Stop the yo-yo routine

Have you been on a yo-yo fitness routine for years? You know, someone who goes from ‘couch potato’ to ‘elite athlete’ in a week. Don’t feel bad, you’re not alone!

Often times when people are new to exercise, they start out very excited about making healthy changes and do too much, too soon. By that, I mean they go from not exercising at all, to a workout program geared for someone in tip top shape. Then, when the effort involved doesn’t equal the results, discouragement followed by feeling like it’s not worth it and ultimately quitting the program, is inevitable.

Here are three tips to make sure this doesn’t happen to you:

1. The first step, in any life change, is to set specific, measureable, attainable, realistic & timely goals (SMART goals). If you don’t have goals, how do you know what you need to do to in order to reach them?

2. If you’re new to exercise, or haven’t exercised for a while (6 months or more), start by simply increasing your daily physical activity. This means finding ways to just get up & move in your day. Pace while on the phone, stand while folding clothes instead of sitting, put fun music on while cleaning (you’ll go faster & you’ll get done sooner, win win!), take the stairs, etc, etc. This may not seem like a lot, but remember that every little bit adds up AND it will get your mind & body ready for more.

3. Find a physical activity that you enjoy…and then do it! For example, if you’re someone that loves being outside, start taking walks after dinner. If you pick something you like, you’ll be more likely to do it.

Good luck on your journey to better health and fitness. If you need additional guidance, let us know. We’re here to help!

Great welcome to Yuma

I recently moved to Yuma from Indianapolis, IN and brought OnTrack Fitness with me. I’ve been teaching an activity and exercise class series at the Yuma Library, and it’s been an educational experience for me, just as much as the class participants.

I feel like I’ve learned so much just from listening to the class as we discuss health and fitness. I’ve given them information about how to get fit, training guidelines, etc, but they’ve given me a perspective I couldn’t have gotten anywhere but Yuma!

The class is an eight week series and I’ve had the pleasure of meeting so many different people. There’s been such a wide variety of folks each week – from a three year old that can already do pushups and break dance, to an eighty five year old lady that is still biking, walking and doing senior Olympics! We’ve had people that are trying to learn English, winter visitors from all over and people that have lived in Yuma their entire lives.

Here are three things I’ve learned from my class participants:

1. Age truly means nothing.
You can do pushups, walk, bike, swim, anything - at 3 just as well as you can do it at 85.

2. Learning never stops!
Open your mind to learning throughout your life and it keeps you sharp and active.

3. You have more of an influence on people that you may ever know.
I’ve seen this in two ways: The mother that brought her two young children to class. I was impressed on how much these kids knew all about fitness and health and they obviously got that from their parents.

The other way I learned about influencing people is how the class has influenced me. The people I’ve met, I’ll never forget. They are so friendly, positive and eager to learn. It really had an impact on me.

So, this class has been a great ‘welcome to Yuma’, and I thought it was worth sharing with everyone. Thank you for the wonderful experience.