Spring Into Shape For Summer – Week 12

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You did it! Can you believe we’re at Week 12?! But remember with fitness, you can’t start and stop.  In order to maintain results and health and fitness benefits, it’s a forever thing!

Change Things Up:

This week, change around the sequence or order that you are performing your exercises. For example, if you always do your cardio first, this week, do it after your muscle conditioning. Or if you do cardio and muscle conditioning on alternate days, this week try doing both cardio and muscle on the same day. If you have been doing your resistance exercises in the following order; Legs, Upper Body, Core – this week, try doing all your leg exercises first, then your upper body exercises next and finish with your core. By altering your workout sequence, the stimulus to your muscles will be very different and it will feel like a completely different workout.

Every week over the past 12 weeks, you have been introduced to new exercises or new ways to train. Your body has never had the opportunity to adapt to the program, because you have been doing something slightly different or new each week. That’s the key to a continual program. Continue with your fitness goals and use the exercises you’ve learned so far and regularly make minor adjustments in your workout by increasing the number of reps you perform or the resistance that you lift or changing around the sequence of your exercises. This will ensure that your body does not adapt to the program and you continue to experience results.  With that said, after about 2 more months, it will be necessary for you to introduce new exercises or a new activity to your program. At this point, we encourage you to invest in a personal trainer to help you make regular changes to your program – even if you just see them once per month or every 2 months.  This will assure you avoid the notorious plateau that can steal the motivation from even the most committed exerciser!

As we complete this program, it’s a good time to examine your progress. Are you healthier? Do you feel better? Do your muscles appear more toned and shapely? Do you feel stronger? Do you have more energy? Can you do some of the exercises for longer or with more weight? Did you stick to your exercise commitment?

If you’ve succeeded at what you set out to accomplish, then it’s time to reward yourself. Treat yourself to something special. Perhaps a massage, a new outfit, a mini-holiday, or a day off will do the trick.

Keep your 12 week ‘Spring into Shape for Summer” program close by so that you can refer to if you start to return to some of your old, not-so-healthy habits.  Stay fit and healthy forever and remember this quote:

“A healthy body is a guest-chamber for the soul; a sick body is a prison.”  F. Bacon

Yours in health & fitness,
Sherri McMillan

Note: As an avid Columbian reader, you can redeem a 2 week pass at my world-class training studio to help get you started. Contact 360.574.7292 for more details. 

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Join us for The 3rd Annual Run to Remember WA! We will honor the brave men and women who have or are currently serving in our Armed Forces and remember those who have given the ultimate sacrifice fighting for our freedom. The Half Marathon, 10K, 5K and Memorial Mile running and walking event will benefit various Military Organizations.

Run to Remember WA –  May 29th – Downtown Washougal, WA – just across the river from Portland.

 

 

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