Foley's Four Tips to Physical Fitness

Remember those optimistic and over-stuffed New Year’s resolutions we made just a couple months ago?

Did you resolve to finally lose that weight? Eat healthy? Exercise more?  

You are not alone. According to Mike Lechner, owner of locations in Havre de Grace and Forest Hill, “January and February are the busiest months of the year in the gym industry.”

“Most gyms can pretty much make or break their years just on those two months alone. March it starts to fall off, but in January and February a lot of people are starting fresh and new,” Lechner said.

New and fresh wanes in March, huh?

In that spirit, Patch sat down with certified personal trainer and Havre de Grace resident, .

First, Foley empathizes with what people have going on around the New Year. “There’s so many things going at them, party after party, then the Super Bowl, then Valentine’s Day … It could be never ending,” he said.   

Indeed, the barrage of high-calorie, tempting foods starts parading around early in the season and lingers, eating away at your middle, and icing that notion of getting on the right diet track.

But Foley is not an advocate of those types of resolutions “because you’re setting yourself up for failure. Do it in the middle of the year and just start. Forget about New Year’s resolutions. Just pick a random day, Tuesday, just make your mind up,” he said.

Here, we’re breaking down Foley’s four principles to better fitness and good health:

• Nutrition: Foley says 60 percent to 70 percent of the game lies in what you put into your mouth. He lost 70 pounds in six months and said he doesn’t ever recommend diets because “it’s a rollercoaster ride they’re never going to win.” Foley continues, “It’s really just eating smarter, and that’s what I did when I started to lose weight. [I] started cutting down the bad foods and eventually I got away from them.” Foley tells his clients all the time, “If you know you’re not going succeed with 100 percent of the time of ‘clean eating,’ then take one day a week to cheat. You’re body is going to crave it, actually. I recommend having that cheat day—don’t go eat a whole cake—but if you want to have a piece of cake or if you want to go to Bateman’s and have wings or whatever, there’s nothing wrong with that.”

• Resistance training: Depending on your goals, you can use hand weights or machines to do your strength training. Foley says that by building lean muscle mass, you’ll be more efficient at burning calories during rest.

• Cardio: You have to get the heart pumping. No ifs, ands or buts about it. This can be done in many ways like walking, biking or jogging. Foley is a fan of interval training which involves short intervals of maximum effort in a cardio workout session. Foley said interval training is best because it maximizes your time and metabolism, helping burn more calories, longer. “I can get through my cardio in 20 minutes when somebody else who is only doing running will get it in 40 minutes,” he said. Think sprints during a walk or a jog. Fast bursts in shorter period of time.   

• Supplements: Foley always recommends that you review any and all supplements with your doctor but said it could be as simple as taking multi-vitamins or even adding sports supplements such as Creatine or protein, depending on your goals.

Bottom line: There’s no magic pill, no magic move.

“There’s no secret. It’s just hard work and dedication," the trainer said. "If you can get the proper nutrition, resistance training, cardiovascular and get the proper supplementation, then you are going to get results. You can’t just do one and expect the ultimate result. You’ve got to do them all.

“If you put all those together, you’re going to get results. If you have the drive.”

Another tip Foley said might help: If you’re going to a party or  event, be prepared. Eat ahead of time or pack some food to bring.

“I tell people to drink a lot of water before they go to a party," he added.

One thing to keep in mind if you are trying to lose weight: If results don’t come fast enough, don’t get discouraged, Foley advises. He often asks clients to consider how long it took them to get to their current weight and condition,  noting that it takes a person's metabolism a while to get stoked up.

In the first 30 days, people can't expect to lose a lot of body fat.

"A lot of times, they’ll say to me in the first couple of weeks that they’ve lost a couple of pounds, but their pants are looser," Foley said. "They're tightening and toning ... and then normally days 31 and beyond, they’ll start losing body fat. It all depends on the person too; everyone is different."

The fact is, the latest research from the Centers for Disease Control shows that in 2009, the state of Maryland’s obesity rate was 26.2  and the trend appears to be that this number is likely to rise. 

We can do better. Starting now. 

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EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the follow-up story to .