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Northern Arena Director, Mark Saunders, has been honoured with a Swimming New Zealand Life Membership for his services to the sport and the community. This is the highest award in the industry with only 10 people currently holding the honour. Mark’s service to swimming spans more than 45 years. He has represented New Zealand as a swimmer being a national title holder for 200m butterfly and later set two world records in masters swimming for 200m butterfly and 400m individual medley. As a child he swam for Te Puke and later returned to coach at club level and undertake administration duties for Bay of Plenty Swimming. He spent 9 years working for Swimming New Zealand in swim teacher education and served on the Board of Swimming Education. Marks career as team manager of national teams spans 21 years and includes the Beijing and Rio Olympics, 2 Commonwealth Games and numerous world champs, university, Oceana and Pan Pacific games. More recently he served as Chairman of Auckland Swimming and 6 years as national selector. At present he devotes his time to fund raising for New Zealand’s national swimmers as Executive member of the Swimming New Zealand Trust. In 2017 he was invited to join the International Swim Schools Association Board of Advisors. Mark continues to have an active role at Northern Arena where his specialty involves introducing very young reluctant children to the water and the sport of swimming. #Swimming #SwimSchool #NorthernArena

Before you even hit the shops - get prepared with a list. Shopping without a list often leads to: an overestimation of how much food is needed for the week, leading to overspending and food waste... ...or an underestimation, which may see you doing a few extra trips to the supermarket to fill in the gaps throughout the week (to spend more money!). Planning your weekly shop also enables you to get food waste down to a bare minimum as you’re only buying the ingredients needed for the coming weeks meals; will minimise the stress and hassle around meal times as you know exactly what’s on the menu each week; and will help keep you committed to your health - when nutritious meals are planned for and ingredients ready-to-go, less temptation tends to creep in. To successfully plan, start by: Doing a kitchen inventory. It’s easy to spend on new ingredients that we may have forgotten we already have! Before you go shopping, check what food is in your kitchen (pantry, refrigerator and freezer) first. Write down any ingredients you come across that could be used in a meal the coming week e.g. leftover tins of tomatoes or beans, half open bags of rice, or frozen veggies. Then... Be resourceful. Using the ingredients you have on hand, loosely plan out some meal ideas across Monday-Sunday for the following week. Maybe you have a half-empty bag of rice, a few eggs and some frozen veggies? Bingo, egg fried rice! Or maybe a few tins of tomatoes, a tin of lentils and some pasta? Make lentil bolognese! Next... Fill in the rest of the day’s gaps. Think up some extra meals for the other days, add to your list any extra ingredients you’d need to turn these meals into reality, and then compile it all into a shopping list. Remember to note down only what you NEED - e.g. if you only need 6 carrots, jot down 6 carrots rather than a whole bag. Take your list shopping, and stick to it! Take a pen with you and make sure to check off each item as you go. Stick to what you wrote down - this is what you need for the week. Don't be tempted to sway off your list. Largely shop the perimeter of the supermarket For a healthier grocery shop, aim to largely shop the perimeter of the supermarket. Many fresh nutritious foods e.g. fruit and veggies, meats and seafood, bulk items and chilled products, will typically line the perimeter of supermarkets. This ensures optimal freshness, storage, and that items can be appropriately prepped (e.g. butchery and fishmonger) and interchanged as needed. On the other side of the coin, more processed goods have much longer shelf lives, e.g. months or in some cases years, so (and to avoid logistic nightmares) they happily sit in the middle aisles for yonks. It's important to note, many healthy foods sit in the middle too - oats, nuts, tinned tomatoes, seeds and oils. Many healthy foods also have long storage lives. However, those fresh foods on the outside are wonderful foundational parts of a diet, so load up on them wherever you can and then dip into the aisles where needed. Read ingredient lists When buying packaged foods, one of the best ways to avoid misleading product claims (or products that may appear healthier than they really are) is to read ingredient lists. A ingredients list will state everything within the product, and so gives us a good idea of what we’re actually eating. Ingredients are listed in regards to quantity, from the largest to the smallest amount used. Therefore, those first few ingredients listed are quite important to take note of, as they’re the ingredients that the manufacturer has used the most. When reading an ingredients list, remember the shorter the list the better. A long list typically tends to mean the item is quite processed. Aim for a list as short as possible, avoid questionable ingredients (google what something is if you're unsure!) and be mindful that the more processed something is, typically the less nutrition it has. There’s a saying I like which sums up this point quite nicely: 'Real foods don’t have an ingredients list, real foods are ingredients' Shop seasonal Seasonal produce is produce that is currently in season - this means it's the time of the year that it's locally grown and harvested. Because of this, it's at its peak freshness, doesn't need to travel far to get onto our supermarket shelves, and is in high demand - so prices are naturally lower. Eating seasonal is fantastic nutritionally, environmentally and is great on the wallet - it ticks so many boxes. Shop seasonal wherever you can. Don't forget frozen When fruit and veggies aren't available year-round (and can be astronomically expensive when out-of-season!), frozen goods are an excellent, budget-friendly alternative. Frozen fruit and veggies have been frozen very soon after harvesting, helping to lock in nutrients. They're great boiled straight out of the packet, chucked into stir-fries, casseroles or curries, cooked with porridge, or added to smoothies (try frozen spinach!). Remember, when it comes to fruit and vege just focus on eating more in general then fretting about source - no matter whether frozen or fresh, they're so good for our health! Don't shop on an empty stomach Have you ever tried grocery shopping when hungry? It's really hard to fight our biology. When we're ravenous we naturally desire food, often sweet foods with our body knowing these will give us a quick energy boost. And if you're walking around a room filled with an endless array of options to satisfy our hungry urge, what's going to wind up our trolley? I'm betting the number of impulse purchases will rise. It may sound silly, but eat before you shop! Article by http://healthyalways.co.nz/

