By Lauren Anderson
The New Year is approaching, which means inspirational tweets, Instagram posts, and Facebook groups are coming your way! What are your goals for 2019?
For many people, a recurring New Year’s Resolution involves fitness. Whether it’s losing weight, gaining muscle mass, or simply “getting fit,” a majority of us have a physical fitness goal we want to achieve. Perhaps this is your first year setting a goal for yourself, or maybe you’ve done this before but with little success.
With the new year fast approaching, Bucks Happening sat down with the fitness experts at the Newtown Athletic Club for some insider personal training tips to get you set for the New Year.
BH: Should I start a new workout program in the new year?
NAC: The best time to start a workout program is now! Often, it’s easier to make a big change in our lives when an event comes around. Whether it’s a Monday morning, the first of the month, a birthday, or even the New Year, sometimes an upcoming event is the motivation we need to reset and recommit to a goal.
BH: Do I need a personal trainer?
NAC: Similar to hiring a mechanic to fix your car, seeing a doctor when you are sick, or hiring an accountant to do your taxes, hiring a personal trainer is best practice when you’re trying to improve your fitness level. Personal trainers are the experts in their field and can create a plan based on your strengths and weaknesses that will produce the outcomes that you’re looking to achieve.
The best personal trainers will learn about your health history, support system, how well you move, and any imbalances you may have before even starting an exercise program for you. They’ll also measure your success with tools such like the InBody 770, which tracks your weight, muscle mass, visceral fat, basal metabolic rate, and other important numbers. To keep you focused, a personal trainer will track and implement monthly check-ins to ensure you have a total plan including supplemental activities to do when you are not working with them.
BH: Many of our readers have tried fitness programs in the past but fallen off the wagon. Do you have any tips to help stay on top of the fitness goals you set?
The best way to stay on track is to form or join a group program that will help hold you accountable and guide you to success. HealthyCARE is a 90 day group program that prompts behavior change in participants by teaching them to embrace nutritional, fitness and stress management tactics that you’ve never used before that most often equate to long term success. This comprehensive wellness program includes private nutrition counseling sessions with a licensed registered dietitian. Plus, it involves pre and post biometric testing that includes finger-stick triglyceride, cholesterol, glucose, and blood pressure screenings.
Most participants lose an average of 15 pounds as a result and see significant improvements in their nutrition related blood work. Most major insurance companies cover a majority of the program's costs, making it a very affordable option to commit to change and see real results.
BH: How is HealthyCARE different from other types of weight loss programs people may have tried in the past?
NAC: The HealthyCARE Program at Newtown Athletic Club empowers individuals and families to take control of their wellness. Through fitness, nutrition education, and counseling, participants learn how to create their own wellness plans with the guidance of a licensed registered dietitian and health coach. During the 13-week program, participants realize that they can implement these new habits in their daily life and stay on top of their wellness for years to come.
Whenever you decide to start a new workout program consider these tips from the personal training team at the Newtown Athletic Club:
Schedule workouts
Planning your workouts each day just like you would your child’s doctor appointments or an important work meeting is key to your success. When it is scheduled in your day, it’s easier to stick to your goal. The NAC offers each new member a private consultation to create a weekly plan that works with your schedule.
Workout with friends
We know that exercise improves our health and can extend our longevity, but in a recent Danish study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, “leisure time sports that inherently involve more social interaction were associated with the best longevity.” Grab a friend or meet some new ones at your club to get moving!
Enjoy what you’re doing
There are so many ways to exercise, so pick something that you enjoy! Whether you like yoga, Pilates, dancing, running, lifting heavy weights or sticking to body weight movements, there are tons of activities and classes to get involved in – it’s all about finding what works for you. There are over 300 hours of classes available at the Newtown Athletic Club on a weekly basis, plus activities such as swimming, basketball and indoor track. Enjoying exercise and having a variety of activities to choose from are keys to success.
Regardless of what your fitness resolutions are, it’s important to remember that fitness should be fun! May you all have a happy New Year and take these tips with you as you strive to make changes in your fitness routine in 2019.
To receive more information about personal training programs at the Newtown Athletic Club,
click here or call 215-968-0600.
We Are Supported By:
Join Our Community. Click here to learn more
