Welcome 2025!
Welcome to Spring Semester 2025!
Now is a good time to charge into this new year and get a firm grasp on your wellness. There is no better place to get started than at the Fitness Center.
The Fitness Center is celebrating its 12th year of promoting M State students' wellness, health and happiness. January 13 to 17, the Fitness Center celebrates Anniversary Week! Stop in for a healthy snack every day and get your name in the Daily Drawing for great prizes!
Check out the Fitness Center listing on fargomoms.com!
You're invited to Kay's Birthday Bash January 22 at 3:00pm in the Studio!
Read on for details on the new Fitness Center event! The Six-Week Transformation kicks off January 27th.
Community Memberships are available for purchase for your workout friends who are >18 years old and unaffiliated with M State. As a reminder, the Fitness Center provides complimentary Equipment Orientations, Fitness Assessments, and even Personal Training for registered students by appointment.
For your peace of mind, the Fitness Center is sanitized top to bottom at least twice every day. Remember, street shoes are not allowed in the facility. Bring clean sneakers with you!
Feel empowered as you begin 2025 - empowered with your time, your talent, your energy, and your health and wellness.
Thank you for taking the time to read this edition of the Fitness Center newsletter.
Be Safe. Stay Happy and Healthy.
~ Kay ~
NEWS FLASH!
Question:
How do I get ready for Spring and Spring Break, which is only about 8 weeks away?
Answer:
Get to the gym. Learn about the new six-week transformation event and get involved!
Question:
I don't know what to do when I get to the gym. What should I do?
Answer:
Schedule an appointment with Kay to help you devise a workable plan and provide accountability.
Coming Soon!
There's never a dull moment at the M State Fitness Center! There are many opportunities for you to get involved at the Fitness Center.
Anniversary Week - January 13 - 17 Celebrating 12 YEARS of serving students' health and wellness. Daily door prizes and light refreshments are on board all week. Plan to stop in every day to get your name in the Daily Drawing to win great prizes.
Kay's Birthday Bash - January 22 It wouldn't be a typical birthday for Kay to NOT teach on her birthday. She has chosen Yolates for her Birthday Bash on the 22nd at 3:00pm in the Studio. Yolates is a great combo of Pilates and yoga. Please join this Birthday Bash to stretch, relax, and celebrate Kay's Birthday with her.
National Healthy Weight Week - January 21 – 24 Stop in the Fitness Center for a complimentary Tanita Body Composition.
January 21 - Group Fitness Classes begin with the January and February schedule.
January 27 - Six-Week Transformation kicks off. Details included in this Fitness Center Newsletter.
Random Acts of Kindness Week - February 10 - 14 Promotion of kindness toward one another. Take this week to rack up your personal Random Acts of Kindness. Report these to the Director for points given for each. At the end of the week, the points are compiled and a prize awarded!
FITT
If you have been working out consistently, you may have hit a road block or plateau. That fitness plateau can be frustrating, but it is common and completely normal. Please read on to learn how to overcome it.
The FITT Principle
FITT stands for Frequency – Intensity – Time – and Type. Changing just one of these variables can help you push through a fitness plateau. Here are some suggestions to consider:
· Frequency refers to the number of days per week you perform a certain type of exercise.
· Intensity refers to how hard you exercise during a single workout session.
· Time describes the duration of one session.
· Type refers to the kind of exercise you do. For example, jogging, elliptical, cardio dance, and
cycling are types of activities to improve cardiorespiratory fitness, while body-weight
exercises and weight training are types of activities to improve muscular fitness.
Studies show of these four components (FITT), intensity has the greatest impact on fitness outcomes. Adding higher intensity intervals to your cardio sessions is an effective way to challenge and improve your cardiorespiratory fitness. To increase the intensity during a resistance-training session, try reducing rest time between sets or supersets. A superset involves working opposing muscle groups back-to-back with no rest between the exercises. For example, you might perform a set of low back extension immediately followed by a set of lower ab work.
Recovery
What you do between training sessions is very important. It’s important to be intentional about your recovery between workouts. Proper recovery includes good sleep habits, post-workout fluid replacement, and proper nutrition, which will help reduce risk of exercise-related injuries. Let your body reset after strenuous workouts. Foam rolling and stretching will also help in the recovery phase of your regime.
Overtraining
Especially at this time of year, people go to the gym and really hit it hard. Granted – to achieve results, you need to exercise hard enough to challenge the targeted muscle groups. However, some times less is more. Intense, high-volume training over the course of weeks or months can lead to overtraining syndrome. Overtraining syndrome can be difficult to recognize, but the syndrome is marked by a decrease in performance despite consistent training.
Following a regular exercise program throughout your life will positively impact your health in numerous ways. If you find yourself hitting a fitness plateau, do not be discouraged.
Remember to:
· Apply the FITT principle to your exercise program and change things up.
· Include adequate recovery as part of your training.
· Avoid overtraining syndrome by recognizing the signs and symptoms mentioned in this
article.
Good News ~ Bad News
First the bad news: Trying to overhaul your entire lifestyle at once is most likely going to end in failure. Sorry ... It's just not practical.
The good news? Making small changes to your daily life can have a big impact, especially since you're more likely to keep them going long term!
Start small... try these suggestions:
Shop Smart. Meal planning can make things easier. It’s not that you have to chart out all the details, but you can think about what you like to eat and how much time you’ll have for meal prep for the upcoming week. Take your menu ideas, make a list, check your pantry for the ingredients you might already have on hand, then head to the grocery store if you need to fill in some gaps.
Drink More Water. This might sound like a vague tip that you’ve heard a million times, but it is really important. Anytime you feel snacky, have a full glass of water then wait 10 minutes before reaching for something to eat. It could be that you are just dehydrated!
Move More ~ Sit Less. It's easy to get hung up on the kind of exercise you think you should be doing... and letting that turn into doing nothing at all. Progress, not perfection! Going for a walk is way better than nothing, even if you're just walking around inside your house or apartment building, a.k.a. Housewalking. Let's face it - it's winter around here. Something is always better than nothing.
The Fitness Center is convenient and full-service! Make use of it and the valuable resources available to you. Maybe you’re bored with your workouts? Schedule a Fitness Consultationto shake up your regime. Maybe you’re not confident with how to use the equipment? Schedule an Equipment Orientation to increase your knowledge and confidence! Personal Training is complimentary for registered students. Group Fitness classes are motivating and fun!
Kick to the Curb the All or Nothing Thinking. No one and nothing is perfect, so grant yourself some grace. As you move forward with your goals, do your best and know you did your best. Be realistic with yourself. The most important thing is to focus on the good things you ARE doing instead of stressing about what you're NOT doing.
Think Beyond Exercise and Your Diet. These two elements are important with regard to feeling your best, but physical and mental health are also supported in other ways, too. Get enough sleep. Reduce your stress. Take a break from screen time. Get some sunshine. Make a point of staying connected to people ~ call instead of sending a text. Reach out to the numerous resources M State has to offer.
