GET BACK ON TRACK
FALL A GREAT TIME TO RESUME A HEALTHY, ACTIVE ROUTINE
The kids are back in school and it is time to get your fitness program back on track. After a funfilled summer of vacations, playing, barbecues, and perhaps a few too many happy hours, it is time to get back at it. No more excuses! When planning your “Fall back to Fitness” program be smart and get the
best results from your training time and money. Here are my top 10 tips to get you on the right path.
1. CREATE A PLAN
Begin with finding an activity that makes you happy. Walk, dance, ride, lift and stretch. A good plan starts with something you are interested in doing. From there, build your plan around your lifestyle. Your schedule and commitments, your current health, your interests and economics all affect your plan. Determine what you will need to organize to make your plan work. If you need child care to fit in a workout, find a facility that offers child minding. If transportation is a barrier, find activities that you can do close to home. Not planning for potential barriers is a sure way to start off on the wrong foot. Everyone has their own unique situation and experience, so make your plan work for you.
2. ENGAGE SUPPORT
Changing health habits and training on your own can be challenging. Exercise adherence studies have shown that working out in a group, with a trainer or a partner, will increase your success and commitment to your goals and long-term success.
3. TRAIN RIGHT
There are so many choices in the fitness industry. The challenge is to choose well. The fitness industry is big business and not all products, programs and offerings are created equally. If you are a seasoned fitness enthusiast, always ask yourself, “Does this make sense based on sound training principles?” If not, then it is probably a fitness gimmick — here today and gone tomorrow! For newcomers to fitness it is harder to determine what is training right and training wrong. My advice is to be aware of the promise. If a product or program hangs its hat on a promise that you will lose weight, tone your body, get sculpted and look a like the model on the advertisement by simply using their product, it is a sure sign of a gimmick. Fitness, health and wellness goals cannot be achieved that simply. It is through a good balance of activity, healthy eating and rest that you form the foundation of a sound fitness program. Doing too much of any one thing isn’t good for you, either. The body is quick to adapt and adding variety into your workout is the best way to get amazing results.
4. RESISTANCE TRAIN
Everyone will benefit from adding this into their weekly workout plan. Research shows that resistance training is important for overall health, strength, bone density and body weight management. The important things with resistance training are to ensure the exercises challenge the body to strengthen and that your technique is good to minimize joint strain. Progression and execution is the key to success with resistance training. In order for muscles to strengthen, you need to create overload or momentary muscle failure in 12 to 15 repetitions, or approximately a minute. If the load is too low, the muscles do not change and strength gains are not achieved. There are many popular fitness programs on the market that are promoting high repetitions of very low weight that can lead to overuse injuries and no change in muscle strength or physical results.
5. DO YOGA AND STRETCH
Include yoga and stretching in your weekly fitness and wellness program. Yoga is good for everyone. There are a number of styles of yoga, some more powerful and others relaxing. Depending on what you need, choose a yoga practice that complements your fitness program. For example, if you have a hard workout today, do a gentler yoga class tomorrow to help recover and restore your body.
If you need some energy and a physical challenge, do a power yoga class. Stretching is something that should be done daily for the best results. Even 10 minutes a day will help release stiffness and pain caused by poor posture, occupational habits and overuse.
6. FUEL RIGHT
Believe it or not, approximately 80 per cent of your success when it comes to getting healthy depends on your diet. Learning how to fuel your body with the best food to keep your energy high and the weight low is a critical piece to your overall program. Be smart when it comes to eating well. Avoid the quickfix diets and the latest trends, as we all know how they end up. Next year they are the old diet and trend to be replaced with something else that won’t work. Secretly we wish there was a magic diet, but the reality is there is not. It comes back to good, old common sense. Eat a healthy, wellbalanced diet with a good variety of whole foods. Get rid of junk and clean up your diet. When it comes to performing better, ask experts educated in the sciences of nutrition rather then the television or magazine stand for advice.
7. SCHEDULE ACTIVE RECOVERY
Once you are active, be sure to include recovery into your weekly workout plan. Take a day off. Yes, you heard me. Taking a day off gives your body a chance to rebuild. It is during the recovery that the body will make the changes and gains from the workout. (However, taking a day off is only important if you are actually working out!)
8. GET GOOD ADVICE
Seek professional assistance when it comes to your health and wellness. Unfortunately, your neighbour’s advice may not be the best when it comes to your health and fitness plan. Seek out credible, educated, qualified and certified fitness and health professionals.
Many fitness operators and personal trainers are self-trained. Your first indication that they may not have the necessary credentials to advise you is when they give you the same fitness program as they personally use. We call that the “here’s what I do” approach.
Everyone is different and what works for one person, may not be the best approach for someone else.
9. BE SMART WITH YOUR TIME
We have a limited amount of time for our fitness and health goals. Don’t waste it doing things that simply don’t work. Holding your arms out to the side of your body with one-pound weights will cause your arms to fatigue, but it definitely will not make you stronger! If you want to get stronger, lift enough weight through full ranges of motions. If you want to be more efficient, do cardio training. If you want to feel good and maintain function and mobility, do yoga. If you want great core stability, do Pilates. If want to change your body composition, eat well.
And if you want to live longer, stay young and look great, do all of these things.
10. BE SMART WITH YOUR MONEY
No one likes to throw away money, so here is my best advice when is comes to saving money in the fitness industry. Stay clear of fads and magic potions. There is no single answer to your health and fitness needs. Get the most “bang for your buck” by investing in quality fitness products, programs and facilities that will take care of your many fitness and health needs. Make a list of the things you love to do and find one place that offers at least 80 per cent of what you want for one fee instead of a random approach and spending money everywhere without an intention or plan.