Posted by Janet Harriett on Jan.12, 2010

ⓒ iStockPhoto - LajosRepasi

With the new year entering its second week, now is the time that New Year’s resolutions start dropping off. Exercising is one of the most popular resolutions, with upward of half of people resolving to get more exercise. Unfortunately, only about 1 in 5 New Year’s resolutions are kept, and regular exercising is one of the least-kept resolutions. Green Diva Mom talked to Kelly Cole, a personal trainer and mom of 3, about making and keeping New Year’s resolutions for fitness.

Exercising more, or getting in shape, is one of the most popular New Year’s resolutions. Why do you think so many people resolve to get in shape?

Well, the first thing I would think of is everyone knows they need to do it. Over 60% of our population in the United States is obese. Not just overweight, but obese, and people know that’s not healthy. We know heart disease is on the rise. Type II Diabetes, or adult-onset diabetes, is on the rise, and we’re noticing it in children because they’re becoming sedentary. We’ve all become more sedentary with our wonderful technology. At the same time, we’ve put on the weight. It causes many other problems down the road, and that’s why I think people people make this a resolution.

This time of year comes around and people start thinking about our lives and what’s really important and we say “We need to get in shape. I need to get in shape, and this is the year I’m going to do it.” And, of course, not everyone stick with it. I think people make this resolution because deep down, they know–we all know–how important it is. Whether you love exercise or you hate exercise, we all know we need to exercise and have proper nutrition.

By the same token, why do you think so many people don’t follow through with a New Year’s resolution for fitness, or keeping up with any exercise program?

I think too many people set unrealistic goals. They jump into the New Year’s resolution and they say, “That’s it. I’m going to do it. I’m going to work out seven days a week, two hours a day.” Or maybe even five days a week an hour a day. Whatever it is. People seem to just jump into it, setting unrealistic goals. In other words, setting themselves up for failure.

As a trainer, that’s something that people usually think I want to hear when they start working with me. They say, “Great. Here. I’m going to work out two hours a day, five days a week,” for example. And I say, “No. You don’t want to start with that.” And I get funny looks. They say, “Why? You’re a trainer, you want me to work out a lot, don’t you?” And I would say I want everyone to come in and set a realistic goal, especially every woman, because women are so busy with everything we’re doing–careers, children, family–we all have our things going on.

A realistic goal for me, for someone who has not worked out on a regular basis for some  time would be to say they’re going to dedicate 45 minutes a day, 3 days a week, for example, and this might depend on the person and what their schedule looked like. As a trainer, if I were working with a client, I would sit down with someone and look at their schedule, what they have going on on a daily basis, and start out with something small. Two or three days a week for 45 minutes, and we would move on from there. I find too many people set unrealistic goals.

The other part of the answer to this question is that a lot of people have unrealistic expectations. They expect to be like on The Biggest Loser where people show up and they lose 15 pounds in a week. Well, if you’re working with top-notch, world-class trainers and working out six hours a day like they do on that show, then you can achieve those results. But if you’re an everyday person living your life and starting to make exercise a part of your life, you can’t expect to lose 10 pounds in the first week, or maybe even the first month. The first thing you might notice is increased energy, and then you’ll notice inches lost, and then you’ll start to notice the weight loss after that.

So those are the two reasons I think people don’t stick to it. We set up unrealistic goals, then we feel like failures when we can’t accomplish that and just give up, and then we have unrealistic expectations, so when we’re not dropping 10 pounds the first week, some people might say Well, what’s the point? I’m not getting any results from this. Forget it. I’m done. Which is unfortunate. That’s the kind of things that keep me in business, because it’s someone like me who understands how our bodies function, to let people know here’s what we can realistically  expect.

People who have that New Year’s resolution for fitness, I think, look at the short term more than they look at the long term

What strategies do you recommend to stick with an exercise program?

The first thing I would say is know what you’re getting into. Set up something realistic for you and your lifestyle. If getting to the gym only two times a week is realistic right now, then set that as your goal. Find those two days you can make it, then over time as you see the results of the exercise you’re doing, you’ll want to make more time in your schedule.

Another thing I would say again is know what to expect. The first thing you’re going to see when you start exercising is an increase in energy. Don’t look at the scale. Don’t even weigh yourself for the first month because you’re just going to get hung up on the numbers and not notice the other benefits. Look for increased energy and inches lost before you look for pound lost.

