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Section C • Sunday, January 14, 2018
spotlight on
health&wellness
Finding what works Michael Boddie shows how to do leg lifts — an exercise that tones the buttocks and can be done from the living room floor. (Staff Photos: Isabel Hughes)
Planet Fitness trainer highlights importance of exercising, being healthy By Isabel Hughes
isabel.hughes @gwinnettdailypost.com
Sitting at a table in Planet Fitness’ lobby, Michael Boddie smiles, hopping out of his seat. As he pushes the chair away from the table, he stands briefly before reaching down to place the palms of his hands on the edge of the chair. “Sometimes we make the excuse that we don’t have time to (workout), but your body is a gym in and of itself,” he said. “The benefits of doing body-weight exercises is that they’re functional and they’re generally going to be exercises you can do wherever you are and exercises that you can do without equipment.” Palms stationed firmly on the chair’s seat, Boddie, a personal trainer at the Lawrenceville gym, locks his arms vertically, stretching his legs out in front of him, knees bent at a 90 degree angle. Slowly, he lowers himself to the floor, his elbows forming an opposite 90-degree angle. “Say I’m at home watching ‘Scandal,’ but I want to do a little bit of a workout,” Boddie said. “In between my commercial breaks, I’m going to raise and lower myself against the couch or chair, and that’s an easy way to do arms and upper body. Or say I’m washing dishes at my sink. As I put one in the dishwasher, I’m going to lean against my counter and do push-ups. There you go — you’ve done a workout and you didn’t At top, Michael Boddie poses in front of the gym’s motivational wall. Above middle, even have to leave home.” The leg press tones a person’s legs and can be adjusted based on someone’s strength With the recent comlevel. Above, this machine is versatile and offers many different training options. mencement of the New
Year, residents across the nation have taken to gyms and fitness centers to work off their holiday treats and better themselves in 2018. Oftentimes, however, New Year’s resolutions don’t last past January or mid-February, for one reason or another — including time, work or school constraints. But there are ways to stay on track in the winter, spring, summer and fall months that don’t require more than 30 minutes to an hour of work per day, Boddie said. In the grand scheme of things — or in the 1,440 minutes that make up a day — he said, 60 minutes is not that much time. “Staying healthy is important, and not just for our physical well-being,” he said. “There are actually nine pillars to our health, such as emotional health, occupational health — those kinds of things. When you come to the gym or you’re exercising, you’re adding benefit to all of these aspects of health and it’s all about self-care.”
‘Something you can sustain’ “They say 21 days makes a habit,” Boddie said, laughing, “but I always say, adults do what they want to do. They have the luxury to, so the No. 1 thing you want to do is make the workout exactly what you want it to be. You’re not going to do it if you don’t want to do it, so don’t do a weight-lifting program if you don’t want to lift weights, as that’s not See fitness, Page 4c
2C • SUNDAY, JANUARY 14, 2018
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spotlight on: health&wellness
Vicknair: Social, emotional health are key BY ISABEL HUGHES
health and wellness, which is commonly understood to mean physical well-being. Too often neglected, however, are the mental and emotional components of a person’s health — aspects just as important as maintaining a healthy weight and eating right, according to you Gwinnett MedicalAre Center Behavioral Health Coordinator Dr. Devin Vicknair, Ph.D. “The physical part is so important, but people forget that the brain is attached to the body too,” he said. “People need to think Areofyou
