The FINANCIAL — Leading a healthy life is becoming more and more of an active issue in Georgia, but what does the term essentially mean? Eating the right food, exercising daily, and saying no to bad habits are the keys to leading a healthy life, but is it that simple?
Leading a healthy life is key to success in both one’s private affairs and career prospects. “I have seen many who have changed their self-perception and as a result become happier after following our advice of a combination of exercise and leading a healthy life,” said Tea Shengelia, CEO of Prime Fitness, fitness clubs located in Vake and Gldani districts. Prime Fitness is the member of IHRSA since 2008 year.
“When an individual looks well he/she becomes more confident. At a job interview, between two candidates with the same experience and qualifications, the one with better looks and confidence is likely to be chosen. When an individual exercises on a regular basis and is in ideal physical form, this supports them as well as the employer,” added Shengelia.
How can one manage to lead a healthy lifestyle, especially on a regular basis? Start the day with exercise. From the morning it is recommended to spend a minimum of 30 minutes jogging in the fresh air, swimming is also recommended. Weight lifting exercises are recommended in the second half of the day. “Systematic exercising is quite important. An individual should exercise a minimum of an hour and a half, 3 times a week, and sustain that level of activity, to qualify for the category of those living a healthy life,” said Shengelia.
“From the early morning one should pay attention to your health. As well as physical exercise you should support a healthy lifestyle through nutrition and saying no to bad habits. From the morning it is recommended to have a light breakfast which should consist of 30% of one’s daily amount of food consumed,” Shengelia declared.
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Exercising should be in balance with eating. According to Shengelia it is not advised to have a meal within the 2 hour period after exercising. If an individual exercises in the evening it is recommended they have cottage cheese, yogurt and fruit. Moreover, there should be a break of 3-4 hours between meals.
At breakfast one can have fruit, dairy products and bread. “At lunch it is recommended to have meat or fish, while for supper – fish, fruit, and dairy products are all advised as they are low in calories,” said Eka Topuridze, doctor/dietician at Prime Fitness.
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Topuridze advises one consume on average 1,200-1,500 kilocalories per day, with a healthy diet including all the nutrients necessary for the human organism such as albumen, fat and carbohydrates. For those with weight problems 1,000 kilo calories are recommended per day.
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Shengelia says there has been a noticeable increase in interest in leading a healthy lifestyle in the past three years. However she believes that 40% of those who visit fitness centres and exercise do it due to it being a new trend rather than for the serious reason of improvement of their health and physical abilities.
“There is a tendency to be interested in cardio and mechanical gym equipment. Moreover, different types of aerobics have become quite popular in Georgia. At Prime Fitness what we are most proud of is our aqua aerobics, which not only supports correction of the body but is the first medicine to treating diseases and helps problems with veins, the spine and varicose diseases,” said Shengelia.
As Shengelia declares, yoga is one of the most popular services provided by Prime Fitness. At present, the club offers different levels of yoga, with groups for beginners, middle and higher levels.
“When we started forming yoga classes there was a fear factor present as it was considered by many of our clients not advised from a religious point of view. However, after time people’s mentality changed as they became aware that yoga is a useful exercise for improving one’s health,” Shengelia said.
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Fitness, massage, rehabilitation, pool and solarium are included in the full package of services designed exclusively for Prime Fitness clients. Moreover, gym equipment is available to help individuals develop different muscles.
“Prime Fitness is constantly trying to implement new aqua aerobics programmes for its loyal clients. We constantly update our programmes, subscribe to licensed programmes, discuss and implement them. Moreover, we have one of the best post-operation and post-injury rehabilitation offices, which is lead by methodologist Avto Mikaberidze. The combination of various types of gym equipment and the pool gives individuals the opportunity to rehabilitate after injuries sustained by the body,” said Shengelia.
There have been many changes at Prime Fitness in 2010, and many surprises still lie ahead. The fitness centre has implemented new programmes in aqua aerobics and added cardio equipment.
