“I want to be fit & healthy”

This is a common goal for people starting training, but what does that really mean and how do you know when you have achieved these goals? Are you fit when you can run a certain distance or lift a particular weight? Are you healthy if you get less sick? Fit and healthy means different things to different people, but the research scientists will tell you there is more you should know about health and fitness…

Measuring Fitness

Physical fitness is known to be important for good health. The most precise measure of overall cardiovascular fitness is Maximal Oxygen Uptake (VO2max*), which is the maximal amount of oxygen that your body is capable of using to produce energy. Every cell in your body needs oxygen to continue all processes to keep you alive. You can think of VO2max being a sum of how well your lungs breath in oxygen, how well the oxygen is transferred into your blood stream, how effective your heart is at pumping the blood, how good your blood vessels are at transferring the blood and how well the tissues are at using the oxygen to produce energy. The most accurate measurements are done with high level equipment measuring your breathing while attending a graded exercise test to exhaustion (photo from testing at Physiologic, Robina).

*This article uses VO2max and VO2peak interchangeably to simplify the topic.

Improve Fitness – Reduce Risk of Chronic Disease

Studies show that the higher VO2max the lower your risk of developing chronic disease and vise versa, the lower VO2max the higher is your risk.

People with high cardiorespiratory fitness have:

- Reduced risk of cancer

- Reduced risk of Type 2 diabetes

- Reduced risks of heart attacks

- Lower levels of inflammation in their body

- Less headaches

- Lower risk of depression and anxiety

- Reduced risk of developing metabolic syndrome

- 40-50% reduced risk of getting dementia

The above research findings are from the Cardiac Exercise Research Group at NTNU. You can find more information here. More articles are also listed here

What researchers say about the importance of the assessment 

“Despite that PeakVO2 is a strong predictor of future health and mortality, it is not routinely measured in clinical practice. The reason for this is simply due to the costly and time-consuming procedure of exercise testing that requires trained personnel and expensive equipment. Based upon all the evidence, Peak VO2 should in my view be regarded as a vital sign on line with blood pressure, cholesterol, obesity etc. Low fitness as a risk factor has the power of the risk of blood pressure, smoking and high blood pressure combined. I realised 10 years ago that it would take a long time before fitness can be measured objectively at a GP’s office.”   - Professor & head of CERG Ulrik Wisløff

Our mission is to make this assessment available to everyone

Choosing to live a healthy and active lifestyle is the best insurance you can have against chronic disease.

We feel strongly that this assessment should be available in medical clinics around the world to help people learn more about their health and fitness and to help them take the appropriate steps to improve their health. We are commited to provide this service for everyone using gold standard equipment and skilled personnel. Our passion is to arm people with the knowledge they need to make the best health decisions for them.

Want to learn more?

Contact Us 

More about Metabolism Analysis

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“I hated the way I looked. I hated the way I felt. Most of all I hated what people saw when they looked at me. I was constantly tired and incredibly grumpy.”

I have always struggled with my weight with my ideal being around 63kgs (I’m 5ft 6). Through various activities, including the somewhat dubious, I’d managed to keep my upper weight threshold to around 73kg. At the age of 43, I was successfully treated for breast cancer. I underwent 5 surgeries in 8 months, however my weight then ballooned up to 92 kgs. I battled to shed these excess kilos. The only thing that seemed to have any impact, albeit temporary, was strict calorie control and fasting. I would try to fast at least once a week and managed to lose 4.5 kilos with a 10 day water only fast (I don’t recommend this for the feint-hearted). I tried medically prescribed appetite suppressants as these had worked really well for me in the past.  But no matter what I tried (including 4 years of therapy) I couldn’t regain my pre cancer weight. About 5 years after the cancer I then started going through menopause and was plagued with insomnia and hot flushes, or in my case ‘flashes’ as they came and went quickly. Because of the cancer HRT wasn’t an option. My new set point for my weight was around 86 kilos. I hated it. I hated the way I looked. I hated the way I felt. Most of all I hated what people saw when they looked at me. I was constantly tired and incredibly grumpy.

