Healthier … fitter … thinner    — for many, the New Year brings hope of a new you.    But the annual New Year’s resolution itself isn’t even half the battle — keeping your fitness resolution requires dedication and hard work. Local fitness experts weigh in on how to make and keep fitness resolutions in 2014.    Jim Engelhardt    Division manager, Fitness, Sports and Special Facilities, City of Kettering Parks and Recreation    Have realistic expectations, considerations include genetics/heredity, body type, exercise history, health level, time constraints and priorities. Changing your body means making cellular level changes over time. Rome wasn’t built in a day and that extra 20 pounds didn’t appear overnight.    Set short, intermediate and long-term goals — a fitness professional can assist with these. The initial exercise program should be appropriate for the current fitness level. Too much, too soon can have an adverse affect, physically and psychologically.    Don’t get hung up on your weight.How you look, feel and how your clothes fit you are much better indications of success. A good program that preserves/increases lean muscle mass will make weight loss difficult but it will reduce your body fat, increase your tone, reduce your waistline and improve your appearance.    Craig A. Cole    Exercise physiologist for Bethany Village    Plan ahead. Get a calendar and outline your week’s activities. Find time blocks for at least 30 minutes of exercise on most, if not all, days of the week. Try to plan at least a week ahead. Scheduling helps you develop a routine. Make those times for your exercise routine yours and no one else’s. Be selfish about these time blocks. If you struggle to make exercise a habit, seeing a time and day can serve as a motivational cue. You see it and then do it, don’t give yourself any excuses.    Unleash your competitive side. We all like to win. Exercise and fitness is one of those things in life where hard work does reap a great reward. Challenge yourself during each exercise session you set aside for yourself. Be it lifting five more pounds than last week or running an extra five minutes, challenge yourself.    Andy Niekamp    Lead adventurer, Outdoor Adventure Connection and organizer of the Dayton Hikers    Start simple and surround yourself with people who have the same goal. One of the easiest and cheapest ways to get fit and lose weight is to go hiking with a group such as Dayton Hikers or Miami Valley Outdoor Club. Hiking and walking are excellent exercise and we have many great places in the Dayton area for this. Start with a realistic goal such as going on a short hike or walk once or twice a week. From there, you can build up to longer mileage and more challenging hikes and go more often. Winter is a great time for hiking because there isn’t the heat, humidity and insects to deal with. The views are better, too.    By joining an organized hiking group you will meet other like-minded people who wish to get and stay fit. Your hiking group becomes an informal support group to help motivate you and help you achieve your weight loss goals.    Nicole Money    Head kettlebell instructor and manager, The Edge    Set realistic goals. For example, instead of saying, “I am going to lose 50 pounds this year, exercise every day, give up soda and carbohydrates and drink eight glasses of water a day,” start with something like, “I am going to lose 10 pounds by March 1 and I am going to start with three exercise sessions a week, limit my soda and carbohydrate intake and drink at least five glasses of water a day.”    That way, you are not setting yourself up for failure. In March, then, you would re-evaluate and either modify or add to your current plan to ensure compliance. I am also a big fan of the My Fitness Pal app for tracking activity and food intake and helping you set realistic goals.    Kathy Anderson    Owner/instructor My Pilates Studio    Explore what fits your idea of exercise and make a commitment to prioritize exercise. Once you become accustomed to a fitness regime that you enjoy, it’s something you will habitually make a part of your life. I love dance, so to stick me in a gym with weights and fitness machines would be painful and difficult to get me to do on a regular basis. Give me options that include some form of dance or allow me to move my body and I am there, because it is primarily fun … then exercise. It’s about doing something that fits my personality, fitness needs and goals … then it’s no longer a dreaded appointment, but one that I protect. Exercise is non-negotiable where health is concerned, so for it to be a “lifestyle” form of exercise, I must get lost in what I am engaged in.    Rich Munn    Personal trainer, Muscle by Munn    Create a plan of attack.    This would include achievable goals, realistic time management and sound exercise program. Take time to develop the plan. Many people dive right into a new diet or exercise program without any idea as to what is involved. Also, make a decision to be uncomfortable with both the nutrition and exercise. Change means being uncomfortable, getting out of your comfort zone and doing what you thought you could not do. Really this whole operation is more mental than physical — if the mind believes, the body can achieve. Lastly, give it time. We live in such an instant gratification society it makes it hard to stick with a plan to change such a complex organism like our body. Realize that you will get frustrated, depressed, angry and anxious but stick with it. This is where if you have a good solid plan it will compensate for all of these ups and downs.    Vicki Campbell    Personal trainer, Personally Fit    Start slowly. Most people start off like gangbusters and hit the gym hard and end up so sore they cannot move or worse, they get injured. If you are inactive, start slowly and consider hiring a personal trainer. A trainer will keep you motivated and on track to reach your goals. You can often share the cost of a trainer with a friend and then you have an extra person to keep you accountable. Working out with a friend is also more fun. A 30-minute workout two to three days a week for six months is a good starting point. Finally, remember, you cannot out exercise a poor diet. Healthy food is fuel for your body.    Contact this contributing writer at djunie@aol.com  .

