Fit in fitness

Fitness, page 2
by luisa capecchi

And in case you didn’t have enough to worry about already, health problems such as high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes and cancer—maladies that might currently plague your parents and grandparents—are diseases you can prevent now. Maintaining good habits with cardio respiratory fitness, healthy body composition and stress management will start you on this path. Coincidentally, physical activity is the starting point to achieve all of those goals.

Despite the obvious reasons to exercise, practical challenges still loom. For young professionals, time is the number-one hurdle to overcome. Our schedules have shifted and our priorities have changed as well. Giving 100 percent at the office for eight or more hours each day often leaves little or no motivation to give it our all at the gym.

According to Lori Devine, recreational sports fitness director at the UW-Madison and IDEA Health and Fitness Association member, fun and enjoyment are key ingredients to help combat a lack of motivation, and to help you create the time for exercise.

“You have to develop a relationship with it so you feel good about what you’re doing,” Devine says. “Enjoyment can be knowing that you’ve mastered a skill. Enjoyment can be the camaraderie the activity brings. Or it can be knowing how refreshed you’ll feel when you’re done—exhilarated, not exhausted.”

Currently, plenty of trendy new classes can refresh your workout and keep your motivation high. Hybrid classes are currently popular, according to Devine, who attributes this trend to the ever-present lack of time.

“Time is a huge component of today’s workouts,” Devine says. “We’re seeing 30-minute classes, 45-minute classes—a general push toward shorter classes.”

This is the ultimate goal of hybrid classes—fitting a complete body workout into a short time period. The meditation of yoga and the muscle toning of Pilates merge in Power-Yoga. A mix of aerobics, muscle toning and balance training becomes Bosu Balance. The combinations are endless.

“There are some crazy things out there right now like Boxing-Yoga,” Devine says. “The understanding is the person is going to get some cardio with some flexibility, stretching and mind-body mixed in.”

Boxing-Yoga—sounds like the perfect oxymoron workout. But even if the motivation is there, you still need to set aside an extra hour in the day to get yourself to the gym.

Flatland learned to schedule her workout as she would a meeting, and won’t skip it unless absolutely necessary. Freeman approves, and urges people to “pencil themselves into their days.”

“Whether you pencil it in as a lunchtime appointment, after work or first thing in the morning, write it down and stick with it,” she urges. “It is your appointment for wellness, stress-reduction and sanity.”

The most important thing to remember is that it’s never too late to start. Missing one workout, or one week, or even an entire year is no reason to give up completely. Instead, exercise is about long-term continuity—each of those before-work yoga sessions or lunch-hour walks will add up in the long run.

“Exercise on a regular basis is about A to Z, week after week, month after month, year after year and decade after decade,” Devine says. “It’s then and only then that you really reap the benefits of physical activity. Look long-term, and don’t forget to enjoy the ride.”

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