MANKATO — ‘Tis the season for resolutions, with getting fitter and dropping a few pounds on the top of many lists.
There are plenty of places and people who can help give you a better chance of reaching your goals.
Jo Radlinger, longtime owner of Jo’s Fitness Garage in Mankato, focuses on helping her clients gradually improve their habits and bodies in a way that can become a part of their lifestyle.
“Movement and food are the two things it comes down to for most everyone. You have to look at those two things and how you need to change things in 2025 that you weren’t doing in 2024,” she said.
One step she personally undertakes and promotes to clients is creating a food plan for the week ahead, along with doing some food prep for it.
“You should plan your food and plan your movement for the week.”
Minnesota had long been above average in health but has slipped into the middle of the pack nationally. The state obesity rate has climbed from just over 17% in 2000 to more than 33% now, ranking the state’s obesity rate 24th nationally.
Zach Erickson, wellness director at the Mankato YMCA, is in charge of the wellness instructors, personal trainers, wellness staff and daily operation of the wellness center. He also serves as a personal trainer.
“Some people need a personal trainer as a motivator to get them to the gym. Some others want someone to help them learn the best ways to do things.”
He said they offer up a new group of exercise classes each January and the Y has several classes a day.
In the wellness center, treadmills, recumbent bikes and other workout equipment are always popular.
There is big news on the wellness-room front.
“We have some exciting news,” Erickson said. “In late February or early March we’re going to do a complete wellness update. All new cardiovascular equipment and free weights are being updated.”
He said a lot of their current equipment is more than a decade old. “Our property manager does a great job maintaining them but they’re older.”
He said they are replacing some of the equipment with Symbio machines from Life Fitness.
Much of the existing equipment will be donated to VINE senior center.
The Garage
Radlinger is in her 18th year of operation and does mostly one-on-one work with clients but has some classes and a Saturday morning boot camp.
“I have a client who’s 78 and there are kids who are athletes and train with me as well.”
She said she gets more inquiries in January as people aim to improve themselves.
“It has to be small incremental goals that can be maintained. People want big things to happen immediately. They want to change something they’ve been doing for 20 years or more and then are disappointed when there aren’t big changes in a month.
“People will cut their calories and work out hard in the gym for a while, but you have to have something that you can sustain for the rest of your life. I do things with clients in incremental steps that you can keep in your life,” Radlinger said.
She is big on strength training.
“Everyone should do strength training. It keeps you doing all the things you want to do as you get older. I’m seeing more younger people in the gym doing strength training, which is great.”