8 CLACKAMAS PRINT • MAY 6,20 15
Iron out personal health plans
Trainer offers vital tips to improve lifestyle
by Katie Archer
The Clackamas Print and fellow Clackamas Com
munity College students got their fitness questions
answered by Nautilus Plus trainer Michelle Craig.
Kristi Date: How hard would a transition be from a
normal American diet to a healthy diet?
Michelle Craig: So typically I tell people to take baby
steps. I usually recommend people change one thing at
a time. So maybe the first step is cutting fast food and
then it’s working on portion sizes and then increasing
your fruits and vegetables and really trying to transition
into more of a nutrient dense whole foods diet. So I
think for people trying to go from 0 to 60, it’s going
to be a lot more changeling where as you take those
baby steps you can create more of a healthy lifestyle.
Stephen Henderson: What is a good diet composed
of?
MC: Lots of fruits and vegetables, lean protein and
when it comes to dairy and gluten, those are kind of
the big ones where people look at them, and it really
depends on the person. So some people will go with
a higher fat diet. Some people go higher protein. But
really make sure you’re getting a lot of fruits and veg
etables, getting enough protein and trying to eat more
whole foods versus processed foods. And cooking at
home makes a huge difference, so trying to make your
meals so you know what goes in it as opposed to going
to a restaurant and getting whatever they serve you.
Ezra Molina: What are the best steps to start dieting
and excessing in a safe way?
MC: So initially I would say, for most people, if you’re
going from completely inactive it’s going to be to
just start moving. So maybe that means, for certain
people, it’s going to be a 15-minute walk just around
the block. For other people, it’s going to be setting a
goal to come to the gym maybe twice a week, start
som^really basic strength training, work on flexibility,
and then increase cardio over time. With the dieting,
it’s kind of the same thing. Just starting with those
baby steps. Most of the time, when people go from
kind of eating w hat they w ant to eating really big
portions to a diet, then they’re not going to succeed
or they’re not going to succeed for as long because
it’s too drastic of a change.
The Clackamas Print: For people who don't have a lot
of time, what are some good short workouts?
MC: So I would say, incorporating a high intensity in
Working out bi the CCC fitness center, Rory Williams bench presses as Nick Hernandez spots.
terval training. Let’s say you’re going on a run. Instead
of doing 30 minutes at four miles per hour average
pace, running sprints within that will actually shoot
you heart rate up and get your body burning things
a lot faster. So you can do a shorter run but you’re
going to feel more exhausted by the end of it because
you’re running faster and then bringing your body
down and then back up.
TCP: What are the different effects of weightlifting
and cardio?
MC: W eightlifting builds muscle. It uses a different
energy system within the body, so you .do still burn
calories when you’re weightlifting, but you’re burning
fewer then when you do cardio, which is cardiovascular
endurance, where you’re going to train your heart to
perform a little better. You’re going to be able to do
more endurance related things and it has to do more
with your oxygen system as opposed to the muscles
specifically. Any good fitness program needs both.
So if you’re wanting to increase muscle mass or lose
weight or train for a race, you really should be com
bining both of those.
Angelina Korovnik: Why is doing HUT (High Intensity
Interval Training) everyday, bad for you?
MC: It overloads your system. So if you’re doing some
thing really low impact and you’re doing th at over
time, that’s okay. But if you’re doing something that’s
really hard on the body, especially if you’re doing
plyometric training, which is rough on the joints, so
if you’re doing jumping, lunges or mountain climbers
or things like that, you definitely want to take a day
in-between workouts and it helps your body recover
more properly.
TCP: Any final words of advice?
MC: People shouldn’t be afraid to start working out,
even if you’ve worked out before and feel out of shape.
If you start today you’ll be ahead of tomorrow. Get
moving, whether it’s a short walk, any activity you do
is beneficial to your overall well-being.
Anthony Castro: Do we have trainers that will help
us out here (CCC)?
TCP: CCC doesn’t provide any trainers at the Fitness
Center. There are classes students can take to learn
more about physical health. If students have questions,
some good people to talk to would be Clif Wegner,
Paul Fiskum, Keoni McHone or Robin Robinson.
Nautilus Plus offers a three-m onth student plan
for $99.
For the full story go to theclackamasprint.com.
This story has been edited for clarity and space.