Get Up and Go!
Joe Rogers
January 21, 2010
Filed under Health & Fitness, Sports
With shows like The Biggest Loser, and whole grain Subway rolls, diet Coke, light dressing, and every other health conscious pitch out there, it seems like the entire industry is tightening their belts. Carbs are calories or best know as the cultural unforgivable sins. And any weight watcher would look with envy at the CCA staircases. Yet when many look in the mirror, the eat-green lean machine just isn’t there. So what’s the problem?
There has always been a huge difference between the athletes and the average, and it’s not just the six-pack (Fun fact: chances are, you have a six-pack, but even the smallest amount of fat tends to hide it away) or monthly order or protein powder. It’s the fact that we all see the process of getting in shape as no-food-allowed diets and four-hour circuit workouts, and frankly, it’s easier to stick to the Slim Fast and Caesar salad. But no one’s expecting you to go from John Doe to John Cena in a week, so a tip for this New Year’s exercise program: be realistic.“The hardest thing about exercising is starting it,” says CCA Coach Tina Reeder, “but afterwards, you won’t regret it.” So what now?
Step One: Find an activity, but have fun doing it! Making exercise a chore is the quickest way to letting it fade into an uncomfortable memory. CCA specifically has weight training and team sports classes, intramural to varsity sports, and more opportunities to get active than a Dunkin Doughnut has calories.
Step Two: Find a friend.
Fortunately, the US is not in want of people who desperately want to see a “new them” in the mirror, and the accountability keeps you on track while the company makes the time fly.
Step Three: Make a realistic plan.
Experts recommend half an hour per day, five days a week of moderately intense cardio for an average adult to remain healthy. Losing weight might take closer to an hour or an hour and a half. Highly popular is the talking test. It’s good to be going at a pace where you can talk to your partner, but not belt out the songs blasting through your iPod.
So now you know, but what are you going to do with it? My recommendation is to get up and go!