“We renovated the club and the pool was updated with modern apparatus. We do not use chlorine anymore but have the water ionized, which is better for the health,” declared Shengelia.
Moreover, the club has opened a ballet school where specialists help in figure correction, teaching women how to hold themselves, how to sit and walk properly. There are also classes for children between the ages of 5-12 and for the elderly too.
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In the nearest future Prime Fitness plans to expand and add a third branch to the chain. Moreover, there will be new services added at the Vake Branch from the New Year.
“Prime Fitness will offer a beauty salon. We are preparing a post-traumatic rehabilitation clinic as well as weight-loss clinic and the culmination will be the opening of spa centres. Moreover, we will have a children’s corner, which will give parents the chance to leave their children to play while they are exercising,” said Shengelia.
The weight-loss school will provide the opportunity for individuals to stay at the clinic for a 2 week rehabilitation process. Prime fitness will provide physiological assistance, special exercises and special meals for clients who suffer from obesity over a 1-2 week period of stay. Â
Obesity is now a bigger overall threat to people’s health than smoking, according to results of the longest ongoing health study of adults in the United States. Obesity causes as much or more disease than tobacco which includes 4,000 poisonous substances, says the study conducted by researchers from Columbia University and the City College of New York.
In the early 1900s, one in 150 people were obese. By 1971, the obesity rate climbed to 14%. Forty years later, that number has jumped to 34%. Moreover, the upward trend is set to continue over the next 40 years to peak at 42%.
Being overweight or obese is known to dramatically increase the risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Moreover according to Bloomberg, obese teenagers are 16 times more likely to become severely obese adults than teens of normal weight, new research finds.
“Fast food is very bad for an individual’s health as it is not balanced. Due to the increasing availability of fast food in day-to-day life there is an increase in weight and obesity in the young generations, who are the target audience of junk food,” said Topuridze.
There are several ways to fight obesity, including drastic diets and surgery. However the best is definitely a healthy regime of daily exercise. “I am against severe dieting as when an individual undergoes physical hunger and everything is forbidden them, they do not have the will to exercise and are in a bad mood. Consequently it is better to spend more time exercising and eating healthy food. However if one has to eat calorific food it is better to have it in the first half of the day and in the second half to eat lighter food such as cottage cheese, yogurt and fruit,” said Shengelia.
Smoking is the second most harmful thing for a healthy life. “Smoking is a cause of vein oppression, as not enough blood is being circulated and consequently not enough oxygen is delivered to the brain. This inevitably leads to serious problems,” said Topuridze.
Daily exercise helps one get rid of bad habits such as smoking. As Shengelia declares, in the first stage of quitting they support club members through consultation, and later on through intensive exercise clients themselves have the will to quit cigarettes.
“If an individual wants to run 10-12 kilometres per day and is a smoker, it would be more difficult for him than for a non-smoker. The individual might have problems with breathing while exercising, or be unable to exercise correctly due to consuming unhealthy food and smoking, consequently, the individual becomes obliged to get rid of bad habits if they wish to be in peak physical condition,” declared Shengelia.
The prices of club membership and services differ in the Gldani and Vake chains. The prices are lower in Gldani which is due to the fact that there is no pool. The fitness centre at the Gldani branch is from 60 GEL to 150 GEL, which includes equipment, steam and dry saunas, as well as the Jacuzzi. In the Vake branch this service also includes the pool and so prices vary from 100-230 GEL.
The prices of aerobics vary from 60-80 GEL, aqua aerobics which is only available in the Vake chain costs 120-160 GEL for 8-12 lessons. The prices for massage are individual and depend on the type, with prices varying from 20-60 GEL.
“There will be approximately a 5-10% price increase from the new year. Due to the fact that we are adding new services, the packages will be renewed and there will be on average a 10-15 GEL increase in overall prices,” said Shengelia.
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