Workout plan

Thousands of Canadians pledge on Jan. 1 to get healthier in the coming year, but most fail to follow through.

Kiniesiologist Jenn Poirier, the manager at Thunder Bay’s Push Fitness said she’s seen hundreds of resolution-related decisions, both before and after the holidays, which seems like a natural point for people to make drastic lifestyle changes.

Sticking with it isn’t easy, particularly for those who haven’t worked out much in the past. But it can be done, she said.

“I think it’s all about routine,” Poirier said. “In our lives we need to have routine. Statistics show it takes approximately three weeks to really get yourself used to a new routine. But also having knowledge and building a repertoire of what you should be doing when you come to the gym is really important as well.”

Joining a gym and randomly jumping on a treadmill or lifting weights won’t do the trick, she added.

“A lot of people come in and they see what other people are doing and they kind of try to pick up on that. Or they just continue to do what they’ve done in the past. But you have to consider that if what they’ve done in the past hasn’t worked for them and they’ve fallen off at that time, then it probably isn’t going to work for them again when they start anew,” Poirier said.

The key is to avoid boredom and to seek assistance from an expert. Poirier said the one of the best pieces of advice she can give is for potential new members to consider exercise a prescription, and to have a routine created by someone who knows what they’re doing.

“That person can actually give you some advice, they can set some short-term and some long-term goals for you and then they can help you along the way,” she said. “That’s not to say that we’re in Hollywood and you have to have somebody working with you side-by-side every time you come to the gym.

“Obviously that becomes a very costly venture. However … just like you would never prescribe yourself drugs, you should never prescribe yourself exercise unless you know where it’s coming from.”

She also suggested not biting off more than one can chew, and that while yearly memberships are great for a gym’s bottom line, newcomers might want to consider a monthly rate to start, until a routine has been established.

Robin Smith has been working out for nearly six years.

He said he made a conscious decision in 2005 to get in better shape, an attempt to extend his lifespan. Now in his 50s, the Thunder Bay native said new members have to realize they’re in for a lifestyle change and have to be willing to stick with it to be successful.

“You have to make a conscious long-term decision about your life and how you’re going to live it,” he said, fresh off his first workout of 2011. “It will make a difference in what you’re going to do the next day.”

A 2003 U.S. study of 8,000 gym memberships in the Boston area showed that on average gym members worked out five times a month, while the Canadian Health Measures Survey released in 2009 showed that Canadian adults with a waistline dangerous to their health has doubled between 1981 and 2009 in people between age 45 and 69, and quadrupled for those between 20 and 39.

Elisha Potts, who has been working out for about four years, said physical fitness has always been important to her, making her feel good, while at the same time helping with her overall self-confidence.

The rewards of working out are what convinced her to keep at it, and don’t knock it until you try it, she said.

“Just give it a shot and not give up. You’ll be happy with the outcome of it and it’s good for your health,” Potts said.