Many people begin an exercise program, just to then abandon it shortly there after. However, you can increase your chances for long-term success if you follow some simple tips to achieve your fitness goals.
Henry Mayo Fitness and Member Services Director Sharlene Duzick is here to outline the keys to a successful exercise and fitness program.
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Developing a Fitness Plan You Can Really Stick To
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She also coaches Students Off and Running (SOAR) a group that offers Santa Clarita Valley youth in need Valley the opportunity to participate in a fully supported, 24-week, 380-mile marathon training program.
As a longtime SCV resident, Duzick naturally gravitates toward local outreach and education for the community. She is a former Miss Santa Clarita Valley and a member of Junior Chamber International Santa Clarita. She is extensively involved in business and philanthropic projects in the SCV. Duzick holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Marketing from California State University Northridge.
Sharlene Duzick
Sharlene Duzick has always had a passion for health and wellness. It started in high school where she played soccer and softball, then continued when she became a marathon runner and triathlete.She also coaches Students Off and Running (SOAR) a group that offers Santa Clarita Valley youth in need Valley the opportunity to participate in a fully supported, 24-week, 380-mile marathon training program.
As a longtime SCV resident, Duzick naturally gravitates toward local outreach and education for the community. She is a former Miss Santa Clarita Valley and a member of Junior Chamber International Santa Clarita. She is extensively involved in business and philanthropic projects in the SCV. Duzick holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Marketing from California State University Northridge.
Transcription:
Developing a Fitness Plan You Can Really Stick To
Melanie Cole (Host): Well, it’s that time of year again--time to focus on your New Year’s resolutions. Many people begin an exercise program but abandon it shortly thereafter. However, you can increase your chances for long-term success if you follow some tips to achieve your fitness goals. My guest today is Sharlene Duzick. She’s the Director of Member Services at Henry Mayo Fitness and Health. Welcome to the show, Sharlene. What is the first bit of information you tell people when they say, “I’m going to really get fit this New Year”? What do you tell them as the most important bit of information?
Sharlene Duzick (Guest): Well, the starting ground for anyone is understanding what they’re here for. Everybody is at a different position when they’re starting out and understanding what they’ve been through, talking a little bit about past history that might be seeding into their workout regimen or their goal structure is going to be vital and important. One of the things I ask folks all the time when they come through the door at Henry Mayo Fitness and Health is, “So, tell me a little bit about you.” I want to understand your past history, your injuries. I want to understand is there anything that promoted you to come to our doors” because sometimes it might be off of a doctor’s referral or might just be them coming in to focus on physique or weight loss. So, I want to understand that so we can support them most appropriately. So, I think that’s the number one thing: what are you here for? What do you want to accomplish?
Melanie: Well, then, let’s start with the new exerciser--someone who really hasn’t done a lot. Maybe they have quite a few goals and they’re not sure which one to direction first. How do you help them decide how to accomplish those goals?
Sharlene: A lot of the times when I’m sitting down with individuals, I talk about them. I learn about what they’ve done physically, what they enjoy doing on a regular habit, what, you know, as far as their background is concerned, what does their job function look like? What do they do for fun? For somebody that has never worked out before, you want to identify key areas that they are going to enjoy. So, it’s so difficult sometimes going from work and then viewing exercise as another workout or a place to continue on that work regimen and you want to get them out of that and having a good time. So, what does fun look like for them? What do they do in their daily activities that they find enjoyment? Try to connect those and make it congruent so that they are successful when they come through your door and showcase some of those activities that are internal in your club.
Melanie: So much of motivation is based on results that they see, Sharlene. How do you talk to them about measurable results and keeping track of what they’re doing and so that they’re seeing those results and that will keep them going?
Sharlene: Results is going to be different for every single person. As I said, understanding what they’re there for. So, when somebody walks through my door and they say that they are there for weight loss. So, how do they achieve that? A lot of the time, many folks fall into those fad diets or those quick fixes of “I’m going to join a competition and do it for sixty days” and we really want to outline that this is going to be a lifestyle change for them. So, how do you measure that? Well, if success looks like you know pounds on the scale or if it might look like when they’re getting on the mirror, they’re getting into clothes and being able to identify those things that make them feel successful but also steering away from those measurements that might be congruent with fads. So, what we do is we sit down and we identify their goal structure. We identify the patterns of behavior that they need to put into place to see that success and then try to continue on and support them in those patterns whether it be the physical activity matched with the new nutrition. Do they document that so that they can see why they might not be achieving the results that they’re looking for? So, those are some of the things and activities that we put into place to help support them.
Melanie: Sharlene, the American College of Sports Medicine listed as the top and the top ten fitness trends for the coming year wearable technology. Where do you see Fitbits and the like, helping people with that motivation in the coming year?
