You At Your Best

8 | YOU AT YOUR BEST | nwAdg.cOm/YOUATYOURBEST JUlY - ExERciSE & FiTnESS | SATURdAY, JUnE 29, 2019 By KAREn RiCE nWA DEMoCRAT-GAzETTE "This is all science, and the body is fantastic, it's amazing," Melissa Hill declares with enthusiasm. "Within one week of starting to exercise, things already begin to change. And once they start changing, you're going to be hooked!" As head of training at The Jones Center and a personal trainer for more than 20 years, there's no doubt in Melissa's mind that exercise is, indeed, medicine. She's even working towards a new "Exercise is Medicine," credential that links personal training with physical therapy. Melissa got "hooked" on the idea of exercise as medicine while she was recovering from a serious injury as a teenager. She began reading books about physical fitness in the hospital and went on to earn a degree in Health Science with an emphasis in Exercise Science. Since then, she's trained hundreds of people and has seen firsthand the "medicine" of exercise. Sticking with it Often, people are "scared into" going to the gym and starting to exercise. Maybe they've had a diagnosis from their doctor or they've hurt their back. That brings them in, Melissa says, "But the problem is that after we don't hurt anymore, we're not coming back in, until we hurt again." That's frustrating for Melissa, and she offers some tips for starting and keeping a good exercise habit: Start small. Keep it short. Make it convenient. The mistake people often make is starting out too aggressively. That, Melissa says, will not only make you hurt but will also be discouraging. Exercise is medicine Melissa (front row, center) with her most recent Drop 2 Sizes program session participants, who spend eight weeks learning how to work out in a gym with a personal trainer, completing challenges and attending nutrition classes to reframe their relationship with food, while experiencing fitness in a fun way with group accountability. Melissa Hill discusses her training methods with another trainer on The Jones Center team Exercise can have an definite impact on your work performance. According to studies in the American College of Sports Medicine and published in the Journal of Workplace Health Management: • 60% of employees said their time management skills, mental performance and ability to meet deadlines improved on days they exercised • 27% of employees reported higher levels of "dealing calmly with stress" on days they exercised • 41% of employees reported higher rates of "feeling motivated to work" on exercise days did you know?

• Cover