At the beginning of every year, gyms across the country are buzzing with new members who have made resolutions to lose weight, get back in shape or live a more active lifestyle. However, as the weeks go by, it can be challenging for some to stick to those resolutions. Steve Ball, professor at the University of Missouri and one of the nation’s leading experts on fitness and exercise, says that for resolutions to stick, people need to focus not only on outcome goals, but also goals related to the process of being physically active. You can read more about Dr. Ball’s advice here.
Dr. Ball also has comments on new federal guidelines for physical activity, which suggest that adults should aim for 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity each week, and any amount of time spent doing physical activity now counts toward the goal of active minutes. Prior guidelines had called for at least 10 minutes of activity for it to count.
There are video and audio resources available for broadcast-quality download here. The video features Donna Fox, who has recently made changes to lead a more active lifestyle and considers herself a “gym rat” now after never setting foot in a gym while growing up in the Caribbean.
As January winds down and the thrill of New Year’s resolutions wears off, Dr. Ball’s expertise in fitness and physical activity can be used as encouragement to stay on track with New Year’s fitness resolutions.
