How to start…
Starting your fitness journey can be daunting for anyone but it isn’t as scary as you think. The first push is always the hardest. you must put in the work to keep consistent too. In this article well be teaching you how to start and how to keep going while making things enjoyable.
Everyone knows the benefits of exercise and how it can affect your life from physical health to metal health. Even your quality of sleep can be improved by exercise. However, if it were that easy, we’d all be in shape and feeling our best right? Most people lack motivation or drive once they have started. People tend to get sloppy by not turning up to the gym or their exercise class. While it is good to take a break and listen to your body and let it rest when it needs too.
The key to having a better lifestyle is consistency, which can be hard when you are not seeing any dramatic changes but what you need to remember is nothing great happens overnight. You aren’t going to see results after one work out. As much as we would all like it to be that way you must not get disheartened if you aren’t seeing results straight away. It can take anywhere from 4 to 6 weeks to start seeing changes. It will take 8 weeks for your friends to see the changes. After 12 weeks everyone will be able to see the changes.
All or nothing
To make progress with your fitness journey you need to ditch the “all or nothing” mindset. Most people make the big mistake of thinking they need to dedicate their whole life to getting fit. However, this is not the case. When you start it is hard to find what works for you. From different exercises to the times, you plan to work out. Just because life got busy the past week you have had little time to exercise. This does not mean you should scrap it completely. You don’t need to be on a strict plan it is all about enjoying the journey. Even adding modest amounts of amounts of physical activity into your week is better than nothing. You will still see and feel changes to your mental and physical health.
Making goals
Achieving goals in any aspect of life is a great feeling. It is the same with physical activity. making little goals every couple of weeks should keep you interested and motivated. Whether it be doing one more rep or walking for 5 mins more than last time each little goal you set, and meet is progress. Making big goals is a key thing too however people make the mistake of setting big goals for unrealistic time frames and tend to get disheartened when you don’t achieve it in time. Having big gaols is great and they’re useful for the long term so when you finally reach that goal you can see how far you come but setting little goals is just as important, they will keep you on track and help you keep motivated as well as give you a great feeling when you get there.
People who regularly exercise tend to have more energy, better sleep patterns, and a better sense of well-being. However, these tend to be long-term rewards some you will not notice in the first few weeks so when you’re starting your fitness journey. it’s important to give yourself rewards when you achieve something of which you are proud. The reward could be anything you enjoy within reason. This doesn’t mean go on a walk for 10 minutes then reward yourself with a McDonalds. It can be something that you enjoy doing, like having a relaxing bath or your favourite drink.
Enjoy it!
The last step to starting your fitness journey is to enjoy it! Keeping fit and looking after your mental health is so important but it shouldn’t be a chore. An hour in the gym five times a week might not be for you. However, a spin class might be. Joining a football team might not be for you but going swimming a couple of nights a week might be.
Finding what you enjoy
Finding out what you enjoy and what works for you will help boost your mental health even more. It’s called a fitness journey which means there is going to be setbacks. You’re going to find out what you do and don’t like and what days and times you like doing sessions. It’s all great having a routine but that doesn’t happen straight away. Enjoy the journey while you are on it, do things your way. You should be able to reach any goal with enough time and effort.
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