‘Starting slow’ is key to sustainable fitness resolutions, trainer says

DULUTH — The new year isn’t the time to set lofty fitness goals, according to AP Training owner Anna McGee.

Speaking from two decade’s experience, formerly as a group fitness instructor and personal trainer at the Downtown YMCA, McGee said resolutions to get in shape usually fall flat within the first three weeks of January.

“I still remember one of my first gal clients,” McGee said. “It was a new year, and she was going to work out five times a week, quit smoking and then diet.”

Such goals often fail when clients set the bar too high, have unrealistic expectations, and don’t account for life’s natural interruptions, McGee said. An illness, bad weather, or even going out to eat could be the tipping point for some individuals to revert to familiar unhealthy ways.

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Instead of an “all-or-nothing” approach, McGee recommends making smaller, more sustainable changes to daily habits, such as adding a short walk after dinner, or more protein to breakfast.

“You feel great after a month of just those littler goals,” McGee said. “But women think, ‘Oh, it’s not hard enough. It’s not going to suck enough,’ you know?”

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McGee and her daughter, Paige Stratioti, opened AP Training in July 2019. The private fitness studio located downtown at 208 W. Superior St. offers personal training, small-group training and online coaching for women’s fitness and sports performance.

The mother-daughter duo has 40 years of combined experience in professional bodybuilding, Division I athletics, personal fitness training and coaching.

Stratioti is a certified personal trainer who works with high school, collegiate and professional athletes in various sports. She is also a strength and conditioning coach for high school sports teams in Duluth.

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However, many of AP Training’s clients are women either experiencing perimenopause or menopause. Changing hormones, body composition and metabolism add to the challenge of staying in shape, McGee said.

These changes can come on subtly and are often overlooked at a time when many women are focused on their careers, raising families or acting as caregivers for aging parents, she added.

Perimenopause can last up to 10 years and usually begins with symptoms like difficulty sleeping, increase in fatigue, brain fog, occasional hot flashes and weight gain.

“If they are exercising continually, they might find that what they used to do in the past is not working for them anymore,” McGee said.

Bone density decreases for women entering their 50s, and too much cardio exercise can burn up the muscle mass that is needed to support the skeletal system, McGee said. With time also comes loss of mobility, which can lead to falls resulting in injuries.

That is why she is a proponent of strength training for women.

“Now, they call the muscle your ‘organ of longevity,’ because that’s what actually keeps you upright and moving, and being able to live independently,” she said.

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However, women of older generations often view strength training with a stigma, McGee noted.

“… They still think it’s like a bodybuilder kind of thing. Lifting weights and eating protein is Arnold Schwarzenegger on stage, being all bro,” she said.

The upcoming annual “FitDay with Anna McGee and friends” is an event geared toward women over 45. FitDay will be held on the third floor of the Downtown YMCA on Saturday, Jan. 11 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

“It is a day of breaking the myths around strength training for women,” McGee said.

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The event includes presentations on metabolism, hormone health and nutrition. Chicago-based Transformation Leadership Coach Marianne Renner will join as a guest speaker to discuss the importance of goal setting for aging women. McGee will also provide training for different exercises and workouts appropriate for aging women.

“Maybe you can’t do what you normally do, but you can always do something. It’s called ‘don’t break the streak,’” McGee said. “Everything in your life gets better when you’re healthier.”