fat. This way, eating an excess of added sugars sets up a relentless biochemical drive in the brain to keep eating sugar, getting fatter and eating even more sugar.

Source - http://authoritynutrition.com/top-10-nutrition-facts/

Personal Training - Beach Body PT Program!
Sign up to our Summer Body PT Program. Personal Training by Direct Debit 3 month minimum term to ensure you achieve your beach body!
What’s included?

• Initial consultation to discuss your goals and previous exercise history.
• 4x 1 hour Personal Training sessions/month.
• Final consultation to measure your success.
• All this for just £124/month paid by direct debit on the first working day of each month. Ask one of the PT’s for more details.

Group Fitness

Early Morning Classes
Are you an early riser? If you like to exercise early in the day then we run 6:45am classes from Monday to Friday as follows:

• Monday: Grit Strength
• Tuesday: BodyPump
• Wednesday: Indoor Cycling with ab blast, Grit Strength
• Thursday: BodyPump and Grit Cardio
• Friday: Indoor Cycling with ab blast, Grit strength.

Join us for a fantastic fitness session before you start your working day!

New Class
New to our Group Exercise timetable we have ‘BodyPump Express’. This is a 45 minute version of the 60 minute BodyPump class and is on Wednesdays at 7pm. As with all our BodyPump classes please arrive 15 minutes before the class to set up ready to start. For more information on this or any of our other classes please contact achase@portsmouth.roko.co.uk

Hoopshaker
Following the success of Sally’s ‘Hoopshaker’ class in January and February, she will be running another 6 weeks from Thursday 3rd March. The class is on Thursdays at 6pm in studio 1, and is £4 for members and £5 for non-members.

Swimming News

Swimming lessons are due to be rebooked NOW ready to commence again from 14th March 2016 with the next 10 week block of lessons. Remember to get our slips in to re-book, before the lessons are opened up to the waiting lists.

Whether you’re an adult or child, want to learn to swim or improve your stroke- Roko offers a variety of 1-1 or group lessons to both Members and Non-Members.

The swimming programme is delivered by professional, highly trained, motivated teachers who are passionate about teaching swimming. With all our classes being in either our 20m indoor pool or children’s splash pool; we are able to offer to a wide range of ages and abilities; including:

• Parent &Toddler (1-3 yrs)
• Parent & Toddler advanced (3yrs+)
• Junior ASA Swim Programme, levels 1-12 (4yrs+)
• Adult beginner, improver & advanced
• 1-2-1 Lessons for all ages

Roko are very proud to offer a structured awards scheme enabling your child to Progress from beginner to advanced levels; continuously assessed through our ASA programme. For more information or to BOOK your swimming lessons today: Call Becky Jordan (Swimming Co-ordinator) on 02392 651 400 or email: rjordan@portsmouth.roko.co.uk

Bliss Beauty Care

March your way in to our skin centre this month, as we have some irresistible offers on @DermalogicaUK1 retail products.

Throughout March when you buy 2 @DermalogicaUK1 retail products we'll give you a mircozone treatment, totally free!

This month only - buy 3 Dermalogica retail products and receive a free 45 minute @DermalogicaUK1 skin treatment.

30-30-30 from @dermalogicaUK1 available while stock lasts! 30minutes of treatment, 30day's worth of product, all for £30! A perfect Mother's Day gift.

Full price list and opening times available on www.dermalogicaconnect.co.uk/blissbeautycare  call or txt Rachel on 07821666767 to book your appointment.

First Step Nursery

Nursery spaces
We have a few afternoon vacancies in our Pre-school room, but, filling fast, so please do visit and add your child’s name to our waiting list or secure your space with a two week’s deposit and £50 registration fee (no fee for Roko members) to avoid missing out on a space. We currently have no availability for funded only sessions. We will be finalising our conditions attached to 15/30 hour funded sessions next month.

*Special offer – book a minimum of two weekly permanent nursery sessions to commence in March and receive £50 off the first month’s fees.

Come & Play sessions for under two’s

Each Tuesday and Wednesday 2-3pm, come and see what we can offer your baby at our nursery.

Parent/Child events

Visit the website for our annual calendar of events.