Embrace your New Year's Resolution with a new perspective of fitness!

It's the time for New Year's resolution: “New Year, New Goals”, but after a week or so those goals are put on the back burner. In 2010 I wrote a paper on fitness & wellness that will be helpful, and hopefully keep those new year's resolutions alive.


In order to sustain excellent health you have to eat right, get your rest, but most importantly stay active. Americans tend to fall by the wayside with being physically active and maintaining proper wellness. America is shown to be the most obese country in the world. (WOW!) Obesity related deaths have climbed to more than 300,000 a year, second to tobacco related deaths (Scary, I know). Obesity is an preventable matter, but is taking the lives of others due to the lack of nutritional knowledge. It is time to educate every human being of the significance of a healthier lifestyle.


Physical activity and exercise are two entirely different aspects, but both contribute to physical fitness. Physical activity is defined as movement that involves contraction of your muscles at a light to moderate intensity. Typical daily activities are gardening, walking the dog, and housework. Exercise is a specific form or planned activity intending on acquiring fitness or to gain other health benefits. Jogging, weightlifting, and playing basketball are examples of exercising.


Now that you know the difference between physical activity and exercise. I have a few more words to add to your vocabulary to aid you in a well-rounded exercise program.

1. Specificity
   

Specificity is the core and heart of what your goals you are trying to obtain. For some one who wants to achieve weight-loss an overall good diet with cardio and weight lifting would be the way to go. If you're an athlete you want to include speed and agility into your workouts. Training should be adjusted according to your goals.

2. Progressive Overload
   

The new year is here and you want to hit the gym hard, but you have to pace yourself and listen to your body. You will be sore the first couple days or weeks starting off, but after while your body will adapt to the stress you are applying. To maintain progressive overload you have to focus on: Frequency, intensity, time and type (F.I.T.T).


Frequency: How often you exercise,  if you exercise often you can expect better results.

Intensity: The amount of energy/effort you put into an exercise. (High-Intensity- Interval-Training) has become pretty popular which is about 20-30 minutes in duration.

Type: Refers to the type of exercises you engage in (Weightlifting, Zumba, Crossfit). It is recommended NOT to concentrate on one specific area of your body, but to have a balanced program that will include all areas of your body. This does NOT mean to do a full body workout everyday! You want to continue to hit your strong areas as well as improving and strengthen your weaknesses.

Time: How long is each exercise being performed. I typical do sets of 3 or 4 with reps of 12 majority of the time. Other times I may do 1 minute interval, it all depends on the type of exercise being performed.


This F.I.T.T principle can help provide a more balanced workout plan.

3. Recovery
   

Recovery is an important aspect to getting back into the groove of exercising. You do not want to overwhelm your body with too much stress. I recommend cardio every other day with weightlifting on non-cardio days. This gives your body a chance to recoup without actually taking the day off. Everyone's body is different and you have to figure out what works best for you.

4. Reversibility
   

Losing pounds and inches is awesome, but when you don't use it, you lose it. When an individual stops exercising, up to 50% of their progress are lost within 2 months. Muscle strength tends to last longer even with light resistance training. On the other hand cardiovascular endurance can be lost in a shorter amount of time- days or weeks. The reversibility principle does not apply to skills that was once acquired. I was always told a skill once learned is never forgotten.

5. Transfer

Workout activities can improve the performance of other skills such as: Sport skills, work task, or other exercises. For instance, executing squats can increase your vertical jump due to the common movement qualities. On the other hand exercises may not transfer well due to dissimilar movement qualities.

6. Individualization

Similar to specificity, you have to adjust your fitness training programs for your personal differences: abilities, skills, gender, and physical condition all play a role in what an individual can do. There is no one size fits all program, individuals vary in maximum levels of fitness they can achieve.

7. Balance

Balance is a broad concept that operates at different levels of healthy living. You have to have the perfect blend of exercising, diet, and healthy activities to see the results you're longing for. Without one or the other you will fall astray which may affect your health. Exercising will not compensate for poor lifestyle choices. Balance suggest that all things are done in MODERATION

Studies have shown that once a person starts a fitness program, there is a very good chance they will discontinue within the first few months. To keep motivated and encouraged reward yourself (positive reinforcement strategies). Build a motivating support system, have a friend as your workout buddy. Keep written notes of progress or even take before and after pictures to see how far you have came. Venture out and find alternative workouts, step out of your comfort zone when you feel like your starting to plateau. The benefit of a healthy lifestyle takes time and patience. Good health can be an avenue for a brand new you.

Embrace the new year with a new perspective of fitness!