Complete 25 reps of each exercise 25 Mountain Climbers 25 Weight Plate or Bar Squats 25 Hand Release Push Ups 25 Chest to Floor Burpees 25 Plate walking Lunges 25 Plated Shoulder Press 25 Bear Crawl 25 Plated Sit Up 25 Jump Jacks 25 Push Up with Shoulder Tap Repeat all exercises #Workout #gym

Serves 4 with leftovers Ingredients: 1 brown onion, diced Knob of fresh ginger, grated 3 cloves garlic, chopped 2 Tbsp olive oil 1 fresh chilli, sliced 4 tsp turmeric, ground 2 tsp garam masala 2 tsp coriander, ground 4 tsp cumin, ground 3 Tbsp natural coconut yoghurt 2 Tbsp tomato puree 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes 1 x 400g tin lentils or chickpeas 8 free range chicken thighs 1 x 400g tin coconut milk How to: In a pan/wok heat the olive oil and then add the onion and cook until soft. Add the garlic, chilli and ginger and cook for a further minute, then add the spices- turmeric, garam masala, coriander and cumin. Cook for a further minute or two until fragrant. Add chicken thighs and cook until all sides are sealed- about 2 minutes. Then add the tomatoes, puree, yoghurt, lentils and coconut milk and give a good stir, releasing all the yummy fragrant bits from the bottom of the pan. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer stirring occasionally for around 40-50 minutes until chicken is cooked though and the curry has reduced and thickened. Serve with cauliflower rice and garnish with extra coconut yoghurt and fresh coriander.

Serves 4 Ingredients: 1 Tbsp olive oil 1 Tbsp butter 1 brown onion, diced 1 Tbsp dried thyme 2 cloves garlic, crushed 2 leeks, sliced 1 broccoli, florets removed and sliced in half 6 large portobello mushrooms, cut in half and sliced 400g free range chicken thighs, chopped into bite-size pieces 250g free range bacon, chopped into 2cm pieces ¼ cup boiling water 3 Tbsp vegetable or chicken stock 2 Tbsp cornflower 4 large kumara, peeled and chopped 2 Tbsp butter Salt and pepper Method:  Bring a pot of water to the boil and add kumara, boil for around 10-15 minutes until the kumara is soft to touch. Once boiled, strain the water, add butter, salt and pepper and mash to a creamy consistency- set aside. In the meantime start on the pie filling. Add olive oil and butter to a warm pan and cook the onion and garlic over a low heat until soft (around 5 minutes). Add in the bacon and chicken and cook through. Once cooked, put aside in another bowl while you cook the vegetables. In the same pan, add more butter and oil then add the mushrooms, leeks, and brocolli and cook until soft. Add the chicken and bacon back to the pan and add the thyme and mix to combine. In a cup, mix the water, stock and cornflower to ensure no lumps and add to the pan. Simmer until reduced and slightly thickened. Add the pie filling to a ovenproof dish and then cover with the mashed kumara. Top with grated cheese (optional) and bake at 180 degrees for 10 minutes or until cheese has melted. Serve with a side salad or steamed vegetables.