that as an organ that needs said. “Whether that means exercise also. Starting off the relaxing, practicing mindfulnew year, people are often ness, appreciating things in Are you a looking to be happier, and the moment or doing activiA new year means many to define what that looks ties that are fun, taking time things to many different like, they need to include the for yourself should involve people across the globe. mental, social, emotional pleasure somehow and (inFor some, Jan. 1 is a time and spiritual aspects.” clude) some sort of meaning. to renew one’s spirit or comJust as there is no workout Pleasure and meaning run mit to working fewer hours. mold that fits all, there is no together, and people need Areto attaining you a aexact method For others, the turn of the to think of the brain like a year means spending more social-emotional well-being. muscle and exercise it.” time with family and friends But Vicknair said there are In part, exercising the and less time stressing about certain universal practices brain means engaging in daily events. that can help build healthy social interactions — both Many can agree, though, thinking and healthyG Whabits. less so. I N N E T T M E D Ipositive C A L C E N T E and R that January is often seen as “It all backs up WOMEN’S to taking WELLNESS “When looking at an opportunity to focus on atime for yourself,” Vicknair relationships, people need to evaluate who they’re connected to and how,” Vicknair Januar y 20, said.2018 “Part of (social) health GWINNETT MEDICAL CENTER Infinite Energy Center means looking at the people WOMEN’S WELLNESS 8 a.m. – in 2 p.m. your life that are toxic — GWINNETT MEDICAL CENTER GWINNETT MEDICAL CENTER and you can tell who they WOMEN’S WELLNESSWOMEN’S WELLNESS are if they suck the life out of you or are always using up your time and energy Januar y 20, 2018 — and figuring out how Januar y 20, 2018 Januar y 20, 2018 to minimize those interacInfinite Energy Center Infinite Energy Center Infinite Energy Center LAUGH LEARN tions. It also means setting 8 a.m. – 2 p.m.Wellness Workshops 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. Keynote Speaker, boundaries and being able to G W I N N E T T M E D I C A L C E N T E R Anita Renfroe tell someone no.” WOMEN’S WELLNESS Communication, Vicknair stressed, is essential to setting those boundaries. Januar y 20, 2018 “There are four main Infinite ways to communicate,” LAUGH LEARN LAUGH Energy Center LEARN INTERACT VISIT Keynote Speaker, Wellness Workshops 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. Vicknair said. “You can Keynote Speaker, Wellness Fitness andWorkshops Nutrition Demos Health and Wellness Anita Renfroe Anita Renfroe Health Screenings Exhibitors be aggressive, you can be LAUGH LEARN passive, you can be passiveKeynote Speaker, Wellness Workshops gmcwomenswellness.com aggressive — this is what Anita Renfroe we use in the South quite frequently, people will say GWINNETT MEDICAL CENTER ‘bless your heart’ and mean WOMEN’S WELLNESS LAUGH LEARN INTERACT VISITopposite — or the complete INTERACT VISIT Keynote Speaker, Wellness Workshops Fitness Health and Wellness FitnessAnita and Renfroe Nutrition Demos Healthand andNutrition Wellness Demos you can communicate asHealth Screenings Exhibitors Health Screenings Exhibitors sertively.” Assertive mcwomenswelln e s s . c o m communicag m c w o m e n s w e l l n e s s . c og m tion, which Vicknair said Januar y 20, 2018 VISIT INTERACT can sometimes include both Fitness and Nutrition Demos Health and Wellness Infinite Energy Center passive and aggressive forms Health Screenings Exhibitors of communication, stresses 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. INTERACT VISIT “I” statements, such as “I Fitness and Nutrition Demos Health and Wellness g m c w o m e n s w e l l n e s s . c o m Health Screenings Exhibitors would like,” or “I need.” The person then follows those up gmcwomenswellness.com with potential consequences or outcomes. “That’s what makes it isabel.hughes @gwinnettdailypost.com
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assertive,” Vicknair said. “You’re saying ‘This is what I need,’ but if you don’t get that, there’s going to be some sort of action. That’s a way to create a boundary, and while boundaries are always tested, it’s up to the individual — up to us — to say, ‘I asked this of you’ and be firm in the request. “This can be difficult, and people often hesitate to assert themselves, as well as say no. But it’s completely fine to just say no to someone and not have to explain yourself.” Still, relationship and life changes can be hard to make and shouldn’t be expected to be done overnight, Vicknair said. “Our brain has something called neuroplasticity, which means that it can change direction and change its pathways over time,” he said. “However, if we do the same thing over and over, the neurons keep firing the same way, which means that if we try to do something in a new way, that first time it’s going to be hard because the brain wants to go back to old way and travel that old path. But the more we stick to the new way of doing or thinking something, the easier it gets to travel that way.” Vicknair likens it to learning to write with your non-dominant hand. “At first, it will feel wrong and we often think that if it feels wrong, it must be,” he said. “But that’s not true, necessarily. Our brain’s pathways get pruning, so while the old way of doing or thinking will always be there, the new way will eventually become easier. It just takes practice and time and endurance.” That practice begins with small steps and that appreci-
