Zoe Hunter is so typical of many of the clients at New Level Personal Training in Newtown. In the short time she has been a personal training client at our studio, she has achieved so many things.

The mad keen Geelong AFL supporter and loyal Amateurs (a local footy/netball club) clubperson has already lost close to 10kgs and more than 25cms off her total body measurements since first joining New Level Newtown last year. At the time, she could never imagine running a decent distance on a treadmill – let alone taking part in a fun run.

Towards the end of last year, however, the self confessed ‘running hater’ decided to set a personal goal of running 3kms in 20 minutes on the studio treadmills. Not only did Zoe manage to achieve her desired target, but she absolutely smashed her time.

When asked how she felt after achieving her goal, the humble ‘Zo-Zo’ as she is affectionately known, replied, “Just please don’t make me do it again!” 

This was the exact same reply to the exact same question she uttered following the recent Great Ocean Road fun run in Apollo Bay, when she ran the 6km event in just over 49 minutes!

Following the Apollo Bay run, Zoe received many congratulatory messages, especially via Facebook after many friends, family and fellow New Level clients found out about her amazing achievement on the social media network.

In the days following the Great Ocean Road marathon weekend, a proud Zoe even updated her profile pic to the one taken immediately after the completion of the 6km run.

In acknowledging her amazing feat and the tremendous endeavour Zoe has shown in changing her lifestyle and relentlessly chasing her health and fitness goals, the extremely friendly and loveable 24-year-old was awarded the New Level Newtown ‘Client of the Month’ for the month of May!

From all of us here at New Level Personal Training in Newtown, a huge congratulations Zo-Zo! Well done!  

From left to right: Zoe Hunter, Alice Shaw, personal trainer Jen Etcell and Alison Sim

Jen McMahon (right) pictured with a friend after the race

Stephen McDonald ran 14kms in just over an hour

On the 19th-20th May 2012, New Level Newtown participated in their first fun run event. Seven members of the New Level Newtown family ventured down the coast to Apollo Bay to take part in this year’s Great Ocean Road Marathon fun run.

Three of the girls, Zoe Hunter, Alison Sim and Alice Shaw participated in the newly created 6km fun run on Saturday, while Stephen McDonald and Jen McMahon took part in Saturday’s 14km event.

On Sunday, meanwhile, our Head Personal Trainer Jen Etcell ran in support of a former client and her best friend Heidi Umstad in the 23km half-marathon. Another of Jen’s ex-clients, Scott Umstad, who happens to be Heidi’s husband, also took part in the 6km event. 

Alison, who is not only a long time personal training client, but a well respected osteopath who operates out of the Newtown studio’s consulting room, ran the 6km event in a remarkable time of just on 37 minutes.

Alice, another long time client at Newtown, was not too far behind completing the course in 39 minutes.

Zoe had never run on a treadmill for more than a few hundred metres before taking up personal training at New Level Newtown towards the end of last year. Taking that into account, her time of 49 minutes in the 6km event can only be regarded as nothing short of spectacular and truly inspirational. An amazing feat indeed!

In the 14km event, Stephen McDonald showed just why he is considered one of the fittest clients at New Level, running the entire course in a staggering time of 1 hour, 3 minutes and 50 seconds.

Jen McMahon, meanwhile, is a seasoned Fun Run campaigner. Prior to the Great Ocean Road weekend, however, she had never participated in a 14km event. 

Having only run a maximum 12 kms previously, just the day before she had expressed some doubt to Studio Owner Tonci Prusac that she would be able to compete the 14km course. She was reassured by Tonci, who said he had great faith she would do so.

Well, fast forward 24 hours and not only did Jen complete the picturesque coastal course, but she did it in style, running it in 77 minutes!

Head Personal Trainer Jen Etcell was in a jubilant mood after the race.

“We were blessed with absolutely perfect conditions for running and the performance of our clients was absolutely amazing. This is why I love my job and it is clients like these guys that inspire me to keep my running up!” said Jen. 

