“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second best is today!”
When it comes to fitness and workouts for beginners, everybody knows there are many benefits to exercise, but not everyone knows how or where to start. There is no perfect way to start other than to just start! What we mean by that:
You can walk into any YMCA, purple gym, community group class, CrossFit gym – they all have equipment and they all have available “trainers” or “coaching.” Anyone can create a workout that is designed to get people sweaty and tired, but that’s not what is preventing people from getting started.
Feeling overwhelmed with options, having a lack of motivation coupled with frustration and boredom, fears of failure to achieve goals, fears of injury – all may affect confidence and compound feelings of insecurity. Feeling lost in a large setting, feeling disappointed when setbacks may occur, and feeling overwhelmed by all of the information and equipment available prevents many people from starting and staying consistent with their fitness habits.
People want to know that they’re on the path towards their goals for how they want to look or feel. They want confidence, they want ways to improve how their bodies feel. The way to achieve this with the quickest, most focussed method, is a fitness program that is designed for their goals and continually adapts to their needs.
Regardless of where you are at with your exercise history, here’s what we have learned over the years as the best way to get started on your fitness journey.
- Start slower than you think: preserve your joints by going slower.
- Start lighter than you think: Be safe, not sorry. We are here to feel better, not worse.
- Focus on technique: learn how to move and what you’re supposed to feel.
- Be patient, results cannot happen overnight. You don’t expect your teeth and gums to be healthier by brushing your teeth one time, it’s a repetitive process.
- Listen to your body: it’s your best coach.
- Less is more. The more frequency and intensity in exercises, the more time it takes to recover. Your results are a product of your exercise and recovery.
- Focus on yourself/progress. Track the data that is valuable to you and how you improve month by month, quarter by quarter, year by year.
For those who are freshly starting for the first time, or restarting their fitness journey, this advice helps give you the best possible start to your process.
You made the right decision to care for yourself, now let’s make sure it’s a lasting decision with continual benefits.
