New Year, New You

Story and photo by Anna Marie General

The holiday hustle is over. Now that 2019 is here, sticking to your New Year’s resolution is always a challenge especially when it comes to fitness and eating right. Often times we make resolutions but sometimes we have a habit of breaking them.

According to a survey on statista.com, eating healthier and getting more exercise were the most common New Year’s resolutions in 2018.

During this time of year, many people make resolutions ranging from losing weight, saving money, getting more sleep, reading more and to quit smoking, to name a few.

Tina Iha, fitness specialist at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPHH) Fitness Center shares her advice on steps to stick to a fitness resolution.

“I always say new body, new you, new year,” Iha said. “Take baby steps. When you take baby steps, you basically don’t feel like you’re going over what your body can take. We make sure we show them modifications so they don’t feel like ‘oh I can’t do it’. Start with the basics and gradually move up to advance.”

The JBPHH Fitness Center has a new program for 2019 called Warrior Zone, a place to help patrons get comfortable with using a workout machine or equipment.

“Whether you don’t know how to work a machine or an equipment, we have a class for everyone whether for active duty or military spouses,” Iha adds.

Mark McFarland, regional fitness training director at JBPHH Fitness Center highlights the importance of one of their Navy fitness programs.

“NOFFS (Navy Operational Fitness and Fueling System) is a functional training system that mimics the operational warfighter like the pushpull-carry that a Sailor does on a day-in and day-out basis so they are more prepared for their job. Our goal is to facilitate more of these programs,” McFarland said.

NOFFS provides the Navy with a “best in class” physical fitness and nutrition performance resource that provides guidance to Sailors and Navy health and fitness professionals.

“Last year we had a NOFFS contract associated with 11 courses that were facilitated by four instructors between the Navy regions - Southwest, Hawaii, Mid Atlantic and Europe-Africa,” Mcfarland said. “The cost of those 11 courses would have been $363,000, but we actually paid $30,000 for the instructors, which included the travel. We saved $325,000 for the government by educating ourselves and teaching the baseline courses to provide the important benefits of NOFFS,” he added.

“We are giving fitness and nutrition tools to enhance the warfighter so that they have these tools to stay in shape not only on ships or submarines, but when they are forward deployed somewhere that they have basically a mini gym. By providing these tools, we are actually getting them more prepared for the battlefield,” Mcfarland said.

Among the many fitness programs offered at the JBPHH Fitness Center, Zumba and Yoga have been the most popular fitness programs patrons enjoy.

“A lot of our military service members realize they need more yoga because of so much stress they go through in their jobs. With our yoga classes they feel more calm and more at ease. And they have the flexibility to just be free,” Iha said.

TRX, also known as total resistance exercise, is another program offered which provides functional suspension training. You can take a band and hook it up to a tree or you can also take it to the beach to get a workout. Whether it is lower body or upper body, everything is functional using your body weight.

“The purpose is to help them gain strength naturally and safely,” Iha said. “It helps them with flexibility, and it helps them keep the confidence they need to progress.”

An Airman who just moved to Hawaii two months ago shared her experience about the TRX program.

“I took TRX classes before we moved to Hawaii and (since then) I’ve been to this class regularly. I like that it is a full body workout and it doesn’t require any other equipment besides the TRX bands,” said Senior Airman Jemma Johns, a medical technician from 624th Aeromedical Staging Squadron.

“I like this class because the instructor incorporates other equipment as well as TRX. And with this, we also do a workout or exercise that targets all the muscle parts.”

With small changes to achieve a healthier lifestyle, there are many ways to start the New Year right.

“Consistency and preparation are two words I would advise. The key is to be consistent and exercise. One big tip for the New Year is to get 30 minutes a day of cardio, two cups of leafy greens daily and a minimum of two days of strength training. While we all have busy lifestyles, any activity is good activity. Consistent activity is key,” Mcfarland said.