Lindsay Chung
Observer Reporter
Consistency is key in a new eight-week overhaul fitness and nutrition program, which started last week.
Personal trainer Kristy Wheeler and registered natural nutrition practitioner Khristi Lister have teamed up to give local residents the chance to reset their habits.
“We want you to walk away from us comfortable to go to the gym and do what you need to do for you,” Wheeler told the program participants at their first meeting Jan. 20 at TNT Nitro Fitness, where Wheeler is a trainer.
“The byproduct is weight loss, but that’s not the goal,” added Lister.
Lister is offering participants personalized nutrition advice, and she is asking everyone to track their macronutrients, particularly proteins and calories.
“We want to see that you are consistently trying,” she said. “Don’t be afraid to eat though.”
For workouts, Wheeler is giving everyone two strength workouts to do twice each and asking everyone to do four days of cardio, with two of those cardio workouts being sprints.
“The HIIT (high-intensity interval training) will burn way more calories and burn them longer,” she said.
Wheeler also encouraged the female participants to focus on strength training.
“Don’t be afraid of heavy weights,” she said.
Once a week, they will get together and do a group workout and go over nutrition. They will also do body image exercises.
“If you’re not used to be happy with yourself, you’re not going to be happy at some magic number,” said Lister.
During the program, participants will track both their food and their workouts.
“We want to focus on consistency, not weight loss,” said Lister.
Participants will be able to check in with Lister and Wheeler throughout the week, and there is a group chat so they can pose and answer questions and support each other.
“We’re holding their hand through it,” said Lister. “We want them to do the work, but we’re there. We don’t want it to be us telling them how to do it.”
Participants will earn consistency points for tracking their food and workouts, and the winner at the end of the program will be chosen based on consistency, not weight loss, measurements or the ability to lift a certain weight or do a certain number of repetitions.
Wheeler and Lister want to emphasize balance when it comes to nutrition and working out.
Consistency and balance are key ideas Wheeler and Lister are hoping to pass on to participants.
“There doesn’t need to be deprivation,” said Lister. “You can go out with your family and enjoy things — you just have to make it fit in your day. All food has a breakdown of calories and macronutrients and micronutrients, and if you’re hitting your vitamins and stuff, it doesn’t hurt to have that piece of cake. You just fit it into your day. Consistency is the key. You don’t have to be perfect every day, but if you’re consistent, it adds up.”
“And workouts don’t have to be three hours,” added Wheeler.
Wheeler and Lister have worked together — and helped each other — in the past, and they wanted to bring their knowledge together to give others the confidence and tools to build a healthy lifestyle.
“I think one of the common things we have noticed is, one, when you go to a new gym, it’s really intimidating, everyone watching you and judging you, and we have media telling you ‘you can’t eat this, you can’t eat that, this is bad,’” said Lister. “We both hear that a lot with clients, and we wanted to combine forces and help people get past that and create something that actually fits your lifestyle. We want to take away some of the fear of it, the overwhelming-ness and intimidation. We’ve both been there at different points.”
Wheeler hopes that at the end of eight weeks, the participants are ready to go out and keep up these healthy habits on their own.
Wheeler and Lister say the people who have registered are excited and motivated and doing this for a lot of positive reasons.
“The ones we have are really excited,” said Wheeler. “I know one has been working out for a while, but she’s stuck.”
“We have one who is new to the gym and really intimidated,” added Lister. “It’s really positive so far. Everyone has different goals, but they’ll have the support of each other. There hasn’t been a lot of body focus. It’s been more about habits and figuring it all out.”
Lister and Wheeler have teamed up with local businesses, who have donated weekly prizes and free samples for “swag bags” for each participants. They say they’ve had a lot of great support from local businesses, including TNT Nitro Fitness, Reason 2 Run, Q Fitness and Wings.
Lindsay Chung
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