Don’t be too afraid or intimidated to ask for professional help. As a personal trainer, I find a lot of people, especially women, don’t want to ask for help. Possibly because they’re embarrassed. They feel like they’ve gained to much weight and don’t want a trainer to give them a hard time about how overweight they are or whatever the case may be. Whether it’s someone you work with privately or someone you work with at a gym you go to, don’t be afraid to seek out the help of a professional.

People think personal trainers just stand there and watch you exercise. There’s so much more to understand about the way our bodies function. To help someone achieve their goals, you really need someone who understands how our bodies work, how they respond to proper nutrition, how they respond to exercise in order to get a good workout plan to get you started on

If a woman decides to enlist a personal trainer to help her achieve a fitness goal, what should she look for in her trainer?

The first thing to look for is that your trainer either has a degree in exercise science, exercise physiology, sports medicine, anything along those lines, and/or that the trainer is certified by a national organization like ACE or ACSM. The list goes on and on. There’s several places that a trainer can be certified. You want to look for someone who has the technical knowledge of the science behind how the body works, the science of exercise physiology.

The other very, very important thing that a woman needs to look for in a trainer is look for someone who is going to listen to you. Most trainers that I have known will offer a free consultation, where you’ll sit down and discuss your goals and decide whether you think a partnership between this trainer and yourself would be a good match. You can learn a lot from that because you can see, is this trainer really listening to me?

You need to get someone you know is listening to you and your needs. As a trainer, I know one thing for sure. I’ve trained several people over time and no one has the same goals. Maybe everyone I train wants to lose weight, but everyone has a different lifestyle, has different schedules, different priorities in their life and has a different way they need to go about it. So if you come across a trainer and start talking to them and say, “Well, I’m really busy with this and this, so my time to work out will be in the evenings. What can I do in the evenings?” and they would say, “Oh, no. It’s best for you to work out in the morning.” Right there, that’s a red flag to say “Wait a minute. They’re not listening to me. I’m telling them I’m not able to work out in the mornings, and while physiologically that might be a better time for my body to have heightened fat loss, I’m telling them I’m not available then and they’re telling me to do that anyway.” Always look for someone who is going to listen to you and really seems to care about your success. I always tell my clients “I’m not successful until you’ve reached your goals.” I’m not happy with what I’ve done until I help them reach their goals.

Also, look for someone as a trainer who is looking for your long term benefits. I often say to people when I have a consult with them, that I have the technical knowledge. I understand the science behind how the body works and I really feel that I can help anybody who wants to establish an exercise regimen. I can’t do anything for you unless you make the decision that you are worth it. That you are worth the time it’s going to take to go to the gym or to work out on your home gym, to meet with a trainer, to be accountable for what you do. None of the knowledge that I can offer you is going to benefit you unless you’ve made that decision that you’re worth it. That’s something I try to establish with people because I want them to understand that I can help them, but they need to come with that willing effort.

The last thing I would say that you absolutely need to look for in a trainer, if you’re meeting with them for a consult, exercise is important and nutrition is as important, if not more important than the exercise part.  There’s no magic piece of equipment, no magic workout that’s going to substitute for what we put in our mouths. If a trainer doesn’t talk about nutrition, even briefly, and doesn’t mention anything about nutrition in a consult, that would be a red flag to me that maybe they’re just focusing on the exercise part and either they don’t understand or they don’t think it’s important to discuss the nutrition part. Those are some key points I try to bring up with my clients that I think any good, qualified trainer would offer a client.

Also, make sure they’re someone you feel comfortable with. I train mostly women because a lot of women I work with don’t feel comfortable working out with a male trainer, as good, qualified and wonderful as he may be. They just don’t feel comfortable working with a man. You need to make sure this is someone you feel comfortable with because the relationship with a personal trainer can be anywhere from three months up to years if it’s someone you want to work with long term, so make sure it’s someone you’re comfortable with, too, so you won’t be intimidated to come and work out with them. This is someone you’re making a partnership with for your long-term health goals and that needs to be someone you want to work with.

Contact Kelly through GreenDivaMom.com

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Posted under Fitness For Body & Mind, Health & Fitness, Interviews.