225BatonRouge.com

It’s a tune as familiar as Jingle Bells. The holidays are over, the new year is here, and suddenly you realize you’ve been stuffi ng your stocking with a few too many Christmas sweets.

We spoke to Cynthia Jenkins, the Area Fitness Director for Spectrum Fitness, about shedding those naughty holiday pounds.

As a trainer, what would you say to someone who thinks ‘I’ll hide these extra pounds under winter clothes and worry about slimming down in the spring’?

I would want to motivate them for health reasons. The main factor today is time. People say they’re too busy to exercise, but your health shouldn’t be an option.

What about for those who have not worked out in a long time, or maybe ever?

Getting some type of physical activity in their everyday lifestyle is the first step, whether it’s mowing the lawn, cleaning up the house or walking. From that point, a cardio program would be good. Getting on a bike, doing kickboxing or salsa aerobics—whatever is of interest.

Do you see an influx of exercisers every January?

Absolutely. It’s a new year’s resolution. Our goal is to make fi tness a lifetime resolution.

What is the worst holiday indulgence?

Sugar! I’m not into the no-carbs trend, but if you’re not an active person and you’re eating sugar or complex carbohydrates, you have to burn them off. You have to have the lifestyle to accommodate it.