GET YOUR BODY MOVING: VARIETY SPICES UP HER WORKOUTS
Whenever Cheryl Allard goes to the gym, she abides by her 10-minute rule: Use one machine for 10 minutes, then move on to something else. This strategy helped her beat the boredom that nearly ended her exercise program. It also helped her lose 100 pounds.
Cheryl began working out in 1997 after finding out that she had high blood pressure. At the time, she weighed 265 pounds. “I was chubby even as a child,” recalls the 50-year-old sewing machine consultant from Chicago. “My parents lived in England during World War II, when food was rationed. They had the mindset that food was never to be wasted. I was raised to clean my plate.”
As Cheryl got older, the pounds kept piling on. “I tried every diet under the sun to slim down,” she says. “Once, I even lost 40 pounds, but they all came back.”
Then, Cheryl’s husband persuaded her to get a physical. “I hadn’t been to our family doctor in years, and my husband kept bugging me to go,” she explains. “I went just to keep him quiet.”
But Cheryl was the one left speechless after her doctor handed her a prescription for blood pressure medication. “That got me motivated to lose,” she says. “I didn’t want to be taking pills for the rest of my life.”
Cheryl went to a nutrition counselor, who helped her revamp her eating habits. She also joined a local gym, where she started using the aerobic-exercise equipment. “I felt self-conscious at first because of my size,” she says.
Over time, her self-confidence grew—as did her boredom. Even though she varied her workouts, they seemed to drag on and on. But she knew that she couldn’t stop exercising.
So she decided to add some variety to her workout routine. Rather than spending all of her time on one piece of equipment, she’d stay on for just 10 minutes, then switch. “I can do anything for 10 minutes,” she says. “Even though I detest riding that bike, I do it, knowing that it’s only going to be for 10 minutes.” Usually, she ends up using four or five different machines.
That did the trick. Cheryl found herself looking forward to her workouts so much that she started going to the gym 6 days a week.
It the years since, Cheryl has continued to eat sensibly and exercise regularly. And it shows: Her weight has held steady at 165
Within a year of launching her weight-loss program, she took off pounds.
In the years since, Cheryl has continued to eat sensibly and expounds. Even better, her blood pressure has returned to a healthy level, and she was able to stop taking her medication. “When my son got married not too long ago, my relatives flew in from England,” she says. “They were commenting on how much weight I had lost and how good I look. More important to me, though, is that I feel great!”
WINNING ACTION
Go for 10, then switch. Cheryl is doing what the experts call circuit training, and it has more benefits than just beating boredom. By using different machines, you work different muscles, trimming and toning your entire body. You can ask a personal trainer to create a circuit for you, or you can come up with your own, as Cheryl did. Use treadmills, upright bikes, recumbent bikes, stairclimbers, rowers—whatever aerobic machines your gym has available. Stay on one machine for 10 minutes, then move on to the next.
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