Home

Better Than I Ever Expected

Joan's Books

Sex & Aging blog

Fitness

Line Dancing

Meeting Planners

Sex Talks

Fitness Talks

Testimonials

Joan's Story

Articles

Cool Tools

Workout Video

Book Reviews

Order/Contact

Anyone can start an exercise program in January--we've all done it dozens of time. But keeping it going through March, or a year from March, or a lifetime? Now that's a different challenge. Fifty percent of people who start an exercise program drop out within 6 months. The good news, though, is that people who exercise regularly for 6 months are likely to make it a lifetime commitment.

I asked fitness instructors and club owners in Marin County (CA) how people can avoid the drop-out syndrome, and I took classes that are keeping exercisers coming back. Over and over, I heard these tips:

Set Goals
"Avoid resolution fall-out by figuring out what you want to do and making it attainable," says Michael Lopez, owner/trainer at Body Image Personal Fitness Training (23 Reed Blvd, Mill Valley, CA, 415-388-1736). Write out your goals, breaking them down into short-term and long-term. "Then take your goals to a fit friend or certified professional/ trainer for helpful ideas or modification of your fitness plan," suggests Lopez.

A workout buddy or group who shares your interest will help you stay on track. "If it's walking, hiking, swimming, biking, running, or another sport, Marin has a group that will help you develop that interest," says Lopez. To find a group, ask at a store that specializes in shoes or equipment for that activity, or check your local recreation department.

Try Something New
"All of us 'tune out' when we are subjected to the same noise, the same food, or the same exercise," says Elizabeth Larkam, director, Pilates & Beyond, Bay Club Marin (220 Corte Madera Town Center, Corte Madera, 415-945-3000, www.bayclubmarin.com). "The human nervous system habituates to repetitive stimuli. If exercise is not effective, pleasurable and stimulating, we won't stick with it." Larkham suggests you keep exercise fresh, fun and effective by trying new classes, new moves, different equipment, and different instructors.

"The body's all about storing energy and releasing it," Marika told us as we practiced tendus and grand battements in the Ballet Barre workout at Bay Club Marin, my first-ever ballet-oriented fitness class. Afterwards I felt strong, centered, and stretched, and I could swear that my legs had grown two inches longer. "Ballet gives a sense of posture that no other movement class does," says Marika, former ballet mistress and choreographer of the San Francisco Opera ballet.

I've spent the last 40 years wishing my belly were flatter, so it was with some trepidation that I decided to let it dance at World Dance Fitness (40 Greenfield Ave., San Anselmo, 415-457-8787, www.worlddancefitness.com). Co-owner and belly dance instructor Aruna showed me the loaner veils and scarves and encouraged me to adorn my hips. Other students came dressed in costumes that swirled and jangled as they danced to a live drummer. "Belly dance is primal and spiritual, deeply feminine," says Aruna, who--as Karen Andes--used to be a competitive body builder. Supple and strong, Aruna moved like water as she taught us traditional belly dance moves, isolating different muscles in a way that felt both foreign and natural. I expected an abdominal workout, but I was surprised at how strongly belly dancing worked my back, arms, shoulders, and legs.

Get a Personal Trainer
"If you're having trouble getting motivated, sign up for some personal training," says Stacy Allegro, Director of Programs of Fit First Pilates (21 Tamal Vista Blvd. #162, Corte Madera, CA, 415-458-4477, www.fitfirstpilates.com). "Nothing keeps you more regular than having an appointment to work out." A personal trainer keeps you accountable, personalizes your program so that you get top results, and keeps your routine fresh and stimulating. Allegro listened to my medical challenges, checked out my alignment and movement, then gave me an intense and exhilarating training session that was perfect for me. She gave me three specific exercises to do daily to improve my balance and spinal flexibility. "Even if you can't afford ongoing private training, a few one-on-one sessions are a great way to jumpstart your workout and learn new exercises to spice up your program," says Allegro.

