Marquette, MI – 12/08/2019 – Liam Whipple answers our fitness questions this week, just in time for the holidays. Liam is a certified personal trainer at Superior Fitness. He graduated last year from Northern Michigan University with a bachelor’s degree in Management of Health and Fitness. He currently works at Superior Fitness in Marquette. He specializes in minimalist exercise, like yoga, gymnastics, calisthenics, and more recently, Animal Flow.
With the holiday season upon us, it’s easy to get lost in temptation with food. Thousands of people every year make eating healthy their New Years resolution. This interview will give you the answers you need to make this year’s resolution stick.
Do you get a lot of business around the holidays?
I’ve definitely picked up a lot more compared to the summer months. Marquette is one of those interesting communities. It’s very active in the summer, and even more so in the winter. More and more people are interested in trying to keep up with their activities in and out of each season. It’s not your typical area like down state, where people go into hibernation mode in the winter and then get their exercise in the summer to try and catch up.
What is the best way to enjoy holiday food and stay fit and active?
Balance. That’s the biggest thing I’ve learned so far in this industry is balancing yourself. That’s been a hard thing for me as well. I’ve indulged in pretty much everything I wanted to over the holidays and then I’ve felt awful afterwards. My one recommendation would be, try to balance yourself this time of year. Start picking and choosing the battles you know you can win. One strategy I do is I’ll try to eat as clean as possible leading up to those meals I know I’m not going to eat as well. During the week you can easily meal prep and do other things to stay on top of your game and make up for that lesser area. So really just picking and choosing battles is the biggest key to that. It’s a lot easier than cutting out completely.
What is an important first step to take if your new years resolution is to get fit?
Consistency. That goes back to the balance thing too. You don’t want to tell yourself you’re going to be working out six days a week. Most people are going to fail at that, that’s just not doable for the average person. I’ll tell my clients that are coming in fresh, to just start working out once a week, maybe twice a week and hit it hard when you come in. It doesn’t have to be every time, because everyone has their off days, but set those goals that you know you’re going to be able to hit. When you feel you’ve got a hold of that, start bumping those days up more. The biggest thing is consistency. If you’re not consistent, you’re not going to see those results. Find something you have a passion for too. Don’t just lift weights because you feel you need to lift weights. Find something you really enjoy. If you enjoy biking, skiing, hockey, or doing yoga, then do those things. Setting fitness goals will make you feel a lot better about what you’re doing.
How do you stay motivated through this seasonal depression time?
You gotta stay moving. That’s the biggest thing with seasonal depression. A lot of people that aren’t familiar with the winter routine of Michigan or specifically the UP, don’t have a winter hobby or something to preoccupy themselves. It gets hard. It gets dark earlier it’s cold all the time. You need to find something to look forward to. Even in the summer. People tend to get really tied up in their work life, and they forget to find something they can use to decompress and take away from that. Just moving, walking, is something that will help with that.
Anything else you would like to add?
Don’t get down on yourself when it comes to exercise. It’s been a humbling experience the last couple months for me. I’ve had a handful of injuries come up, and they’re still popping up. You just have to stay motivated. If you need to take some time off with what you’re doing, do it. Sometimes less is more, and that’s something I’ve been facing lately is realizing that you don’t need to go hard all the time. Take those mental health days if you really need them. It’s huge, it really helps out.
I learned so much in my time with Liam about how to stay motivated during the holiday season. It’s so easy to get caught up in the chaos of the holidays, and staying physically and mentally healthy is so important. Liam has a passion for helping others and it shows.
Liam will be offering an Animal Flow class come January, if you’re looking to add some flare to your yoga, or trying to gain a hold of some new body weight abilities or learning how to balance on your hands, this is a great class to get into!
For more information about classes, you can give Liam a call at (810)278-1523. Reach Liam via email with questions at: liamtiger@alumni.nmu.edu. You can also check out Liam’s Instagram account to get in touch, and see what he’s up to.
Check out more interviews from The Weekly Talk here.