NEW YORK — Forget the fear of missing out. In 2014, trend watcher JWT thinks JOMO — the joy of missing out — will take deeper root in the mainstream.    Among the global advertising and marketing company’s predictions for the new year is a march to “mindful living,” with more consumers actively trying to shut out distractions and focus on the moment.    But as trend reports often go, this one is mixed, for Mindful Living is listed with The Age of Impatience in JWT’s Top 10 for next year.    In the peace-of-mind department, look no further than the Slow Food Movement broadening, simply, to Slow; the rise of the digital detox like Camp Grounded in Northern California’s Anderson Valley; and Silicon Valley’s infatuation with all things Zen, said Ann Mack, the company’s director of trend-spotting.    Google already offers employees meditation as part of a “Search Inside Yourself” course, along with regular silent “mindful” lunches, for instance.    And there’s an app or three, including Head-space for on-the-go meditators who are prompted to check in with themselves, Mack said.    The mind-calming, mind-blowing concept goes like this, according to Mack: “You’re enjoying what you’re doing in the here and now and not on social media broadcasting or seeing what everybody else is doing.”    WOW.    As for JOMO, as opposed to FOMO, Mack credits tech blogger Anil Dash for coming up with the former when he realized after a month unplugged following the birth of his son that he happily hadn’t missed anything at all.    While some people work on their downward-facing dogs at yoga class, the on-demand economy will churn away in 2014, said the ninth annual JWT report.    To satisfy the need for all things instant, binge viewing and same-hour delivery bubbled up to satiate all age segments, especially hyperconnected Millennials who expect things can be achieved, acquired and enjoyed with the help of mobile technology in real time.    Even they’re pushing back some on how they perceive technology, Mack said in a recent interview.    “I think the real surprise is the fact that as we get more immersed in technology we’re starting to question its siren call, although we’re not resisting it entirely,” she said.    “There’s a Jekyll and Hyde quality that we speak about in raging against the machine.    “You know, we are still very much embracing it but resisting it simultaneously,” Mack added.    “Over the past several years we’ve let technology rule us and now we’re ready to rule it and find a balance in our lives.    “We realize technology is here to stay but it’s fundamentally changing our relationships, our behaviors, perhaps even our brains.”    Which leads to another JWT prediction: the rise of Telepathic Technology.    Google Glass? So yesterday .    The report said brain-computer interfaces, or BCIs, will push further into the commercial mainstream next year.    Currently nascent, mind-controlled cars to art exhibits rely on the brain-wave activity of consumers.    As traditional EEG systems have been pared down, they’re no longer the domain of health providers alone.    Applications at a lower cost have proliferated for commercial consumption, the report said.    A Silicon Valley company called NeuroSky is looking ahead, partnering with Mattel to create mind-powered toys, for example.    Another company has come up with a headset that can read a wearer’s mood to provide the perfect playlist, according to the report.    “Researchers and programmers from Egypt to the U.K. and the U.S. are refining the ability to get computers to read human emotions through a practice known as affective computing,” the report said.    While Siri sorts herself, proudly imperfect as the new perfect will take a stand next year, according to JWT.    Blemished fruits and vegetables are touted as best over the waxed-up grocery kind and “ugly selfies” are the new selfies across social media as authenticity makes a comeback, Mack said.    We’ve got celebrities without makeup, books on imperfect parenting and the anti-Photoshop movement leading the way, she added.

Bonus Gift Cards are available until Dec 31st! Don’t miss out. Purchase a $100 gift card and you will receive an additional $10 bonus gift card!  Choose a $50 Gift Certificate and receive a $5 bonus gift card.

Hard to believe it’s only 7 days left until Christmas! We can help with those last minute shopping needs and what’s better than the gift of health! Gift Certificates are available in any denomination but if you purchase a $100 Gift Certificate, you will receive a $10 complimentary Gift Certificate & if you purchase a $50 Gift Certificate, you will receive a $5 complimentary Gift Certificate. This offer is good through December 31. For this week only before Christmas, we will also give you a Complimentary Class Card in Piloxing or BarreAmped (one per client / $20 value). Stop in or give us a call at 438-5151 for open hours.

