Exercise for New Year’s Resolution

By: Aeron Lancero

 

Magandang araw sa inyong lahat, Happy New Year to you all! May 2016 be prosperous for you, family friends and business. This leads me to what is very popular in the New Year and that is the resolution. The most popular is to lose weight or get healthy by means of diet and especially exercise. This is why January is the slowest month for restaurants and the highest membership rate for gyms.

On January 1st, almost every gym in Illinois are packed, and am sure people who had home gyms dusted them off and started using them. But for how long??? The average is about 45 days that people stick to the resolution of working out and dieting. Unfortunately, many of us get discouraged because we don’t see results and hence why statistically we do not continue. So this column is to share which gyms to join that give you quick results as long as you follow them for 30 days, most often than not, people continue the regimen because they see results and feel stronger…

The gyms and exercises I recommend participating in are the following…

1. Cross-fit – a very popular program, so popular that competitions are done internationally. You work your butt off! You will definitely be in pain after your first week, but if you continue on the path you will definitely benefit from it.

It is described as both a physical exercise philosophy and also as a competitive fitness sport. The workouts incorporate elements from highintensity interval training, Olympic style weightlifting, plyometrics, power lifting, gymnastics and calisthenics.

The gym I am recommending is Cross Fit Illumine, located at 6663 Howard Street in Niles.

Their story = il-lu-mine, tr.v. il-lu-mined, il-lu-min-ing, il-lumines: To give light to; To enlighten; illuminate.

“Our mission is to cultivate a community of people who refuse to accept the status quo and are dedicated to becoming the best versions of themselves through functional fitness and healthy living. We take great pride in our facility outfitting it with only the best. We have enough space and Rogue Fitness gear to train 20 athletes per hour which allows each athlete to achieve their goals unhindered. Our athlete/performance tracker, WODIFY, allows our athletes to easily track their progress and gives instant access to all PRs, benchmark times, food logs and 1:1 goal setting sessions every 3 months. CrossFit Illumine is a 17,000 SQFT fitness playground with only the best for our members.

Our experienced and extremely passionate coaches have the skill sets to help you in achieving your fitness goals. Here at CrossFit Illumine, we strive to make you well-rounded in all forms of fitness and to have it translate into your daily life whether it is with sports, keeping up with your children/grandchildren, running a marathon, or just trying to lead a healthier lifestyle. We are here to help you reach those goals and will support you all the way through it! “So powerful is the light within us, that it can illuminate the world.”

At CrossFit Illumine, we have a huge emphasis on the community within our walls and giving back to the community outside of them. We believe in building a community of people who not only support each other, but support those who need it most. Every couple of months we will provide an avenue for our members to give back to the community through various charity events. Through CrossFit, you will undoubtedly obtain a better quality of life for yourself doing things you never thought possible. CrossFit has the tendency to bring out the best in people which in turn sparks the need to bring out the best in others and for others.”

We could write paragraphs upon paragraphs of what CrossFit means to us and how it has impacted our lives. The challenge for us being as passionate as we are, is keeping it short and concise. In a nutshell, we want to give everyone the chance of becoming their own heroes, of leaving the gym every day feeling accomplished and having it transfer into their everyday lives. Our mission is to simply help people realize their full potential both physically and mentally.

CrossFit is some powerful stuff when applied daily. Come in and get a dose of it!

This is definitely powerful, as people lose an okay amount of weight but gain muscles in replace of fat and get strong, and I mean strong!!! This GYM in particular is great because it doesn’t matter what condition you’re in. You do it at your capability on weights or amount of time or sets it takes you. The cool thing really is that there are a few coaches that are FilAm and this is also Asian American owned but the coolest thing is the diversity of people they make comfortable in working out with them. There is no judgment here, just motivation and hard work. You can see in the photos, women, guys, different races, ages, kids, pregnant women, and people with no six packs YET… but my biggest reason is truly how it’s all inclusive… The motivation the coaches provide is contagious as the people around you as well will push you on!!!

The two coaches I had the pleasure of meeting are Brian Alexander and his wife Charlene, and they are incredible people. So when you’re ready, come and try them out. They have programs that are not intimidating and the classes are legit. I am actually getting into it this year from all the results I have seen from people who have participated. The only thing I will recommend though is don’t be mayabang (braggart) and try to outdo another member… The biggest problem that occurs here is injury and it happens because people try to do more than they are ready for because they see someone else and, bam, they get hurt… If you do it right, the results will be outstanding and 30 days alone will show results which will make you want to do more.

2. Circuit Training/ Interval Training – is a type of physical training that involves a series of low-to-high intensity workout interspersed with rest or relief periods. The high-intensity periods are typically at or close to anaerobic exercise, while the recovery periods involve activity of lower intensity. In laymen terms, it’s different workouts done in an hour, cardio then lifting then stretching, then cardio that has weights. The goal is to keep your heart rate at the consistency of burning calories. Even when you are done because you are exercising multiple body parts up to the next day, you’re still burning larger amount of calories. This program after your first 30 days of consistent classes shows amazing results on losing weight and mass. From an energy standpoint it definitely brings that up.

The Gym I am recommending is called OrangeTheory fitness. They have a few locations around the Chicagoland in the city and in the suburb of Mount Prospect. Their motto is all about the future of fitness is here. Backed by the science of post exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC), our heart rate monitored training is designed to keep heart rates in a target zone that spikes metabolism and increases energy. The result is the Orange Effect – more energy, visible toning and extra fat and calorie burn for up to 36 hours after your workout.

They hold classes so there are many of you, but again you do it at your own pace and you are monitored by your heart rate so coaches even let you know to slow down as you don’t want to exert yourself, but pace yourself. The classes are fun, energetic and no judgment there.

Now for diets… Obviously there are many but always remember diets are not a 30-day thing, it is a lifestyle by AERON A. LANCERO thing, although here are a few diets that can work in a short period of time for results.

1. The infamous detox… I will share one recipe and a company that actually specializes on this and again the results are dramatic but getting there is even more painful than the workouts themselves. Why you ask, because you have to stay away from rice, fried, sugar and fat… Which many of us FilAms love… So when you do these things especially if you’re married and have family, let them know because psychologically it will affect you.

Recipe of the organic juice cleanse:
½ apple
½ bananas
2ea strawberries
1 lemon
½ cup celery
½ cup kale
Blend all together and drink up…

2. The other diet is the Paleo – this is a diet-based on the types of food presumed to have been eaten by early humans, consisting chiefly of meat, fish, vegetables and fruit, and excluding dairy or grain products and processed food.

3. My recommended diet is portion control and drink a ton of water

Till next month which I will still continue on the healthy aspect of dining and cooking. May 2016 be a year of great health, joy and blessings. Maraming salamat!##

 

CROSS FIT SCENES