Ramona’s Trainer: Back to school, back to fitness

By Peter San Nicolas

What a summer it has been. The kids were home, the routine was out of sync, your eating suffered with the barbecues and parties, and your fitness routine consisted of 12-ounce curls and

brief cardio stints when you couldn’t find a front row parking spot at the amusement park. I’m sure some of you made it to the gym and were steadfast with your fitness, but for most the summer is a tough time to be a pillar of fitness faithfulness.

This week I want to give you 5 Easy Steps to a Fall Fitness Comeback!

1. Don’t procrastinate. Whatever your choice of fitness routine, be it coming to my club or one of the others in town, doing a workout video or starting a walking or hiking routine, hop to it and start now. Carpe Diem! Seize the day!
2. Get help. You don’t know how many times I’ve heard, “I want to hire a trainer, but once I get in shape.” There is something inherently illogical with this statement. A coach or trainer is there to help you avoid pitfalls and inefficiency and get you into shape the right way. Make sure you interview your potential coach. Number one, your personalities have to mesh and they should have a system for getting you in shape. I use The Five Components and The Optimum Performance Training Model.
3. Set an External Goal. It may be a 5k 10k, triathalon, joining a soccer team, knock 5 strokes off your golf game or join a weight loss challenge for money. Starting a fitness program for the sake of being in better shape is sometime not enough. You need to find something to strive toward.
4. Get a partner. I was just sitting down with one of my trainers and she was asking for my accountability to keep her moving forward on her program. Yes, even us
5. 90 Percent of weight loss or fitness is nutrition. Log your foods. Know what you’re putting in your body. Remember, calories are king. Calories in must be less than calories out for weight loss. Remember the two most important meals of the day, breakfast and your post workout meal or shake. As always, go out and educate yourself. To educate is to motivate.

Please don’t hesitate to email me directly with any questions about these tools or any fitness related question at ramonafitness@yahoo.com. You never know, your question might lead to next week’s article.

Peter San Nicolas is a National Academy of Sports Medicine certified fitness professional and Titleist Performance Institute certified golf fitness professional. He owns Ramona Fitness Center at 558 Main St.