“They have spent several weeks in the studio preparing for the run and the results that came through were very well deserved. 

“Not only did they achieve PB’s over original distances previously run in their training, but they then added extra distance. I even heard that they ‘secretly enjoyed’ the much anticipated run.” 

Congratulations guys!!!

Special guest presenters Matt Golfis and Matt Moody from GNC Westfield Geelong had the intrigued audience captive for well over an hour as they discussed the importance of adding supplements to our daily diet in order to achieve optimum health.

Starting the day off with Multi-vitamins is a vital part of any healthy diet and the importance to both the immune system and increasing the intake of anti-oxidants was the first topic covered by the two Matts.

“You should start with taking good Multi-vitamins which will form the base of your supplementation, then you take it from there,” explained Matt Golfis.

“If you take Multi-vitamins in conjunction with protein powders, you aid the immune system but at the same time ensure optimum muscle recovery,” explained Matt Moody, then continued, “However, just taking protein powder to grow your muscles and leaving out the Multi-vitamins may result in compromising the health of your immune system.”

The two Matts then spoke about the importance of choosing the right Omega 3 fish oil supplement, by analysing the active ingredient in the supplement’s composition.

They then spoke about protein powders, addressing some of the myths surrounding this vital supplement as well as exploring the different types available on the market.

“Protein feeds nutrients to your muscles which leads to good muscle recovery and growth,” Moody explained.

“By repairing the muscle fibres, the protein can be used to help grow the damaged muscles,” continued Golfis.

They briefly discussed the three types of proteins, Whey Protein Isolate (WPI), Whey Protein Concentrate (WPC) and Casein Protein, and what to look for when choosing protein powders.

Finally, there was an opportunity to do some taste testing, with the banana flavoured Whey Protein blend proving a popular choice alongside the tradition chocolate flavour.

There was also an opportunity for question time, with both Matts staying around to chat to the seminar participants following the conclusion of the event.

The next scheduled seminar in the monthly series will be in late June, with the date and topic to be confirmed

pictured – New Level manager Tonci and Personal Trainer Tim with a jubilant Diana Skratulja

It’s always a nice feeling when family, friends and work colleagues start to notice a change in one’s body shape. Especially when that comes from people you haven’t seen for awhile. That usually occurs around one of the two festive seasons in the year – Christmas or Easter.

At a recent Easter function, Diana Skratulja couldn’t believe the comments she was getting from several long time friends and acqaintances she had not seen for ages.

“Wow, you look fantastic!”, “Have you been working out?” and “What have you done to yourself?” are just some of the comments that were thrown Diana’s way.

Needless to say, the hard work, dedication and a new found appreciation of the importance of good nutrition has certainly paid of for Diana, who was this week awarded the prestigious New Level Newtown “Client of the Month” award.

Having been one of the Geelong studio’s original Foundation members, Diana’s results speak for themselves. Since her last Results Week weigh-in, Diana has lost a further three kilos to add to her previous impressive achievements.

She lost a staggering 6cms off her chest, 3.5cm off her already tiny waist and a further 2cm off her hips. Added to that, Diana has always identified her arms – and most notably her triceps – as something she would like to address. Well, in the past two months, she certainly has done that, losing a whopping 2cm off her arms!

What’s more, she blitzed her physical challenges like no other month, shaving 44 seconds off her best time for a 2km bike ride and improving her 1km treadmill run by just over a minute. Amazing!

Is it any coincidence, therefore, that Diana attended our studio’s first monthly seminar in March, entitled “Real food for real people for real results”. She has since signed up for the Nutrition Complete online nutrition service, which is obviously reaping great results for Diana.

A proud mum of three gorgeous but energetic children, she needs to be in shape to keep up with her busy lifestyle and this ‘Yummy Mummy’ is now setting an excellent example, not just for her family but for all the other New Level clients as well, which has certainly not gone unnoticed!

