By: Jamil Crews
The New Year is here, which for a lot of people means making a lot of resolutions to things better than they did in the previous year. Getting finances in order, kicking a bad habit or trying to stay in touch with family and friends are among the more popular resolutions. But above them all is the idea of getting back to the gym, getting in shape and living a healthier lifestyle. And it all sounds good, especially those first few weeks after the New Year. But lets face it, once February rolls around, all of that motivation is almost completely out of the window. Our busy lives, bad weather (especially for us northerners) and not seeing those quick results become excuses why we give up so easily and early into our workout program. But one young lady is trying to change all of that. Her name: Ariane Hennings. The Buffalo, New York native and UNC Greensboro graduate student is the founder of the new fitness movement, ARI READY, a creative fitness service that is focused on reshaping your workout experience. I got a chance to sit down with the beautiful fitness instructor to talk about why she started the movement, what she hopes to gain from it and she even gives fitness tips to those less-than-active individuals who want to get in shape.
Are you ready to get fit??
Jamil Crews: So tell our readers a little about yourself and your background.
Ariane Hennings: Well I attend the University of North Carolina, but my hometown is Buffalo, New York. I am finishing my Masters in Accounting, but my night job, or my true passion, is fitness and I have a few certifications in fitness with AFAA, which is the Aerobics & Fitness Association of America.
JC: How long have you been involved with fitness?
AH: I’ve been involved with fitness practically all of my life. My mother is a personal trainer. So I’ve been involved for most of my life. But to have been actually certified, teaching my own classes and licensed has been since 2008.
JC: So tell us more about ARI READY. What was your motivation behind starting it and what goals do you look to accomplish with it?
AH: ARI READY was actually birthed out of request. My first client was the Edward Saunders Community Center in Buffalo, New York last summer for a fitness program. I had been doing fitness classes at my school in North Carolina but I was also doing a lot private sessions for different sororities and fraternities and they were always requesting me. So at that point I began to start branding myself as a fitness instructor. I love fitness so much and I want to be able to give people the opportunity to experience fitness because a lot of people don’t get a chance to feel it on different levels and don’t get to experience it in an exciting way that is enjoyable for them. So that’s what ARI READY is all about. It’s about reshaping your workout experience, offering fitness classes that can come to you and making sure you can have a good time while getting in the best shape of your life.
JC: Why do you think health and wellness should be a priority for people going into the New Year?
AH: Health and wellness is particularly important, specifically for United States citizens because statistically we are the most obese nation in the world. I’ve had the opportunity to travel abroad to different countries and it’s amazing how on a general scale, most people are in shape and fit because they eat to survive. Here in America, we eat to pass time, we eat because we’re bored and because of this we have more diseases, we’re stressed more and we can’t operate and move like we’re supposed to. I believe most of this occurs because we’re not exercising and giving our body what it needs. And even if we do eat horribly, we’re not exercising to balance it off, so we become lethargic and lazy and we really don’t get everything out of life that we are supposed to. So in 2012, it’s time! It’s time to get fit, it’s time to take care of our bodies and what ARI READY does is create an outlet for people to work out and to have fun so you come back and work out more. Often times people say working out is boring, or too exhausting, or they just don’t have the time, but with ARI READY, we emphasize making the workout experience fun and enjoyable. There is a lot of personality in it and it keeps people wanting to come back for more.
JC: It’s funny that you mention that one of the excuses people use is that they are too busy, or they don’t have the time and they are not prioritizing their health like they would prioritize anything else. What do you say to those people who have those kinds of excuses?
AH: I would tell people that your health HAS to be a priority. I have this saying that “people do what they want to do”. If you can’t find the time, you’re just sleeping it away or you’re eating it away. You make the time to eat and sleep, so why not make the time to workout? I realized that when I didn’t have the time to go workout out, I would get up an extra hour earlier and do what I have to do. It’s amazing how you feel throughout the day when you workout in the morning. You can also do it later at night if you need to. I teach a Move & Groove hip hop choreography fitness class at nine o’clock at night. It’s nice because you’re finished with your day and it’s the last thing you have to do and it has a club feel to it. A lot of people come out. It’s only one hour and you’re in your bed by 10:30pm. So you can either workout late at night or early in the morning, but you have to make it a priority because you only have one life. You’re not going to get another one. If you don’t take care of your body, no one is going to take care of it for you. Exercise also prevents many diseases, including diabetes and particularly with African American communities, diabetes is at an all time high. When you workout you can combat those diseases. And a body in motion stays in motion. So you have to make it a priority. You’ll be amazed how much energy you will have throughout the day when you are working out.
JC: What kind of tips can you offer someone who finds themselves working, for example, a desk job, where they site idle for most of the day?
AH: If you’re sitting at a desk all day, you can change your chair to a stability ball. You’ll find that you’ll have a lot more energy throughout the day. You’ll be bouncing a lot, but it can certainly help. It’s forces you to have your body straight at all times. Also after you leave work and you get home, if you’re the type of person who likes to relax and watch television, between commercial breaks, you can place your feet underneath the couch or chair that you’re sitting on and do crunches while the commercials are one. You may not be able to get through an entire commercial break at first, but the more you do it, the more you will be able to get through it.
JC: So if we wanted to find you online, and find out more about the ARI READY movement, where can we find you?
AH: You can find me on Facebook by searching ARI READY, you can go to my website at www.ARIREADY.com and you can also find me on Twitter @ARIREADYFITNESS.
