Healthy New Year Tips

   Christmas and Hannukah have passed  - it's New Year's celebrations and then were onto 2018. Before the Holidays are even over, people are beating themselves up over what they've eaten and drank, and resolved to cure the ills in January.
    And really, there's plenty of incentive to. Besides whatever weight you may have put on or conditioning you may have lost in the five week Holiday period, everyone is in the same boat. Due to rushing around, attending family gatherings, office parties, etc., just about everyone is ready to buckle down in January. Every television commercial seems to be for a weight loss plan, and January is a month devoid of distractions. It's back to work, and back to the gym!
    I start my training for the Long Branch Half-Marathon, held the first weekend in May. With that event looming, my treadmill workouts start to get a little more purpose. Besides, cruising along for six or seven miles and watching the news, I'm spicing it up with "repeat miles" (5 x 1-mile at approximately 7:30 mile pace, with a three-minute walk in-between), or something similarly torturous. Without the carrot of the race, a workout like that seems excessive and senseless. With the half-marathon to think about, it's "pace work" that mentally brings me back to a younger, faster self (who once had cartilage in the knees)!
    It's important to have goals when training. It keeps you motivated. It doesn't necessarily have to be a competition, per se. It could be completing a charity bike ride, trying to get an unassisted pull-up, or being able to run one mile on the treadmill. I grimace a bit when a client's sole aim is weight loss. You can literally starve yourself, smoke three packs of cigarettes a day, or down eight cups of coffee. You'll lose weight, for sure, but will you be healthier for it?
    We have a program at Mountain Fitness called Biometrics, that I really like. It's set up by nutritionists, and takes into account people's food preferences, as well as extenuating circumstances like diabetes or high blood pressure. You buy and prepare your own food from the supermarket, with menus prepared by the Biometrics staff.  It reduces calories gradually over a six-week span, and encourages clients to drink at least half a gallon of water a day.  On top of that, you work with a trainer three days a week, for about a half-an-hour session.
    The client does "super slow" weight training, meaning a 10-second "positive" and two-second "negative" on each repetition. You do one set of six to eight machines, and some abs and stretching. Short and intense, and hard to do on your own (I've tried).
     Typically, a participant loses 12-15 pounds during the six weeks, and significantly changes their body composition. They look and feel good, and never feel like they're starving themselves. You eat three meals a day, plus two snacks. It's portion control, essentially, and people learn habits they can keep through life. The members who have done it here have kept the weight off, the trickiest part of any weight-loss program.
     The New Year is almost here. Have a goal, and a game plan to achieve it. We'll see you at the club!