Well done, Diana. Keep up the good work!

This has allowed studio owner Tonci Prusac to co-ordinate numerous other projects as well as embark on an exciting strategic development plan for the establishment, which is going to greatly benefit the studio’s ever growing clientele base.

One of those developments has seen the erection of a new manager’s office, as well as a modern and private consulting room. This has also resulted in a small yet significant and practical re-arrangement of the studio floor plan.

The consulting room is currently being utilised by local osteopath, Alison Sim, who also happens to be a personal training client at New Level. 

“This has already opened up numerous opportunities, both for New Level clients requiring the assistance of a professional osteopath, as well as Alison’s clients who require the services of professional and top quality personal trainers in their rehabilitation,’ explained studio owner Tonci Prusac.

“We are currently in negotiations with massage therapists and other allied health professionals about hiring the consulting room on a part time basis, which would be of mutual benefit, to both our members as well as the prospective new practitioner’s clients,” added Prusac.

He concluded by saying another exciting innovation will be the upcoming launch of online nutrition advice service Nutrition Complete, which will be available to New Level Newtown members for the first time.

“Nutrition Complete will be an added service that will ensure our clients achieve their health and fitness goals much faster than they normally would, as it will help them get their nutrition on track.”

Dani had been a member of New Level Personal Training Newtown for about six months and by her own admission, when she first started she wasn’t too sure about having a personal trainer. She decided she was going to give it a go because she had heard about some of her acquaintances getting some amazing results.
Well, what was the end result, we may well ask young Dani?

“Now, I am the biggest advocate for it. I never thought I could achieve some of the results I have achieved. Today, for example, I just did 100 kilos on the 45 angle weights with the thighs…..”
Stop there, Dani! I think you meant the 45 degree Leg Press machine, but we know what you meant! Anyway, back to you…
“So I would say give it a go. Come in, have a look, talk to the trainers. They are amazing – they will give you a good deal and they will get you the results you want to achieve,” concluded a cheery Dani.

UPDATE: Not only will personal training get you the results you want, but your confidence and self esteem will improve dramatically, which will have a positive impact on your private lives.
Just ask Dani. When she first came to us she was still a uni student and only had a part time job. In the time since this interview was recorded, Dani has – unfortunately – left New Level Newtown, because she got the job of her dreams working in the marketing department of a major international cosmetics company and has, as a result, had to move to Melbourne.
Well done Dani and good luck with your future endeavours – and never give up working and exercising hard!

As demonstrated by Tonci from New Level Personal Training (Newtown, Geelong) in the video above, the Kettlebell Swing is a fantastic exercise for strengthening and toning the legs. As this exercise is quite ballistic you need to ensure your form and technique is correct otherwise injury can occur. This is why having the direction and attention of a Personal Trainer is a must.

Once your Personal Trainer progresses you through your program and introduces kettlebells to your training you will start to notice the wide range of exercises that can be performed using the kettlebell. The kettlebell basically looks like a cannonball with a handle, but it is it’s simple design that allows it to have so many exercise options.

When performing the Kettlebell Swing (as demonstrated in the video above), you need to ensure you bend your knees, keep a neutral spine and only bring the kettlebell up to eye level (parallel to the ground). Use the momentum created by the swing to perform a high repetition count which will engage the anaerobic energy system.

Females are recommended to start with an 8kg kettlebell and male with a 16kg one. However, before performing any kettlebell exercises on your own, please get advice from a Personal Trainer on correct technique to prevent any injury.

If you would like to know more about Kettlebell training, please call us on 1300 NEWLEVEL or contact us via our 3 FREE Session offer on this website.

Ivan had one goal and one goal only, when he first started at the New Level Personal Training Newtown studio in Geelong. Just like many other guys, he wanted to be able to bench press his own body weight.