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ation of those small accomplishments, Vicknair said. “They will build up over time and accumulate to greater change,” he said. “If there really is no change — and I look for this in my patients — it’s likely for one of two reasons: The person is afraid of the outcome or afraid of the process. He or she needs to be willing and ready to go through the stages of change for it to work.” But that change doesn’t have to be life-altering, Vicknair said; it just has to be enough to keep a person’s brain stimulated. “Our bodies and our brains are inherently lazy and will go to a dormant state if they’re not used,” he said. “That dormancy doesn’t really work nowadays, though, as we’re constantly looking for the next steps in work or life, so if we don’t practice things to exercise our brain and do things that are fun, meaningful and that build resilience, it just gets in a rut.” While that rut can lead to mental disorders such as depression, at the most basic level, it means a person isn’t functioning at his or her complete potential. Positive relationships can combat that, though. “When you socialize and connect with new people, it really lights up our brain and it helps it grow and evolve,” Vicknair said. “Jobs and relationships are similar, and I encourage everyone to ask themselves, is the relationship or job like a tank where you feel depleted when you leave or is it like a solar panel that does require energy but ultimately recharges you so you have that longevity? The (latter) is where you want to be.”
SUNDAY, JANUARY 14, 2018 • 3C
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spotlight on: health&wellness
Resolutions: There’s an app for that BY ISABEL HUGHES • isabel.hughes@gwinnettdailypost.com
T
hough some may have resolved to spend great thing. offer endless opportunities. It should come as no less time on their phone or tablet and more From operating as an organizational tool to surprise, then, that when it comes to keeping 2018 time in the present this year, technology can be a functioning as a book-on-tape, hand-held devices New Year’s resolutions, there’s an app for that.
APPS TO HELP MANAGE YOUR HEALTH add it into the app. Cost: Free to download and use basic version; premium version either $9.99/month or $49.99/year.
MyFitnessPal
MyFitnessPal: A popular dieting and health monitoring application. In 2013, MyFitnessPal was one of Consumer Reports’ highest rated diet plans. It has ranked No. 1 in health and fitness apps for more than four years — this year coming in at No. 3 — and has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today and other publications. The app offers easy-to-use calorie counters with more than five million foods in its database and contains a built-in step tracker — no Fitbit or other step counter is needed. It also has a recipe importer, which allows users to search the web for recipes and
Fitness 7 Minute Workout Challenge: A quick workout platform for those on the go. Currently the top paid app in Apple’s App store, researchers who designed the app have chosen 12 exercises that are performed for 30 seconds each with 10 second rests in between. The high-intensity training, they say, is equivalent to working out for over an hour, due to the little rest between exercises. Cost: $2.99 to download; offers in-app purchases
APPS TO HELP MANAGE YOUR HAPPINESS Headspace: A meditation app that focuses on awareness and stress-relief. This app offers guided meditation, which researches say can improve focus, help you exercise mindful awareness, relieve anxiety and reduce stress. Emma Watson has called the app “kind of genius.” Cost: Free to download and use basic version, called Take 10; after Take 10 completion, other packages available for $12.99/month, $94.99/year or one-time payment of $399.99 with unlimited access to collection.
Headspace
Fitness 7 Minute Workout Challenge
APPS TO HELP MANAGE YOUR WEALTH
Let’s Get HeaLtHy IN 2018!
