With 2015 already underway, many residents have made resolutions to exercise more and live a more healthy lifestyle. Several experts have shared their insight into how they can keep those resolutions throughout the year and beyond.
Many residents have shown commitment to getting healthy by signing up for a local gym membership.
Bradford Price, of In-Line Fitness in Pace, said memberships typically increase in early January only to decline as the year progresses.
“At least half of those people do not last the whole year,” Price said.
Price offered some solutions to those looking to stay the course of exercising throughout the new year.
In addition to making it a habit of going to the gym, Price suggests finding motivational support.
“Another way (to stay motivated) is going with a buddy,” Price said.
Other ways to get motivated is by having a friendly competition with a friend or family member. Having written goals, where you can regularly see them is also motivational, Price said.
Like In-Line Fitness, Joey Paladino – owner of CrossFit Pace Patriot Pride – said the beginning of each year is one of the busiest times of the year. In addition to the first of January, CrossFit also sees a lot of interest before the summer months.
Paladino said a majority of new clientele stay motivated through nutritional and fitness challenges offered at CrossFit. Many members also stay motivated when honoring a fallen U.S. veteran, a police officer or firefighter.
Another motivational tool is the group setting itself, Paladino said.
“We are a big family,” he said. “We encourage people to be themselves.”
If working out at gym is not for you, there are plenty of outside options to choose from within the county. Vernon Compton, trail coordinator for the Western Gate chapter of the Florida Trail Association, said there are several hiking, biking, jogging, and sight-seeing trails available to area residents.
One of the more popular trails is located in Milton is the Blackwater Heritage State Trail, which travels through historic downtown Milton and extends eight miles north to the Naval Air Station Whiting Field.
Compton, who avidly uses area trails to exercise, said usage on the heritage trail had doubled over the last year.
Several hiking options – including the hiking trails at Juniper Creek and Garcon Point, near the bridge − are available to residents throughout the county, he said.
“Many people just do not know where they are,” Compton said.
Several of the experts also shared advice on how parents can get their children more active.
Paladino is also a proponent of reducing childhood obesity. However, the challenge starts at home.
“Parents should be a good role model,” he said.
Paladino encourages parents to find ways to keep their children from becoming couch potatoes at home.
Milton pediatrician Dr. Luis Ghiglino agrees.
“(Parents) are the gatekeepers,” he said. “ (Children) learn how (to live) by mom and dad.”
Ghiglino encourages children to watch their portions when eating and drinking water instead of sugar-based drinks.
However, the change in diet and lifestyle has to be made by the family, Ghiglino said.
“I can’t decide that for them, they have to make that decision,” he said.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Get fit in 2015