When he first started, Ivan could barely lift 30kgs in the bench press. His technique was somewhat flawed, his stamina was severely lacking and his overall upper body strength was nowehere near where it should have been.

“I’ve done really well over the past six months. When I first started I set myself a goal to increase my strength and bodyweight and I have managed to do that thanks to the staff here at New Level Newtown”, said Ivan.

Possessing a slender, ectomorphic body structure, his trainer Tonci knew it would be a hard slog to initially pack lean muscle onto his slight frame, so he instructed Ivan to increase his protein intake, right from the start.

In conjunction with a supervised resistance training program, an accompanying intense cardio program and being provided with continuing nutrition advice, Ivan was soon able to reap the full rewards of his newfound improvements in strength, flexibility and overall fitness.

So much so that after six months of dedicated training with his trainers Tonci and Renato, Ivan can safely say that he is in the very best physical condition that he has ever been.

“This training has given me a lot more strength and confidence. I had quite  bad posture when I first started and that was one of the things  I really wanted to target. Today I have pretty much sorted that out and I feel so much better as a result!” concluded a proud Ivan.

Ivan will now take a short break as his wife is due to give birth to their second child in a few week’s time, but he has vowed he will be back to tackle his new goal.

Whatever that may be, we are certain that it will be a case of WHEN and not if Ivan does it. Congrats and all the best with Bub No. 2!

NOTE: Apologies for the poor sound quality, after all we are professional personal trainers, not professional film makers, lol!

As Tonci nicely demonstrates in the video clip above, Tabata Training can give you maximum results in minimum time. Tabata training is a typically used with Resistance Exercises using weights building muscle endurance, and increasing the anaerobic capacity.

The Tabata Training formula for success is:

Push hard for 20 seconds
Rest for 10 seconds
Repeat this 8 times!

Total workout time = 4 minutes!!

In the video above Tonci ditches the weights and resistance exercises and instead applies the Tabata formula to his cardio workout on the spin bike. Basically this is another form of interval training when done on the bike, and as you can see the intensity of the hard 20 seconds needs to be high to be effective.

Traditional Tabata Training as mentioned earlier uses resistance exercises (weights) with the most effective being compound exercises such as squats. The use of Kettlebells is also very popular when performing a Tabata Workout.

Tabata Training should not be used as a daily workout rather scheduled in as a fortnightly or monthly addition to your program.

In her own famous words, Heather comes to each personal training session at New Level Personal Training Newtown with the intention of not getting broken, but getting fixed! Heather is another astounding success story generated from the Newtown studio’s young but ever growing archives of ordinary people achieving extraordinary personal results.

When she came to us, Heather was extremely unfit, rather overweight and certainly did not have the confidence to push herself to beyond her own personal boundaries. That’s before she met “Ray” and “Michelle” (her affectionate names for her trainers at New Level Newtown!), who have not only managed to “break” her on many occasions, but have also succeeded in “fixing” our girl.

Heather recently decided to up her training to three PT sessions per week, as well as combine a regular Monday night Group Boxing Session at the studio. The results have been nothing short of spectacular.

In a period of just eight weeks, Heather lost an incredible 4.1 kilograms. In the same period she shaved a total of 5.5 cms off her waist and a further 5 cms off her hips!

Most of all, though, Heather’s attitude and outlook on life is far more positive, than it was before, despite having an extremely stressful job in a Podiatry Clinic that leaves her drained both physically and emotionally. “I feel really happy, because all this work is paying off.” said a beaming Heather, just after completing a gruelling Results Week Challenge on the treadmill, where she shaved more than a minute off her personal best time!

“The only problem I have now is that my clothes don’t fit me anymore. I had this shirt I used to wear for job interviews and formal occasions. I went to put it on, the other day, and it was way too big!”

Heather is a real credit to herself and a firm believer of the old saying, where there is no pain, there is no gain! Congratulations Heather and I guess that means you have no option now but to go out and shop for a whole new wardrobe – every girl’s dream come true!!!