We know the drill Jan. 1 arrives, and we make our enthusiastic New Year's resolutions. We buy the gear, sign up for the gym and stock our refrigerators with healthy food.
But oftentimes, a few weeks in, the couch looks more inviting than the treadmill, and the sugary
snacks start calling from the pantry. Before we know it, were staring summer right in itshot, sticky face, and weve made little progress on our resolutions.
After talking to some area fitness experts, we have found the general consensus is this: some things can accelerate your fitness results, but to reach your goals in a way thats safe and effective, youre going to have to dig up somegood, old-fashioned determination and put in hard work.
It may seem like common sense, but the first thing you need to do is determine what yourgoals are, and be sure they are reasonable.
Maybe you want to be bigger and stronger; maybe you want to be smaller. Whateveryour goals are, planning and consistency are important, says Josiah Lorentzen, owner ofThe Foundation, formerly Quad City CrossFit, in Davenport and Moline.
And people dontalways like to hear it, but losing anything more than one to two pounds a week is a lot,unless someone is really heavy.
Experts agree that safety must be one of your mainconcerns. If you injure yourself right out of the gate, your progress immediately will be slowed.
It doesnt matter how much weight you can lift or how fast you can complete an exercise or series of exercises if they are done with poor form. Not only do you riskinjury like this, but you dont get the full benefit of the exercise, says Jon Hunt, ownerof 8 ONE 8 Fitness, Davenport.
Also, an important side note, if you dont know how todo a particular exercise, dont just follow the first YouTube video that you come across,and dont just watch people at the gym. Oftentimes those people will not know any morethan you and have just mimicked someone else. When in doubt, ask for help.
Whether your workout of choice is lifting, running or yoga, you tend to get what you put in, according to Kela Ganzer, who owns Backwards Yogain Eldridge.
Even in a slower, gentle, candlelight yoga class, you could receive a great physicalbenefit from that versus a power yoga class if your mind is right, Ganzer says.
The most resounding piece of advice among our experts is to avoid the get fit quickmentality, but if you are trying to get results quickly, they want you to do it safely. Often,that means turning to professionals.
They suggest looking for certification from coaches, trainers and teachers, checking tosee how long they have been in business and finding someone who feels like a good fitfor you or, as Hunt says, someone who is not just going to bark orders and count reps.
Mixing up your workouts is another key.Lorentzen says thats one of the things that made CrossFit-style workouts so successful. They specialize in not specializing; its one of the greatest statements in CrossFit, but its true. Its all about GPP, or general physical preparedness; it gets you in general goodshape like nothing else, Lorentzen says.
Ganzer says mixing things up applies to yoga as well.
You want your body to receive the full benefits from yoga and working out in general. Each movement is using different muscles, and you want to maximize the energy in thosemuscles. I would recommend if you go to the gym or CrossFit or you run, you shouldoffset your usual routine with yoga at least twice a week. If you regularly attend yogaclasses, you should offset your usual routine with a cardio workout at least twice aweek, Ganzer says.
Rest also is key, but that doesnt mean sitting on the couch especially if your end goalis to see increased results.Proactive rest, like walking, playing a sport or playing with your kids, is good for a restday, Lorentzen says.
And your best results arent created just by moving your body what you put into yourbody is just as important.
Nutrition is probably the most important factor in achieving any real, lastingresults," Hunt says. And simply cutting calories tosome arbitrary number is never the best or safest way to achieve a desired result.
Hunts team includes a nutrition specialist as well as stand-alone nutrition servicesbecause he feels a one-size-fits-all approach doesnt work for everyone.
No amount of training and no exercise/training program will negate the need for propernutrition, he says.
Lorentzen adds that its not always about cutting something out of the diet, but addingsomething in.
Were big on vegetables here, Lorentzen says. If we could change one thing, it wouldbe to cut back the sugar intake theres way too much in the typical American diet and(add) in more vegetables two or three servings per meal.
Ganzer adds one more word to that advice: Hydrate. Its great advice for all workouts, but especially in a hot yoga studio such as Ganzers.
Definitely hydrate before, during and after a hot class. Be prepared to sweat its goodfor you.
Above all, use common sense.
Pick something that works and makes sense for you, Hunt says. Dont follow trends orthe latest fitness craze just because it may seem like the hot thing right now. Figure outwhat you really want to achieve, do a little research and find the best course of action foryou.
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Get fit, be safe: Exercise caution at the gym, too - Quad-Cities Online
