Chaparral 2014-2015: 23.6 FitTips

Fit Tip #6: Summer Strong
How to Keep Your Fitness Focused During the Summer Months

by Erin Calderone

Who is more excited for summer – you or your students? It seems like everyone contracts symptoms of vacation-itis these last few weeks of Spring – for me it’s spread by the Caribbean screen saver on my desktop and the 75 degree SoCal breeze that slams the door shut behind a tardy student. Summer is my favorite season for several reasons, including more time to focus on my own fitness instead of just my students’ fitness. During the semester, I usually have to scale back my goals to just upkeep my current level of fitness, but during these next three months, I get to amp up my workouts and actually focus on getting stronger, faster and more flexible.

Although staying consistent is really important to reach your goals, having a few times throughout the year to gear up and push a little harder is actually beneficial. Athletes call this planned variation periodization, where they plan their workouts to change volume and intensity throughout the year in order to put them in peak shape for a season or competition, and then they recover from it. You can do this too by committing to a short-term fitness goal (like a 5K or mud-run), or trying a new type of exercise when you have more free time.

So how will you kick it up a notch this Summer? Here are some ideas, but feel free to add your own in the comments section below!

• Join the FREE 100 Citizens fitness program at Crescenta Valley Park led by CSUN Kinesiology students every Tuesday and Thursday from 8:30-9:30am. To see a short intro video or find out more, visit: http://www.100citizens.org/100-citizens/886-2/
• Take a short-term boot-camp or hire a personal trainer for 12 weeks. If you’re not a member of a local gym already, the following personal trainer finders can be helpful tools: http://www.ideafit.com/fitnessconnect http://www.acefitness.org/acefit/locate-trainer/. Just make sure the trainer you choose has a current CPT certification and liability insurance.  
• Become a member of a hiking group. Go to http://hiking.meetup.com and search for your city to find dozens of hiking groups. Or find a pal that likes the kind of exercise you’re into. Even if he’s really furry and has 4 paws.
• Sign-up for a local 5K or 10K – and then train for it. http://www.active.com can help you find events in your area. That website also has a smartphone app ($1.99 – or there are other apps for free) that you can download to get a couch-to-5K training plan for beginners.
• If you’re more of a DIY exerciser, you can find a plethora of decent workout programs online. Just be careful –good form is a hard thing for even the experts in the video to achieve. http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/find-a-plan.html ; https://www.fitnessblender.com     

Previous Article   Next Article