The Shape of Things to Come

IMPROVING YOUR FITNESS TO IMPROVE YOUR LIFE.

By Jenn Diamond

“This year, I’m definitely getting into shape.” How
many times have you told yourself that, just to
ease the guilt of holiday indulgence? I’ll bet many of you have even gone so far as to join a health club or purchase an expensive piece of exercise equipment such as a treadmill, universal gym, or elliptical trainer only to find that your enthusiasm peters out before spring arrives.

Getting in shape is not easy for most of us. It takes dedication, permanent lifestyle changes and the resolve to incorporate a healthier attitude into your daily life – forever. You can’t just work out here and there and expect to be sporting rock-hard abs and sculpted thighs. Getting in shape takes as long, if not longer than it took to get out of shape in the first place.

Think about it: you’ve spent a lifetime getting your body into the shape it’s in today. If
you’re fit, you’ve probably been active and are a relatively healthy eater. If you’re not, you’ve spent your life noshing on fatty chips, creamy sauces and way too many sweets, drinking too much beer or soda and maybe even smoking. The human body is not meant to be overweight.

To add insult to injury, if you’re over the age of 25, you’ve already begun to lose valuable
muscle mass. Muscle mass decreases after the age of 25 which, in turn, slows down your metabolism or your body’s ability to burn calories, says Kelly Hager, fitness director at The Community YMCA in Red Bank. The American Heart Association (AHA) reports that 28 percent of Americans 18 or older aren’t active at all. Forty-four percent of adults get some exercise, but they don’t do it regularly or intensely enough to protect their hearts. Only 27 percent of American adults get enough leisure-time exercise to achieve cardiovascular fitness.

So what can you do to improve these statistics and get yourself in shape? Well, first you need to temper your expectations. It takes time to put on weight, so it’ll take time to take it off safely and permanently. “Start off at a slow pace,” Hager says. “You don’t need to be a superstar right off the bat. Listen to your body. A lot of people don’t listen to their body and are too sore to come back.” Hager recommends investing in a personal trainer if possible – if only for a little while. “Getting a personal trainer is really great for some people. A commitment of time and money will keep them coming.”

WHAT IS FITNESS?
After you’ve reset your expectations, you need to know what it means to be “in shape” so you know where you should be headed. “Fitness, to me, means that you are functionally strong so you can perform everyday activities without any major problems,” says Peter Stapleton, owner of Tempo Fitness, a new personal training studio in
Springfield. Stapleton’s philosophy on fitness centers on, well, the center. “Spinal alignment is the key to overall fitness,” he said. “Everything starts from a healthy spine.” Like a trunk of a tree: if it’s not healthy, the rest of the body will suffer.

Tempo offers acupressure therapy in conjunction with personal training. “Thermal acupressure will adjust the spine in a gentle manner,” he says.

Carrying your kids, bringing in groceries, dealing with daily strains are activities that are
all affected by your personal level of fitness. You want to play with the kids, but you have no energy, right? It is a familiar story with a surprisingly simple solution.

Experts agree that there are several components to overall physical fitness. The primary
components are cardio-respiratory endurance, muscular strength and endurance, and flexibility. Additional factors affecting your overall level of fitness include your muscle-to-fat ratio (body composition), agility, sense of balance, and reaction time (especially important for sports).

The most beneficial program you can use to achieve a general state of overall fitness will
address each of these primary fitness components. According to the National Institutes for Health, for a well-rounded workout plan, combine aerobic activity, muscle-strengthening exercises and stretching.

Aerobic activities (any activity that elevates your heart rate and breathing while moving
your body at a regular pace) will improve your cardio-respiratory function. Strength
training and conditioning (using free weights or exercise machines to place stress on specific parts of the body) will improve your muscular strength and endurance, not to mention your body composition.

“You always want to do weight-bearing exercises,” Hager says. “Lifting weights is essential. And do cardio for as many days a week as you can for as long as you can.”

The NIH recommends at least 30 minutes a day of moderate physical activity on most
or all days of the week. Add muscle-strengthening activities to your aerobic workout two to three times a week. To reduce the risk of injury, do a slow warm-up, and then stretch before aerobic or strengthening activities. Follow your workout with a few more minutes of stretching to increase your flexibility and, as a result, improve your posture and agility as well.

Other activities that will boost your overall flexibility include yoga and pilates. “[They’re] a fusion of physical therapy and exercise,” says Tempo’s Stapleton. “It’s what I call ‘functional strength.’ You want to be building strength, but gaining flexibility so you don’t end up injured.”

If you have been inactive for a while, you may want to start with easier activities such as walking at a gentle pace. This lets you build up to more intense activity without hurting your body.

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