Fighting fit, fun fitness tips

Christmas time is finished and time to get back to reality. Unfortunately for many people, Christmas dinner has left its mark on our bodies and on the scale. Wesley Schourie, a personal trainer from Viva Gym in Hillfox, gave some useful and fun tips on how to lose the holiday weight.

According to Schourie, it is very important to be held accountable. “Find a personal trainer or workout with a friend that can hold you accountable,” said Schourie. He further added that working out is only 20 per cent of losing weight, the other 80 per cent is about your eating habits. “It’s about what you eat and when you eat. Not eating is also not good, you are damaging your body.” He said that training does not only help for losing weight, but it is also a stress reliever. “By working out in the morning, you gain more energy for the day,” said Schourie.

By walking the dogs, playing soccer or touch rugby with your children you can also get fit. “People can join the action arena in Hillfox and enter teams to play sports like action cricket or netball,” said Schourie. According to him, various gyms have free classes. “We have pilates, yoga, step, spinning, bootcamp and zumba classes that people can join and also meet new people.” He further added that there is a big number of challenges available, for example the 90-day challenge. “I am a coach for one of these challenges and we have weekly meetings and weigh-ins. This also acts as a support group,” said Schourie. People can also partake in park runs and cycling. With these races people can set goals for themselves by working themselves up from 5 km, 10 km to 20 km races. If you are a beginner, it is a good tip to hire a personal trainer that can assist.

“It is very important to consult a doctor before partaking in any training to ensure you are medically fit to participate,” concluded Schourie.