Make It Fun
"Push out your chest more," Virginia Simpson-Magruder tells me in the Pole Dance class at Stage Dor Studio (10 Liberty Ship Way, Suite #340, Sausalito, 415-339-1390, www.stagedor.com). Let's see: butt out, chest out, look over shoulder, hip out, wrap leg around pole, swing--I never realized that pole dancing would require such strength and coordination. This sensual workout is much more than slithering around a pole--it strengthens the upper body (sometimes your arms are holding your whole body weight on the pole) and feels delightfully sensuous. Instructors Virginia Simpson-Magruder and Lane Driscoll got their training from a former exotic dancer. Yes, we used a real pole. (No, we didn't strip.)

An hour later, I am strutting, shimmying, and chair dancing to Diana Krall's "Temptation," a feather boa flipped over my black lace camisole and push-up bra. Whatever your age, shape, size, or, uh, experience, you can be a burlesque queen for an hour in Stage Dor's sexy, mood-lifting Theatrical Burlesque class with instructor Shara. "I'm not a young, tall, thin blonde," fellow exerciser Leslie Klor, 61, in a provocative, short black dress and big silver earrings, tells me. "We all have our own brand of sexiness."

"There's a balance between letting go and tightening," Julia Rigler explains as we creep, swim, bounce, dance, and whirl barefoot through NIA class at Osher Jewish Community Center (200 N. San Pedro, San Rafael, 415-479-2000, www.marinjcc.org). NIA is a playful and earthy mind/body/spirit workout that Debbie and Carlos Rosas originated in Marin and is now appreciated across the country.

NIA feels more like a "playout" than a "workout," combining elements of dance, martial arts, and expressive movement, and it feels both freeing and centering simultaneously. "We direct attention to sensations of the body such as strength, agility, mobility, stability and stretch," says France-Laude Gohard, NIA Black Belt trainer, whose upbeat, multi-level NIA class at Nautilus of Marin in San Rafael (1001 4th St., 415-485-1001) has a strong following of devotees. You can also find Marin classes at the YMCA, Dominican College, Fairfax Women's Fitness Center, and Nautilus of Marin. (See www.nia-nia.com for class schedules.) Try different NIA teachers, as each has a different style.

Fit In Fitness Minutes
Although it's great if you have an hour to exercise, don't blow off your workout if you just have 15 minutes or less. "Stick to a 'toothbrush routine,' a mutually determined set of 5 to 6 exercises that are done as diligently as brushing your teeth," suggests Carol Appel, Pilates Director, Mill Valley Health Club (639 E. Blithedale Ave., Mill Valley, 415-380-8787, www.millvalleyhealthclub.com). Remember this 5-minute routine by doing it before or after brushing your teeth. "The strategy is that if you can commit to being minimally accountable and experience the physical, behavioral, and mental successes that come from a teeny commitment, more compliance will evolve from this small step," says Appel.

Make It Short but Intense
Your muscles don't care how long you work out, as long as you work them hard enough to fatigue them. The ultimate in short and tough is the ROM at Nautilus of Marin in Novato (1530 Center Rd, 415-898-2582, www.nautilusofmarin.com). The ROM is a sleek machine resembling a space-age, upper body rower with mobile, curved handles that move in all directions, and a high-tech stair machine for the lower body at the back. You use it one day for 4 minutes for the upper body, and the next day for 4 minutes for the lower body.

I'm skeptical--4 minutes a day? And if 4 minutes is good, wouldn't 15 be better? No, says Glenn Diamond, co-owner of Nautilus of Marin. The point is to work all out, as hard as you can. The ROM (www.fastexercise.com) uses more muscles at greater intensity and at greater range of motion than anything else you've tried. The resistance adapts to the force you exert. Intensity drives up oxygen consumption for a cardiovascular effect. "If you go as hard as you can, you don't want to do more," says Diamond. "You say, 'Where's the door?'"

