The recent pandemic has led a lot of people to reassess their health and start working out and exercising. After all, we only live once and repeated forced isolation has meant many people are really feeling like they have led a sedentary lifestyle for the last two years. But there are some mistakes people make; either they don’t work out enough or do too much, or don’t practice proper form…the list goes on. Typical beginner’s stuff. Here are five handy tips for anyone getting started with their fitness journey.
1 – Manage your expectations. All easier said than done. “I know I won’t suddenly get slim, but…” or “I just want to firm up my abs in time for holiday” or the other bits and bobs we all hope for. Fitness and exercise is a gradual journey. It starts with you assessing your current state of health and working from there. If you’re completely new to exercise and feeling out of shape, you need to first work on getting to a place where your body can actually sustain repeated exercise. And exercise alone is not enough; for instance, if your goal is speedy weight loss, you’ll need to also look at your diet. Don’t go in with unrealistic expectations, but by all means, have a goal and a vision. Those are integral.
2 – You don’t need to spend money! This is a common mistake. Three figure sums on branded running shoes, shorts, lycra and all manner of isotonic sports drinks, along with premium gym membership and brand new equipment for the house. You can easily get into the thousands for this, only to lose interest or suffer some sort of injury that puts you out of action and renders all of this a sunk cost. If you’re starting your fitness journey, some cheap shorts and shirts and some lesser brand running shoes are fine. And remember that gyms are vying for your business; nearly all of them will offer a trial. Just burn through those free try-outs and see which place works for you; you may even find none of them do, and that’s fine. If you do want equipment at home, again, off brand equipment is now very inexpensive and often made in the same factories as their more pricey counterparts. Or better still, hit up Facebook Marketplace or similar and pick up some used equipment.
3 – Practice self-discipline. Often a good workout routine is hampered by our own self sabotage. It’s easy to get stuck in other things that we can’t cancel; work, social events and the like. And this will happen often with a justifiable reason. But we all too often get into the habit of finding other things to do or putting it off ‘until tomorrow’, convincing ourselves we’ll make up the lost workout time. We never do. Start putting your fitness first and make time for it otherwise you’ll never succeed at it. An often recommended tactic is to set up a reward system; we don’t get to the go to the cinema, for instance, unless we hit the gym on all of our allocated days this week, or something similar. It may sound childish but it works. Others will prepay for their gym membership or personal trainer time so that they don’t see their money get wasted through procrastination. This one’s all on you so take it seriously.
4 – Take time to do things properly. It’s easy to get stuck in and start running, lifting weights and using all manner of shiny gym equipment. But make sure you know what you are doing. Take the gym inductions on their equipment. Learn how to do squats and burpees properly. Get a gym employee or a spotter to show you how to lift weights without causing an accident. If you suffer a sports injury, it could be long term or permanent, and that’s any future exercise done and dusted.
5 – Don’t be disheartened. If you feel worn out too quickly or you’re not seeing results, remember it’s a gradual victory. You’re not there yet, but you’re closer than you were yesterday. Keep at it and you will eventually see results.