Envision fitness success for 2007

By Cherilee Garofano, BA, CPT

It’s that time of year again when over 30% of us will start up a new exercise program with the best intentions of losing weight, toning up and increasing our energy. In my experience, I’ve seen over 75% stop within the first few months. Most exercise plans fail by not addressing the weakest link, ourselves. This may sound surprisingly simple, but true – how we feel about ourselves dictates whether we continue to exercise.

STEP 1 Believe you can change and make the time to achieve this.

Make this year’s commitment to change the way you feel about fitness through a change in yourself. Create the vision of who you want to be, how you want to feel and look.

Sit backs
Sit on mat with feet outstretched and knees bent; round your back and pull the belly button towards your spine to ‘sit back’ as far as possible. Hold for a count of 5. Return to sitting, lead with the chest and keep your chin up. Start at 2 sets of 12-15 reps.

Oblique twists
Start by doing a sit back. While in the sit back position, turn from side to side as if sitting in a canoe and running your hand along the surface of the water. Reach as far back as possible, follow the movement of your hands with your eyes. Do 2 sets of 14 repetitions.

The rest will come together as you respect yourself; prioritize and create ‘your’ time. Being realistic about your vision is vital for success so you don’t set yourself up for disappointment. But the necessary first step is to make fitness a lifestyle.

STEP 2   Keep it simple – just do it!
Exercise doesn’t have to be complicated, or costly. We just need to move. Humans evolved as an active animal. We need to give our bodies at least an hour of moderate movement daily. Most of us don’t, but we have simple access – put on a pair of running shoes and enjoy a walk. Cold is no excuse, grab a sweater. No time is not an excuse, walk during lunch. Combine the things you normally do like walking the dog or spending time with a friend. Walk at a steady pace, your efforts should still enable you to talk. Take the stairs whenever possible and walk to work. This all adds up to burning more calories and using your muscles. Even yard work can burn 200 calories an hour. With an investment in a few small, simple pieces of equipment there’s no limit to what you can do in your home on your own time.

STEP 3  Every 6-8 weeks, change your routine to get more fit.
Your progress in 6-8 weeks with these exercises will be surprising. Change your routine to help challenge your body. You’re less likely to stop exercising when you plateau and no longer see changes. Training movements rather than muscles is intuitive to how we move; it’s safer and easier to obtain results. 
 
STEP 4  Enjoy yourself and enjoy your results!
Committing to this new way of thinking and giving yourself the gift of time for exercise creates a shift in energy in all areas of your life. You’ll find work improves and your overall stress levels decrease. You’ll have more energy for your family and your sleep improves. You’ll become happier, fulfilled and more confident.

Hip extensions
Begin by laying on back, knees bent with feet under knees.
Level 1: Raise hips off mat and squeeze glute muscles together. Slowly lower hips to mat. Do 2 sets of 15 reps.
Level 2: Once you’ve mastered Level 1. With raised hips do alternate leg raises with bent knees.
Level 3: Alternate straight leg raises.

Push ups against bench or chair
Kneeling at a bench, place both hands on surface with wrists under shoulders.
Lower chest as far down as possible, bend elbows out to side. Push yourself up to starting position. Keep the abdominals tight. Do not lead with the neck. Do 2 sets of 10, work up to 20. 
Advance to your toes once you’ve reached 20 repetitions on knees.

Alternating supermans
Start by kneeling on your mat with hands shoulder width apart. Pull in your abdominals; keep back flat; head and neck straight ahead. Extend opposite arm and leg at the same time. Repeat 5 times each side; work up to 10 times each side. Begin without weights. Progress to holding small weight in each hand as in photo once you’ve mastered 10 times each side.

Front plank
Kneeling on the floor form a tripod on the ball with elbows under shoulders and palms of hands together. Roll ball forward. Keep back and head straight. Hold your core and suspend yourself above the ball. Hold for 10 seconds.
An advanced level is to be on toes and hold for up to a minute. Then advance to lifting one leg at a time from this position.