Dayton Daily News 12/13/13

GET ACTIVE

Piloxing blends boxing, Pilates for fun way to get, stay fit

By Debbie Juniewicz
Contributing Writer

CENTERVILLE — An enjoyable cardio workout can be a tall order.

“We all need to do cardio, but for most people, it’s their least favorite form of exercise,” said Kathy Anderson of My Pilates Studio. “People are looking for something that will give them cardio benefits without the pounding their body takes running.”

Anderson can relate. A longtime dancer and fitness enthusiast, there are few types of exercise that the 60-year-old hasn’t tried herself.

“I have an elliptical looking at me right now, but I’m just not motivated because it’s not fun.”

Cardio benefits run the gamut from burning calories to boosting productivity and increasing energy to improving heart health.

For those looking to burn fat, build muscle and have fun doing it, Anderson recently introduced Piloxing at her Centerville fitness studio. Think Pilates meets boxing and add in some dance.  Intrigued?  Piloxing basics : Piloxing was developed by a former professional dancer and master Pilates instructor Viveca Jensen who founded the Piloxing Academy in Los Angeles in 2009. The program has since traveled the globe as there are now trained instructors across the country and around the world. Piloxing was designed to burn maximum calories, build lean muscle and increase stamina by blending Pilates, boxing and dance.

According to the Pilates Foundation, an estimated 12 million people worldwide practice Pilates, an exercise method designed to elongate, strengthen and restore the body to balance. Likewise, boxing, kickboxing and Tae Bo have many enthusiasts. And fitness dance programs like Zumba and Jazzercise have a strong following. But, how do you combine all three?

“Pilates is a kinder, gentler way to move the body so, at first, it might not seem like a fit,” Anderson said. “But it’s not kickboxing, it’s working out with weighted gloves, which provides a good upper body workout and gets the heart pumping.”

The upbeat music and integration of dance add some fun to the one-hour workout.

“And you don’t need to be a dancer to take the class,” Anderson said.

Something for everyone

It wasn’t long after taking her first Piloxing class that Melissa Vance was posting via social media that she had “found her new favorite class.”

The 47-year-old Centerville woman had found a good fit. “It definitely has what I need from a cardio aspect,” Vance said. “I was having fun and accomplishing something.”  “My metabolism has slowed down a little as I’ve gotten older so I need a cardio component,” she said. “But I’ve never been a runner and when I’ve gone to the gym and gotten on the treadmill or elliptical, I always feel like I’m looking at my watch — I can’t wait till I’m done.”And despite having had neck surgery and being bothered by a torn meniscus, Vance had no problems with Piloxing. “I didn’t have anything I needed to modify,” she said.

If modifications do need to be made, that isn’t a problem.

“Some of the movements can be challenging, but we can make it work for all of our clients,” Anderson said.

My Pilates Studio in Centerville ( http://my  pilatesstudiodayton.com  ) is one of several Miami Valley fitness facilities that offers Piloxing. For a list of Piloxing instructors by state visit http://  piloxing.com  .

Contact this contributing writer at djunie@aol.com  .

WHAT IS PILOXING?

› A program that blends the power, speed, and agility of boxing with the targeted sculpting and flexibility of Pilates. › These techniques are supplemented by the use of weighted gloves, further toning the arms and maximizing cardiovascular health. › Add to that exhilarating dance moves and you have a muscle-toning, fat-burning workout that will make you feel physically and mentally empowered.

Gift Certificates are available in any amount. Get an added bonus of $10.00 when you purchase a $100.00 gift certificate, or an additional $5.00 when you purchase a $50.00 gift card. Gift certificates are redeemable for any service or product offered at My Pilates Studio.

If you want to try Piloxing, master instructor, Angela Lubonovich will be teaching a one hour class at the studio Saturday December 7th 2013 at noon. Cost is $10 ($10 savings). Space is limited so call the studio at 438-5151 to secure a spot for this new, innovative cardio sculpting workout! Check out the December Calendar for weekly Piloxing class times.

Back by popular demand, we are happy to offer Kids Pilates at the studio to help keep your kids active while home on break – fun & fitness!!

Monday Dec. 23 & 30 1:30-2:30
Thursday Dec. 26th  & Jan. 2 1:30-2:30pm

If mom’s would like us to put together a Group Reformer class while your kids work out, let us know!

Gift Certificates for My Pilates Studio make wonderful presents and my be redeemed for classes, services or apparel!

If you want to try Piloxing, master instructor, Angela Lubonovich will be teaching a one hour class at the studio Saturday December 7th 2013 at noon. Cost is $10 ($10 savings). Space is limited so call the studio at 438-5151 to secure a spot for this new, innovative cardio sculpting workout! Check out the December Calendar for weekly Piloxing class times.