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H T L A E H FAIR CTIVE EAT RIGHT - BE A
- STAY WELL
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Pacifica
Pacifica: Addresses and focuses on anxiety and depression. Based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy techniques, Pacifica gives a user tools to address stress, anxiety and depression. According to the app’s creators, stress, anxiety and depression are caused by ongoing cycles of thought, which cause physical feelings that then prompt a person to make — or not make — a certain action. Pacifica is designed to break the cycle and was listed as Forbes’ top app in the publication’s “4 Technologies Innovating Mental Health.” Cost: Free to download and use basic version; full access version $4.99/month, $35.99/year
Mint
Mint: A way to manage personal finances. This app was created by Intuit, the makers of TurboTax. Mint offers secure financial tracking, allowing users to connect their bank accounts, credit cards, investment services and debt and loan services to the app, which centralizes and organizes the information. It also uses personal data to update your credit score, show how much you have earned versus spent, show spending categories and allow you to create goals, budgets and savings plans, while offering alerts about money usage and high spending. Cost: Free to download and use
Digit: An automatic moneysaving app. Digit, a savings app, automatically transfers money from a user’s checking account to his or her Digit account by monitoring spending habits and notifying the user daily of their account balance and transactions. The amount of money transferred depends solely on a user’s available checking account balance and can transfer as little at one cent per day to $50 per day. Users earn a 1 percent savings bonus every three months. Cost: Free for the first three months; $2.99 per month after.
Digit
NOTE: All apps available for download in Apple’s App Store and Google Play. All prices listed are for iOS.
ALL AGES · FREE HEALTH SCREENINGS SPEAKERS · COMMUNITY RESOURCES GIVEAWAYS · AND MORE
Couple in their 70s use buddy system to shed 373 pounds The Hensley home is full of “before” pictures. They once weighed about 370 It’s that time of year when pounds each. new year’s resolutions are at Becky said she could the top of our minds. barely walk, and needed And for many, the focus is divine intervention. on fitness. “I was praying, and the A Weaverville, N.C. cou- Lord spoke to me, and said, ple is the ultimate example ‘Go find Donnie and ask of how the buddy system him to go to Weight Watchcan pay off big. ers with you.’” Their weight loss got Seven years later, they Oprah Winfrey’s attention. proudly show us the pants We’ve always heard once they used to wear. Donyou get to a certain age, nie’s lost 165 pounds, while it’s impossible to change Becky’s lost 208 pounds. your tune. Becky Hensley “It hurts me when I see hopes her unconventional folks that are big like this. story shatters conventional Because it’s just been such wisdom. a tremendous journey that She and her husband God has blessed,” Becky Donnie, both in their seven- said. ties, are now the picture of “I can’t imagine going health. back and being that big,”
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adds Donnie. The Hensleys helped each push each other. They gained confidence as they shed the pounds by changing their diet and going to the gym for the first time. “I still say scriptures when I’m walking,” Becky said. “I am so thankful to be able to walk.” Oprah and Weight Watchers both took notice, featuring them online to motivate others. “But the important thing is not what we’ve lost, it’s what we’ve gained, and how we have learned how to keep it off,” Becky said. “My husband and I have a much better lifestyle now. We have fun with different recipes. Also more fun smooching.”
4C • SUNDAY, JANUARY 14, 2018
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spotlight on: health&wellness •From Page 1C going to help you. Make it something you want to do.” That something doesn’t need to be a lofty goal, either, Boddie said, and in fact, it can be beneficial — and lead to a greater probability of success — to start small. “Do something you like to do, and don’t feel embarrassed or scared,” Boddie said. “The No. 1 thing I want people to know about the gym is that no matter what somebody looks like when they’re in here, we’re all in here for the same reason. We all see that girl who looks like an Instagram model and we’re just like, ‘She is goals.’ But she also has goals. She is looking at somebody and saying, ‘That’s goals for me.’” Over the years, research has shown that SMART goals — specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely ambitions — have the highest rates of success, according to Gwinnett Medical Center Behavioral Health Coordinator Dr. Devin Vicknair, Ph.D. “Setting a SMART goal means identifying what, specifically, you want, and it has to be something measurable,” he said. “Once you figure
Fitness
Michael Boddie demonstrates an exercise that can be done using the seat of a chair or a couch. To make the arm workout easier, he recommends bending the knees to 90 degree angles.