“One GP I saw said ‘maybe you just need to accept that this is the size you’re always going to be.’  I cried all the way home and never went back to that clinic.”

Everyone was full of suggestions as to what I should do re exercise and diet. I would often see the look of disbelief on people’s faces when I talked about my diet and exercise. ‘Are you sure your working as hard as you think?’ ‘Do you check your heart rate?’ ‘Maybe you need to do more?’, ‘Do you check your portions size?’, ‘Have you tried…’ I felt stupid, embarrassed and ashamed whenever the topic of my weight came up. Even my partner would say ‘I can’t understand why you’re as big as you are given what you eat’..he was constantly telling me ‘you need to eat more.’ All of this left me dispirited and downhearted.

My weight was impacting every area of my life especially my relationship and self-confidence. The thought that I could never lose the excess kilos was too depressing to accept. As loathe as I was to have to go under the knife again, I explored the option of bariatric surgery. Apparently, however, I wasn’t quite fat enough for that, yet. The surgeon recommended I come back once I’d put on another 5kg.

Eventually a dietician recommended that we get my metabolism tested. She sent me off to see the guys at Jupiter Health. I was really surprised as despite all my research into weight loss, I didn’t know such a test existed. I was fascinated by the whole process. On the day we did my first resting test, they ran the test for an extended period of time as my results didn’t look quite right. My fat burning was incredibly low. Mark asked me if I had ever been diagnosed with chronic fatigue. He even redid the test on another day just to confirm the results.

“When I received the report, even though my results were well below the norm, I was really happy. At last I had an explanation for why I had struggled for so long. I wasn’t stupid, lazy or a liar.”

I also had a game plan for the way forward. Mark warned me that it would take time to see improvement. He also strongly advised me against restricting my caloric intake and fasting. Although I didn’t tell him, I continued to do this for the next year as I couldn’t accept that my weight wouldn’t spiral out of control once I started eating more.

“Eighteen months on my weight is now down to a manageable level at 74kgs.”

For the first 12 months working with Mark I did less exercise than I was doing beforehand. Now I’m no longer exhausted after exercise and I can enjoy it more.  I don’t know how to describe the difference in my energy levels and the way I feel. I think the weekly supervised interval sessions at Jupiter Health were enormously beneficial. Not only did they teach me how to do interval training properly but they pushed me harder than I could push myself and kept me motivated, accountable and on track. They also provided a fantastic opportunity to ask questions, learn more and as an added bonus were claimable under my private health insurance.

“For the first time in a decade I feel in control of my weight.”

This month I completed the Great Ocean bike ride (145kms). With a finishing time of  8 hours, I don’t profess to be an athlete, but a year ago there is no way I would’ve even contemplated, let alone completed, an event like this. The first hill would’ve wiped me out and I would’ve been too exhausted to continue. Two days after the ride I was back on the bike again and feeling great. For the first time in a decade I feel in control of my weight. Thanks to Mark and the team at Jupiter Health the only hills I now have to ride out are the ones my pushie not the ones on the scales.

Fiona Evans

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Gold Coast 50 is certainly one of our favourite events each year. Really well run and with 50km, 30km, 15km, 5km and 2 x 25km Relay options there really is something for everyone.

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To taper for an event like a marathon means reducing training load in the days or weeks prior to the event.

“Should I taper?” and “how should I taper?”

These are two questions we are commonly asked. To answer these questions we should first touch on what happens to our body when we train and when we taper.

As we train for an event we repeatedly load our musculoskeletal and cardiovascular systems thus providing a stimulus for these systems to adapt to cope with the extra load. The ability of our muscles to use fuel and deal with the waste products of energy production improves, as does the ability of our cardiovascular system to support the increased demand from muscles.

