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Posted Monday, May 07, 2007
Ron Szopa is like a lot of Americans. He has a demanding job, a long commute, and not enough leftover minutes in the day to spend schlepping to the gym.
That explains the more than $500 he's wasted in gymmembership fees.
Szopa and his wife, Jamie, joined Wolff Fitness in Elgin over a year ago. They never went, not once.
So in early April, when Szopa finally met owner and trainer Mike Wolff for a workout, it was new territory. And he learned it won't take that much time to get fit, after all.
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Wolff designed a workout Szopa can complete in 30 minutes, twice a week.
Szopa does eight to 12 repetitions of each exercise, but he performs them slowly-that way hismuscles, not momentum, are doing all the work.
"It's perfect for me," Szopa said. "After half an hour, I'm wiped."
Szopa is one of five people the Daily Herald is following this year as they try to make good on their NewYear's resolutions. As they try to lose weight, they're all finding exercise is a key component.
Before he started his gym workouts, Szopa was working out on his treadmill at home several days a week. The cardio is great, but it's not enough,Wolff said.
At 52, Szopa is in the age bracket where he'll start losing muscle, so strengthtraining is critical to reverse the trend.
"Every year it just gets harder to maintain muscle mass," Wolff said. "He's doing calorie-burning stuff, which is fine, but if he isn't strength-training he's losing muscle along the way."
As he loses fat and builds muscle, Szopa's body composition will improve even if the scale doesn't budge. That new muscle also burns more calories than fat, which boosts weight loss.
Lynne Pieroni, 48, of Hanover Park has seen the effect of regular workouts on her body. She's lifting more weight than she ever did before - up to 160 pounds on the leg press.
Since she started exercising five days a week, Pieroni's body fat has dropped from 43 percent to 37 percent, and she's lost 23 pounds.
When she went to St. Thomas for a spring vacation, she had to lug her 50-pound suitcase up the stairs by herself.
"I was grateful I had built up my strength," she said. Pieroni can see the difference, too. Her body is slimmer. For her vacation, Pieroni had to buy new summer clothes - and a new swimsuit.
"I actually let my friend Cindy take pictures of me in my swimsuit," Pieroni said. "I had a lot more confidence than I had in the past."
A stepped-up exercise routine has made Michael Raczak, 55, of Naperville better able to pursue his new goal of training for a halfmarathon. He intended to run the Chicago marathon, but missed the registration deadline. Nonetheless, the 20 pounds he's lost through diet and exercise is making training more enjoyable.
"I feel much better," Raczak said. "I'm not dragging a tub of lard with me." Since he improved his diet and ramped up his exercise routine, Raczak's body fat percentage has dropped to 25 percent from 31 percent and his waist circumference has dropped from 40.5 inches to 36.8 inches.
He's getting his "fat" suits tailored to fit his new frame, and he's finding old suits in his closet he can fit into. "Now everyone thinks I have a new wardrobe," he said.
Making time to exercise five or six times a week has also brought balance into his life - another goal for this year. Paradoxically, spending more time working out has helped Raczak find more time for his other priorities.
"I'm finding more time for church, I'm finding more time to go out with my wife, and I haven't lost any productivity at work," Raczak said. "I guess the big thing I'm learning is if you put stuff in balance, you seem to function better." Vacation challenge: can our dieters maintain their weight loss while on vacation? (Related) Restaurants, illness challenge weight loss plans (Related)
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