44°
BRIARCLIFF MANOR, N.Y. As the first week of January comes to an end, personal trainers at Club Fit had some tips for helping people keep with their New Year's resolutions to lose weight or work out regularly.
"Do the things that you like to do the most," said Club Fit trainer Adam Pine. "One thing's not better than another. If you pick something you don't like, you're not going to stick with it."
There is no magic technique for losing weight said trainer Patrick Koch. "A combination of diet and exercise is the best way," Koch said. "Being in a caloric deficit whether it's by exercising to burn more calories or dieting is the way to lose weight."
Trainer Lisandra McGrath said Club Fit fills up in January every year with people who work out consistently for one or two months and then "fall off the face of the earth." In order to help people achieve their weight loss goals, McGrath suggested breaking goals down into manageable bits.
"Instead of 100 pounds, break that down into 10 pound goals and try to lose half a pound to two pounds per week," McGrath said. He also suggested hiring a personal trainer to help stick with an exercise regimen."It's kind of hand holding, but it may just do the trick to stay consistent with it," she said.
For people who don't know how to start their workout, Koch suggested trying circuit training. "It's a good way to burn calories and to introduce someone to weights," the trainer said.
Weight training is an important part of working out if someone wants to get rid of hanging flab, McGrath noted. On the other hand, doing a lot of abdominal exercises won't give someone a six-pack if there is a layer of fat covering the muscles.
"The strongest guys in the world don't have six packs. You have to have low body fat which comes mostly by dieting," Koch said.
While many diets avoid carbohydrates, carbs are not necessarily the enemy, the personal trainers said. "There are a million correct ways to diet," Pine said. "The important thing is the calories you eat verses the calories you put out."
Koch advised people to not burn themselves out in the beginning of the year by working out too hard. "It's a marathon, not a sprint," he said. "You don't have to work out seven days per week to be in good shape."
Join TheDailyBriarcliff.com on Facebook.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Briarcliff and receive free news updates.
