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At this point, I think everyone knows we need to have some form of exercise in our lives. But if
you’re new to fitness, the world can seem super overwhelming, scary, and intimidating.
There are so many fitness influencers online, everyone has some sort of online program
promising you’re going to get amazing results in only 28 days, and everyone looks flawless!
When we see stuff like that, it can make us feel inferior, like it’s so unattainable, and that we’ve
got so much work to do.
And tbh, you’re not wrong for feeling that way. The fitness world can make it seem like
everyone else has it all figured out and that you need to completely overhaul your life to see
results. But the reality is, getting results takes time, and you’re probably not going to look like
that right away.
And that’s okay!
That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t start a fitness journey or that you won’t see progress. You
absolutely can make progress without doing everything perfectly from day one.
The purpose of this blog is to set yourself up for realistic expectations and give you tips/ideas to
get you started.
Movement and exercise isn’t the same thing, but exercise is a form of movement.
When I say movement, I mean any way you’re getting your body moving throughout the
day. That may include going for a light walk, doing some yoga, paddle boarding with friends,
going on a hike, doing jiu jitsu, playing basketball, or even just getting up and moving around
more throughout your day (like going up the stairs or walking from the back of the parking lot).
Exercise is more intentional. It’s planned, repetitive physical activity, like strength training,
going for a run, or being on a sports team.
Now don’t get me wrong, we ultimately want to find an exercise routine that we enjoy and can
do consistently. But if we get so caught up in perfecting this routine, we can end up getting
discouraged.
Movement is the bigger picture. Exercise is one part of it.
You don’t have to do an intense workout every single day to be active every day. The goal is to
find ways to move your body every day, while gradually building up your ability to do more
structured exercise.
Movement is always the priority.
1 hour of movement, daily, is what you should strive for. But remember, that doesn’t mean you
need to perform intensive exercise 7 days/week. This simply means you need to MOVE daily.
Maybe you strength train 4x/week, play basketball 2x/week, and go hiking once a week.
Maybe you do yoga 2x/week, strength train 5x/week, and go paddle boarding once a week.
Whatever your combo may be, the goal is to find ways to move that you ENJOY! THAT is
what’s going to keep you consistent and actually enjoy the process.
Now yes, there are going to be times where we need to push ourselves to do hard things, get
outside of our comfort zone, and train in ways that we aren’t particularly fond of, because that’s
ultimately going to get us our desired result.
And we need to learn to love those moments, embrace them, and do them with stride.
But if I’m brand new to fitness, and I’m trying to force myself to exercise intensely every day,
I’m sore, I’m tired… I’m probably going to quit because this just isn’t sustainable.
Maybe ONE day I’ll get to that point, working out daily, and loving every minute! But that’s
probably not going to be right away.
That depends on your goal.
A power lifter is going to have a dramatically different workout routine and training regimen
compared to a triathlete, which is going to be drastically different from someone who just wants
to be generally healthy and lose 10lbs.
So if you’re brand new to fitness, you don’t necessarily need to figure out the “perfect” workout
right away. Start with movement, find things you enjoy, and then start incorporating more
structured exercise as you become more consistent.
And yes, strength training and cardio are both important.
Strength training should be a priority because it’s going to enhance your health in so many
ways. Strengthening your joints/bones/muscles, improving your metabolism, heart health,
reducing stress, all of these things can improve significantly!
Cardio is important for vascular health, heart health, improving cholesterol and blood pressure,
and blood sugar.
But you don’t necessarily need to do all of it at once.
Depending on your goals, you may need more strength training, more cardio, or a combination of
both. And depending on the type of training you do, you can even combine strength and cardio to
hit two birds with one stone (that’s where functional training comes in!)
So how do I know what to do?
Again, it depends on your ultimate goal, what you’re currently struggling with, and what you
want to achieve.
Talking with a trainer is a great first step to come up with some kind of action plan! (Which is
exactly why we offer a free consult – to discuss in detail what’s going on and how we’re going to
get from point A to point B.)
Even hearing all of this can still sound overwhelming to a newbie.
The biggest struggle I see beginners make is pushing to do too much too fast.
They get really excited about starting their health journey, have big goals in mind, and have a lot
of motivation to get it done (for about a week or two).
They come to the gym every day and quickly burn out and feel defeated with how sore and tired
they are. Then they feel defeated, like they’re never going to reach their goal, that maybe they
just don’t have it in them.
My best advice to overcome this is to:
1. Have a clear reason WHY you want to reach that goal.
2. Find ways to move that you actually ENJOY!
Start with 1 hour a day. Move somehow, someway.
Find Your Movement
* Strength training
* Walking, jogging, running
* Leisurely bike rides, cycling
* Swimming
* Dancing
* Martial Arts / Jiu Jitsu
* Sports (basketball, tennis, football, baseball, soccer, golf, etc)
* Hiking
* Surfing or other water activities and sports
* Climbing
* Yoga
* Pilates
There are so many ways to move, and you don’t have to love all of them. Find what you enjoy,
and start there.
Another reason people fall off the wagon is a lack of accountability.
If you are starting this journey all alone, you are more likely to convince yourself to skip the
workout that day, skip the walk after work, hit the snooze button, etc.
So working out with others can really give you a leg up.
I encourage you to seek out support either in the form of a personal trainer, coach, or group
setting. If you have others that are right there with you, either taking you through the workout or
doing the workout with you, you are going to be encouraged to continue.
And then when you feel like bailing, you have someone to have your back that will tell you to
get your booty out of bed. Or when you’re feeling self-doubt, they are there to remind you how
much work you have put in.
This is of course why we, at Results Personal Training, offer personal training and functional
group classes. That way you have a supportive team helping you every step of the way.
But remember.
Move 1 hour a day. Find movement you enjoy. Gradually work your way into structured
exercise. And find others to help keep you accountable.