Sharlene: Well, I will say that that is something that has been prevalent here in our club as well as externally but definitely one of the things that’s going to be key to success is looking at the activity level and matching that with the caloric burn and for folks that are wearing that, they get to watch what they’re doing all day. So, sometimes if they might be in a job that’s a little bit more stagnant or they don’t experience as much movement, that it gets them up, gets them moving throughout the facility. And, it is a motivational factor for many people because they like to see that they’ve achieved what their caloric intake was or what their basal metabolic rate was for them, for the current period. So, it definitely is a motivator for not only my members but folks externally, too, as well.
Melanie: Tell us about Henry Mayo Fitness and Health.
Sharlene: So, Henry Mayo Fitness and Health is a little bit of a unique facility in comparison to a lot of other fitness facilities. We’re a hybrid facility. Internally, we have education and outpatient physical therapy as a shared resource. They support our members coming through the door in terms of opportunities with tools on learning about nutrition, diabetes prevention, injury, pain management. So, for someone that might be really new to health and exercise, they can give them the tools to be successful. On the flip side, with that patient located in the same building, if we’ve got some of those rigorous athletes, if they get injured for any reason, they can also be assessed and supported, too, as well and also assessed on movement patterns. We also have an Alter-G in the facility, so if we’ve got folks that might be training for long endurance performance-based sports, we have a support system there. But, the other thing that makes us unique is we have a capped membership, so we can provide the intimacy with our training staff professionals. All of our trainers are degreed professionals with a background in exercise science, kinesiology, or physiology along with a medically-related personal training cert. So, definitely ACSM is one of those certifications that are highly regarded because of integrating anatomy and physiology of the body. They have to be well versed in body mechanics and biometrics because we do have such a wide array of people walking through our door--from someone that has never experienced anything all the way up to the common athlete. So, Henry Mayo Fitness and Health provides a support system and structure unlike any other fitness facility. We do have things that are congruent across the board in terms of cardiovascular equipment and strength equipment but the huge differentiating factor is that support system built in.
Melanie: So, give your best advice in the last few minutes here, for people that are looking toward the holiday season, dreading the pounds that they might possibly put on or the exercise they’re not going to be able to make time to do during the hustle and bustle of the holidays and what you want them to know about turning over the New Year and really making it their best fitness and health year ever.
Sharlene: So, number one is decide what your goals are, how you’re going to achieve those goals, what does that look like, how you’re going to position yourself with a road map, whether it be a regular exercise workout plan and integrating in nutrition. Because I will say preparation is key to success and then, being able to track that to ensure that you are reinforcing that road map for yourself and then measuring it. That measurement can look like whatever your goals are. If you are looking at dropping a couple of sizes or if you’re just looking at overall health, cardiovascular health, how are you going to measure that and what is that going to be for you? So, number one I think is preparation. So, I would do that.
Melanie: Thank you so much. It’s really great information. You’re listening to It’s Your Health Radio with Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital. For more information, you can go to www.henrymayo.com. That's www.henrymayo.com. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening.
Developing a Fitness Plan You Can Really Stick To
Melanie Cole (Host): Well, it’s that time of year again--time to focus on your New Year’s resolutions. Many people begin an exercise program but abandon it shortly thereafter. However, you can increase your chances for long-term success if you follow some tips to achieve your fitness goals. My guest today is Sharlene Duzick. She’s the Director of Member Services at Henry Mayo Fitness and Health. Welcome to the show, Sharlene. What is the first bit of information you tell people when they say, “I’m going to really get fit this New Year”? What do you tell them as the most important bit of information?
Sharlene Duzick (Guest): Well, the starting ground for anyone is understanding what they’re here for. Everybody is at a different position when they’re starting out and understanding what they’ve been through, talking a little bit about past history that might be seeding into their workout regimen or their goal structure is going to be vital and important. One of the things I ask folks all the time when they come through the door at Henry Mayo Fitness and Health is, “So, tell me a little bit about you.” I want to understand your past history, your injuries. I want to understand is there anything that promoted you to come to our doors” because sometimes it might be off of a doctor’s referral or might just be them coming in to focus on physique or weight loss. So, I want to understand that so we can support them most appropriately. So, I think that’s the number one thing: what are you here for? What do you want to accomplish?
Melanie: Well, then, let’s start with the new exerciser--someone who really hasn’t done a lot. Maybe they have quite a few goals and they’re not sure which one to direction first. How do you help them decide how to accomplish those goals?