people around you for support.” At Planet Fitness, members have access to Planet Fitness trainer Michael Boddie demonstrates a machine exercise at the LawPlanet Of Triumphs, an renceville gym. (Staff Photos: Isabel Hughes) “online community where out how to measure it, come in and say, ‘New spouse or even a pet. members can share the you have to make sure it’s year, new me; I’m going “Think about all the stories that make them attainable, meaning it’s to work out five days a things you’ve done in proud, no matter how big something that’s in power week,’” he said. “That’s your life,” Boddie said. or small.” or something you can get not sustainable for most “There’s always been The point, Boddie said, the resources for. Then people. We have jobs, we a time when you don’t is to support one another, you have to be realistic have families, we have necessarily get what you which can come in all with it and be sure you’re children, so make sure want. You say, ‘I’m going forms, though the result setting it about yourself it’s something you know to graduate from univeris the same: Users find for yourself, and finally, you can commit to, and if sity in four years,’ but inspiration and motivait has to be time-limited that’s one day per week, when that time comes, tion in the success and with a beginning and an that’s one day per week. you need another year failure stories of others. end. People should make At least you’ll know or another semester. You “I could sit and give both short and long-term it’s something you can still come out with that advice all day long, but goals to be most (sucsustain.” degree, it just takes you a I find people really love cessful).” Part of that sustainabil- little longer. You have to hearing these stories,” Boddie said he tries to ity includes relying on keep reminding yourBoddie said. “I’m clearly instill the SMART critea support system, which self — and have others a fit person and someone ria in all of his clients. can be anything from remind you — that things who doesn’t struggle “I have a lot of people family and friends to a take time. Look for the to eat kale. But I find it’s better for people to hear, ‘I messed up and had a really bad cheat day’ from someone who may not be (as fit,) but is trying their best. That’s what Planet of Triumphs is for.”
that goes into burning off that McDonald’s is 10 times higher than it would be if you had just had grilled chicken and veggies,” he said. “You’re going to work harder and spend a lot more time, and it’s not that you can’t eat pizza all the time and lose weight, because you can, it’s just going to require you to do a lot more work, and most people can’t commit to that.” Choosing a healthy diet is one of the hardest things to do, though, Boddie said, which is why he reminds his clients to start small. “I would recommend this to anyone: take it slow,” he said. “If you drink four sodas per day, switch it to three and replace one with a water. Do that week-to-week and slowly, you’ll start to incorporate it into your lifestyle. If you eat fastfood seven days a week, one week, let’s make it six days, and two weeks later, we’ll make it five days. Slowly build up ‘Abs are made (the goal), and that’s a in the kitchen’ Despite a person’s best way to make it achieveffort, working out alone able.” Still, Boddie said, won’t guarantee overall body health, Boddie said. cheating is OK every now and then. “We, especially as “I allow myself fasttrainers, love exercise,” food once a month, and I he said. “But it’s really going to come down to 80 religiously get the same percent the kitchen — abs dish (on that day),” he said. “Allow yourself to are made in the kitchen have those moments; just — and 20 percent exerremember when you have cise. Messing up your those moments of happidiet can really be detrimental to all of the work ness, you’ve got to work out. Planet Fitness wants you’re putting in, and you to enjoy life and while you can eat Mchave fun and enjoy your Donald’s every day and food — we even have lose weight, a lot of bad pizza Mondays for that things are also going to happen. Your cholesterol reason. But you can have that pizza occasionally is going to go through and your work will not be the roof, you’ll get high ruined.” blood pressure — all Smiling again, Boddie these bad things from bad winds his way through eating habits. We want Planet Fitness’ treadyou to practice what we mills, all of which hum call clean eating.” at different speeds in the That means lean progym. teins, whole — or unGesturing to the cliprocessed — foods, and foods that are as close to ents, he notes their differtheir natural form as pos- ent intensity levels. “Something as simple sible. This, Boddie said, as walking can be just as is not only better for the body, but it makes work- beneficial (as running,)” he said, “And always ing out easier and more remember: Think of the enjoyable. gym as self care.” “The amount of work
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Michael Boddie demonstrates a biceps workout.