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Five ways to build healthier habits for your ‘Year of Health’

Our philosophy at PARC is to support our members long-term to live healthier and happier lifestyles. So often we start the year with enthusiasm and motivation to get healthy and exercise regularly, but by around March/April time it all starts to fade.  

So where do you start? Firstly, decide exactly what ‘health’ means to you and what outcomes you want. Which is why this year we’re asking our community to commit to a Year of Health and rather than set unrealistic goals for quick fixes to your exercise regime, let’s build healthier habits and momentum for long-term success.  

Sounds simple right? But often we struggle to implement new healthy habits as we start changing our routine too much. We are creatures of habit and our day is structured around a routine we’ve already formed. What’s interesting is that we’ve all been forced to challenge this routine over the last two years with the pandemic, so we know it is possible to change!  

Here are five ways in which you can work to build healthier habits into your lifestyle: 

  1. Take baby steps 

Too often we make bold statements about how we are going to change our lives, but in order to form a long-term habit its best to take small steps forward. For example, with exercise start with trying to increase your incidental activity each day, by always choosing the stairs, parking further away from your destination, get off public transport a stop early etc.  

When it comes to going to the gym or pool, rather than trying to commit yourself to a daily visit, we recommend starting with two to three sessions a week when you know it is easiest to fit into your routine and start to increase from there. You can book a PARC check-in appointment with one of our trainers to help build a program, stay on track and help reduce the chance of injury.  

With food intake the best start you can make is not completely overhauling everything you eat, just start to bring in healthier choices. Eat at least 1 piece of fruit a day, start to make the vegetable portion on your plate, swap the evening sweet treat to a couple of squares of dark chocolate.  

By slowly making changes you will find you keep up the new habits for much longer! 

  1. Be organised 

The best way to form a habit is to fit it into your routine with organisation. Planning is key, particularly when it comes to eating healthier. Planning your meals for the week ahead in advance is a great way to avoid slipping into convenience eating and grab and go food, which isn’t always the best.  

When it comes to changing your exercise routine and incorporating going to the gym or pool, try and think of how to make it as easy as possible, such as packing your bag the night before. Remove any obstacles that you can foresee that would potentially stop you from going to the gym in advance so it’s more likely you will get there! Again, planning is key, you can check the group exercise classes that fit into your routine best in advance.  

  1. Recognise your cues 

Habits form based on the cues we currently experience, things like tiredness, hunger, wake up and evening routines. Our minds get comfortable with providing easy solutions to our cues, for example; ‘I’m tired, I need a sugary hit to wake me up’, or ‘I’m home from a busy day at work, I’ll just sit down and watch TV for a few hours’.  

Once we become aware of our cues we can start to make changes and instil behaviour that builds healthier lifestyles. For example, ‘I’m tired, I’ll have a black coffee and a piece of fruit for a snack’ or ‘I’m home and will go for a stroll around the block with the dog to decompress my mind before I settle at home.’  

  1. Incorporate your tribe 

Like every change we want to make in life its easier with other people! If your new habits can also involve others you’re all more likely to stick with them. So, get your friends, family or work mates  involved in taking steps towards a healthier lifestyle with you.  

Keep each other accountable with new routines you can both follow together, such as a lunch time meditation at work or choosing a Group Exercise class you both love and can attend every week. Book in advance with the MyPARC app or online to keep you both accountable to attend. Making it social helps!  

  1. Reward yourself 

Finally, rewarding yourself for making small changes is so important as it gives us a focal point for continuing. Think about treating yourself with non-food rewards. Schedule some time out to indulge in your favourite magazine, get a massage or book a pamper session, buy that gadget or outfit you’ve been holding off on. Whilst reward is good motivation remember you’re building momentum, once you’ve taken the reward for forming a certain habit, think about how you build upon this for further improvement.    

We’d love to hear about the simple habits you’ve chosen to change this year and how its going.  

Take the pledge today to Make 2022 Your Year of Health and tell us what habits you want to commit to and here at PARC we’ll help you get there! 

