Military Off Duty, Army Health, military fitness, army physical fitness - Army Times

New year, new you

It’s Jan. 1. In three days, you can officially begin the cycle of making (and breaking) your fitness resolutions. Why three days? You can’t start on New Year’s because there are simply too many football games on TV (and football games equal buffalo wings). Plus, you need the weekend to get mentally prepared for the lashing you’re about to deal out to your body.

So your big day is Jan. 4.

You’ve done everything right. You’ve listened to all the pop psychologists and set yourself a goal. You’ve written it down and taped it to the bathroom mirror so that you can internalize it on a daily basis.

Like thousands of others, you’ve written, “I am going to lose X pounds this year.” Or you may have phrased it, “I am going to gain X pounds this year.”

You congratulate yourself because you have an actual goal and you’ve made sure it is realistic. You are far ahead of those misguided men and women who simply say, “I am going to lose weight,” or even the more vague resolution, “I am going to get in better shape this year.”

In the words of ESPN’s College Football analyst Lee Corso, “Not so fast, my friend.”

A solid start

If you’re like 90 percent of people, any resolution having to do with weight will end up on the scrap heap.

Most people tend to focus on the scale and on a number, but if you have designed a good overall fitness program (one that ensures you touch all four fitness principles: cardio, strength, flexibility and nutrition), you will see a body-composition change before you see a scale change.

You may even see a slight increase in the scale number early on. It is a real treat to have a client step on the scale after the first two weeks of a fitness program and see no change or even a small increase.

Real weight loss happens gradually. But we all expect everything right now. We expect that sweat-soaked shirt is also soaked with pounds. Those of us in the fitness business, however, know the right number is about 1- to 1½-pounds of weight loss per week.

Better still, get away from the words “weight” and “pounds” and consider these fitness goals for 2010.

1. For active duty from E-1 to O-10, say: “I am going to raise my Physical Readiness Test score by one category.”

You know the numbers you have to attain, and each service has a manual on how to do it. You should be in a Fitness Enhancement Program, especially if you’re someone who wants to improve. Somehow, we’ve turned FEP into a negative term and relegated it to those who have failed or are borderline.

If you have already maxed out, train to see if you can maintain your score while decreasing your rest time. Or, pick a specialty fitness screen test and see if you can pass it.

2. For everyone else, say: “I am going to do the X event.”

Aspire to complete a 5K race or a marathon this year. This gives a focus to your goal and gives you something measurable.

Up the ante by paying your registration fee in advance. Now you have to buy in, and that equals commitment. Pick something three to four months out so you are ready for game day when it comes.

3. For women, say: “I am going to go from size A to size B.”

This takes your eyes off the scale. With a well-rounded fitness program (hitting all four of the fitness principles above), you will see your body composition change — and your clothes fit differently — before you see a big weight loss. Once you see success, it will drive you for more.

4. For seniors (no age restriction), say: “I am going to do activity X.”

This activity can be taking up a sport, taking a dance class, joining a bird-watching club, etc. One a woman over 70 came to me for a fitness program because she wanted to get back into gardening.

The activity should require some level of fitness and stamina.

5. For those who have suffered a disability, say: “I am going to overcome A and be able to do B.”

Make sure you enlist a professional who can help. A stroke victim with partial paralysis on her left side once came to me with a resolution to drive her car again. After a year of four workouts a week, she has her license back.

The bottom line is to have a resolution that is activity-based, the accomplishment of which requires you to improve your fitness and health in a totally natural way — without ever looking at the scale.

Good luck Jan. 4.

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Bob Thomas, a fitness trainer and retired naval flight officer, is director of the Navy Wellness Center in Pensacola, Fla. E-mail him at bthomas@militarytimes.com.