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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