If you read this section last week, you noticed that there was a new voice behind one of the articles. If you’re thinking you could stand to improve your physical health, trainer Heather Dykstra’s column hopefully spoke to you and helped get you on the right track.
I’m here to let you know that her fitness column wasn’t just a one-time thing: the Plant City Times & Observer and Plant City Family YMCA have partnered to help you achieve your fitness goals, or get some started, with a bi-weekly “Focus on Fitness” guest column.
Summer seems to be the perfect time to start featuring a fitness column: The weather’s great for being outside, and people are more likely to be active and less likely to crowd your local gym with workout fever born from a New Year’s resolution. And if you’re like me or many of my friends, you may have a wedding or two to attend in the near future. This is prime time for looking good.
Of course, there’s more to fitness than just kicking butt in the gym or running through the park until either your iPod playlist or legs stop. The new column will give readers an idea of how to adopt new habits or change old ones in many areas of your life, in order to live a healthier lifestyle. I know I’ll likely have some of these columns bookmarked for whenever I could use a tip.
It would be easy for me to sit here and give you all a workout routine or diet plan I followed in high school or college, but in most cases, I’d rather put it in the hands of someone better qualified to give such advice than I. Who better than someone who works in this field for a living? Perhaps that someone is you. So I also want to use this space to reach out to anyone who has good advice to give, from other personal trainers to coaches, martial arts instructors, dieticians, doctors and gym owners. If you can think of something that could help someone improve their quality of life through good physical health practices, please feel free to get in touch with me.
Our requirements are simple: a minimum of 400 words on any topic of your choice, and a photo of yourself to help readers put a face with your name. The due date for any column is the Monday of the week in which it would run in the paper. I also ask that you list your credentials and pertinent work experience in a brief note at the bottom. I can be reached for questions and column submissions by email at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.