Serves 1 Ingredients: 1 banana 1/2 cup frozen mango 1 tsp dried turmeric 1 tsp dried ginger (or more if you like the flavour) 1 cup almond milk or dairy milk 1 tsp vanilla 2 tbsp chia seeds Handful of ice Topping ideas: 1 tbsp bee pollen Fresh or frozen berries Shredded coconut Sliced banana Pumpkin or sunflower seeds Sliced kiwifruit 2 tbsp coconut yoghurt Method: Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and thick (add enough ice to thicken) then put into a bowl and top with chosen toppings.

Our morning time is quite precious – it offers a breathing space before we jump into the colourful outside world. Starting our mornings with the right tone can make a massive difference to energy levels, productivity at work, and how we perceive the day ahead. We can linger in bed, aggressively hitting the alarm clock a few times before rushing out the door, stressed, to work (and who even has time for breakfast?), though this type of routine may take a toll on us both mentally and physically, as rushing manifests stress, and stress impacts health. My morning routine consists of a few basic self-love habits – nothing crazy or time-consuming – and I always feel calmer and more grounded when I start my day like this. Try, even just for a week, setting up a simple, positive routine that fits in with your lifestyle. You may be surprised at how much more efficient you feel into the morning. Hydration. I am ALL for my morning coffee (that is a ritual in itself!), but water is always the first thing that enters my body when I wake. After not drinking overnight for 8 or so hours, we're naturally a little dehydrated, which can affect how we feel and make us groggier than normal. Drinking water when you first rise is a great way to wake-up your metabolism and flush out toxins. Make it a habit to head to the kitchen and enjoy a big glass of water as soon as your feet hit the floor! • Cold water can be quite shocking on our system first thing, so go for room temperature or warm. • Sometimes I’ll add a squeeze of lemon to my water to help aid liver detoxification and upcoming digestion - it tastes nice too! Steer clear of technology immediately upon wakening. For the longest time I’d wake up, roll over and mindlessly scroll through social media on my phone - it would quickly leave me frazzled, especially if I allowed myself to get sucked into a social media vortex where my AM time would quickly dissipate. With technology we’re hit with a bombardment of information, colour, and both good and bad news, and it can be over-stimulating, over-whelming and time-consuming when we first wake up. Even seeing a build-up of emails from overnight can cause us to enter a state of panic! Technology tends to quicken the pace of the world around us – choosing to have a breathing space from it first thing in the morning REALLY helps slow everything down. • Keep your phone on airplane mode until it's time to use it. A nourishing breakfast. Starting our day with a wholesome breakfast means we’re starting our day fueled - like a car topped up with petrol. Remember, our body needs nutrients to function at its best - not just physically, but mentally too. When we skip breakfast or go for a not-so nourishing option, we’re often setting our blood sugar levels for a disastrous day, and this habit can really affect our food choices for the coming morning (10 am chocolate Danish pick-me-up any one?). • To assist with stable blood sugar levels into the morning always aim for a protein-rich breakfast (e.g. egg, smoothie with protein powder...) Rise a little earlier. Waking up a little earlier gives us more time in the morning to really set ourselves up for the day. Even an extra half an hour can make a huge difference – think, a slightly longer shower where you can enjoy the warm water on your skin, a little more room to make something extra yummy for breakfast AND sit down and enjoy it, time to make sure you’ve got healthy nourishing food sorted for the day ahead and even some space for a little reading. Move your body! The benefits of exercise are endless, and extend far beyond the physical. Starting the day with movement is a beautiful way to enter the morning. I sit at a desk a lot for work, and taking the time to get a little activity in the AM helps keep my body feeling a little extra fluid throughout the day, manage stress, and also means that when I get home after a long day I can really just relax - exercise has already been ticked off! If you can get sunlight on your eyes first thing too (as long as it’s not too bright!), for example with a morning walk, then this can be a great way at resetting our internal body clock – ideal if you’re struggling with sleeping problems or insomnia. http://healthyalways.co.nz/blog/2016/1/24/setting-up-a-healthymorning-routine

