First up on the blocks: swimming

Lionel Padial of Oneflow Swimming is geared up for the Women’s Activator Series. He will be coaching participants through pool swims on Thursday evenings in September at the ASB Aquatic Centre.

Mornings and lunchtimes, you’ll usually find Lionel at Riverside Pool working with swimmers of all ages and abilities, from beginner to elite.

“I am passionate about making swimming relaxing and enjoyable for everyone who is keen and firmly believe that swimming with efficiency and ease is open to all who can apply a little regular time and patience,” he says.

Before becoming a swim coach, Lionel competed as a swimmer and then later as an age-group triathlete whilst studying sports science and many of its related subjects.

At the Activator sessions Lionel will be giving participants advice to help make their freestyle strokes more effective. Depending upon the ability of the swimmer, that may take the form of teaching them to:

• breathe more easily for more comfort
• be more balanced and relaxed in the water – this improves performance and pleasure
• swim laps in less strokes for greater efficiency
• swim longer or faster for less/same effort

“All drills are swum very slowly and set at a level where the individual is within their comfort zone and, as confidence and skill increase, the challenge increases.”

Lionel believes that with a little patience and consistency anyone can become a relaxed, efficient swimmer. He promises it will be unlike any other lessons you’ve had before.

Swimming Changes! - please take note.

Due to the popularity of the series we are going to alter the swimming slightly. We are still meeting next Thursday the 4th of September at 7pm, where you will receive your introductory packs and get to meet myself and Lionel (from Oneflow Swimming). We will run two sessions, so on arrival I will split you into two groups, one group will swim first with Lionel while the other group chats with me and you have the opportunity to meet each other! Then we will switch over. For the following two weeks I have then managed to secure us another time slot in addition to the Thursday evenings - which will be from 7-8pm on a Wednesday evening, still under the expert guidance of Lionel. This session will be at Riverside Pool.

If you are keen to swim on the Wednesday night (for the 10th and 17th) instead of the Thursday can you let me know by adding a comment below this post - just click on the comment button and write your name and the day your prefer.

The final Thursday of September will not be at the ASB Aquatic Centre - we have had to move this to Riverside Pool at the earlier time of 6.30pm to allow enough space to conduct our fun indoor tri session. I will let you know more about this next week, but just to give you advance warning.

As always, any questions, please email or ring me.
See you all soon!

Do you need a mountain bike for the OCTOBER sessions?

Some of you have told us that you want to participate in the October mountain biking session, but don't own a bike. We want to see about real numbers of people needing to borrow/rent a bike ... would you fill out our survey?

On the right hand side, scroll down and you'll see the new survey listed. Tell us how many of you need a loaner bike and we'll see what we can do. For those of you who can lend a bike, consider that option.

Our first Event!!

The first event on the calendar to aim towards is the Indoor Tri on the 25th of September. We are having to alter our venue, so the final Thursday in September will now be at Riverside Pool at 6.30pm, (rather than 7pm at ASB Aquatic Centre as advertised). This is to allow enough space to swim, cycle and row! More details to follow soon ....

The Countdown begins

Only 13 days left before the first session of the series. I hope you are as excited as I am! We have had a fantastic response and now have around 30 women signed up. Brillant! Don't forget to introduce yourself on the previous blog post - just click on comments and add your two bobs worth.

Blog away

Please introduce yourself by clicking - comments - below this post, and type a bit about what you're looking forward to, what might be scaring you a little bit ..... just general info to get us all used to this blogging business. This blogspot is here for you - so type away!

CLM Health & Fitness, Riverside

Congratulations to all the women that have signed up for the women’s activator series. What a great opportunity to achieve your fitness goals, have some fun and meet some new friends. We are looking forward to seeing you all in the pool.

Riverside is a Swimming pool & Gym facility in the Nelson City. We also operate Nayland Park Swimming pool in Stoke.

We can help you achieve your goals in cycling, running, swimming and anything else related to Health & Fitness. Call us on 035463221 or click on our website right now for more information www.clmnz.co.nz

Bring on Summer - Let's get active!

Congradulations to all you women who have signed up for the women's activator series.
It looks set to be a fun and exciting few summer months.
I'm certainly looking forward to putting you through your paces on the 27th November.

On the Ball Training - Personal Training Food & Fitness management and lifestyle solutions

On the Ball training is for anyone intimidated by the gym or doesn't have access to one.
It is for those tired of training alone and who want to learn how to exercise or get active in a fun effective way.
Its not about perfection its about being the best you can be and leading a happier, healthier lifestyle.

Most training is in small groups or individual if preferred. We train outside taking advantage of Nelson's ideal climate.
Training outside is much more challenging it burns more calories is better for your lungs, helps to energise you and gives you natural light and that important vitamin D hit.

I am absolutiely passionate about health and fitness and believe in a holistic approach to advocating a healthier happier lifestyle.
Making life long changes takes time and investment but any one can do it.

Always glad of a laugh, chat and thorough workout trainig sessions are fun and motivating.

So lets get out there and get active.

Let me help an support you to achieve your goals.

Carol Cooper
Personal Trainer
On the Ball Training
021 908 539

Poster Girl?

