Tamm offers personalized fitness instruction
Derek Neary
Northern News Services
Fort Simpson (Apr 20/01) - Those get-in-shape New Year's resolutions may have gone by the wayside, but spring is still a great time to shed some pounds and tone up the body.
To that end, personal trainer Sabine Tamm offered a two-day fitness workshop at the Deh Cho Friendship Centre over the weekend. Martina Norwegian decided to give it a shot, and was pleased with the outcome.
"It was a really good one-on-one... it was very helpful," said Norwegian, who exercises at home, but was looking for pointers. "I've been waiting for something like this. I've got all kinds of (video) tapes, but they don't really explain anything."
She noted that Tamm advised to always concentrate on the muscle group being targeted by a particular exercise.
"It doesn't matter how much you do, if you're not exercising the right muscle, then you're doing it for nothing," Norwegian said.
Tamm said it's important for everyone to have fitness goals and to keep them realistic.
"People's biggest downfall when setting goals is setting them too high. It's not that the goal isn't achievable, it's perhaps that the time-line is too close," she said. "You need to look at your goals in small, incremental steps."
It's also important to use proper form and technique or else injuries can result, and that can lead to more setbacks, she noted.
Getting started in an exercise program is great, but people tend lose their motivation after three weeks of exercising, according to Tamm.
"That's why we call it the February blahs," she said. "Because people in January say, 'Okay, I'm going to make these changes," but after three weeks they lose that incentive."
One way to avoid that pitfall is to make an exercise commitment that involves another person. If there's somebody else counting on you -- be it a friend or a personal trainer -- it's not so easy to back out, and normally it makes the exercise routine more enjoyable, she added.
Having arrived from B.C. last month, Tamm said Fort Simpson may be small, but it still has all the elements necessary for a complete workout. Being adaptable year round, especially in the midst of a cold winter is important, she said.
"Some people think, 'I'm going to run all year,' then in the winter they can't stomp through the snow or the slush," she said. "That's where cross-training or picking up other sports is a good idea."
