| Financial Fitness That Makes Sense |
By: Allison Duxbury Published 05/15/09
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Posted: Friday, May 15, 2009 12:07 am
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 Allison Duxbury is an AFFA qualified fitness professional with over 15 years experience in group and personal training. After many years travelling the world with her husband Rod, an officer in the British Army, they returned to her roots in Connecticut to bring up their young family and start her business: FitFocused. Three years later, the business is thriving and her clients range from 9-year-old competitive Irish Dancers to an octogenarian veteran.
With the financial markets as they are and many people worried about their jobs and the security of their homes and businesses, I have seen an increase in the number of people attending my classes and coming to me for personal training. On the face of it, this might not seem to make sense. Perhaps you are one of those people who has always seen personal training as one of the luxuries that we have to give up when times are hard.
As a personal trainer what I see are people making choices – choices that look to their long term health and well-being. What they know is that regular exercise is extra important in times of stress. Regular, strenuous exercise keeps cortisol levels down and rids our body of adrenaline. Both of these hormones can lead to anxiety and depression as well as making it more difficult for us to concentrate and cope on day to day basis. Reducing exercise can often lead to an increase in “hidden” costs, such as increased doctor's bills, leading to increased anxiety over insurance costs or eligibility.
In times of stress, staying fit and staying focused is essential.
We know we need to exercise, but we also know that it is very difficult to keep motivated when you exercise on your own. There is always something more important than that power walk or run that you promised yourself you would take instead of your regular class.
Walking is a great weight-bearing exercise but it does not help your upper body strength. Few of us are really able to gauge for ourselves when we are working at our optimum level. Suddenly our power-walk becomes an amble.
You know that we should all be participating in some level of weight training 2-3 days a week and working all 12 major muscle groups for optimum strength and bone density as well as participating in cardiovascular activity 3-5 times a week for 20-60 minutes at a time.
Strength training and flexibility training also keep you from getting injuries such as pulling a muscle when you are gardening, which in turn leads to more visits to the physical therapist or chiropractors and more hidden costs.
So, if you don’t know how to do that yourself, enlist the help of fitness professional. By keeping strong on the outside we benefit physiologically, physically and psychologically when it comes to times of stress; whether that stress is financial or the stress of caring for a loved one.
OK – so we know we need to keep fit and we know it’s very difficult to do it on our own. So how do you keep fit, yet at the same time keep the strings tight on your pocketbooks? Cut back on other things, your fitness classes really should be the last thing to go.
Working out as opposed to eating out may sound extreme but is a great way to cut back. Forego the take-out pizza or Chinese and save that money for a fitness class where you hit every muscle group in one hour and get your cardiovascular activity too. Instead of going out to dinner make a healthy meal at home. This can also save unwanted calories as you know exactly what is going into the recipe that is being made and you’ve just saved yourself a whole lot of money.
Stop buying the junk or extra treats weekly. By not buying the cookies, pie or chocolate gateau, you will save yourself $$$ and be healthier too, further enhancing your health and fitness. If you have a sweet tooth, it is cheaper, and healthier to make an easy recipe from scratch such as peanut butter cookies made with reduced fat Smart Balance peanut butter, Smart Balance oatmeal, some dried cherries, sunflower seeds and a little bit of dark chocolate – a healthy and delicious recipe that is cheaper than store bought items and full of good fats.
Another way to save money weekly is to shop around - go to different supermarkets to find the bargains. For example Wal-Mart sells Kashi bars for $2.50 a box. These bars are a healthy snack. Shaw’s carries the same bars for $6.00 per box. Ocean State Job Lot has the Bob’s Red Mill range of quinoa, granola, oatmeal and bulgur wheat cheap. The price is doubled in every supermarket I have been in. They also carry many lines of organic healthy blue corn chips, veggie chips etc. By saving on your food bill you are creating an income to support your fitness bill so you get the most bang for your buck!
What all of my clients understand is that no one can put a price on health and fitness. You may be surprised to learn that three classes a week costs less than one take-out meal for your family and it’s going to help do more to prevent hospital bills and doctors visits in the long run than “saving” on your fitness now. You will save money by preventing, diabetes, heart attack, stroke, depression and anxiety or hypertension. All this just by changing the way you spend your dollars. Where are your priorities?
You only have one body – life is not a rehearsal and you won’t get a second chance to be healthy.
Editor's Note: Duxbury's worldwide experience of fitness techniques enables her to tailor programs to each individual client’s needs and fitness prefernces, thereby motivating and inspiring clients of all ages, shapes, and fitness levels to lead healthier and fitter lifestyles. For more information on "FitFocused," call 860-304-9899, email allison@fitfocused.com or visit www.fitfocused.com |
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