Welcome back to Fitness Friday with Alicia Jones! Every Friday, she’ll be answering your questions about health, fitness and nutrition! Here are today’s questions from city residents.
1. How do I get motivated to add exercise back in my life– gone for four years now. I’m an active 60 year old with busy job and life. I know I need to make it a priority but can’t seem to get inspired?
Having a busy life can most definitely sap our fitness mojo! Finding an activity to get us inspired may not be on the top of our priority list.
Do you know what does make our priority list? Friends and family! Let your loved ones know you are trying to muster up the incentive to work out and ask for their help. After having been away from exercise for a while, start slowly. It doesn’t take much to begin—a 10-minute brisk walk is a perfect starter. By doing this activity with a loved one, it makes the 10 minutes fly by quickly. You may not even notice you’re exercising at all!
If exercising solo is more your style, roll out of bed 10 minutes early and use your stairs as your 10-minute cardio tool! By getting your program out of the way early you won’t need to worry about it later in the day when you’re tired and less inspired to get fit. An added bonus: exercise could give you increased energy for the rest of your busy day!
If you’ve finally started enjoying your 10 minutes of exercise consistently, think about bringing it up to 15 minutes!
2. As a fitness expert, what do you think are the Top 10 fitness trends right now?
Here is a list of the Top 10 fitness trends. Some come directly from the American Council of Exercise, but I personally agree with and incorporate all of these trends into Destination Fit.
Trainers with True Credentials
Gone are the days when merely being a former athlete gives you the ability to train others! Halleluah! People finally understand the importance of trainers with credentials. After all, you don’t go to a physiotherapist, a massage therapist or even your own personal therapist unless they have the proper credentials. I abide strongly by this rule. The trainers at my company have a college or university degree in kinesiology, sports or fitness, or have acquired a certification taking at least six months to complete!
Using Your Body Weight to Train
Functional training, Yoga, boot camp and personal training that require little to no fitness equipment and use only your body weight. This trend is popular because it makes buying pricey and intimidating pieces of fitness equipment obsolete. Your body loves it because it teaches you to be efficient for everyday life! It also makes it easy to work out in the comfort of your own home or office.
Small Groups Personal Training/Couples Training
Families, friends and loved ones are all placing greater emphasis on health and fitness. Some find it harder than others to get motivated! This is why small groups and couples training has become the new “in” thing! It also makes training a much more affordable option. What more could you want?
Active Boomers
Our age expectancy is increasing, but it’s not just about living longer, it’s about living an enjoyable life and creating the energy to keep our passions in life alive. Boomers are taking up fitness activities to increase flexibility, strength and energy.
Child Obesity Busters
Child obesity is truly an epidemic! More fitness facilities are created with this in mind. Certain gyms are specifically for children. They are equipped with fitness video games that make getting active fun for children. Information regarding health and fitness for children is much more accessible as well.
More focus on Healthy Eating Less Focus on Dieting
People are finally getting it! It’s not about short-term weight loss, it’s about the long-term solution! Instead of drastically decreasing calories, many are starting to ask, how can I enjoy life and still become a healthy weight? Incorporation of healthy meal plans that are sustainable is key to reaching your goals. Adding a cheat day or an unhealthy snack doesn’t restrict us and allows us to live life to its fullest. After all, it’s about having your cake and eating a very very small piece too!
Behaviour Change Not Just Fitness
We are finally sick of yo-yo dieting, yo-yo exercise, and we’re finally ready to understand why we turn to food, or lack the motivation to exercise! There are many psychological and social pressures that make us do what we do. Once we understand this, we can start to make a change. People want programs that give guidance on the behavioural changes they need to succeed!
In-home Personal Training
People are getting wise to the fact that 70% of gym membership holders never go to the gym! Why? Lack of time, feeling shy or lack of motivation to get there. You are looking for a quick solution to keep yourselves fit and healthy. This is why personal training at home is flourishing. It fits your time constraints, you feel comfortable in your own home, and instead of driving to the gym in hopes of mustering up motivation to exercise, the motivation shows up directly at your door!
Weight Training
If muscle sculpting or maximum strength is your goal, then using machines and free weights are more your thing! This trend doesn’t require as much thinking as functional training. Once you have learned the movement pattern, you’re good to go! Many of my early morning clients prefer this method of training, at least until they have their first cup of coffee! This training increases bone density and creates the optimal physique.
Core Training
Core is key. Our back health, our balance and our bikini body depend on it! Although there is a greater emphasis on core, it is not so much on isolated core exercises such as the crunch as much as it is balancing, twisting and whole body exercises that engage the core and ask it to work at all times!
3. Are there any benefits/healing properties to a chlorophyll diet? How would I start incorporating that into my lifestyle?
The evidence is mounting that chlorophyll is cancer’s worst enemy! Many studies have demonstrated how chlorophyll can protect damaged DNA. This is crucial! When DNA is damaged, it can lead to cancer. Some evidence has also shown an improvement in cancer patients while ingesting isolated forms of chlorophyll. Many naturopaths and homeopaths currently recommend its use.
Great news! If you are currently eating vegetables, then you are consuming chlorophyll! An average person should incorporate approximately five servings of fruits and vegetables daily. If this is a new concept for you, start with one or two servings and work your way up!
Alicia Jones is the owner of Destination Fit and can be reached via e-mail or by calling 647-233-7827. Don’t forget to check Alicia out in the May/June edition of Spirit of the City in our first Spirit of Enterprise issue!
Submit your questions to @mississaugalife!