Page 4
October 18, 2017
Fitness
with
‘JJ’
J anita
‘JJ’ J ones
by
Bouncing back from adversity
Environmental conditions can
affect your breathing and chal-
lenge an active lifestyle. Sadly,
when our beloved Columbia Riv-
er Gorge erupted into a massive
wildfire last month, the air all over
Portland was filled with smoke
and ashes, underling how import-
ant the ability to take a breath re-
ally is.
According to a website the
compiles and compares air quality
levels for different countries, the
smoke here caused worse pollu-
tion levels than the notorious bad
air of Beijing, China. I am sure
you noticed that your body ached
more, you were more sleepy than
usual, or had headaches, dizziness
or even blurred vision. Curled up
on my couch is where I decided to
spend the smoky days.
Sometimes all it takes is a break
in your routine to throw you off
track. What do you do when this
happens? How do you hold your-
self accountable? The following
three easy steps can help get you
back on your fitness journey:
1. Set goals. Make sure that
includes a time frame of what
workouts you are trying to make
happen and how are you going to
accomplish them. Putting a plan
in place will give you incentives
as you reach for your goals. Wed-
dings, holidays and birthdays are
popular events to set fitness goals
around.
2. Track your progress. There
are a variety of ways you can re-
cord your progress and keep track
of it from week to week, from a
simple notepad, an App for your
phone or a fitness tracker. You will
find it helpful to also track how you
feel, the meals you ate and changes
you notice within yourself.
3. Partner Up! I cannot stress
enough the importance of having
a friend help you with your fitness
goals. Research studies show that
if you decide to go at this alone
you will last less than 10 weeks.
Partner up and you have another
feather of fitness accountability
for your hat!
Janita “JJ” Jones is a fitness
professional and sports journalist
for the Portland Observer. Find
her cheering on her alma maters
the University of Nevada and
Benson High School, chasing af-
ter her baby dragons, coaching
amazing athletes or teaching ex-
ercise classes. She can be reached
via email at jj@theportlandob-
server.com.