17 Dec 2011 Priorities & planning: A new you in the new year

by Sonja J. Keith

Prioritizing and planning are keys to a successful fitness program that will not only ring in the New Year but will last throughout the months that follow.

Fitness centers throughout the 501 will soon be crowded with individuals who have made exercise a New Year’s resolution. Unfortunately, when Valentine’s Day rolls around, many will have already abandoned their fitness focus.

Amy Routt, group exercise coordinator and personal trainer at the Conway Regional Health and Fitness Center, cites the “busyness” of life for many failed resolutions. She said prioritizing and planning will help ensure fitness success.

“Prioritize your health and make sure you have it planned and organized.”

PRIORITIES AND BENEFITS

In her nearly 10 1/2 years at the fitness center, Amy has seen some amazing transformations. She has witnessed individuals who have been able to participate in activities, like running, who never thought that was possible.

Working with personal training clients and those in her fitness classes, Amy tries to help them meet their goals. “They want to tell you their stories and what their goals are,” she said. “I will do anything to help people see that through.

“I love people. I love that I get to encourage and see people change their own lives.”

Amy points out that “exercise isn’t just about exercise.” It’s about individuals changing their lives with good nutrition and fitness. “It really does change people when they accomplish fitness goals.”

While weight loss is typically a goal of an exercise program, it isn’t the only objective. “At first, it should be taking care of your health,” she said. “You don’t have to be in the gym two hours every day exercising.”

In addition to weight loss and an ability to participate in physical activities, Amy has seen clients who have lowered their blood pressure and others with diabetes who now can control it with diet and exercise and are no longer dependent on medicine.

There is also a mental benefit to regular exercise. “It is a way to relieve stress,” she said.

PLANNING

Amy has developed a planning process that works for her active family of five – husband Josh, daughters Taylor and Emma and son Evan. It helps ensure that family needs and schedules are met. And it includes time for exercise.

Every weekend, Amy plans the family’s menu for the following week and prepares a shopping list. “We know what we’re going to eat all week.” She also reviews the family’s activities for the week, which are recorded in a three-ring binder she uses as her planner. She also maps out when she will exercise throughout the week.

“I look at when I’ll exercise. Not ‘will I’ but ‘when I’ will exercise. I make it fit.”

On weeknights, Amy spends five to 10 minutes planning for the next day – from taking meat out of the freezer for dinner the next day to packing her bag with clothes and snacks. “That 10 minutes of planning for the next day has become such a routine, and it helps,” she said. “It allows you to fit everything in the next day and makes things run a lot smoother.”

One of her clients bags a week’s worth of healthy, non-perishable snacks in bags that she stores in a bucket by her back door, allowing easy access to grab one bag as she leaves each day. “Sometimes it helps to take a little time at the beginning of the week to get that done.”

Amy is a natural planner, and the system works well for her. She has shared her approach with clients, and they, too, have benefitted from her planning methods. “Every family has to find what works for them.”

For the Routts, family time is often spent being active – from trips to the tennis court to bicycling, flag football or hiking. For Amy, exercising as a family is just as important as individual workouts. “If you think of it that way, you can fit more workouts in and be together as a family,” she said. “We want to do something active.”

Amy remembers when her kids were younger they used to have family jumping rope contests. “If you tap into that child side, you don’t have to go to a gym every day.”

HELPFUL TIPS

For some, working out in the early morning hours – before family members are awake – is easier than trying to find time later in the day. According to Amy, those who work out in the morning are more likely to stick with a fitness program than those who wait until after work to exercise. They also tend to eat better throughout the day and drink more water. “There are quite a few benefits.”

Accountability can also help. Spending money on a personal trainer, plus knowing someone is waiting at the gym, can help motivate some. Group exercise also provides some accountability as well as some social benefits. “For some, being a part of something is important.”

A challenge that some have to overcome is concern that others at the gym are watching them. “They aren’t looking at you or laughing at you,” she said. “That’s an obstacle a lot of people have to overcome.”

An exercise program taken in baby steps can also help. Instead of a resolution to be at the gym every day, perhaps two days a week is a more realistic goal at first. She said more realistic, smaller goals are more likely to ensure a resolution will become habit. “Make smaller changes that build on each other, and don’t try to change everything at once,” she said. “It’s a start that can evolve into something bigger.”

With the new year approaching, Amy strongly encourages individuals to make their health a priority with a doctor’s checkup before starting any exercise program. She suggests approaching exercise sessions like other important appointments and recognize the importance of planning.

“You make sure you get to those things that are important to you.”