The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Don’t put off getting in shape in 2018
January is the bane of the existence of gym rats across the country.
Annoyed by the influx of new bodies tempted by New Year’s resolutions to get in shape, regular fitness aficionados look forward to February — when many of the newbies have already stopped coming.
But Anna Dey, a certified personal trainer and co-owner of Anytime Fitness in Concord Township, believes the new year is still an excellent time to start getting in shape.
“January is our busiest month of the year. We offer some really good personal training incentives then,” Dey said. “I applaud every person who comes in during January. They got through the door and made a decision to get healthier. I don’t like hearing the negative stuff about ’Resolutioners.’ It’s still great they got started! Members will have to deal with a few more bodies in January. Most people who jump the gun to join in January are committed into February, and then that’s it.”
So how can new members avoid becoming one of the dreaded Resolutioners — those who have all but vanished from their newly joined gym before bikini season even starts?
“The No. 1 best way to ensure you are going to stick with programming is to recruit some help,” Dey said. “Invest in a personal trainer for at least six months so you have someone else who is equally invested in your fitness. I also recommend that people who are coming from no exercise in the last six months or more, that they don’t try to go five or six days a week right out of the gate. People quit coming because they set extremely high goals. What happens is that people say they will go to the gym every day. So they do that for a few weeks and then quit because it’s too hard to keep up with that schedule. Then they feel like they failed. But had they selected a more appropriate frequency to come to the gym, then they wouldn’t have failed. You should start out with three days a week and then build up on it. Maybe go up to four days a week after maybe two months.”
People are also more likely to stick with gym workouts if they don’t focus so much on the number on the scale, she added.
“What we’re hearing more and more is people are wanting a healthier lifestyle,” Dey said. “They want to be able to help their sister move, go up a flight of stairs without getting winded, or carry their grandchild. The fitness and health industry is preaching healthier lifestyles, rather than say, losing 50 pounds. Your weight is going to fluctuate, and you can’t lose weight the rest of your life, so you are more likely to stick with it if you are doing it for health reasons.”
Concord Township resident Alexandra Fogle had always been athletic, but wanted to join a gym to round our her fitness routine and get stronger for her karate workouts.
“I had never even picked up a dumbbell before,” recalled the 23-year-old owner of Twinsburg ATA Martial Arts and Karate for Kids. “The first time I tried to join a gym I just sat in the parking lot because I was so nervous.”
Eventually, Fogle got up the nerve to walk inside.
She has been attending physical training sessions at Anytime Fitness in Concord Township at 5 a.m., four days a week, without fail for three years.
“It’s part of my routine now,” she said.
John Patriarca, co-owner of CrossFit Remix in Mentor, said having a support group is key to fitness success.
“At the bigger gyms, there is no set regimen, no set nutritional training, and you start to lose motivation after the first week or two,” he added. “It kind of gets to be too much. Other things come up in people’s lives and nobody is really holding them accountable, so new potential athletes kind of drop off and fall into their old habits. At our gym, we have our new members set shortterm goals for the first 21 to 30 days that are reasonably attainable, measurable and documented in some manner, so they can start and see some progress and gain some confidence.”
Documented attendance — such as making a commitment to show up three times a week — is also important for new members.
Another must is getting serious about nutrition, said Patriarca.
“What you do at the gym is awesome. But if you don’t have the second pillar of nutrition, if you’re not taking care of your body outside the gym, you’re not going to be making the progress,” he said.
“Without the nutrition aspect and realizing what you put in your body is super important, you’re limited in the expectation that you can have. Four of our coaches are nutrition specialists, and we have a couple registered dieticians too.”
CrossFit Remix’s online food and nutrition forums for members can also help people stay on their path to fitness, said Patriarca.
“A lot of people take things for granted and are like, ‘Hey, I worked out today. I’m going to eat chicken wings and drink beer.’ ”