By: Tony Junkin

Winter is tough when it comes to exercising and staying in shape.

We have the cold weather working against us, as well as all of the holidays and celebrations that involve food! It’s totally understandable that a lot of people fall off the wagon when it comes to their fitness, but there’s no better time to refresh and get back on track than Spring! The days are slowly getting warmer and longer and it’s the perfect time to get out (or stay in) and get back on track. Whether you are just looking to get back to a routine or looking to get started, here are some tried and true tips to help you get going:

Start Small: The biggest reason people have a hard time getting into fitness is that they start too big! If you are new to exercising, the smaller you start, the more success you will have. The current recommendation for fitness is 30-45 minutes a day most days of the week, anywhere from 4-6 days is ideal. If you aren’t used to moving, that’s a lot! Try starting out with just 10 minutes a day for a month and see how that works. If you are doing well with that, move up to 15 minutes next month and continue to add 5 minute increments until you are up to 30 minutes. You may not need that much time, but if you do, that is absolutely ok! Remember, this isn’t a race and there is no deadline. This is about you getting healthy and feeling better so you should do that on your own terms, whatever those are! If you were previously active and are looking to get back into it, this still applies. You will not be able to jump right back in where you left off so don’t discourage yourself by trying to do that. Start smaller and keep at it until you are back to where you started.

Switch It Up: Exercising will definitely help you feel better, there’s no denying that, but sometimes the monotony of doing the same thing every day can get a little old. Variety is the best way to keep things fresh. If you go to a gym, this is pretty easy. Just switch it up between the treadmill, elliptical, and bike to keep your cardio routine fresh. For weight training, try different machines on different days. The way different machines work different parts of the same muscles will help your muscles develop faster and more efficiently. If you don’t use a gym, try varying your cardio workout with different paces and routes around your designated walking/running area to keep giving you something new and different. The same thing applies to those who are looking to get back into the habit. Even if you have a goal you are working towards such as a 5k or a 2 mile walk, it still helps to give yourself a day or two a week where you do something different. This keeps your muscles working in different places and helps to avoid any training or weight loss plateaus you may encounter.

Set goals: Goals are a huge motivator when it comes to fitness. If you have a specific weight goal in mind, first make sure it is reasonable. If you are looking to lose 50 pounds in six months, that is probably not going to happen so it’s not a good idea to even start there. Remember, healthy weight loss is approximately 1-2 pounds a week so make sure your goal is within that range.

Eat Right: You can exercise all you want, but if you aren’t changing your eating habits then you aren’t going to see results. Say you burn 300 calories exercising. That seems great, but then lets look at your eating habits. If you body needs 1900 calories a day to lose a pound a week and you are eating 2500 calories a day currently, then that exercise is only going to bring you down to 2200 calories, which is still 300 calories more than you need. You could exercise twice as long to get to where you need to be, but the smarter way to do it is to change what you eat. Cooking at home is the best way to avoid excess calories, but even there, your food choices matter. Opt for whole foods over processed foods whenever you can. Limit eating out to once a week. Choose green vegetables over fried sides. Choose lean, white meats over red meats. Limit the amount of simple carbohydrates you consume such as sugar and starch. As Americans, we eat more unhealthy foods than any other country and that is due primarily to how convenient food options are here. Remember, the more convenient a food is to eat, the less likely it is to be healthy. Find the time to make healthy foods and eat at home and you will put yourself on the right path.

Stay In Control: Often, when people start seeing results with exercise, they quickly increase what they are doing because doing it harder and more often will speed up those results, right? Not necessarily. If you are seeing results from what you are doing then there really isn’t any reason to ramp things up. Weight loss should happen at a controlled and steady pace. Stick with the amount and intensity you are currently doing and try adding in the aforementioned variety to keep things fresh. Once your progress starts to slow with that variety, then comes the time to look at increasing frequency and intensity. Remember the FITT model: good exercise should have specific goals for Frequency, Intensity, Time, and Type. Figure out what works for you in each of those areas and stick with it!