The result is improved performance by improving the load that our musculoskeletal and cardiovascular systems sustain. Meaning we can perform at a higher intensity for longer.

Tapering then gives our bodies a period to adapt fully to the load of our training. For example:

Glycogen stores are maximised within a few days

Factors such as blood volume, red cell volume and enzyme activity are maximised over a period of about a week.

Healing of minor tissue trauma also commences helping to settle those niggles

 How long should I taper for?

Studies have shown that the length of a taper may be anywhere from 4 to 28 days and this is probably very much an individual and circumstantial thing. Yes, you are going to have to use some trial and error here to find out what works best for you. It also depends on your training load and any of those niggles that may be bothering you.

maintain a high intensity in your training sessions while greatly reducing volume

How should I taper?    How long and intense should my sessions be?

One thing is for sure, after all your hard training you definitely don’t want your taper to cause you to become de-trained. There have been quite a few studies done on what is the most effective ways to taper and they basically all come to the same conclusions. That is that you should maintain a high intensity in your training sessions while greatly reducing volume.

By maintaining a high intensity you continue to give your system a stimulus to maintain the adaptations that have occurred and perhaps continue to improve more.

By reducing volume you provide time for recovery and tissue healing as well as prevent fatigue. Your taper should give you the opportunity to really freshen up before the big day.

Your training should be very specific to what you want to achieve on competition day. For example if tapering for the marathon:

Run at or above your planned race pace but progressively reduce run time/distance

Shorten your interval sessions and shorten the intervals within them

Give yourself plenty of recovery time and adequate nutrition

Very best wishes for your upcoming endurance events. Happy tapering!

For availability and bookings, Call us now on

For information about testing process and pricing click here

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A scientific and proven approach to testing your fitness.

Aside from being the most accurate method of measuring cardiovascular fitness, completing a VO2max test means you will have a highly accurate idea of how your body burns fuel (fat / carbohydrate) at rest, and throughout exercise, for example – ANY WOD! The testing provides 5 key results that give you a precise profile of your fitness and uncover what is required for your body to perform at its optimum level.

1. VO2max:

Your body’s maximum capacity to perform aerobic exercise. The maximum amount of oxygen your body can use for energy production, expressed in millilitres per kilogram of bodyweight.

2. HR at RQ = 1.0:

The maximum workout intensity your body can handle before it switches entirely to carbohydrates as a fuel source. Once you are relying only on carbs to fuel your workout, it is only a matter of minutes, maybe seconds before you hit the wall. The heart rate that occurs at this exercise intensity is the measurement taken.

 3. Fuel burning profile:

Whether you’re asleep, awake, training, or reading a book, your body is constantly burning fuel (a mixture of fat and carbs). Throughout a given day your body will burn a total fuel amount that is expressed as kilojoules or calories, for example, an elite male athlete who trains 8 times per week may have a Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TEE) of around 3500 calories. As there are a multitude of factors that determine TEE, this number will vary greatly from person to person. There are a number of equations that will loosely predict TEE, however, the only accurate method of finding this information is measuring TEE using Indirect Calorimetry. The major advantage of measuring TEE is that you will know how much of your TEE is fat, and how much is carbs. The elite male athlete with a TEE of 3500 calories might burn 1750 calories of carbs per day and 1750 calories of fat, this would be a fuel burning ratio of 50:50, which is not ideal. An ideal daily fuel burning profile is up around 70:30 (fat:carbs), which is seen in most elite athletes.

4. LIPOXmax:

The maximum amount of fat your body can use to fuel a workout. The greater your ability to use fat, the more carbs you can spare for when you really need to push to the next level throughout a WOD, or any event. LIPOXmax is expressed as an amount of fat per minute, for example, 6 calories of fat per minute.

5. PWFR:

Pre-WOD Fuel Requirement. Knowing precisely how your body burns fuel while you workout means you can plan, very precisely, your fuel intake before training or competition, to optimise performance. This also means you can accurately plan your nutrition post-workout to ensure the best recovery.