7 rounds of 7 reps 7 x Push ups 7 x Squats 7 x Burpees 7 x Sit ups 7 x Lunges 7 x Russian Twist 7 x Tricep Dips After each round 100 high knees or 100m run #gym #Workout

Complete 21 - 18 - 15 - 12 - 9 - 6 - 3 reps of all exercises Chest to floor Burpees Hand release Push Ups Weight plate Squats Squat Jumps Then 20 plated Situps and 100m run Repeat exercises for 18 - 15 - 12 - 9 - 6 - 3 reps Completing 7 rounds in total

Our skin is the face we present to the outside world. For many, a big driver to eat healthier can be to do with what we look like, with our skin as no exception - beauty is only skin deep, but anyone who has suffered from skin issues will know it can certainly affect our confidence and how we feel. Our skin needs nutrients to firstly function, then look its best, so we can't expect to eat a diet devoid of nutrients and have amazing skin (unless we've won some kind of genetic lottery). As an organ, our skin is a great communicator and representation of what’s going on internally - any imbalances, whether acne, pimples, rashes, premature ageing or dry skin, can serve as messages from our body that something's not quite right and it's needing extra support and love. What exactly does our skin do? It's an organ (our largest!) and is a part of the integumentary system, which has a primary role of protecting us against damage, essentially serving as a guard and first-line of defence, between us and the outside world. This is also not just through the physicality of it, but a host of other mechanisms, which on the larger scale of life, help us to survive - it helps communicate to our body we're in pain, we're too hot/cold, we're injured, and what something is by the sensation of touch, which can then help our body adjust accordingly to our environment. It also produces vitamin D, eliminates toxins through its surface, and like magic, can repair itself when damaged. Our skin lives and, in a sense, breathes (our outermost cells of our skin uptake oxygen for themselves!), and so it certainly makes sense why ample nutrients are needed for it to thrive and do its thing. Top nutrients for healthy skin Our skin is highly responsive to an overall good diet and many will find that upon improving the quality of what they're eating skin issues will minimise, or even completely disappear. By quality this means eating more foods in their natural state, or as natural as possible, and as often as possible. Here they're packed full of vitamins, minerals and all sorts of wonderful nutrients that support our skin, as well as our overall health. 1. Up the healthy fats For gorgeous skin eat whole food fats - these are foods such as creamy avocados, oils like coconut and olive, nuts, seeds, and oily fish, like salmon and mackerel. They help aid in reducing inflammation within the body, and are crucial players in the structure of the skin, in a sense acting like internal moisturisers, and having a vital role in the production of the skins natural oil barrier. Essential fatty acids/EFA's are particularly important, being deemed essential for a reason - the body can't produce them, so we MUST get through diet. A balanced intake in favour of EFA omega-3 (e.g. oily fish, walnuts) to EFA omega-6 (e.g. vegetable oils) will have an anti-inflammatory and protective effect on the body, which can be useful against inflammatory skin disorders(1) (2). The best sources are whole foods, always - enjoy oily fish, walnuts, chia seeds, egg yolks and flaxseed oil. 2. Eat antioxidant-rich foods Our skin serves as a barrier between us and the outside world - between internal factors (e.g. certain foods, stress, inflammation) and external factors (e.g. sun exposure, pollution, smoking), we have the creation of damaging free-radicals happening pretty much 24/7, which can impact collagen and elastin, the key proteins used as the structural support of skin. With free-radical damage can come premature aging, wrinkles, poor skin tone, and a lackluster appearance - basically they'll age us well before we need too. Antioxidants in our diet are brilliant because they help 'balance' free-radicals, reducing the damage associated with them. Great sources of antioxidants in our diet are fruits and veggies, as they're rich in the champion antioxidant nutrients, vitamin C (e.g. citrus fruit, capsicum), vitamin E (e.g. avocado, spinach) and vitamin A (e.g. carrots, kumara/sweet potato). In particular, vitamin C has been shown to be especially beneficial at decreasing the likelihood and severity of wrinkles (3). To get a good intake of antioxidants, aim to hit your 5++ servings of fruit and veggies everyday, making sure to include a varied intake. 3. Stay hydrated Water is essential to life - without it, we wouldn't last very long. It helps flush toxins from the body through our excretory system, aids blood circulation, helps with delivery of nutrients to our cells, and keeps our bowels moving along nicely, which is important for waste removal and reducing constipation (waste build-up in the body=toxic build up, which is a no-no for skin health). When our skin is dehydrated, wrinkles appear more prominent, and skin drier and duller - this makes sense, given a huge percentage of us (around 60%) is actually water. For healthy skin, make sure to hit your 8+ glasses of water a day - plain is best, but herbal teas can count too. Also remember many fruits and veggies often contain a high percentage of water, and can help count towards our overall hydration levels too. 4. Reduce sugar I'm not into demonising foods, but it's important to keep in mind moderation when it comes to sugar intake. When we eat a big load of sugary foods, particularly items like sweets which are broken down rapidly, our body is usually like "hey, that's WAY more energy then I need right now!", and so it releases a whole lot of the hormone insulin to help deal with the excess sugar. Large spikes of insulin are inflammatory in nature, which isn't good for skin heath, with too much sugar negatively affecting the structure of our skin's collagen and elastin fibers (4), contributing to premature aging, as well as the exacerbation of inflammatory skin conditions, like acne and rosacea. To support not only skin health, but overall health too, treat sugar like the treat it is. This includes "natural" sources, like maple syrup and coconut sugar, too. 5. Bump up your zinc intake Zinc is an essential nutrient that plays an important role in skin health. It's particularly beneficial in wound healing, reducing inflammation and helping our cells to regenerate - if our skin is injured in any way, zinc quickly gets to work! Zinc is hugely beneficial at minimising the prevalence of acne, with low zinc levels correlated to an increased occurrence (5). Zinc helps to decrease the severity/occurrence of the condition through balancing our skins oil production and working to increase the vitamin A levels in our blood, another vital superstar skin nutrient not only needed for acne-free skin, but healthy skin in general too (6). Best food sources of zinc includes seafood, especially oysters, beef and lamb, chicken, pumpkin seeds, peanuts and chickpeas. Article by http://healthyalways.co.nz/ #HealthyEating #NutitionAdvice

