Resolution tips from local fitness experts-DDN Article

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  .