23rd December 2016 | Gillingham

Manager’s Welcome

With new kit arriving and old kit leaving to make space for even more new kit, the club has been busy and we thank you for your patience. We've tried to spread the joy across the gym users this year. New mats and storage are coming for the studio users; in the cardio we've a wide range of state of the art replacing some of the older treadmills and cross trainers; while the free weights area has had a total makeover, with seven new pieces of kit, new dumbells, plates and bars.

We have a few more pieces still to arrive but we are posting updates on facebook, including details on the kit, how to use it, and ideas for fitting it into your program. Keep checking in on Roko's Facebook page for more.

Our fitness team have come up with ten great tips to minimise the impact of excess and maximise your results over the next few weeks. It isn’t about resisting all temptation, but remembering that every pleasure has a price. Also keep an eye out below for our Christmas opening hours and the times of Christmas studio timetable.

Have a great time throughout December and make sure you enjoy yourselves

Rob Brownsword
General Manager

Member Referral Offer

Tell your friends and family about our 12 days of Fitmas Offer:

Christmas Opening Hours

Our Christmas opening hours will be available in club and will also be printed on our Christmas edition of the Group Exercise Timetable but just in case you miss them, here they are.

The Roko Team wish you a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

The Spa

Happy Holidays to everyone from the Spa team.

The most magical month of the year is now here and we would like to invite you all in joining us in the Christmas spirit with some fabulous offers!!!

Step out of the cold weather this December and into our spa to have a refreshing Elemis Eye Detox for only £15.00, saving £10.00.

Or are you still stuck for Christmas presents? Why not try our Luxury Spa Day for £40.00 (until 24th December 2016). It is an amazing offer with the following…

Unlimited Costa hot drinks on arrival
Lunch from the Spa Day Menu
In your will be a locker, slippers, robe and towel
Book into studio classes
Access to the gym, pool, sauna, steam room and Jacuzzi
Decide between one 35 minute Elemis Treatments
  *Sweet Orchid Back Treatment
  *Anti-Ageing Booster Facial
  *Hot-stone Back Ritual

Also, prepare to be beautified over the Christmas period with our excellent Elemis gift set  from £27.50 to £199.00

Fitness News

Top 10 Fitness and Diet Tips for a Guilt Free Christmas

With Christmas parties, office dos, social events, and family get-togethers over the festive period, it is so easy to gain those extra pounds with the abundance  of extra food, which is often composed of more indulgent choices than we would normally make.  So it  is no surprise that on average we gain 5lbs over  the Christmas period, according to The British Dietetic Association.  So here are a few ways you can be sure to keep control of your waistline over Christmas.

Tip 1: MIND OVER CHOCOLATE: As tempting as it is to have one or two of the chocolates left at the reception at work, try and enjoy the taste of will-power more, as these brightly packaged sweets can contain up to 50 calories a time, and more than that, the sugar in them will then make you feel tired, so that you are then more likely to reach for more. So use mind over matter to decline these!!

Tip 2: SPRITZERS WIN: For Christmas drinks, simply make sure you avoid those creamy liqueurs, and instead opt for spritzers, and always add ice to your drinks. And why not be healthy and virtuous with a sophisticated bloody Mary – that way at least you are getting one of your 5 a day.

Tip 3: PICK LIGHT: Low fat Christmas canapes: these tiny little treats served at parties can be stuffed with salt, sugar and high levels of fat, so always pick the smoked salmon over the creamy mushroom-stuffed option. If you are making them yourself then try these, smoked salmon served on beetroot quark with beetroot stars, or prawn cocktail made with low fat yoghurt and lime juice and grated radish.

Tip 4: GO SWEET: When making Christmas dinner, if you can’t give up your roast potatoes (and if we can’t tempt you to go for a sweet potato mash instead, low-fat and tasty), then cut them big and chunky, so they absorb less oil while roasting.

Tip 5: TRY THIS: Christmas dinner can actually be a very healthy meal, done right. If you go in for eating the turkey breast without the skin, have lots of vegetables, have boiled potatoes instead of roast, and skip the bread sauce, this meal then becomes very healthy, and stops you feeling bloated and stuffed. But it is only once a year, so a little of what you fancy is okay, as long as it is only a little!! Also, if you can’t resist the Christmas cake, then have it without the icing and marzipan, as this will save you lots and lots of calories.

Tip 6: FILO VERSUS SHORTCRUST: Healthy Mince Pies, we all love mince pies but often bought ones are laden with calories and have thick shortcrust pastry cases. So why not make your own healthy ones, and do them in a light filo pastry case without the pastry lid on top? Make these super calorie-saving healthy mince pies which you can then impress the girls in the office with.

Tip 7: SNACK ATTACK: Instead of crisps and creamy dips, try a toasted wholemeal pita bread cut into small slices  making pita chips, along with vegetable crudités, and have dips like guacamole and salsa, or make a nice dip of low-fat Tzatziki, using low-fat yogurt with added cucumber chunks, a sprinkle of dill,  and poppy seeds for an extra crunch.

Tip 8: STEER AWAY FROM THE SYRUP: Be careful with your festive lattes. Even though the tempting Christmassy adverts make them look mouth-watering, these extra shoots of caramel, gingerbread and festively shaped snowflake chocolate sprinkles all add up. For example a Costa Coffee Medium Cappuccino Takeaway with Gingerbread Syrup and Whole milk will be 331 Calories…..so a lighter choice would be the Medium Latte with Skimmed Milk and Sugar-Free Vanilla Syrup at 113 Calories.

Tip 9: ORDER RIGHT: When eating out for Christmas lunches, always opt for a healthy starter like a clear soup, salmon or melon, and try and say no to the bread. But if it is too tempting, then at least opt for brown over white.

Tip 10: SPEED IT UP: If all else fails ,then look at adding some fat-burning foods to your daily diet, so that you can then counter-balance those naughty treats. Fat-burners include things like mustard powder, so you could add a pinch of this to your scrambled eggs in the morning. Or you may be more of a sweet tooth, so opt for another fat burner such as cinnamon, and sprinkle a little in your latte on your way to work!!!

Studio News

Our Christmas timetable is now available for you to see. As the club is so quiet over Christmas and New Year some classes have been taken off temporarily in those two weeks. All will be back to normal by Tuesday 3rd January.