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Three weeks of PARC Reformer 😱

WOW time flies when you're having fun! It's been 3 weeks since we opened the doors to our brand new PARC Reformer Studio and we have loved hearing how much you're all enjoying the new space! 

It's great to see our PARC community making the most of the new reformer studio and trying out all the amazing new features including the Virtual and On-demand options to fit in with busy schedules. 

Thanks for your patience as we worked through some booking challenges in the first few days. Want to try it for yourself? bookings are open via the Xplor App or Customer Portal.

After more info? Check out our PARC Reformer Studio website page via the link in bio

Keep the momentum going and make PARC Reformer a regular part of your routine. We’ll see you in the Studio soon!

#PARCfrankston #PARCReformer
Thank you Rotary Peninsula 2.0 & the 2025 Rotary Birth tree 🌳

The Rotary Peninsula 2.0 Birth Tree helps to raise funds for swim programs in our community, with $45 of every contribution going straight back to PARC and PINES to help more children build confidence in the water. 

Registrations for the Birth Tree are now available for all babies born in 2025. 

For more information or if you would like to register your child for the 2025 Rotary Birth Tree please head to the website. Link in bio

#PARCFrankston #RotaryPeninsula2_0 #Birthtree #morepeoplecanswim
Important Centre Update 

Closure Notice: The 50m Pool will be closed from Monday 30 June – Sunday 27 July.

We are undertaking significant tiling and improvement works in the Main 50m Pool. This means that the Main 50m Pool will be closed from Monday 30 June – Sunday 27 July (4 week closure period). 

What services are impacted? 
• CLOSED: Over the period, the 50m pool will be closed. 
• OPEN: All other aquatic facilities will remain open, including the Learn to Swim Pool, Warm Water Pool Hall, Waterslides and Aquatic Playground. Importantly, this means that PARC Swim lessons in the 50m pool will not run. 
 
To learn more about these planned works and how the closure impact you, please visit our website via link in bio
If you would like to suspend your membership for the closure period, you can do so via our website, link in bio
 
Suspensions used will not go towards members’ allowable suspensions and won’t impact the suspensions rules. 

We appreciate your understanding and patience as we work to enhance your PARC experience with these important upgrades.

#PARCFrankston
Aquatic Playground Closure 🛠 
 
The Aquatic playground will be closed for planned maintenance from Tuesday 17 June to Tuesday 24 June. 
 
This maintenance requires the playground to be dry in order to be repaired. The Learn to Swim, Toddler pool and Waterslides are still available for your enjoyment. 
 
We hope to reopen the Aquatic Playground in full on 24 June. 
 
We apologise for the inconvenience and thank you for your understanding. 

#PARCFrankston #Aquaticplayground
PARC Cafe staff attempted the Ice Chocolate challenge and it got messy. 😂

Who had the best technique and who caved under the cold? You decide! 👇

Kynen - ❤️, Maddy - 👍, Maya - 😂 or Bella - 😲

Vote below who you think is the Ice Chocolate Champion! 🏆

#PARCFrankston #PARCCafe #IceChocolateChallenge #StaffShowdown #VoteYourChampion #CafeFun
Our industry awards night is tonight! 🌟🏆

The Aquatic and Recreation Victoria Industry Awards recognise outstanding achievement and commitment to the industry. This year our facilities and many of our wonderful staff have been nominated for their contributions, and all of the hard work they do for our community.

Peninsula Leisure are finalists for the following awards:

Facility Management Award (Large) – PARC
Facility Management Award (Seasonal) – PINES
Sustainability Award – PARC
Community Impact Award – Peninsula Leisure 
Group Exercise Instructor Award – Belinda Butterfield
Membership Sales Award – Clair Porter
Personal Trainer/Gym Instructor Award – Nic Hough
Swim Teacher Award (General) – Ellie Spasevski

Good luck to all our finalists, thank you for all the work you do, we can't wait to share the night with you all! 

#PARCFrankston #ARVindustryawards #goodluck #Finalists2025

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