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In this video renowned Australian research physiotherapist, Lorimer Mosely explores the purpose of pain and how the pain system functions.

He also looks at how our experiences affect the “hurt” that we feel and what this means for sufferers of chronic pain.

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Are athletes born to succeed or is sporting success the result of thousands of hours of hard work?

This episode of Insight brings together a range of views about what is required to reach the ultimate elite level in sport or any other skill. Becoming a professional elite athlete, musician or anything really, to be up with the best in the world it requires a range of attributes and circumstances.

For some sports having certain physical characteristics is of great benefit but that’s not all it takes. Skill, passion, dedication, determination, grit… these are other attributes that combine to make a person elite. Interestingly it appears there are a number of pathways a person can take to put together this combination of attributes in their quest to achieve their dreams.

Some fascinating evidence is presented as well as a range of accounts of how individual professional athletes have gone about it. Olympic gold medalists Alisa Camplin and Ruben Kosgei describe their pathways and their are a range of other different personal accounts. Enjoy below…

The post Where does talent come from – is it born or made appeared first on Jupiter Health.

Having run 45 marathons marathons and ultra-marathons now I have certainly learned a lot of lessons, some of which were very uncomfortable experiences. So I thought I might impart some of that leaning via this blog in a bid to make your marathon day all the more enjoyable.

 1. ENTER!  With everything from a 5km walk/run up to the full marathon there is something for almost everyone and it’s not too late to enter but you will have to be quick. It’s an exciting, motivating and inspiring event to be a part of. Not many people are fortunate enough to have an event like this in their home town so make the most of this great opportunity. If you are unable to enter anything, just come down check it out and soak up the good vibes.

2. PREPARE  your kit the night before. Trust me; it is easy to get distracted by nerves and excitement on marathon morning. I set all my kit up the night before. Race number on my singlet, timing chip on my shoe and any accessories that I may need all set out on my dining table the night before. Make a little ritual out of it, have some fun and really savour the moment.

 3. FAMILIARITY with everything you use on the day is important. Stick to what you know. Chugging down a drink that I have never trained with before has sent my stomach into evacuation mode. A lesson I have had to learn more than once and not a very nice experience in front of all those Gold Coast Marathon supporters.

Marathon day is definitely not the time to test out those new flash shoes that you have never worn before! It’s not the day to work on that new run technique you read about in a running magazine last week. Trying things for the first time on marathon day is a recipe for disaster. Make sure you are familiar with everything you use on marathon day including foods, shoes, clothing, running pace, running technique… everything.

 4. FUEL FUEL FUEL! Whatever you are doing, your body will need fuel. Your needs will be dictated by the length of your event, how fast you are planning to run and how much carbohydrate your body burns while running at that pace. If you run out of carbs you are going to have a very slow finish to your race. Too much or inappropriate fuel and you risk a stomach upset.

As a general rule for the average person and depending on how your stomach copes, half marathoners will benefit from 30-60g of carbs per hour and full marathoners 60-90g of carbs per hour . Hopefully you have tested this out in training. There are so many ideas on what you should eat before and during these events. Ultimately YOU need a good source of carbohydrate that YOU find easy to digest. Make sure you are taking on carbs in the couple of days before also.

To get a bit technical, while doing the full marathon if you want to aim for 90g of carbs per hour then you need to use “multiple transportable carbohydrates”. This means a mix of glucose or maltodextrin and fructose, in the ratio 2:1 (2 parts glucose or maltodextrin and 1 part fructose). Of course this does not apply to those with fructose intolerance.

By the way, don’t overdo the fibre or you may find yourself taking a pit stop shortly after the gun goes off. In future if you have concerns about exactly what might be the best nutrition strategy for you, make an appointment with an experienced dietitian to get some expert advice.

