Where to start on your fitness journey
Thinking about it is easy. Talking about it is easy. But how do you start?
Step 1: Assess your goals!
The first step to starting your fitness journey is all about introspection. Look into yourself and figure out what it is that you want. Your goals can be anything at all: walk more each day, eat more fruits and vegetables, lose 5 pounds, be able to bench press your bodyweight, learn to do a full push up… the options are endless. Figure out what you want, and then you can plan how to achieve these things.
Step 2: Make a (realistic) plan!
If you aim to clean up your diet, but you currently struggle with food selection and control, you probably should not immediately cut out all of your favorite foods and start eating a salad for each meal. You need to start by making small, realistic and sustainable changes! For example, if you currently workout zero days a week, start by getting yourself to walk 3 times a week. As this gets solidified into your routine, you can increase the length of your walks, and the frequency as well. As you progress with walking (something everyone can and should do) you can progress your plan to adding one day of full body strength training per week! Starting out too big and with too many changes is a recipe for burnout. Look at your habits and find small things you can change and implement to kickstart a better routine.
Step 3: Track your progress!
With any fitness or health goals, tracking your progress is essential. Not only will it keep you disciplined, but it will allow you to look back on how far you have come. If you are starting out by walking, make sure you write down the days and amount of time that you walk each week! If you are strength training, write down all of your workouts: sets, reps, personal records and more.
Bonus Step 4: Get some help!
Getting guidance is a good idea even for the most advanced people! No matter what point you are at in your journey, there will always be someone who can help you. Getting a personal trainer or a personal coach can go a long way! Someone who can objectively look at your goals and formulate a plan to help you achieve them is an amazing asset to have. If you are looking to kickstart your fitness journey and need some guidance, check out www.Balancewithshaheen.com for fully personalized training programs, nutrition & exercise tips n’ tricks, video explanations of all exercises, and unlimited guidance and advice!
