January 2007, Brett

Starting the New Year Off Right

It will come as no surprise to anyone that the New Year is the time for changes and new beginnings. For many people those changes involve changing how we eat and move. Unfortunately, about 70% of people who start an exercise program on January 1st have fallen off the wagon by March. How can you beat the statistics? This article will help you set your goals, and find out what the recommendations are for your goal. First, set up your plan in advance by using the following approach, be SMART:

S-specific—a goal must be specific, clear, and easy to understand. No “getting in shape” goals, in other words.

M-measurable—this sounds a lot like specific, but the goal must be able to be put into numbers. For example, losing weight is a lot more vague than fitting into a size 8.

A-achievable—is your goal something that is humanly possible? Could you break a 3-minute mile? If your goal is weight loss, are you creating a situation that would have you lose more weight than is healthy?

R-realistic—it may be achievable to be an Olympic athlete, but do you really have the time/genetics/money/facilities to make the effort?

T-time framed—an important part of a goal is to have a date by which you plan to achieve the goal. Even better is breaking up your goal into segments and adjusting your goal to fit those segments

Once you have your goal, what is the right amount of activity for you? Based on your goal, the recommendations change. For most people, however, the recommendations fall into one of two major categories: General Fitness, and Weight Loss.

General Fitness

Do some kind of activity every day. It doesn’t matter if you go to the gym, go for a brisk walk, or even do some heavy housework. As long as you get your heart beating faster and your breathing to increase, you are helping your heart. Try to get at least 30 minutes of activity every day, even if you have to split that time up into 10-15 minute groups. To maintain muscle and bone strength, do some kind of resistance training every 2-3 days. That can be as simple as push-ups and lunges, or as in depth as going to the gym.

Weight Loss

Just like the General Fitness goal, for weight loss plan on doing something every day. What makes weight loss different is that usually more time is needed. Try to get about an hour of activity in everyday, the more activity you can do in a single session the better. It doesn’t take training for a triathlon to lose weight. Use the talk test to work out at the right level. If you can say 2-3 words per breath, you are at the right intensity. If you can sing, you are working out at too light of an intensity. If you can’t even gasp out a word, you are working out too hard. Resistance training is just as important, but if you want you can split your resistance training into body groups. Still only work out each muscle group 2-3 times per week, resting 48-72 hours between each workout. Splitting up your training into upper body and lower body workouts is common and useful since you work out each muscle for a shorter time, but more often.

If you need ideas on how to get started on an activity program you can go to www.checkyourhealth.org/pa/webworkouts.htm to get ideas, download exercise instructions, and even watch 4-minute videos that have exercises for people just getting started and for people who have been working out for a while. If you have questions on any physical activity topic, send them to Brett McIff at bmciff@utah.gov .

Keep Moving, and make this a great new year!