Using All the Help You Can Get

Using All the Help You Can Get

“Walk Your Way to Fitness.” “Cardio Quickie.” “Get Your Body Ready for the Beach.”
“Trim Your Thighs.” “Work Your Abs.” “Ten Minutes to a Better Butt.” “Punch Away Pounds.” “Look Great Naked—Build a Ready-to-Bare Body.” “Yoga Shapes You Up and Calms You Down.” “Target Those Trouble Zones.” “Look Leaner Now.” These are the types of messages screaming from magazine covers month after month. Written to lure us to buy new issues, these short, punchy phrases extol this workout or that and make them all seem like quick solutions to your body’s shape, weight, or stress problems.
As you embark on your fitness regime, you—like many beginning exercisers before you—might think that someone has developed a magic formula to give you the body you want, the energy you need, or the tranquillity you crave. Magazines, books, and television infomercials abound with promises of magic slimming, toning, weight loss, and more. For every magic exercise, there’s also a magic diet plan. By combining magic exercise with magic eating, you think you can create a magic new you quickly,almost automatically. The media, books, and the Internet do provide a lot of good information, and if you use it wisely, you will see good results.
Fitness is so wrapped up in issues of body, mind, and motivation, however, that tapping into personal help might be the most effective way to reach your fitness goals. This includes professional expertise as well as the support of family and friends, supplemented by workout, diet, and general health advice from media sources. Take a sample class at a local health club for a workout that is energetic, motivational, and fun.
For effectiveness, however, you have to be conscientious about following a program.
In short, there’s a lot of good fitness information. The problem for many beginners—and often experienced exercisers, too—is sorting it all out. Precious few people have unlimited time and resources to do nothing but get in shape. The media, the people who work at the gym, and your personal interaction with a wider support system can help you sort out all this information and hone in on a program that works for you. All these resources can act as a support system, but remember that you are the captain of your workout ship. Think of the other resources as your crew, but only you can actually move your body to make it fit and healthy.