I get on and grab the handles. I push. I pull. I pant. Every inch of motion works against resistance. My muscles scream. Diamond is right: 4 minutes does me in. Although it's advisable to do upper body one day and lower body the next, I have to experience both, so I climb on the stair section. Oh my gosh, the steps split far apart as I try to climb, so not only am I stepping hard and fast, but each step feels like a huge distance and strong resistance, like climbing stairs up a mountain with heavy weights on my legs. Afterwards, every muscle in my body proclaims, "Done!"

More Tips from the Pros

• "Make it honest. Establish a regimen that is authentic to who you are, and then acknowledge yourself for showing up." -- Phyllis Addison, NIA and yoga instructor, multiple locations.
  
• "Schedule your workout as you would any other important appointment or meeting. Most exercisers drop out because they do not schedule, prioritize, plan, or have a mentor to help them stay with a exercise routine." -- Joyce Brown, owner, Elan Fitness Center (230 Greenfield, San Anselmo, 415-485-1945, www.elanfitness.com).
  
• "Keep an exercise journal, nothing complicated, it could be as simple as a mark on a calendar." -- Kelli Maciel, Health and Wellness Director, Osher Marin Jewish Community Center Health Club.
  
• "Exercise should feel right all the way through and afterwards. If you have cardiac or pulmonary disease, ask your doctor for a referral to a safe, medically supervised program where you can progress safely and comfortably." -- Julia Rigler, respiratory therapist, NIA instructor.
  
• "If you are on the road for business or pleasure, make sure you have a travel plan. Stay in hotels that have workout facilities and/or offer classes. Ask your trainer for a workout you can take on the road." -- Stacy Allegro, Director of Programs, Fit First Pilates.
  
• "Find an activity that you like. A jump rope will save you $3,000 if you don't care about joining a health club." -- Glenn Diamond, co-owner, Nautilus of Marin.
  
• "Whether it's losing weight, gaining flexibility, toning the body, fitting into a lower pant size, or just calming the soul, once you see or feel a change, it will encourage you to continue." -- Cindy Root, The Bar Method (Bon Air Shopping Center, Greenbrae, 415-461-4461, www.barmethod.com)
  
• "Keep a record of goals accomplished in order to appreciate your progress. Accomplishments can be in terms of weight loss, change of inches, number of reps, decrease in race times, increase in range of motion, for example." -- Elizabeth Larkam, Director, Pilates & Beyond, Bay Club Marin.
  
• "You just have to make yourself do it! Exercise is a way of life. It's for yourself. It makes you feel really good." -- Wendy Roberts, instructor, Elan Fitness Center.
  
• "Don't beat yourself up if you miss a day. You've got a lifetime to make this healthy change. Each day provides a new opportunity to get back on the road to a healthier, more fit you. It's your body, your spirit, and the people closest to you will notice the difference." -- Michael Lopez, owner/trainer, Body Image Personal Fitness Training.
  
• "Think of your body as a plant getting sunshine and water--that's how it responds to exercise." -- Andrew Chaban, owner, Healthworks Total Fitness (487 Entrada Dr. Novato, 415-883-9353, www.healthworksfit.com).

This article originally appeared in The Pacific Sun, Marin County, California, January 2005. Joan Price is the author of The Anytime, Anywhere Exercise Book: 300+ quick and easy exercises you can do whenever you want. Her contemporary line dance classes in Sebastopol are a terrific way to get fit and have fun at the same time.

NOTE: All of the content on this web site is copyrighted, original work by © Joan Price. Unauthorized reproduction of any content presented here through any medium is in violation of federal and international copyright laws. None of this content may be copied, distributed, or published through any medium without permission from Joan Price.

Joan's Books | Fitness | Line Dancing | For Meeting Planners |
Testimonials | Joan's Story | Articles | Cool Tools
Workout Video | Book Reviews | Order/Contact | Home