New year, new you?

 

By Alyssa Horrobin

Hit the gym, get in shape, live healthier…these are commitments people make on the first day of January every year.

According to the Statistic Brain website, weight loss is the number one New Year’s resolution people make every year.

Alisa Hopkinson, general manager and personal trainer at GoodLife Fitness Centre For Women, says the best and fastest way to lose weight is actually through lifting heavy weights.

“There’s still a misconception that doing long periods of steady-state cardio is how (people) are going to accomplish their weight loss goal but that’s simply not the case,” said Hopkinson. “Lifting heavy weights is crucial for anyone’s goals, especially women.”

 

Hopkinson said many women shy away from heavy lifting because they are afraid it will make them bulk up and create large muscles. In reality, it will trim body fat and tone muscle more accurately than long amounts of cardio.

Windsorite Steve Bisutti, who has been working out since he was 13 years old, thinks the ability to do heavy weight-lifting is in a person’s genetics, whether they are male or female.

He began working out because he wanted to be strong like his uncle and kept doing so for years because of the physical benefits for a past railroad job. Now he does it to keep in general good health.

Bisutti said those who are new to working out should start slowly and then switch things up so they do not lose interest or motivation to keep going.

“Start small and then keep going and it might stick with you all your life,” said Bisutti. “If something hurts, don’t do it.”

For some though, it is not about losing weight. For Nakeitha Galati, it is about staying healthy and feeling good.

Galati started working out because of a New Year’s resolution to start going to the gym two years ago but what keeps her going is her vision for a long-term goal.

“This is a lifestyle thing for me, not just a New Year’s resolution even though it was kinda sparked by that,” said Galati. “Eventually over time you will see a nice change in your body, you’ll start to feel better. It’s good meditation. Overall it’s just a good thing.”

She said the first day was the hardest and some days it is still really hard to get up and go, but the key is taking baby steps on the journey toward the bigger picture.

As a business manager, Hopkinson does whatever she can to keep the influx of new and returning goal setters coming to the gym. Her passion for people and empowering women to lift challenging weights is her drive behind helping people achieve their goals.

“I am really, really passionate about people who want to lose weight,” said Hopkinson. “It’s not about the duration of time you’re at the gym…I want people coming in and doing the right things.”

If you have a fitness-related goal, whether it’s a New Year’s resolution or not, there are 87 gyms and training centres in Windsor and the surrounding area as well as dozens of phone apps and hundreds of online videos for home workouts.