Keeping Your New Year’s Fitness Resolutions
Incorporate these tips into your life to sneak in some fitness time.
You thought Santa gave you a new TV for Christmas. Turns out he actually gave you 20 pounds that you just can’t get rid of, no matter how hard you try.
OK, let’s be honest—by “try,” do you really mean “think about trying”? We get it, there are a couple of monster obstacles (like life, am I right?) getting in the way of you keeping your resolutions. We asked Honolulu Club fitness manager Jt Netterville how in the world we’re supposed to conquer a few of our biggest fitness foes and get 2015 on track.
Here’s how you work it out:
The problem: Your desk. It’s the 800-pound gorilla in the room that makes you immobile and keeps you from your goals. It’s not going anywhere, so you’ll have to learn to work around it.
The solution: Make it a priority to move throughout your day, whether it’s walking to your office or cramming in a quick jog after work. Pack a sandwich and head outside to enjoy lunch while you take a nice leisurely stroll in the park. This will keep your metabolism up, give you a little extra exercise during your day and encourage better digestion. Extra benefits: You’re going to get a huge dose of bone-growing, blood-pressure-lowering and immune-system-boosting vitamin D from all that beautiful Hawai‘i sun.
Try this: Set your phone timer to go off every half hour. When it does, get up and move. Do 15 to 20 squats to help stretch and strengthen against the poor posture that desks encourage. If there’s a set of stairs nearby, go climb a floor or two. Even if it’s out of the way, it’s quick and does your body a ton of good.
The problem: Your nutritional habits.
The solution: Good, old-fashioned water. The number one key to losing weight and having more energy is being hydrated. What happens if you try to flush the toilet with only half a tank of water? Talk about fail. The body is the same way: We have to stay fully hydrated in order to utilize the energy stored and then flush out the waste products in our blood. Keep a water bottle on your desk and make sure you’re refilling it enough times during the day that you’re getting two to three liters. Then you’ll have enough water in your stomach to stave off those late afternoon sweets cravings. That alone is good for another couple pounds of weight loss!
Try this: Keep it flowing. Set yourself a reminder. Maybe every time the phone rings you drink a cup of water when you hang up. Or, put a rubber band on your wrist. Every time you feel it pull against your skin, reach for a drink.
The problem: Your busy schedule. Work, kids, meal prep, after-school sports, shopping for dinner … does it ever end?
The solution: The trick is getting away from the dread of having to commit to a three-hour ordeal of getting to the gym, getting changed and chugging along. Treat your own fitness time like you do your money. Set a budget. How much time can you budget to get yourself to a better, healthier place? An hour? Forty-five minutes? Thirty minutes? Once a week? Twice? Whatever it is, you can create a workout that will fit your budget—and don’t go over! The more you go over budget, the more you’ll resent it and the faster you’ll fall away from it.
Try this: If you’re headed for a cardio workout, look for things like the rowing machine that use your whole body and get your heart rate up in a hurry. For weight training, commit to a shorter, higher intensity workout session where you rest for minute or so before you start lifting again. Bigger movements carry a higher value for overall fitness. Squats, deadlifts, pushups, pullups, overhead pressing and kettlebells are all fantastic for challenging your strength and keeping your heart rate up. Keep it simple and set goals.
Expert tip: Don’t be afraid of the trainers at the gym—they went to school to help you! If you don’t know the movements or feel intimidated, shoot them a question. The Honolulu Club gives members two hours of training services free just for that purpose, and your gym may offer something similar.
Visit honoluluclub.com for info on rates and classes.
