By: Rebecca Shlien
Email: RShlien@waaytv.com
View Article on WAAYTV.COM
MADISON COUNTY, Ala. – Thousands of Americans will make same New Year’s resolution this year. It’s one that’s easy to make, but notoriously tough to accomplish: losing weight and getting into shape.
Teri Gatlin joined 24/7 Health Club in Harvest during the summer of 2010. Her motive: being able to care for her 8-month old son. She explains, “The only way I was going to be able to keep up with him was to lose weight. And I knew I had to do something about that.”
Since then, she’s come to the gym nearly every day, and her hard work is paying off. Gatlin says, “I’ve lost about 80 pounds. And I can get on the floor with Daniel, and I can get up off the floor and not be dying.”
Gatlin still has 60 more pounds she’d like to shed. However she isn’t afraid of failing, thanks to a simple secret: setting a goal and creating a plan to achieve it. She explains, “I do 5-pound increments, because I know that 5 pounds is attainable, 60 pounds is overwhelming.”
Jeffry Robinson is the personal training manager at Gatlin’s gym. He says fitness plans like hers are essential, because 95 out of 100 people who start exercising without a plan won’t succeed. That might explain why all those New Year’s resolutions are so tough to stick to.
Robinson says, “There’s a bible quote I like, which states, ‘What man would build a house without first sitting down to consider the costs?’” Gesturing to his own body, he continues, “This is our house, our home. So if we were going to renovate our home, the first thing we would do is come up with what we call a blueprint.”
Trainers say the first step to getting into shape is working on your flexibility to reduce the chance of injuries. Robinson adds, “Once you’re comfortable with your flexibility level, then the next thing is to get up and get moving. Get your heart rate pumping, work on your cardio. Then the next thing is to get into some type of resistance training.
Throughout all of that, consistency is key: working out when it’s the last thing you feel like doing. Gatlin says, “It’s not easy. Some mornings I’d just as soon stay in the bed, but I feel so much better afterwards.”
And now that Gatlin is well on her way, she has a new goal: encouraging others to get started, and stay on track. Teaching a Zumba fitness class helps her do that.
Gatlin explains, “I’m not your most typical instructor, but I like to think that folks see me up there doing that, and think well, she can do it, I can do it. And that’s the biggest thing. I want folks to know that they can do something if they try it.”
As Gatlin continues on her weight loss journey, she has some New Year’s resolutions of her own. She says, “I do have certain sizes I want to get into, and I aspire to have a cute swimsuit in the summertime.”
And thanks to her fitness plan, she knows those dreams can become a reality.
Since the beginning of the New Year is a popular time to begin a workout routine, 24/7 Health Club offers several promotions to help jumpstart your fitness success. These include a new membership discount, Weight Watchers meetings beginning in January, and a New Year’s weight loss contest beginning in February.
