How to start your Fitness Journey: Tips to ensure lasting results

If you are new to exercise, the world of fitness can feel like an intimidating place. Every gym seems to be filled with athletic types who barely break a sweat, while social media’s many thousands of fitness influencers provide further confusion. With so many content creators claiming to offer the secret to achieving optimum fitness and a perfect healthy lifestyle, it can be hard to know which advice is genuinely useful, and which to ignore.

But, don’t worry. Provided you begin your fitness journey on a positive, constructive and realistic note, you’ll soon become hooked on the benefits of exercise and how it makes you feel. Before you begin your journey into exercise, take a browse through our top tips for starting your fitness adventure in the best possible way. Following these simple bits of advice will ensure that working out becomes a life-long habit, and that you get maximum enjoyment and benefits out of every session.

Find what you enjoy

It’s easy to be brainwashed by fitness influencers and start thinking that we should all love running, Reformer Pilates, or CrossFit. But every person is different. What is enjoyable for one person, may be difficult and demotivating for you. Don’t just follow the current fashion or what is ‘trending’ in the fitness realm.

Start by trying out different forms of cardio and strength training, and find what works for you. You might find that you like the upbeat vibe of group fitness classes, relish running outdoors, or enjoy alone time plugged into your headphones in the gym. There is no right or wrong way to exercise, as long as you have a positive mindset and you workout safely.

For example, if you don’t enjoy running, don’t force it. Persisting with something you don’t enjoy will just put you off exercise in the long term. There are plenty of other forms of cardio - including cycling, swimming, Zumba and HIIT - and you’re bound to find some form of exercise that you genuinely love.

Set realistic goals

Many of us like the idea of running marathons or gaining the physique of a professional athlete. However, you have to be realistic with your goals and work out what you really want to achieve. Once you have established your end goal, you can work backwards and set yourself mini goals and targets to achieve every few weeks or months.

For instance, if you want to lift 25kg, start by lifting 5kg and gradually up your weights. Or, if you want to enter a 10km and you’ve never ran before, start by trying to run for two minutes uninterrupted, then 1km, then 2km, and slowly keep progressing until you can cover the full distance. Celebrating little wins will keep you motivated, and reinforce the fact that you are making real progress.

Hire a fitness trainer

You wouldn’t start driving a car without having lessons first, and your mindset should be the same when it comes to exercise. Enlisting the help of a fitness trainer, such as the expert coaches working at Embody Fitness, will ensure you reach your goals as quickly as possible. A personal trainer or fitness coach will show you how to workout safely, and reap maximum results from every minute you spend exercising.

Just throwing yourself into the deep end and guessing how to use every bit of equipment in the gym can lead to injuries. Doing too much too soon and overdoing it can also lead to setbacks and put you off coming back for more. A fitness coach will provide you with your own programme that starts with the basics and moves up in small steps. Progressing steadily through harder and harder exercises allows your body to get used to your new routine, and prevents any setbacks or aches and pains.

Stretch regularly

Right from the start of your fitness journey, it’s important to realise that stretching is not an optional part of exercise. In fact, it is absolutely essential. Stretching improves your range of motion and allows you to move more effectively and achieve better results. It also reduces pressure on the joints and reduces your risk of injury, and increases circulation. Boosted circulation assists with performance, and recovery.

Building in just ten minutes of stretching after your workouts will help keep your body supple, flexible, and healthy. Doing some quick warm up stretches before a workout is also a good idea, too. If you choose to hire a fitness trainer such as the team members at Embody Fitness, they will also advise you on the best targeted stretches to do.

Support your exercise with a healthy diet

While exercise is tremendously important for health and fitness, your diet plays an equally important part. Therefore, recognising that your exercise journey takes place inside and outside of the gym is perhaps the most impactful fitness tip of all. The time you spend in the gym is basically wasted if you don’t support it with a healthy and balanced diet. If you continue to eat processed fast foods, you won’t see the results you want. It doesn’t matter how many hours you spend in the gym.

On the other hand, if you starve yourself and don’t eat enough, you won’t have the energy to perform at your best in your workouts, or give your muscles the nutrients they need to repair and grow. To ensure rapid transformation, your nutrition must support the goals of your workouts. Your meals should include protein, fats, complex carbs, and lots of vitamin-rich fruit and veg.

For more guidance and support about how to start your fitness journey, just contact Embody Fitness’ award-winning team. Specialists in one-on-one coaching, they will help you develop a healthy fitness routine that you’ll follow for a lifetime.