How Your Friends Make It Easy to be Healthy: A Personal Trainer, Boxing Classes & Cutting Carbs
A Personal Trainer, Boxing Classes and Cutting Carbs
This is a diary of the healthy lifestyle goals that my son, Chris, and I are making together each month.
Since it takes 21-30 days to develop a new habit, making a goal for the month ahead is an effective strategy.
Chris and I agree that making these monthly goals together and posting our results here for you to see helps us to improve our health. I’ve always found that if I say out loud to someone what I plan on doing, I’m more likely to do it. Because if I said I would, I feel responsible to follow through.
In February, my goal was to meet with a personal trainer. Chris’ goal was to cut down on carbs and to take boxing classes.
My Experience
Although I was delayed by an unexpected medical procedure, I finally met with a personal trainer. I got an assessment at Anytime Fitness in Warren. It is inspiring to do this; it hones in on what you need to do to overhaul your health habits. My BMI (body mass index) is normal but I need to tone up and build more muscle. And, of course, I’d like to lose five to ten pounds. As a friend once laughed and said, “Don’t all women want to lose another ten pounds?”
Sim, a manager and personal trainer at Anytime, recommended doing compound exercises. Those are the kinds that engage two or more different joints to fully stimulate entire muscle groups and multiple muscles at once. They can help you gain lean muscle mass and burn more calories while saving you time at the gym.
Compound exercises that were recommended were squats-thrusters using a medicine ball, dumbbell power cleans, cable pull-throughs, box squat using dumbbells, and the one-leg bridge.
During the month of March, my goals are to: 1) go to the gym two or three times a week and 2) skip all alcohol and sweets for two and a half weeks.
I have a personal rule for myself that if I have more than one sweet or drink in one day, I have to skip having any the next day. During the holidays, I unfortunately allowed myself to have more at social events. But I never made up for those indulgences. So now, I will have to pay!
In addition to the days that I go to the gym, I will be doing my daily exercises as usual: walking, calisthenics, yoga. In February, I started using my pedometer that I haven’t touched in a couple of years. It inspires me to take 10,000 steps on the days when I can get out to walk or hike.
Chris’s Experience
Chris found an affordable place to get boxing training at John’s Boxing Gym in the Bronx. He had tried boxing before and loves it as a full-body workout. He now has ongoing sessions, and is very happy with it.
He also cut down on carbs in February. But he said he’s back to chips, specifically corn chips. At his favorite Mexican restaurant, he says he has been getting either nachos or the greasy homemade corn chips that come before a meal. He also had too many french fries and too much cheese.
So in March, Chris’ goal is to once again cut down on chips. He had accomplished this goal last year. Since then, I discovered that chips are actually addicting! According to a recent Oxford University study, chips are so addictive because of the crunchy sound they make as we chew them, strangely enough! So chips should be considered not only unhealthy but also addictive.
What health goals do you have? Do you have a buddy to share your goals with? My health diary is posted at the beginning of each month. If you sign up for e-mails, Your True Self Blog will arrive in your inbox on Thursdays and Saturdays with articles on mind, body, spirit and outfit combinations. Let me know if you like my content, and please share! — To your good health, Angie
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