By Chris Wilson
Arkansas Farm Bureau

’Tis the season for resolutions.

And many of us have resolved to get rid of those 10 pounds we’ve gained, on average, during the holidays.

Not surprisingly, the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association names January as the most popular month for new gym memberships. Equally unsurprising, the organization reports that fully half of those new members quit within the first six months of signup.

“It’s the same thing every year,” says Travis Foreman, personal trainer at UAMS fitness center. “There’s always a huge wave of people signing up. It dies off pretty fast.”

It’s easy to get excited about losing those holiday pounds and getting in shape. As the statistics show, however, once the hard work actually starts and that treadmill loses its luster, it’s even easier to give up.

Often, the culprits are overly optimistic goals and unreachable expectations that leave people feeling frustrated and disappointed.

Because of this, some experts recommend smaller, more manageable steps as alternatives to jumping in and paying for a commercial gym membership.

Start slowly, says Darla Henry, health educator at Baptist Health Medical Center in Little Rock.

“You don’t have to belong to a gym. For most exercise, you just need a good pair of shoes. You can walk.

“Also,” Henry says, “people can break it up and do short bursts of exercise. They’re finding that people are getting better results doing multiple short, 10-minute bursts than with one long, extended exercise session — mainly because people can fit that in their day easier.”

Henry, who has a master’s degree in exercise physiology, also explains that these short bursts of walking are more successful because they increase a person’s metabolism periodically throughout the day.

“Some people exercise regularly, but are mostly sedentary for the rest of their day. This method helps them to not be so sedentary.”

A specialist in working with seniors, Carol Maxwell, a personal trainer at the Washington Regional Exercise Center in Fayetteville, suggests that for people like her clients “no pain, no gain” is an inappropriate battle cry.

“You want to feel something, but it shouldn’t make you hurt worse the next day than you did the day before.”

Taking this idea of short, manageable sessions a step farther, Henry has developed a set of exercises she calls “fidgets,” intended to be easily incorporated into daily activities. For example, she recommends that, when driving, you should do two “tummy tucks” (holding in the stomach for 10 seconds) at each red light. This is equal to two sit-ups.

She also has developed exercises to do while talking on the phone, watching television, sitting at the computer, waiting in line at the grocery store and washing dishes, to name just a few.

“If you can try to incorporate at least 14 different fidgets a day,” Henry says, “you can burn up to 500 calories over a week just doing them — even if you made no other changes.

“But this is not cardiovascular, so you don’t get the heart-strengthening benefits that you would get from an aerobic activity. These exercises are for muscle-toning and flexibility.”

Henry’s last point is important. Because these fidget exercises are not aerobic, they should be viewed as bonuses.

“It’s just extra calories,” as she puts it.

For people looking to lose serious weight or keep their heart healthy, an aerobic exercise such as walking is a necessity. To achieve these, Henry recommends setting a goal of burning 2,000 calories a week, four times the amount the “fidget” routine consumes.

Although incorporating exercises into one’s daily routine can be very productive, she emphasizes that it is important not to write off daily routine as exercise, in and of itself.

One recent study in Britain, commissioned by the Philips electronics company, concludes that people burn an average of 50,261 calories a year just cleaning house. It’s great that you can burn 6,800 calories a year vacuuming, as this study found. If that vacuuming was already part of your routine, however, it’s unbeneficial — and unhealthy — to view it as “exercise.”

“When we’re talking about burning 2,000 calories a week,” Henry says, “we’re talking about calories over and beyond what you’re already doing. If you’re happy where you are, at your weight and your health, then you’re fine.

“But if you want to improve, then you need to do more than what you’re currently doing.”

For many people, it’s helpful not to look at this additional activity in terms of exercise, but in terms of active lifestyle choices.

“Park a little further out,” says Maxwell. “Take the stairs instead of the elevator. You’ve just got to move.

“Do whatever you’re able to do. Do the best you can with what you’ve got.”

This concept of “active living” began to pick up steam in the late 1990s after the release of the Surgeon General’s Report on Physical Activity & Health. It found that “60 percent — well over half — of Americans are not regularly active.

It’s a growing movement that’s doing much more than urging people to take the stairs. The Active Living Network, for instance, is an organization that is researching how our built-in environment — including neighborhoods, transportation systems, buildings, parks and open space — can promote more active lives.

According to that organization’s Web site, www.activeliving.org, “Active living is about creating healthy communities that have safe and convenient choices for people to walk, bike and be physically active on a daily basis.”

Henry believes that these new approaches to physical fitness are a sign of the times.

“Technology is great, but as it’s advancing, it’s making us more and more sedentary. For instance, I have a dishwasher; my grandmother washed them all by hand. I’ve got a washing machine; she did laundry with a wringer washer.

“Now, we have Roombas (little robots that scoot around the room vacuuming the floor).

“These days, we just don’t expend as much energy to do the activities of daily life. Because of this, health educators are looking at what we can do to make ourselves healthier throughout the day.”

It’s a noble effort. In the wake of what the U.S. Center for Disease Control is calling an “obesity epidemic,” every little bit counts.

“Because obesity is related to so many other problems like heart disease, diabetes, even somewhat related to breast cancer,” Henry says, “we’re trying to take care of obesity.

“If we can prevent it, we can ultimately prevent those other, more serious diseases.”

‘Fidgets’ for you

Here are some additional “fidget” exercises Darla Henry, health educator at Baptist Health Medical Center in Little Rock, recommends.

She says performing 14 “fidgets” a day burns 500 calories over the course of a week.

1. Squats while brushing your teeth (Do 20). Position your legs slightly wider than your hips, bend your knees, and keep your weight on your heels.

2. Side leg lifts (10) while rinsing out your blender. Stand straight, lift your leg out to the side, and don’t lean. Great for the back of the legs and buttocks. (Note: Darla uses a blender quite often in her work as a health educator at Baptist Health.)

3. Calf raises (15) while waiting in line at the grocery store. Hold onto the cart for balance, and keep your legs straight. Rise up and down on your tiptoes. Builds shapely calves and prevents shin splints.

4. Waist twists while seated in your car. Sit up straight, twist side to side 10 times. Great for your lower back and waist.

5. After-shower triceps towel toners (10). Roll up your bath towel, and grasp it behind you with both hands. Lift one hand above your head, and keep tension on the towel with your other hand. Great for the back of the arms.