STAYING PUMPED

Fitness Buff host Pete Williams

Photo by MIKE DeHOOG

By GEOFF FOX - The Tampa Tribune

January 1, 2008

WESLEY CHAPEL - It's as inevitable as a champagne toast on New Year's Eve.

Every year, people wake up on Jan. 1 determined to lose weight and get in shape.

So, they buy health club memberships.

They hire personal trainers.

They mentally prepare for the physical grind they hope will lead to more energy, increased strength and a smaller waistline.

Despite their good intentions - and often months of hard work - many eventually lose interest in the resolution that once seemed so important.

But it doesn't have to be that way.

Local fitness experts say people who set realistic fitness goals and don't expect immediate results are the ones who successfully adopt and stay with a fitness regimen.

"Too many people who set off into a new routine want to hit the ground running, so to speak," said Robert White, owner of Anytime Fitness on Oak Grove Boulevard in Wesley Chapel. "With your muscles, large or small, if you ask them to do a whole lot more than they're accustomed to, they're going to resent that and will let you know.

"If you take it gradually, you can see huge improvements in a relatively short period of time. Losing a couple pounds a week or a couple inches in the first month is not unheard of. If someone is following a good nutritional routine or increasing the amount of exercise, losing a percent or so of body fat every month is realistic."

No Shortcuts

At Lady BodFit on State Road 54 in Land O' Lakes, manager Jay Nichols said people should realize there are no shortcuts to physical fitness and a little direction can go a long way.

"I've worked at big gyms and small gyms," Nichols said. "People come in and join, and say they're going to do the circuit area over here and see how it goes. Thirty, 40, 60 days go by and they don't look or feel any different. They get frustrated.

"The people with success come in, meet with a trainer and get structure and a program to follow."

Sometimes, people wind up "doing what's easiest and most logical," said Pete Williams, a Safety Harbor fitness expert who is the co-author of four books in a series titled "Core Performance," which offers nutrition and exercise plans and information.

In doing the easy, logical thing, people often turn to running, said Williams, who also hosted "The Fitness Buff Radio Show," which broadcast from Paradise Lakes, the clothing-optional resort in Land O' Lakes. The program has been on hiatus, but Williams is planning a re-launch on his Web site, www.fitnessbuffshow .com, this year.

"They say, 'I know how to run. I've done it at some point.' Look, I'm a big fan of running, but what people should look at is, they want to build lean mass that will help you burn more calories more efficiently," Williams said. "Women say they don't want to lift weights because they'll get big, but women don't produce enough testosterone for that; female bodybuilders take all sorts of supplements.

"You want some kind of resistance training. When done properly, it's not nearly as hard on your joints and knees and ankles that are abused in running. A lot of people don't have proper running mechanics and do more damage to themselves. It's like running your car on tires that aren't aligned properly."

Exercise When You Can

How often people need to exercise to achieve their desired results depends on the individual and their goals, White said.

"One of the primary concepts of our club is we're open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year," he said. "If they can come in two times a week and do an hour or two, then do that. You can get a full-body workout and get some cardio work. If you can get in four or six times a week, then take advantage of those opportunities.

"If you haven't worked out in a long time and set a goal of coming in six or seven days a week, you'll get discouraged the first time you" miss a day.

Nichols said the key is to be realistic.

"If it's one, two or three times a week, great," he said. "If you get more in, you've exceeded your goal. There are no shortcuts, just be consistent. You don't want to set a negative example in your head. It's a mental game."

Of course, losing weight and getting in shape often means altering your eating habits.

What doesn't work with dieting, Williams said, is an "all-or-nothing approach, like going cold turkey with smoking."

"Look at what you eat," he said. "If a lot of what you eat isn't good for you, you're probably not that passionate about it, anyway. When I took a look at my diet, I said, 'Am I that passionate about bread, pasta and cheese?' And I realized that I really wasn't. So, I eliminated that stuff.

"I don't think people really love fast-food, but it is convenient."

Nichols, White and Williams all agreed that setting positive examples for children are the best ways to keep kids healthy.

"I came across a woman I swim with and her daughter had just been offered a scholarship to Stanford to swim," Williams said. "I said to her, 'That must be every parent's dream. How did you do it?'

"She said, 'Just be a good example.' My kids saw me swimming and working out all while they were growing up."