How to Start Your Fitness Journey

There are many out there who are wanting to make changes in their bodies and begin their fitness journey but are brand new to the health and fitness world. They may be thinking about starting a fitness program, trying to eat differently, or just being healthier in general. However, many become immobilized because there is just so much information out there and they don’t know where to start.

If this sounds familiar, then this article is for you. I would like to lay out a few key principles for those that are trying to begin their fitness journey but just don’t know how.

Start With Consistency

Many get hung up on which exercise program they should choose or which diet  when in reality they just need to do something. There are plenty of free programs through apps and youtube or you can pay for one if you want. The truth is most programs will work for you if you are consistent with them and follow through. This is especially true for beginners. There is something called “newbie gains” which describes how new lifters will quickly gain muscle, strength, or lose weight once they start working out for the first time.

When I first started weight training in high school, I put on 30 lbs. of muscle in just a few years. I have never been able to make such a dramatic change since. If you will simply start a program and do it, you will see results since it is new for you. However, you must also realize that your progress will start to decrease once those “newbie gains” start to go away. Don’t get discouraged because this just means you are actually becoming more fit. Your body is adapting to the increased load and stress you have been putting on it. All exercise really does is trick your body into thinking it needs to adapt to survive the increase in demand.

So the most important thing is to just stick with it. Changes will be gradual and the only way to ensure you will not see results is to give up halfway.

Your Diet Doesn’t Need to be Perfect

It can be really overwhelming to go from eating whatever you want to trying to track everything you eat and follow a strict diet you are not used to. This causes most to start and stop very quickly and just continue in their old habits. As previously mentioned, the important thing is to just do something and start to make a gradual change. My advice for those starting would be to focus on simply eliminating the foods and drinks that you know are detrimental to your progress.

Try to eliminate the sweets, added sugars, fast food, sodas, pizzas, etc. Most people will see a significant improvement in their diet and health just by doing this alone. When this becomes easy to do, then you can begin to focus on all of the specific foods that you should eat and counting your calories, macros, etc. But for most people, that is simply too big of a change at the start. There is so much you can do, but when you are just starting, it is better to do something you can realistically achieve and build from there.

Make Yourself Accountable

Before exercise becomes a habit, you will need to find a way to hold yourself accountable. You can do this in many different ways. Most accomplish this by setting personal, specific goals for themselves and sharing those with others. Some do this via social media and post their progress. Others just have a friend that is on the journey with them. This can either be someone starting out like you or someone that is already into fitness and can act as a guide. If you can afford it, you could hire a personal trainer to push you. Either way, having someone there or virtually there to keep you on track can be a great help to stay consistent especially at the start.

Studies have found that it takes on average 66 days to build a new habit. It may take some time before you can keep yourself intrinsically motivated. Having others hold you accountable is a great tool to get yourself to that point where you make it your own habit. It can also make the process more fun if you are a more social person. Find something that works for you so that your fitness goals are not just something that you can forget about whenever you like.

Increase your General Activity

Most of us are more sedentary than we know. Striving to be just a little more active every day will do a lot to increase your overall fitness. An easy way to do this is by tracking steps. Some people have a fitness tracker or smartwatch and most smartphones can track your steps as well. Setting a step goal like 3000 more steps or a little over a mile a day will not only burn a little more calories each day but will also translate to overall better well-being.

If you work in an office setting and you are able to move around more or stand up at your desk then do it. The key to making progress is making small incremental changes that add up to a big difference in your physique over time. There are also numerous mental benefits such as stress-relief. Living a more active lifestyle will in the long run help you to both feel and look better and make it more of who you are versus just a routine you do once a day.

Remember Your Why

When it is 6:00 AM and you are thinking about maybe skipping your run or not going to the gym that day, think about why you decided to make a change in the first place. If you have not established your why, then start there. Do you want to like what you see in the mirror? Are you looking for more confidence? Do you want to feel better or have more energy? Do you want to prove something to yourself and those around you?

Find your why and write it down and maybe even put it somewhere you can see it. You will not always be in the mood to exercise and sometimes you will be tempted to eat something you shouldn’t. Without the ability to push through those times it will be difficult to achieve great results. Sometimes you will remember what you want to achieve and maybe you will remember what you don’t want to happen as well. Whatever works for you. But overall, make sure you have a reason for what you are doing and stick with it. 

Overall, you need to start somewhere and be consistent with it. You are looking for a lifestyle change, not a temporary fix. This starts small and builds over time. You will achieve your goals. A mantra I like to say to myself is, “if you do the work, the results will come.” Just have faith that you will see the results and keep pushing and eventually, it will come. Good luck on your fitness journey!