BODY & SOUL: Smaller workout goals, big results

Smaller goals,

BIG RESULTS

By Leah Seacrest

Setting your sights on a clean slate while creating new goals for a fresh year is tough. Commitment to new habits takes shear will and a huge dose of motivation. Therefore, for change to be sustainable and considered a success, it must be gradual and achievable.

Astudy examining New Year’s change attempts conducted by researchers at the University of Scranton found that 23 percent of people quit their resolution after just one week. And only 19 percent of individuals are actually able to stick to their goals long term (two years, in the case of the study).

Smaller goals that are easier to achieve just might stick more easily. You simply need to do more than you do now to see a change that is significant and worthwhile. So, if a full hour working out seems Bella’s 20-minute workout daunting, strategize to fit in 20 minutes, three or four days a week. After all, something is absolutely better than nothing. You may not • Warm Up achieve a ripped physique earned • • 10 Squats 10 Lunges by hours at the gym, but you will • 10 Push Ups make improvements towards better • 10 Rows overall health and wellness. • 10 Sit Ups Start by incorporating this simple • • Rest 60 seconds Repeat 3 times 20-minute workout three times a week. Make it a non-negotiable appointment with yourself on your calendar!

Leah Seacrest is a seasoned fitness industry veteran with 30 years of experience teaching individual and group fitness. Leah is passionate about inspiring people to move and she contributes as a writer for Bella Magazine, coowns REGYMEN Fitness Pensacola and is corporate vice president of REGYMEN Fitness. Leah is also an ambassador for YOLO Board and Garden of Life. She is a mother of three and loves spending time on the water paddleboarding and hanging out with her family.

Exercises modeled by Trisha Green.

Photos by Kate Treick Photography

LUNGES

• Start in a standing position with feet under hips, holding dumbbells. • Step forward or backward with one leg, lower your hips until both knees are bent at about a 90-degree angle. • Step back to starting position. • Repeat using other leg, rotating to the other side.

SQUAT

• Start in a standing position with feet outside of hips and toes turned slightly outward. • Holding dumbbells, squat down as low as possible. • Return to starting position. • Keep your chest lifted throughout the movement and midsection braced.

SIT UPS (top)

• Begin by lying on the ground, knees bent, weight at your chest. • Perform a sit up. • Return to the starting position.

PUSHUPS

• Start in a plank position. • Arms should be straight, shoulders over wrists. • Bend elbows and lower your upper body slowly. • Press up with your arms as you return to starting position.

BENT-OVER ROWS

• Start in a standing position, hinged at the hip with dumbbells in hand. • Holding the dumbbells in hand, pull back leading with the elbow upwards, keeping your arm close to your side. • Lower the dumbbell back to start.