Getting healthy is no sweat, but don’t look for quick fixes

Luke Maguire

The new year brings promises to self to become healthier, fitter, to lose weight, to be better versions of ourselves, but obstacles often appear in the weeks after January 1. We asked local trainers how they can help people stick at the new year regime and make lasting changes.

Beginners can fear simply being beginners, afraid to step through the doors and start, says Laura Daly of Divine Fitness in Mullingar, an experienced coach who understands that, and knows how to encourage people.

“Fear of going to a gym or starting classes really holds people back. We all remember what it was like to be a beginner,” she said, “but you have to start at the bottom and work your way up.”

Fitness is a slow marathon and there will be stumbles along the way. In Laura’s time of doing classes, she’s heard lots of reasons for holding back, and her response is, “it doesn’t matter what size you are or what age you are”.

“I see it all the time. People say they’re going to do an overhaul, ‘I’m going to cut out everything’… but you’ll last a week or two at that and in the middle of January, you’re back to your old habits.”

Laura says people don’t need to reinvent themselves: “Don’t go all out – ease yourself in to it.” Make little changes and keep adding to them rather than wiping the slate clean and trying to create a new one. The changes should blend into the lifestyle you already have. “Try to cut down instead of cut out.”

It won’t always be possible to attend a gym or a class, but steady progress is the key: “If you can only get out for a walk, that’s ok. Something is better than nothing,” Laura said, adding that enjoying yourself once a week (diet-wise) will make the overall process more rewarding.

Laura finds that many of her clients are more encouraged when surrounded by others: “It’s hard to quit in a room full of people.” Showing up is half the battle: ‘I motivate you, you motivate me’, is an attitude attendees can enjoy, said Laura.

Joey Cleary of Performance Driven Strength and Conditioning (PDSC) in Mullingar says that after the initial burst of enthusiasm has waned, retaining members is a challenge for the business. “The motivation is often the shock after Christmas,” said Joey. “It’s that kind of fright. They’re like, ‘I need to exercise’. That’s the initial motivation, really.”

Joey says that is where the role of the fitness instructor comes in: “When that wears off, it’s, ‘how are we gonna keep them in the gym?’. It’s really about educating the person about the long-term benefits of movement, particularly safe movement. Training smart, so you’re not overloading the client, training that is appropriate to their level of fitness.”

Committing to a healthier lifestyle becomes easier when there are tangible results: “When they start feeling the benefits, it keeps them coming back. I tell people, ‘you won’t feel it in a week’, it’s that couple of weeks down the line of being exposed to body movement that they really start feeling the benefits, not only looking better, but also moving and feeling better,” Joey says.

The trainer says the rewards far outweigh any discomfort: “It’s a whole lifestyle, a holistic approach. I know that’s a cliché, but it’s true. You’re adopting a healthier approach to things, like getting better sleep, improvement in nutrition, hydration – all those things work together to get the body feeling better, moving better, and ultimately leading to better longevity.”

(Additional reporting by Thomas Lyons.)