 5. HYDRATION is crucial. Dehydration will adversely affect your performance and can be dangerous for your health. However over-hydrating to a point of hyponatremia can be dangerous also. Fortunately the Gold Coast Marathon is very well supported with plenty of drink stations so take regular sips of water/sports drink at these and listen to your body. Personally I use mostly water and some Salt Stick capsules as I don’t really like the sports drinks.

Good preparation also means staying well hydrated in the days leading up to the marathon.

For more information on fuel and hydration check out the Sports Dietitians Australia website as well as the Carbohydrate – The Facts and Fluid – Who Needs It? pages on the AIS website.

 6. PACE yourself. Standing on the start line is not the place to make decisions like all of a sudden slashing 15 minutes off your estimated finish time. When the gun goes off, the adrenaline pumps and it is tempting to take off like a rocket. This is NOT a good race plan. Your ego will play a massive game with you making it extremely hard to resist temptation. You need to conserve energy throughout the run so keep the excitement in check and maintain a sustainable pace for YOU.

Prior to marathon day, at a time that you are feeling quite level headed decide on a realistic finish time goal and set your pace accordingly. If you are concerned about judging your pace then locate the relevant pace runners at the start line and let them guide you.

 7. LUBE UP! In one of my first marathons I experienced chaffing. I can assure you this experience with 15km still to run was extremely unpleasant and will never happen to me again. I apply heaps of vaseline before each marathon, it doesn’t feel that great and probably doesn’t look too good either but the chaffing is far worse. There are also lots of other anti-chafing solutions on the market like Body Glide, 3B and recently I have used SD Striderm with good success. Regardless of your intended chaffing prevention measure, ensure that you have given this a try prior to marathon day.

Similarly, if you are at risk of developing blisters then far better to tape up before the start than to be sitting on the side of the road at 35km trying to salvage what’s left of your foot.

 8. SUPPORTERS Having supporters along the course always gives you a big boost. I spot a friend and instantly get that tingle up my spine that just lifts me for a while. Encourage friends and family to come down and cheer for you. Giving support to other runners will also give you (and them) a lift, that camaraderie among such a big group of runners is one of the things that makes this marathon such a great experience.

 9. RECOVER sensibly. Make sure you rehydrate and re-fuel your body ASAP after your race. Sensible rehydration and refuelling strategies have been shown to improve recovery. Studies indicate that taking on protein is also an important part of recovery. If you are sick of water and sports drinks by the end of the race you could try some milk to help with rehydration. A wagyu burger at my local cafe is usually my first stop on the way home from the marathon.

 10. SMILE for the cameras. You want your finisher’s photo to look good don’t you. You may not be feeling to good some of the times that cameras pop up in front of you but do try to force a smile out. It’s a marathon, there should be significant levels of discomfort involved so  “suck it up” and smile. Just remember the pain is only temporary, the awesome feeling you get from completing your event is something you will havenforever after so make sure you have a happy pic to match.

More than just a series of running races, the Gold Coast marathon is a world class event. Savour the whole event in full from expo to finish line.

Good Luck have a great day from Mark, Therese and everyone at PhysioLogic.

The post Tips For Marathon Day appeared first on Jupiter Health.

Technology advances over the past few decades have given research scientists the ability to study the human nervous system in ways never before possible. Now we have techniques that can be used to see in detail how different areas of the nervous system function… and so in recent times the mysteries of chronic pain have unravelled before our eyes.

Pain is actually an essential survival mechanism for human survival. It alerts us that something is wrong and motivates us to avoid damage. In fact people with congenital analgesia (inability to feel pain) experience reduced life expectancy as a result of the obvious problems that arise from not having this important survival mechanism in place.

While pain normally functions to warn us about tissue damage or potential tissue damage, in chronic pain the pain system itself is not functioning properly leading sufferers to experience often severe debilitating pain in the absence of any tissue damage. The video below gives a very good explanation of one of the ways the nervous system malfunctions in the case of chronic pain.

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