News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
You've made up your mind. 2011 is the year when you will get back in shape, lose that extra weight, get rid of those nagging aches and pains.
Congratulations. You've taken the first step toward your fitness goal.
Can you succeed? Sure you can - even though the statistics show that most people who start a fitness program at the new year have quit within a few months. You can avoid becoming one of those negative statistics if you create a realistic, sustainable approach.
The Pitfalls and How to Beat Them
• Too much too soon:
Sue Coxen of Cascade Fitness and Tate Metcalf of Sisters Athletic Club (SAC) have seen thousands of people vow to get in shape. They've seen wonderful success stories - and a lot of failure. Both agree that there is one key to starting new, healthy way of life and sticking with it:
"Don't do too much too soon," says Coxen. "You just set yourself up for failure."
"We are a society of extremes," Metcalf notes. "I see it every year. People just do too much too quick."
The initial burst of enthusiasm often pushes people to try to turn their whole life around in a month - which just can't be done in a healthy, safe, and sustainable way. You can exhaust yourself or, worse, get hurt, and then it's back to the couch.
"We've got to really think in terms of moderation - as hard as that is," Metcalf says. "People can't go from 0 to 60 immediately."
So what does moderation mean? Start slowly - maybe just walking and some basic weight training. And don't do it every day for a month.
The caution for moderation applies even more strongly for the City League Champ. You know who you are. You were a pretty darn good athlete in your day - a while ago. You've had too much to do, too many responsibilities to get to the gym regularly these past few years and this is the year you're going to change that.
That's great. But you're even more likely to overdo it than the newbie.
Don't expect to pick up where you left off. The body changes as we age. Yeah, you've still got it, but you'd better warm up longer before you hit the basketball court. Stretch more after you work out. And maybe you don't need to find out if you still have a 300-pound bench press in you. Really. You just don't.
Coxen encourages people to get help learning to use equipment properly so they avoid injury and get the most out of their workout. And both Cascade Fitness and SAC emphasize a friendly, supportive environment.
Coxen is proud of the fact that Cascade Fitness bucks the numbers when it comes to newbies sticking it out.
"Sixty percent don't make it past three months," she says. "Forty percent, at least in this gym, become regular gym rats. For us, in this gym, I think that's because we're family."
• Setting the wrong goals:
"I hate it when somebody tells me, 'I want to lose 20 pounds by my high school reunion,'" Metcalf says.
That kind of goal isn't healthy, he argues. Once it's achieved, it's too easy to fall back into old habits - and back come the pounds. Worse, rapid weigh loss is a recipe for a screwed-up metabolism, actually encouraging your stressed body to store up fat.
"Anything more than a 100 calorie reduction per day sets your body up for failure," Metcalf notes.
When it comes to nutrition, you have to think in terms of long-term healthy lifestyle changes rather than the immediate gratification of melting off the pounds.
"Unfortunately, the slow train of moderation is the one that works," Metcalf says. "It's just not as exhilarating."
• Boredom
Boredom kills fitness programs. But there's really no reason you should ever get bored with your workouts. Fitness doesn't just have to be about lifting weights or walking on a treadmill. There are many classes available in Sisters - yoga, dance, martial arts, spin, Tai Chi, aerobics, swimming and more. Hiking, skiing, snowshoeing - it all counts.
Don't get locked into a routine. Even in the gym, there are endless variations to keep things lively and productive.
"Connect with a trainer," Coxen says. "A trainer can create programs and routines that keep it fun and interesting."
She also recommends having a workout buddy, an "accountability partner" to help you stick to your efforts - and to inject a little fun into the proceedings.
It won't take long before the benefits of fitness are their own motivator. Metcalf observes that his senior members are the most consistent with their workouts - because they feel the benefits of keeping the body moving and miss them when they don't.
Kari Sims Anthon of
Life.Love.Yoga. in Sisters sees the same thing with yoga practitioners.
"I always tell my students that the hardest part of your yoga practice is getting on the mat," she says.
Once you're there, you feel the benefits immediately and the good feeling keeps you interested. And the penalties of slacking off are also self-evident.
"When you don't practice, your body tells you so," Anthon says.
• Intimidation
You're overweight and out of shape. You really want to change that, but you feel so conspicuous at the gym. You feel like everybody's looking at you and judging you.
Local gyms go out of their way to create a welcoming atmosphere, but the intimidation factor is still hard to overcome.
"No matter what I say, no matter how I design this, it's still intimidating to people," Metcalf acknowledges. "You just have to come in and get over it - as harsh as that sounds."
Fact is, local gyms are full of all kinds of people of all age groups and fitness levels, and most everybody is focused on their own workout. There's not a lot of spandex in the Sisters Country - just wear comfortable workout clothes and get to it.
Metcalf also notes another phenomenon that is particularly intense in the Sisters Country. Everyday folks tend to measure themselves against the many elite athletes that live and play in our neck of the woods.
"Definitely living in Central Oregon, there's pressure to do more athletic, extreme events," he says. "There's so many endurance junkies and people look to them and think 'I have to run a marathon.' And that's so not the case."
You can set your own goals, enjoy your own time, be it in the gym or out and about in the Sisters Country. The rewards of fitness are well understood. Less so are the pleasures of the activities themselves.
Sue Coxen will tell you that there's joy and camaraderie in fitness - not drudgery.
"I don't think people think it's as fun as it really is."
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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