Did you know that nearly 80% of New Year’s resolutions fail by February? If your goal is to improve your fitness, we’ve got you covered with expert advice to help you stay on track and make lasting changes.
We spoke to three exercise experts from Marvin Altman Fitness Center (MAFC) at Baptist Health-Fort Smith, who have more than 70 years of fitness training experience combined, to get advice on how to start a fitness program and actually stick with it.
Start Smart: How to Ease into a New Routine
Suzanne Robbins has been a trainer at MAFC for 30 years. Her primary responsibility is to create fitness programs, teach exercise classes and provide customer service for gym members. She along with Don Ridgley, fitness center manager, and Tyler Schuster, a personal trainer, have helped thousands of people fall in love with fitness. But they stress it’s important to ease into an exercise routine.
“My advice is to always start at a slow and steady pace with any new exercise or eating program,” Robbins said. “The nutrition side of fitness is just as important as the exercise side.”
Another way to start is by setting small, attainable goals like increasing your daily steps. Here are a few you can try to today:
- Park farther away from your destination
- Take the stairs instead of the elevator
- Attend a fitness class with a friend twice a week (Day passes to MAFC are just $10!)
Making Time: Fitting Fitness into a Busy Schedule
Just like family, school or career obligations, you’ll likely have to carve time out of your day or week to work on that New Year’s resolution. Not everyone can work out five days a week at 5 a.m., and our trainers say that’s ok. The frequency of how often you should workout varies with every person, Schuster says. It’s important to find a time and pace that works for your situation.
Some things to consider would be:
- Your goals – Do you want to lose weight or tone up?
- Your age – Do you want to improve your balance or flexibility?
- Your current fitness level – Do you want to build endurance or maintain muscle mass?
“Whether you block a certain time on your calendar every day or schedule with a trainer a few times a week, you have to commit to making exercise and movement a part of your routine in order for it to become a habit,” Schuster said.
An hour in the fitness center’s Junior Olympic-sized pool twice a week, a 30-minute exercise class three times a week or a 10-minute walk around your neighborhood four times a day, all require different fitness levels and time commitments. But what’s important is finding something you know you can commit to doing regularly. If you’re not sure how to create a routine, the trainers at Marvin Altman Fitness Center offer a free consultation for members.
Strength vs. Cardio: What’s the Best for You?
You may think running on a treadmill is the key to becoming more physically fit, but all three trainers agree, strength training is just as important as cardio.
Robbins recommends circuit training which typically includes 5-10 exercises that target different muscle groups in your upper body, core and lower body such as push-ups, sit-ups, lunges or squats. You can do strength training at the fitness center with free weights or machines. You can also do it at home without equipment with exercises like tricep dips on a sturdy elevated surface like a chair or bench, wall push-ups or split-leg squats.
For Ridgley, who grew up playing sports, running and lifting heavy weights, his routine now is primarily walking.
“I try to walk at least five miles or a minimum of 60 minutes a day,” Ridgley said. “I lift weights a couple times a week, but only to maintain strength and muscle mass.”
According to the American Heart Association, research has shown walking at least 150 minutes a week can help:
- Reduce your risk of serious diseases like heart disease, stroke, diabetes and several types of cancer.
- Improve your blood pressure, blood sugar and blood cholesterol levels.
- Increase your energy and stamina.
- Improve your mental and emotional well-being and reduce your risk of depression.
- Improve memory and reduce your risk of dementia.
- Boost bone strength and reduce your risk of osteoporosis.
- Prevent weight gain.
Track to Triumph: Keeping Yourself Accountable
Everyone is different, but our trainers recommend at least three weeks of consistent exercise to make it a habit and 90 days to make it a permanent lifestyle change.
“For years, I’ve seen people transform themselves and their quality of life through exercise,” Ridgley said. “There are many benefits, not only to their physical health but to their mental health, happiness and confidence. The great thing about going to a gym is that there’s a sense of community and belonging, as well.”
They also recommend finding a way to track your progress and stay inspired. There is no right or wrong way to track it. You can keep a food and exercise journal, download an app like My Fitness Pal to your cell phone or invest in an Apple Watch, Garmin or Fitbit to help hold yourself accountable and see how far you’ve come. The options are endless and everyone has their favorites.
The key is to just get started, slowly and in a way that works for you. Overall, setting a fitness goal for the new year may seem like a worthy endeavor, but Robbins stresses the goal isn’t actually the important part.
“Once you reach your goal, just keep going,” Robbins said. “This is only the beginning of your ongoing commitment to health and fitness.”
Ready to start? Choose one small step today—whether it’s signing up for a membership at MAFC, taking a short walk, or consulting with a trainer. Your journey begins now!