Congratulations! By clicking this article, you’ve taken that essential first step in your self-improvement journey to becoming a happier, healthier, more active you. Showing up is the hardest part, and you’ve come to the right place to find all the information you need to get moving and figure out the best route to take on your fitness adventure. Grab a seat, take a load off, and let’s look at some basic fitness tips so you’re ready to get in the best shape of your life.
Consistency and Motivation
Before we talk about the in depth aspects of getting in shape, let’s start at the hardest part of the entire process before you even lift a single weight: consistency. Regardless of what kind of training you’re looking to do, be it muscle growth training for that upcoming wedding you’re attending, strength training so you can lift that heavy carry-on bag into the overhead without having to ask for help, or just wanting to get up the stairs without feeling like you ran a marathon, consistency is how you’re going to get there.
This requires dedication, perseverance, and patience both with the process and yourself. Understand that this isn’t going to happen overnight and is the product of your hard work. Every day is different and will come with its own set of challenges and mental hurdles. You aren’t always going to feel motivated, and that’s ok. But it’s the days that you don’t want to drag yourself off the couch and do your workout that matter the most.
That being said, this process doesn’t have to be a slog. You should try to find activities and exercises that you enjoy doing, not just the latest fitness trend that promises instant results. This is more than just about reaching a specific short-term goal (which it will still help you achieve), it’s about investing in your long-term health and well-being.
Now that that’s covered, let’s get into the fun stuff.
Fitness Fundamentals
You’ve just walked into the gym, the smell of sweat and metal hits your nostrils, you hear a “nice pump, bro” from a nearby group of gym rats admiring each other in the mirror. You’re ready to start the first workout of your journey, when suddenly a horrifying revelation hits you: you have no idea what to do. Don’t sweat (yet) cause I’m going to give you all you need to know to feel confident that you’re doing everything you can be doing to get started safely and effectively.
First and foremost, make sure you’re nice and warmed up before you start trying to hit the heavy lifting. It doesn’t matter what kind of workout you plan on doing, warming up is absolutely necessary to keep you safe and yield the best results. Your warm up should last somewhere between 5-15 minutes. It’ll have a general phase, which gets your heart rate elevated, and a specific phase that targets the muscle you plan on working. Examples of this could be walking on a treadmill, shoulder mobility drills, or bodyweight movements like squats or push ups.
Once the warmup is done, you’re ready to start your workout. There are many options for what you can do, so it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Whether your goal is to get bigger biceps, do your first pull up, or run a mile without stopping, your workout should compliment your goals. Your main workout generally should last anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour and should be fairly intense to challenge the area of fitness you’re looking to improve. For beginners, machines are always a safe and effective place to start. Once you’re comfortable with the movements, free weights and cables could be a great way to diversify your workouts and keep your routine from getting stale. Not sure about what equipment is exactly right for you? Check out my “Gym Equipment 101” post for a more detailed description of how to best utilize all your gym has to offer.
Once you’ve finished your workout, it’s time to leave, right? WRONG. I know you’re probably dripping with sweat, overstimulated, and ready for your post workout meal, but it’s essential to save time for an effective cool down. Your cool down can last anywhere from 5-15 minutes and should be aimed at lowering your heart rate and getting your fatigued muscles ready for recovery. Examples include stretching, deep breathing exercises, foam rolling, and more. Recovery starts at the end of your workout so be sure to not skip this incredibly important step. Speaking of recovery…
Recovery
If you want to make all the work you put in the gym pay off, it’s important to make sure that you’re recovering well between your workouts. For recovery, there are 3 major components to consider: nutrition, sleep, and stress. Each are vital to ensuring you get the best results from your training and are ready to tackle your next training session safely.
Nutrition is a particularly delicate subject since there is so much misinformation floating around that can be harmful to not just your progress but to your health. It’s important to know that there is no such thing as “bad food” or “good food.” It’s all about balance and enjoying what you eat while also providing the nutrients you need to reach your goals and feel good doing it. It’s generally a good idea to steer clear of any fad diets and instead should focus on incorporating all the major nutrients: fats, carbs, and proteins. All of these have important roles to play in recovery, energy production, and overall health.
Sleep isn’t just one of my favorite activities, it’s also your body’s primary way of repairing itself. Typically it’s advised that 8 hours of regular sleep is what’s required for full recovery, but everyone’s body is different. Finding what sleep amount works best for you and makes you feel the most rested is more important than any arbitrary number of hours.
Stress is probably the hardest element of recovery to manage since it’s dependent on so many exterior factors. Work, relationships, unforeseen emergencies, and other events can cause us to have increased levels of stress hormones that can negatively affect recovery and performance. There are many ways to try and manage stress, through meditation, positive thinking, and (in many instances) exercise itself puts us in a positive feedback loop of good-feeling hormones. Finding the best method for you is a matter of trial and error, so don’t feel intimidated by the number of tools at your disposal and do what you find most accessible.
Conclusion
There are a lot of things to consider when you’re starting a fitness journey, and we’ve only covered the basics of exercise. If you’re looking for more detailed breakdowns and in depth analysis of the many aspects of fitness, stick around and look forward to more articles to help you stay on track to your fitness goals. And if you’re looking to accelerate your progress and invest in your physical fitness, reach out so we can schedule a consultation to see if a personalized custom program or personal training could take you to the next level.