The registrations are streaming in, there is a buzz around the city .... the Nelson Women's Activator Series looks set to be a fantastic experience for all. All the local media seem to want a chunk of it - so we need some poster girl wannabes! If you wouldn't mind being our 'cover woman' on a photo shoot for the Nelson Mail then email me. There will be lots of opportunities over the course of the series, but if you can help for this first one then please do. Thanks to Lisa for being our active woman in the current Live Nelson. So, who is next?

Lisa is keen to give it a go

Registrations are now rolling in for the Nelson City Council Women’s Activator Series, starting Thursday 4 September.

Lisa has signed up for the series and is keen to getting started. That's Lisa on her bike.

“I’m having a ‘big’ birthday next year so I’ve set myself the challenge of trying lots of new things and this will be a great start. I’m keen to do the Taylors Nelson Women’s Triathlon for the first time next year so this programme will really help.”

Lisa already does some road cycling, aerobics, yoga and walking but is a first time mountain biker and not the most confident swimmer.

“I think the sea swim in particular will be a real challenge for me so I’m pleased to be trying it under the guidance of experts, I don’t think I would be game to try it on my own.”

The weekly commitment of the Activator programme will be a real motivating factor, Lisa says. “Going to a session each week will really help me stay on track and as it’s aimed at beginners. I’m sure it will be a really safe and supportive environment to learn in. We can all make our mistakes together! I think it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Swim Pass

Thanks to Riverside Pool and ASB Aquatic Centre who want to help you utilise your new swimming skills and keep practising. They are offering a three month open swim pass for the months of September through to November for $32 (Riverside) and $45 (ASB Aquatic Centre) for all series participants. To sign up for this - tick the box on your registration form and include the money when you register.

More on offer

Great news! Nadja from Nordic Walking Nelson also wants to get involved and offer those interested a chance to try Nordic Walking (the walking with poles). She will be at the Running & Walking Coaching Session for those who would like to give it a go.

What are some of the other events?

The aim is to have one nominated event each month that you can choose to work towards if you want. We are hoping to have an Awards evening at the end of the series to celebrate your success and also recognise those that have completed one or all nominated events.
So just what events are nominated events? September will be the indoor tri. October is an introductory Mountainbike race (5km), November is the Smiths Sports Shoes Mahana Half Marathon or 10km (the first of the Nelson Striders Half & 10km Series). January is the second in the Nelson Striders Series - the Shoe Clinic Nelson Striders Half & 10km, we might have a splash and dash (swim/run) at the beach too, February the Port Nelson Big Bay Bike, and early April the Taylors Nelson Women's Triathlon. More nominated events will be discussed soon ... and hopefully we can organise some discounts for you .... so watch this space!

The Events

The purpose of the series is to get active again and trying new sports that are on offer, but also to challenge yourself to complete some of the many events that are on around the region during the summer. The first event in the series is the Indoor Triathlon - which will be held on Thursday 25th September at the ASB Aquatic Centre. Indoor triathlon - how? Well, you will start off the cycle trainers (like the ones you find at the gym - the stationary bikes except with these ones we put your own bike onto them), then jump onto the indoor rowing machines (Terry from the Nelson Rowing Club can show you the best technique) and then into the swimming pool. You can do the whole triathlon or you can bring the family and do it as a team, or make up a team with your new found exercise buddies from the series. Lots of options.

Swimming Tips/Questions

Hi everyone, if any of you have any questions regarding swimming please ask. The sessions I will be providing in September will be suitable for all levels from beginners to elite and will be very relaxing!!!

If you want any info regarding sessions I run at Riverside and/or Freestyle weekend workshops please email me - coachingsolutions@xtra.co.nz or phone me - 021 129 5645

I look forward to helping you improve your swimming.

Cheers

Lionel

Oneflow Swimming

First up - swimming

We start the series in September with the focus on swimming, and Jacqui from Tasman Gold Masters along with Lionel from Oneflow swimming will be taking you through the technique of swimming. You don't need to be able to swim lengths, we are here to help you gain water confidence, so if you need to use a kickboard, hug the side of the pool, or only swim in the shallow end where you can put you feet down it does not matter. And for those of you who just want help with your technique and put your new skills to the test, the Tasman Gold Masters have lane swimming on at the same time - so you can join in with them as well!

Blogging

The purpose of this Blospot is to allow you to discuss your progress, ask questions and read tidbits from our guest bloggers - the people who will be involved in this series. They will talk about what they will be covering in the sessions and they might add some extra 'reading' material for you to flick through at your leisure to learn even more about their sport.

Registration Form

The Nelson City Council website has all that you need ... get the information and your registration form there or visit the "Useful Links" heading on the right to download the registration form also.

Welcome

Welcome to the 2008/2009 Nelson Women's Activator Series. It is set to be a fun six months of activity (25 sessions) and for just $25 it is unbeatable value. If you have any questions about whether this series is suitable for you then email me at nelsonactivator@gmail.com or set up a post so that others can read the responses too.
This series is all about getting you out there and enjoying what Nelson has to offer - so come on and activate that woman within.