Page 75 - September Sun Rays

greater dividends when it comes to your
cardio regimen,” says Green.
DO IT RIGHT!
How do you know the best way to exer-
cise? You will probably benefit greatly
with the help and advice of an expert
to get you started. Green says that up
to 90 percent of people he sees in the
fitness center regularly are not getting
the benefits that they could from weight
resistance training. “They just get on a
machine and begin without thinking
what muscles they are targeting.”
When it comes to showing you how to
get the most from the time you spend
exercising and how to get results, get
a personal trainer. They also provide
much-needed motivation by tailoring
your exercises to your particular objec-
tives and can be worth their weight in
muscle.
Personal trainers help you adopt im-
portant habits in your workouts, like
the importance of warming up before
exercise and stretching after, as well as
providing the how-to’s. They also stress
the importance of proper breathing tech-
nique during exercise.
Green also stresses the importance of
“functional” workouts and recommends
those exercises that enable the day-to-
day activities, which are most important
to his clients. “Most retirees want to be
able to continue with those things they
enjoy without hurting afterward, and
that requires an individual approach.”
The cost of a few sessions with a personal
ONLINE: SCTEXAS.ORG
trainer, while nominal, is an investment
in yourself. If several trainers are avail- to look for results with a weekly weigh-
able, visit with two or three before mak-
ing your selection. Tell them about your
knee replacement or about your COPD.
Tell them your objectives and why you
are requesting help. Then make your se-
lection. You can expect excellent results.
GET IN A GROUP
Group dynamics can help move you. The
fitness center offers a “Lighten up for
Life” weight management course for Sun
City Texas residents who want to focus
on the importance of diet and exercise.
The 12-week program features informa-
tive speakers who instruct participants
on subjects such as the importance of
regular exercise, making healthier food
choices and meal planning.
Each week the course features a guest
speaker. “Dietitians, health care work-
ers, personal trainers and consultants
make presentations to provide their
insight into the what, how and why of
weight loss and healthy living,” says
group fitness director Whitney Alex-
ander. “Our presenters challenge and
engage participants with facts and meth-
ods on exercise, diet and nutrition that
can truly turn one’s life around.”
Course instructors urge participants
in. Team support is also encouraged for
those participants who might benefit
from collaboration with peers. “Par-
ticipants who choose to become part of
a team within the program can help
motivate each other by sharing their
challenges and successes,” according to
Alexander.
Lighten up for Life instructors encour-
age participants to gradually increase
the duration of their exercise sessions
to 45 minutes per day or walk 10,000
steps (about five miles) per day by the
end of the course.
Still need more convincing? The scien-
tific evidence on the benefits of exercise
has reached into the stratosphere. An
Internet search on “benefits of exercise”
returned over 500 million results! There
are countless websites that will provide
information and motivation by giving
you tips and reinforcement on everything
from aerobics to Zumba.
Making exercise a regular part of your
life is the nearest thing to a guaranteed
improvement in quality of life as you
will find. Just get out there and do it.
Ready, set, go!
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