Sharlene: A lot of the times when I’m sitting down with individuals, I talk about them. I learn about what they’ve done physically, what they enjoy doing on a regular habit, what, you know, as far as their background is concerned, what does their job function look like? What do they do for fun? For somebody that has never worked out before, you want to identify key areas that they are going to enjoy. So, it’s so difficult sometimes going from work and then viewing exercise as another workout or a place to continue on that work regimen and you want to get them out of that and having a good time. So, what does fun look like for them? What do they do in their daily activities that they find enjoyment? Try to connect those and make it congruent so that they are successful when they come through your door and showcase some of those activities that are internal in your club.
Melanie: So much of motivation is based on results that they see, Sharlene. How do you talk to them about measurable results and keeping track of what they’re doing and so that they’re seeing those results and that will keep them going?
Sharlene: Results is going to be different for every single person. As I said, understanding what they’re there for. So, when somebody walks through my door and they say that they are there for weight loss. So, how do they achieve that? A lot of the time, many folks fall into those fad diets or those quick fixes of “I’m going to join a competition and do it for sixty days” and we really want to outline that this is going to be a lifestyle change for them. So, how do you measure that? Well, if success looks like you know pounds on the scale or if it might look like when they’re getting on the mirror, they’re getting into clothes and being able to identify those things that make them feel successful but also steering away from those measurements that might be congruent with fads. So, what we do is we sit down and we identify their goal structure. We identify the patterns of behavior that they need to put into place to see that success and then try to continue on and support them in those patterns whether it be the physical activity matched with the new nutrition. Do they document that so that they can see why they might not be achieving the results that they’re looking for? So, those are some of the things and activities that we put into place to help support them.
Melanie: Sharlene, the American College of Sports Medicine listed as the top and the top ten fitness trends for the coming year wearable technology. Where do you see Fitbits and the like, helping people with that motivation in the coming year?
Sharlene: Well, I will say that that is something that has been prevalent here in our club as well as externally but definitely one of the things that’s going to be key to success is looking at the activity level and matching that with the caloric burn and for folks that are wearing that, they get to watch what they’re doing all day. So, sometimes if they might be in a job that’s a little bit more stagnant or they don’t experience as much movement, that it gets them up, gets them moving throughout the facility. And, it is a motivational factor for many people because they like to see that they’ve achieved what their caloric intake was or what their basal metabolic rate was for them, for the current period. So, it definitely is a motivator for not only my members but folks externally, too, as well.
Melanie: Tell us about Henry Mayo Fitness and Health.
Sharlene: So, Henry Mayo Fitness and Health is a little bit of a unique facility in comparison to a lot of other fitness facilities. We’re a hybrid facility. Internally, we have education and outpatient physical therapy as a shared resource. They support our members coming through the door in terms of opportunities with tools on learning about nutrition, diabetes prevention, injury, pain management. So, for someone that might be really new to health and exercise, they can give them the tools to be successful. On the flip side, with that patient located in the same building, if we’ve got some of those rigorous athletes, if they get injured for any reason, they can also be assessed and supported, too, as well and also assessed on movement patterns. We also have an Alter-G in the facility, so if we’ve got folks that might be training for long endurance performance-based sports, we have a support system there. But, the other thing that makes us unique is we have a capped membership, so we can provide the intimacy with our training staff professionals. All of our trainers are degreed professionals with a background in exercise science, kinesiology, or physiology along with a medically-related personal training cert. So, definitely ACSM is one of those certifications that are highly regarded because of integrating anatomy and physiology of the body. They have to be well versed in body mechanics and biometrics because we do have such a wide array of people walking through our door--from someone that has never experienced anything all the way up to the common athlete. So, Henry Mayo Fitness and Health provides a support system and structure unlike any other fitness facility. We do have things that are congruent across the board in terms of cardiovascular equipment and strength equipment but the huge differentiating factor is that support system built in.
Melanie: So, give your best advice in the last few minutes here, for people that are looking toward the holiday season, dreading the pounds that they might possibly put on or the exercise they’re not going to be able to make time to do during the hustle and bustle of the holidays and what you want them to know about turning over the New Year and really making it their best fitness and health year ever.
Sharlene: So, number one is decide what your goals are, how you’re going to achieve those goals, what does that look like, how you’re going to position yourself with a road map, whether it be a regular exercise workout plan and integrating in nutrition. Because I will say preparation is key to success and then, being able to track that to ensure that you are reinforcing that road map for yourself and then measuring it. That measurement can look like whatever your goals are. If you are looking at dropping a couple of sizes or if you’re just looking at overall health, cardiovascular health, how are you going to measure that and what is that going to be for you? So, number one I think is preparation. So, I would do that.
Melanie: Thank you so much. It’s really great information. You’re listening to It’s Your Health Radio with Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital. For more information, you can go to www.henrymayo.com. That's www.henrymayo.com. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening.