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Make New Year's Fitness Goals Stick: Westchester Pro Shows How

HARRISON, N.Y. -- Thinking about your new year's fitness resolutions?

Lisa Avellino, fitness director for Harrison-based NY Heath & Wellness.

Lisa Avellino, fitness director for Harrison-based NY Heath & Wellness.

Photo Credit: Submitted

Lisa Avellino, a Scarsdale resident and Fitness Director for Harrison-based NY Heath & Wellness, offers the following suggestions.

  • Keep Your Eye On The Prize. Your body is your living sculpture and you have the opportunity to work on it every day. Although motivation seems highest because of your new year's resolution fitness goal, create a plan that's manageable and sustainable. Research supports that shorter workouts throughout the day, even as little as 15 minutes can have an even better result. This is because the cumulative effect of daily workouts speeds up the metabolism and keeps it going vs. on again off again workout which can be like yo-yo dieting.
  • Focus on combining workouts you enjoy to prevent exercise boredom. Additionally, fusion workouts that combine various techniques have benefits. For time efficient workouts, target major muscles like your glutes to speed up the metabolism. Focus on strength training to increase lean muscle mass because if you gain five pounds of muscle, you will burn 250 calories a day. For example, think outside the treadmill. You don't want to get into a rut where you are committed to one activity. We have over 600 muscles in our body and we need oxygen and activity.
  • Use the Five P's: Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance. Get your fitness equipment and workout outfit ready the night before. Out of sight, out of mind. Leave your free weights beside the bed with your yoga mat so you are ready. Sometimes a great workout is eliminating one step.
  • Focus on what you can do in fitness and movement vs. a workout that burns the most calories such as movement, wellness and speeding the metabolism. Powering one's body fat percentage is not necessarily about working harder it's about working smarter. Focus on form and alignment, mindfulness, choreographed breathing and progressive training vs jumping into a hardcore workout where you are pushed to muscle failure or fatigue which can affect your hormones. When you push yourself to muscle failure, you're over using muscles and creating exercise boredom, injuries and your body may also release cortisol, which we know can add belly fat and hormone imbalance.
  • Perfection is in the process. Practice makes permanent. It's important to rotate your workouts and to focus on all aspects: cardio, strength training, core, flexibility as well as meditation, mindfulness and breathing as an exercised category. Just as a brand new car still needs gas and needs maintenance, it's to maximize the mileage. Live optimally in the process of training and motivation and you will find the greatest motivation in your own personal achievement.

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