Spring is the perfect time to toss out anything that's been preventing you from reaching your fitness goals.
Remember, fitness targets should always be just beyond your current reach and your overall program should never become routine or stale. If you've been completing the same exercises since New Year's, it's definitely time to start from scratch.
Here are a few ideas to get you started:
1. Get Outside
Once it begins warming up, you'll naturally long to spend time in the great outdoors. Don't fight it! Especially in B.C.'s beautiful Lower Mainland, with its near-endless range of hikes and nature trails, there's simply no reason you can't get fantastic regular workouts outside.
Just remember to mix in a few resistance exercises and to lift significant weight at least once or twice per week to avoid losing your whole winter's worth of gymbased muscle gain.
2. Prepare for Showers
If you're determined to exercise more outdoors, don't let a little rain stand in your way. Buy proper wet-weather gear, including thin socks, compression pants and shirts, and, above all, nothing made of absorbent fibres, like cotton. Once you're all set with a waterresistant spring workout wardrobe, you'll feel unstoppable!
3. Overhaul Your Diet
After tossing out your winter workouts, consider also sprucing up your diet to include more fresh vegetables and clean proteins like tofu, chicken breasts, egg whites and fish. And remember to chuck out or give away any leftover holiday goodies that might tempt you unnecessarily. Instead, stock up on healthy snacks, like whole almonds and dried fruit. While you're at it, consider booking a physical or a session with a nutritionist to determine what aspect of fitness you should be eating for - such as strength, endurance, heart health, weight loss, etc.
4. Get a Body-Fat Test
Since muscle weighs more than fat, just stepping on a scale can be deceiving. Most fitness clubs offer body-fat testing either with electronic handheld devices or calipers. The advantage of electronic devices is that they are quite accurate and less intrusive than caliper testing. Body-fat testing with calipers involves taking a measurement of fat in a number of areas on your body, which is then used to calculate your total body-fat percentage. This system is very accurate and provides useful insight into body-fat distribution.
Rebuilding your fitness program each spring can make exercise fun again and drastically increase your commitment level.
Don't hesitate to try skipping rope in your driveway or do some walking lunges at a local park.
Above all, your motto for the season should be out with the old, in with the new!
Shaun Karp is a certified personal trainer. For further information call his office at 604-420-7800 or visit his website, karpfitness.com.
