Spring Has Sprung. How About You?

Wanda Simmons shed 70 pounds a few years ago, when her doctor told her that serious health problems were on the horizon if she didn't bring her weight down. But today, at 36, the 5-foot-4 administrative assistant is nearly the same size, 218 pounds, as she was back then.

"I've reverted back to where I once was," she lamented last week. "I had come so far with my exercise regimen and my eating."

I have the same difficulty. As soon as I stop training for a specific event, my fitness program becomes a lower priority and old, bad eating habits surface. Is there any more universal problem for those of us who struggle to stay fit?

At 51, I gain weight faster than ever, and my muscle mass is in decline. Finding time to exercise is a constant balancing act. I have a wife, three children (one is away at college, for now), two dogs, a full-time job and a chocolate addiction.

But now I also have this column, a fantastic new outlet for exploring ways to stay fit. Below you'll see I'm setting some fitness goals for myself, something I've done privately for years. You can help me pursue them; periodically I'll let you know how I'm doing.

My MisFits partner, Vicky, and I would like to continue to hear about your challenges and interests, and the topics you think we should write about, so we can help you reach your goals.

Spring is a lot like New Year's, when gyms across the land fill with the newly resolved (many of whom will be gone in a few weeks). Only now we're moving outdoors. Bikes are being brought to the shop for cleaning and lubricating. The parks swarm with soccer-playing children. Exercise groups of all kinds are forming.

How to get started, after a winter indoors, perhaps one spent on the couch? And how to sustain this burst of good intentions?

"So many people dabble in fitness," says Patrick Avon, president of the Sergeant's Program, a 20-year-old boot-camp-style company that serves about 1,000 clients in 35 locations around the region. "I would like to see the person who is more desperate, who is saying, 'That's it -- I'm changing.' "

Simmons, who lives in the District, is in Avon's program. Five days a week at 5:45 a.m., she reports to a gym downtown for strength and stability exercises, stretching and cardio with a handful of others, under the eye of a "drill sergeant" who keeps everyone moving. One day a week they jog through Georgetown. (Many other chapters of Avon's group, and other programs, do the exercises outdoors.)

If Simmons misses a session, the instructor e-mails her. If she misses a couple, he may call.

"If someone is expecting me to show, that's more of a commitment to me than just going to the gym," says Simmons, who has lost seven pounds and added muscle since restarting her fitness routine in March.