Fit in Fitness

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Fit in fitness
Working out around your 9-to-5

by luisa capecchi

We all know the excuses—the exaggerated reasons we convince ourselves are legitimately hindering our “genuine” attempts to restart our fitness plans.

On Monday, it’s that case at work that landed on your desk at 4:56 p.m. and held you, a hostage in your own cubicle, late into the precious evening hours—the time you swore would be devoted to launch the dawn of your new exercise regimen.

You’re already double-booked both Tuesday and Wednesday nights, and come Thursday, you’ve lost your motivation for anything but a pint of Ben & Jerry’s and prime-time TV.

You’re not about to give up your weekend plans, even if they only entail grocery shopping and a trip to ShopKo. And getting up any earlier than you already do sounds less appealing than moving back in with your parents.

Fitting in fitness never used to be this difficult, right?

The days of rolling out of bed sometime between 10 a.m. and noon, depending on your feelings toward that “optional” geography lecture, are behind you. No more free memberships to the campus fitness center. No more days with only three 50-minute classes on the agenda. No more dorm intramural dodgeball teams to painlessly keep you active. From this point on, incorporating fitness into your new “adult” life is up to you.

In society today, only 20 to 25 percent of Americans are active regularly. An alarming 25 percent are completely sedentary. These numbers do not add up to a healthy society. Our population of overworked, overstressed individuals does not, in general, make health an immediate priority. It’s always on the long-term “to-do” list but never on today’s agenda. But what many forget is that an unhealthy, inactive lifestyle today will lead to a long list of health problems tomorrow. It is vital to get on track now to maintain a healthy level of fitness throughout the many transitions life is throwing your way.

Carrie Flatland, 23, learned this first-hand. Flatland’s activity routine was diverse during college and included gym workouts, aerobics classes and rollerblading. Her days of trekking across campus to class and nights spent on her toes as a waitress also kept her active.

But it wasn’t until Flatland started her first full-time job that she realized the importance of those individual bits of activity throughout her college days.

“I never realized how little things like my waitressing and walking to classes added up to exercise,” says Flatland, who estimates she gained between 10 and 15 pounds during that first year after graduation of sitting at a desk in an office.

“My fitness routine fell by the wayside when I entered the real world,” Flatland says. “I had moved to a new state and was overwhelmed by my new 40-hour work week. I was focused on my job, learning a new city and meeting new people—staying fit got put on the back burner.”

It is important, however, that fitness remains a priority throughout the post-college rollercoaster ride of establishing a career and deciding what direction you want your life to take. According to personal trainer Linda Freeman of Green Bay, the many long-term physiological benefits of physical activity are reason enough to make it a priority throughout your 20s. “You quit building bone in your 20s,” she says. “It’s now that you have to establish a habit to maintain bone density throughout the rest of your life.”

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."