Each year around this time, most of us set a few goals for ourselves. As with everything else, chances are your goals are different today than a decade or more ago — including your health and wellness goals. We wanted to know what top fitness trainers are striving to achieve for themselves, so we asked.
Latreal “La” Mitchell, 44, Granite Gym
What are your fitness goals for this year?
I’m turning 45, but my fitness goals have been pretty consistent since I turned 40. I do something active every day. I like to do yoga, hike with my dog, boxing, or weight training. I would like to become a vegan, so I will go vegetarian for six months and then ease myself into a vegan lifestyle by the end of the year.
How do you plan to achieve these goals?
I’m pretty OCD, and I always say, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” I put my workouts in my calendar, and make sure I allow nothing or no one to take away my “me” time. Also, meal prep is everything! My meals are in containers and ready to go daily.
Why are these goals important to you?
As we get older, our bodies change, and I always want to feel and look younger than I am. Healthy food and exercise is the best [way] to reverse aging. Eating more greens and eliminating animal protein has been shown in many studies and documentaries to be much healthier for you. Exercise, stretching, and meditation are just as beneficial to your body. I plan on being around for a long time, and a healthy lifestyle is the only way to do it.
Jill Miller, 45, Equinox
What are your fitness goals?
I would like to continue to build whole-body strength, improve my body mapping and proprioception, and stay supple with self-massage and mobility work. I would also like to expand my meditation practice.
How do you plan to achieve these goals?
As a mom of two (a toddler and a 3-month-old) and a business owner, finding time is very challenging. I have to be very organized in order to get formal workouts in. So I infuse everyday activities with extra movement and motion challenges in order to stay mobile and fresh. I also have two days a week where I leave the house to workout.
Why are these goals important to you?
My goals are to be able to lift my children and do no harm to myself! As an older mom, I want to have as much energy and vigor as the young moms at the park. My fitness practice is so comprehensive that it helps me outlast most of those other mamas!
Michelle Lovitt, 47, Gym on Nemo
What are your fitness goals?
After you turn 35, there are so many changes with your body and hormones — you have to fight harder to get and keep muscle. My goals are to maintain strength and to increase strength in certain areas, like my core, so that the quality of my life stays consistent with my activity level.
How do you plan to achieve these goals?
I’m going to plan myself into my scheduling book. In other words, I’m going to make sure that I’m not overscheduling my days. I will devote two hours a day, four days a week to myself, so I can workout, shower, relax for a little to relieve stress, then go back to work. I want to make sure I’m taking care of myself and not just everyone else.
Why are these goals important to you?
It’s important to maintain strength because you lose muscle mass as you age. Then muscle imbalances are created and that’s how injuries sneak up on you. I’m so active with my clients that I need to make sure my muscles are staying intact. I need to increase strength and muscle mass to offset aging and to keep my metabolism active like I was when I was 30.
Ramona Braganza, 53, 3-2-1 Fitness
What are your fitness goals?
As a former NFL cheerleader for 10 years with the LA/Oakland Raiders who has missed dancing on a regular basis, my fitness goals are to start ballroom dance classes along with jazz, hip-hop, and even ballet again.
How do you plan to achieve these goals?
I’m living and working in New York on a television show called Bull as Michael Weatherly’s fitness coach, and I’m going to take this opportunity to start dance classes in New York City!
Why are these goals so important to you?
Remaining flexible, strong, and improving my stamina are the goals I hope to achieve by taking dance classes. I will follow in my mother’s footsteps — at 83 she still teaches Zumba classes!
Kacy Duke, 61, Kacy Duke Fitness
What are your fitness goals?
My goals are similar to the ones I encourage my clients to focus on, which includes keeping as healthy and fit as possible, fueling your body with the right nutrition, and keeping muscles guessing (and growing) by constantly surprising them.
As I workout everyday with my clients and on my own, movement is at the foundation of my job. My muscles are constantly being engaged — but personally, I also need to engage the rest of me as well! In order to motivate and inspire others, I have to refresh and replenish my mind and spirit, which means making more time in my life for activities that center and sustain me, and fill me with creative energy like meditation, travel, and spending more time outdoors.
How do you plan to achieve these goals?
Well, for starters, I am going to relearn how to pace myself. As I love what I do, and want to do it all the time, it’s easy for me to overdo it! So this year I’ll be focusing on working smarter; saying no to things that deplete my energy; and allowing myself more time to smell the roses, walk my dog (apologies to my dog walker!), unstuff my schedule a little bit, and give myself the time I need to let my mind wander more to the creative place!
Why are these goals important to you?
The goals on my agenda are about my evolution rather than the number of years on my passport. With each year that passes, I feel that I’ve learned more and am wiser than I was last year on this day, so I embrace the passing of time. I’m 61 years young, but I really don’t let the numbers define me. What matters most is is to ask yourself, “Am I living a healthy, joyful life?” And if the answer is yes, then you’re where you need to be. And if for some reason your answer is no, then you have to take the steps to change that. Keep moving forward physically, spiritually, and emotionally — no matter what your age — that’s what really matters!
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