By Ann-Kristin Allen :: Photography by Kelsey Grudle
Isn’t it ironic that every year the Number One New Year’s Resolution is to lose weight?
Losing weight requires both exercise and eating better — basically adapting a healthier lifestyle.The most recommended way to prevent illness and disease is also to adapt a healthier lifestyle. So, with millions of people following all of the latest and greatest diet and exercise programs we read about on a weekly basis, why is it not working? You would think that all the issues related to losing weight, staying healthy and preventing illness would by now have been resolved.
I have a very personal opinion about the flaws in this. All of those diet and exercise programs are based on someone else’s thoughts and opinions and lifestyles. The only way to really resolve this issue is to create a program individualized for each person that is efficient, effective, enjoyable and doable.
First, it is important to find a way to include fitness in your daily life by doing activities that you enjoy. That can be playing with your child or pet, grooving to your favorite tunes or chasing your partner around the house, just to suggest a few. Or start with these very simple but effective exercises that can be done anywhere. With three levels of intensity, they are designed to accommodate different levels of fitness.
Equally as important is making healthy food changes. To accomplish this, you might consider hiring a professional with experience in fitness and nutrition who can not only help you create a fitness program you love, but also take you grocery shopping to help you create a dietary program based on foods you enjoy.
Let’s make 2016 the first year of the rest of your life by learning how to incorporate fitness and healthy dietary habits you can really stick with!
Ann-Kristin Allen is a TPI Certified Fitness Professional Level 3 and a Certified Yoga for Golfers Level 2. She can be reached at akallen@cordilleraranch.com or 210.367.5942.
These exercises can be done in the comfort of your own home or in a gym; no equipment is necessary. They can accommodate three levels of fitness whether you are a beginner, moderate or advanced.
Beginner: 8 to 10 reps of 3 sets
Moderate: 30 – 45 seconds holding each exercise; 3 sets
Advanced: 20 second reps of high intensity with a 10 second rest period following Tabata Protocol; suggested round of 8 sets
