It can be hard to know where to start when it comes to health and fitness. Do you start with changing your diet, exercise, and overall lifestyle? Doing everything all at once? Or do you do it little by little? There are so many questions and so many answers, that it can be confusing and overwhelming, especially to a beginner.
I have been a fully qualified personal trainer for a few years now and always get asked these questions. So, i thought i would reach out to a few industry fitness experts to find out their views when it comes to how to get started, no matter your goal. Here are a few of the best tips from fitness experts…
Find Something That Brings You Joy
Forcing yourself to do workouts you don’t feel good doing won’t help you build them into a sustainable routine. If you don’t enjoy running, try dancing or biking for cardio instead.
Everyone is unique and so should your fitness routine. Also, change up your activities weekly. Sticking to the same exact workout week after week can get boring.
Melissa Morey, registered dietitian and certified personal trainer.
Prioritise Your Sleep
Many people see sleep as being lazy or unproductive, when it is actually the most productive time for your body & brain. When you sleep your body is able to efficiently heal, learn & grow. By prioritising it, you set your body up for health success.
If you aren’t setting yourself up for sleep success, then it doesn’t matter how much you are moving in a day or how much kale you are eating because your body will not be functioning on all cylinders to reap all the benefits.
Jessica Hagestedt, certified personal trainer and functional nutrition coach.
Learn To Pivot, Not Quit
Life happens and plans change. It’s okay to skip and workout. To get interrupted by your kids. To have a rest day. It’s okay that a planned run turned into a walk, or a planned yoga class turned into spontaneous swimming session!
Barb Puzanovova, certified group fitness instructor and personal trainer.
Track Your Progress
Now you have goals to work towards, it’s time to start tracking your progress. Whether that’s by tracking your food using an app. Or by tracking how your workouts are progressing. The accountability you’ll get from tracking will help you to see how you’re doing and any areas you could improve on.
James Long, certified exercise physiologist.
Focus On Progress & Let Go Of Perfection
Start taking small actions to begin developing habits. For example, add an extra vegetable or two every day. Plan a balanced meal and cook at home one day a week. Then try for several days a week. Experiment with different types of exercises to find some you actually enjoy. Make sure each new habit you begin creating is so small you barely have to think about doing it in order to start.
Allow your body to adjust to each new habit you practice before moving on to the next, and you’ll quickly build momentum. And never “should” yourself in to doing anything. It only makes you feel like you’re failing if you don’t do something. Consider everything you try an experiment. You’re simply collecting data to see what works for you. Practice self-acceptance and compassion and learn to trust that you’ll figure things out as you go.
Lisa Kiersky Schreiber, author, certified nutrition coach and entrepreneur.
Big Goals Can Be Daunting
A strategy to simplify your fitness goals is to take the ideal physique you hope to ultimately build and break it down into smaller goals (i.e. little goals vs. big goals).
By doing this, you effectively shift from a mindset of “proving yourself”, “passing a test” or “a race to the finish line” to a mindset of “gradual and continual improvement” over time. One way to apply this strategy is to take your end goal and break it down into small 30-day goals.
Nurudeen Tijani, bodybuilder, physique athlete, fitness trainer & wellness coach.
What’s Your Reason To Train?
An excellent way to provide the stimulus to get in shape is to sign up for a running or biking race. It doesn’t have to be far, but it gives you the incentive to train and a goal to shoot for. You can follow a training plan, which offers guidance and helps you prepare.
Once the race is over, not only will you be in better shape but you will have the momentum to continue on your fitness journey.
Dr. Jordan Duncan, sports medicine.
Keep Your Gear Out And Accessible
This strategy really works! Keep your workout gear out and ready go. This way, you have the visual reminder every time you walk by. Whether that’s your weights, your yoga mat out, your spin bike..etc. Have it ready to go so you don’t have any excuse.
Emily Fleming, certified yoga instructor.
Get Clear About Your “Why”
The most important thing you can do to ramp up your motivation is to get clear on your “why”. Why do you want to workout? Why is it important to you? If you don’t know, it will be easy to quit when times get tough.
If you know why you’re working out, or trying to be healthier, you can stay focused on that. It will be much easier to keep going when you inevitably run into roadblocks.
Lauren Sheu, certified running coach.
Focus On Core Strength
Whether you’re new to fitness, returning after a period away, or just looking to increase what you’re already doing. Start with strengthening your core. Most people don’t realise the ‘core’ isn’t just your six-pack, it’s actually made up for four separate muscle groups, anchored by the pelvic floor.
The pelvic floor is a vital component to your overall health but is often forgotten or ignored.
Nicole Thorne, personal trainer specialising in strength training and the pelvic floor.
Meal Planning & Prepping
One of the most powerful steps you can take to improve your health, boost energy levels, and prevent chronic diseases is to meal prep. Not only does it save you time (and money in most instances), but it allows you to keep your meals feeling like something new each day.
No more repeat meals every week. Plus, by planning ahead you won’t have any food go to waste and you won’t have to think about what to make each meal.
Nick, professional meal prepper.
Self Compassion
Practice self-compassion. A byproduct of living a healthier lifestyle is feeling good about yourself. This can raise your self-esteem, but self-esteem can be fleeting and is often dependent on external factors. Self-compassion is the foundation for anyone on a health & fitness journey and more importantly comes from within.
It’s longer lasting than feeling better about yourself on the outside because it gives you a reason to continue. It allows you to accept yourself no matter where you are on your path to living a healthy lifestyle.
Christine Songco, certified health & wellness coach.
Stay Hydrated
A minimum of half our body weight in ounces is needed just to stay hydrated. When you add in exercise, you need to add to this number drastically. It’s advised that you should aim for 1 gallon of water a day. The harder you workout the more your body needs water to recover. However, make sure you stick to water.
Things like alcohol and fizzy drinks are not your friends as it has too much sugar, calories, and carbs – and it will definitely hinder all your hard work.
Sheree Burton, health & nutrition expert.
Be Realistic
If you want to start living a healthier lifestyle by hitting the gym, be realistic with yourself about how much time you can commit to it. Being over-enthusiastic and aiming to hit the gym 6/7 days a week is only going to end in failure. So rather than setting a goal based on what you think you should be doing, set your goal based on what you can realistically do.
For most people, this will mean starting off with 2-3 workouts per week. If you’re finding that too easy, you can always scale up or make your workouts a little harder each session.
Joe, fitness instructor & nutrition coach.
Leave a Reply