Tips for keeping New Year'sfitness resolutions
With the new year comes renewed resolutions, and some may feel urged to buy gym memberships, home gyms and yoga pants hoping to reach new fitness goals.
While some find success, others don't — and many regret the wasted money later in the year, only to repeat the process again the following year.
But lost enthusiasm may not be the only barrier between New Year's resolvers and their goals.
Sandra Ihlenfeld, the Butler YMCA Healthy Living Association director, said these decisions should be made on a person's personality and availability.
Ihlenfeld said people can find fitness success through a variety of sources, through gyms and their programs, at home using body weight techniques and following videos or outside running streets and trails.
She said the hard part can be finding the right fit rather than strenuous exercise.
“The social group and the relationship with the instructor are as important as the fitness itself,” she said.
Ihlenfeld said some people prefer a home gym because they need to fit a flexible schedule or prefer solitude.
She said fitness at home can be free, including following the trending body-weight workouts. She said some people prefer to follow videos, which do cost money but have the added bonus of a virtual instructor.
People trying to build their home gym with equipment may find that the word free doesn't fit Ihlenfeld's description.
The price of dumbbells tends to mirror their weight in pounds. Dumbbell sets, ellipticals and treadmills can cost thousands of dollars.
Ihlenfeld said body-weight workouts are growing in popularity. She said they can be effective as long as the exercise is done properly.
“Body weight is efficient,” she said. “You could do just body weight (workouts) and be good, but you need to have good form.”
Ihlenfeld said the gym provides a more social environment, allowing a person to have assistance if they need it.
She said some find the atmosphere uncomfortable at first, but soon develop a trust and understanding with their fellow members.
“It may feel like joining a clique,” she said. “Anyone would feel that.”
Ihlenfeld said classes are the best way to get people involved together, and the classes usually have instructors that help motivate members. She said workouts in groups help boost positive relationships, which is also considered essential for healthy living.
“As they exercise they build friendships,” she said. “Exercise itself improves confidence.”Ihlenfeld said members also bond with instructors, who are motivators and constructive in criticism. She said instructors can also provide validation for members when accomplishing a goal or performing something the right way.“There's something important in someone saying, 'Good job,'” she said.Ihlenfeld said she understands that gyms might not work for everybody. She said introverted people may find the gym's social aspect too big of a barrier to overcome.She said she holds nothing against these people and reassures that any form of fitness is fine as long as people meet the minimum requirement.The Department of Health and Human Services recommends at least 150 minutes a week of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes a week of vigorous aerobic activity.Ihlenfeld said meeting that minimum requirement also means dedicating time to actually exercise and not to justify strenuous daily activity as exercise. She also said the term “moderate” can be confusing.“It would feel like you're slightly winded,” she said.Ihlenfeld said she and her fellow staff members encourage people to participate in group activities to meet this standard, but they do not discourage those that want to seclude themselves at the gym by listening to music through headphones and follow their own plans. She said those members deserve the same respect as those whom pursue fitness at home.“Their own ideal of exercise is important,” she said. “We're really accepting of both.”