10 x Burpees 20 x Pushups 9 x Burpees 100 Skips or 100m Run 8 x Burpees 20 x Sit ups 7 x Burpees 100 Skips or 100m Run 6 x Burpees 20 x Push ups 5 x Burpees 100 Skips or 100m Run 4 x Burpees 20 x Sit ups 3 x Burpees 100 Skips or 100m Run 2 x Burpees 20 x Push ups 1 x Burpee 100 Skips or 100m Run

Compression garments are touted as the secret to increasing muscle power and optimizing athletic performance – science or hype? Don a pair of compression tights and you won’t just look like a serious athlete, many believe that this ultra-tight gear will help boost your athleticism too. David Cox comes to the conclusion that while there are some benefits associated with compression gear, it’s unlikely to actually improve athletic performance during your workouts. The real benefit of compression clothing comes from its ability to reduce muscle vibration, which is the micro trauma that occurs within your muscles during exercise and can potentially build up and lead to injury. He adds that the compression reduces the space available for swelling and helps improve the mechanisms of the lymphatic system, which basically brings fluid away from muscles so they can recover. Put simply, compression clothing is most likely to assist recovery – so the next day your muscles may not be as sore as they might have been because you’ve had compression garments on. And then there’s the placebo effect. Cox believes you cannot discount the fact that when people really think something is going to help them, it actually drives them to see results. “Scientists suspect that any benefits felt when wearing compression clothing during exercise may be down to the placebo effect – the large hole left in the wallet from the purchase may leave the wearer willing it to make a difference.” This piece originally appeared on lesmills.com.