Page 5 - HealthBeat March 2017

success story I DID IT!
fast fitness
SPRING INTO FITNESS
GET YOUR BODY READY FOR WARM-WEATHER CLOTHING, ACTIVITIES
WITH AMY JACOBSEN, CERTIFIED PERSONAL TRAINER
It’s getting warmer, and we don’t need those jackets and long sleeves as much right now. With the shedding of win- ter clothing, we see those “trouble areas” on our bodies that we might have forgotten to work on over the winter. Tummy, legs, rear, arms — oh my!
Never fear: This workout targets all those areas that are hard to hide in summer attire. You don’t even need
to go to the gym; this routine can be done at home or on
the road. Start at your own pace, and build up to 25 rep- etitions of each of the following exercises. Between each exercise, I want you to throw in a cardio move for 30 sec- onds to spice up your workout a bit — and jump-start your calorie burn. Remember: Perform 25 of everything, and get through four rounds.
‘I LOST 82 POUNDS.’
Name: Donnia Cox I live in: Hope Age: 58
Occupation: University of Arkansas for Medical Sci- ences clinical services manager for the Medical
Oncology/Stem Cell Transplant Unit in Little Rock Starting weight: 248
Current weight: 166
My story: I had reached the point in my life where I was tired of being tired. I didn’t have enough energy to plan week- end activities with my husband, kids and grandchildren. In the previ- ous four years, I had changed to a less active job (behind a desk), had my gall bladder re- moved, lost my father, and my husband had a life-changing accident that left him disabled. During that time I ate large amounts of fat-filled foods and had no physical activity. I had to make a choice — continue down the same path or find a weight-loss plan that worked for me. One of my co-workers had been suc- cessful in the UAMS weight-loss program. I decided to attend a meeting and was con- vinced that this would work for me. At the end of the 16-week program, I had lost 49 pounds. I felt so much better, and I knew I could continue
to build on the changes I had made.
My eating plan: Since the completing the program, I now eat regular foods and continue to lose weight. Fitness apps on my phone en- able me to record my exercise and document the foods I eat. The apps help me keep up with calories and make adjustments as needed. My calorie intake is about 50 percent from carbohy-
drates, 30 percent from fat and 20 percent from protein. I plan meals ahead of time and snack on healthy food choices. I’ve also discovered that I enjoy many foods that I hadn’t tried before.
My exercise plan: Most days I start with a 3-mile
walk, followed with weights for about 20 min- utes. When the weather allows, I walk outside rather than on a treadmill. I plan to add cycling to my activities this spring. In summer, I will add swim- ming. One of the new things I love is yoga. I attend classes two times a week and work on increasing my
core strength, balance and flexibility.
Mygoalsforthefuture: Iplantocontinuerecordingmycalories and exercise, and lose a few more pounds. But most importantly, my goal is to stay active. There are days when it’s harder than others, but when I think of how I felt and looked before compared to now, the bad choices I made are no longer attractive. It’s been fun purchasing new clothes. When I pull a pair of pants off the rack and think, “That’s too small,” I look at the size and smile to myself when I realize that it will fit. It’s a good feeling.
• Warm up (I suggest jumping jacks to get your heart pumping.)
• Walking lunges (25 each leg) • Squat jumps
• Chair dips
• Jumping jacks
• Pushups (Try classic pushups first; finish each set with modified pushups — on your knees — if you need to, but get all your reps.)
• High knees, jogging in place
• Squat to side leg lift (From a squatting position, stand and do a side leg lift; do 25 each side.)
• Mountain climbers (25 each leg)
• Double crunches
• Side-to-side plank
(Start in a plank
position on your
elbows; turn to
your right on your
left elbow, then
back to center; then
turn to your left on your right elbow — go back and forth.)
• Supermans
• Cool-down stretches (Think about adding a yoga class into your fitness routine.)
Try this workout two or three times a week, along with any other activity you
enjoy. Let’s get ready for summer!
BEFORE
Amy Jacobsen is an American Council on Exercise-certified personal trainer and an Aerobics and Fitness Association of America-certified group exercise instructor, and manager of Little Rock’s Downtown Athletic Club. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in kinesiology and has nearly two decades of experience as a personal trainer.
ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE // HEALTHBEAT // SUNDAY, MARCH 26, 2017 5