by Kevin Parris | Dec 8, 2019 | Fitness Journey
Deciding to
start your fitness journey is a great step but knowing how to start this
journey is another step. As a beginner, you don’t know a lot about fitness, and
you might not be very sure of what you really need to get started. Therefore,
you might end up quitting very soon even before the results start showing.
Many people
turn to the internet to learn how to get started in the fitness journey. The
fact is there is plenty of information out there which can be confusing. Some
information that you will come across might not even helpful. You don’t want to
find yourself in that kind of situation.
Starting your
fitness should not be done blindly either. You need to think through your
decision and eventually take well-informed action. By that, I mean that you
need to create a fitness plan that will guide you in your journey.
Starting a fitness journey is similar to starting a new business. Without a good plan, you don’t know your goals or mission and vision and what you are supposed to do. Without a fitness plan, you don’t even know your fitness goals and the exercises you need to do. So, you might end up performing the wrong forms of exercises, harm yourself, lose motivation and within no time end up quitting. In this blog, you will learn how to start your fitness journey and maintain your motivation. Keep reading to discover more.
Here’s how to start your fitness journey
1.
Have the right mindset
There is a
good reason why we have this as our first point. Before you can even start
doing anything, you need to have the right mindset that you will achieve
whatever you put your focus on. In this journey, you will come across people
who are in the advanced stages of fitness, with well-toned bodies and spend
hours in the gym without tiring quickly.
As a
beginner, it’s easier to start comparing yourself with such people so much that
you even doubt if you will get to their level. That’s not the way to do things.
Don’t ever compare yourself with anyone. You’re just a beginner, why the hurry.
What you need
to do right now is start working on yourself believing that you will achieve
your fitness goals.
If you start
criticizing your body because you cannot do the heavy lifting that the next
person can do, you will only be feeding negative thoughts to your mind and
eventually, you will lack the energy and motivation to keep on keeping on.
Start by
embracing your body, and start working on it. Accept that this journey will not
be easy especially in the beginning. Accept that there is a lot of work to be
done and a lot of effort to be put in from your side.
Always fight off the negatives thoughts that tend to drain your energy. Keep your eyes on the goals and believe that you will get there.
2.
Have realistic goals
As aforementioned,
you need to have fitness goals before starting your fitness journey. You don’t
want to set out on a journey without having a destination in mind. When we are
talking about fitness goals, we mean realistic goals, measurable and achievable
ones.
There must be
something that has inspired you to start this healthy journey. It could be you
want to get in shape, lose weight or build muscle or maybe you just want to
feel good about yourself. In fitness, you’re not restricted to have one goal,
you can have as many as you want.
The best
thing about health and fitness journeys, as you keep progressing your goals
will keep changing. This shows that you’re making some good progress and you
want you to keep challenging yourself even more.
As a
beginner, identify what you want to achieve and make sure they are realistic.
Your goals will help you determine the type of exercises that can help you
achieve them. Additionally, these goals will guide your choice of diet. For
instance, if you want to lose several pounds within a particular period, you
will know the kind of diet to adopt and the kind of exercise to do.
Can you see
how important goals are?
I would recommend you to start with small goals that can be achieved within a day, for example running five miles. Proceed to set larger goals. Every time you achieve a particular goal you will feel motivated to take on a more challenge goal. After all, that’s how progress is made.
3.
Come up with a workout plan
Now when
you’re starting a business, you will need a business plan. When you’re starting
your fitness journey, you will need a workout plan.
In this plan,
you will include your goals, the kind of exercises to perform, the appropriate
diet and so on. Generally, the workout plan must be aligned with your fitness
goals. It must clearly outline the kind of exercises that you should do in the
gym and the duration and frequency of working out.
Those who
don’t have a workout plan, do not have direction in their fitness journey. They
get to the gym and start lifting whatever it is they come across. They hop from
one exercise to another and they don’t even know whether or not it is the right
exercise for them.
A workout plan is a must-have it the fitness journey. When creating one, you need to be honest with yourself so that you can create something that you can live with. You might want to work together with your personal fitness trainer to create a workout plan that will help you achieve your goals and maintain your fitness journey.
4.
Come up with a meal plan
In the fitness
journey, a meal plan comes in handy. You cannot claim to be in a health and
fitness program simply because you are working out, but you’re not mindful of
what you are eating. Workouts and being mindful of what you are eating must go
hand in hand.
That’s why
you need to create a meal plan that includes healthy diets showing the number
of calories that should be present in your diet. This meal plan should be
devoid of unhealthy foods, specifically the fast foods which only do more harm
to you than good.
The kind of
diet you eat should give you the energy you need to go about your activities
and your workouts as well. Your meal should always be a balanced diet with
proteins, carbohydrates vitamins. This ensures that you’re getting the
nourishment that you need and you’re healthy.
Many people
tend to get stuck with unhealthy foods which are usually sugary, with too much
salt and are easy to prepare. In the fitness journey, the kind of foods must be
replaced with healthier alternatives.
Talking about having a meal plan, you will also need to track your calorie intake. Tracking your calorie intake is now easier than ever given the many fitness apps that are available on the market right now. You can track just about anything in your diet. So, you might consider getting a fitness app to track your calorie intake.
5.
Keep updating your workouts
In the
fitness journey, you need to keep updating your workouts. You don’t want to
keep performing the same exercise every time you get to the gym. Doing the same
exercises every day without doing other forms of exercise will not yield more
results. Your body will only get used to it.
Therefore, you need to perform a variety of different workouts to keep your body challenged yielding more results. When you’re just starting, you might want to start with a specific workout routine and then update it after every one or two weeks.
6.
Track your workouts
Every fitness enthusiast knows the importance of tracking their workouts. You need to write down everything you were able to accomplish on a particular day during your workout. Records anything from the amount of weight you were able to lift, to your heart rate during a cardio session and the number of miles you ran.
Conclusion
There you have it! Now you know how to start your fitness journey. You need to have the right mindset, set your fitness goals and believe that you can achieve them, create a workout and meal plan to guide your daily workouts and diet, upgrade your workouts by having a variety of exercises and finally track your workouts. These tips will guide you on your fitness journey.
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by Kevin Parris | Dec 4, 2019 | Cardio Fitness
Cardio should be part of your daily
workout. When you are just starting your fitness journey, cardio is one of the
first words you will come across, however, you will also realize that many
people don’t add it in their fitness routine. The reasons for not adding cardio
to an exercise program may vary from one person to another.
There is still a good number of
fitness enthusiasts who don’t realize the benefits of adding cardio to their
daily workout. Well, you should know that cardio is an essential aspect of any
workout. Whatever inspired you to start an exercise program, cardio exercises
should be include in the plan.
Cardio exercise can be defined as
any activity that increases your heart rate. The activity is rhythmic and will
help burn more calories. Cardiovascular exercise also increases blood
circulation throughout the body.
There are many advantages of adding cardio to your daily workouts. In this blog, you will discover the various benefits of cardio which will be reasons enough to add cardio to your routine. Keep reading to discover more.
Benefits of adding cardio to your routine
Here are the benefits of adding cardio to your daily workouts.
Cardio increases metabolism
Cardiovascular exercise, or simply
cardio positively impacts your metabolism. Metabolism is an umbrella word for
all the various processes that happen in the body. Performing cardio increases
the rate of those processes, therefore making it easier for you to lose weight
or maintain weight.
Cardio sessions can vary depending on the intensity of the exercises. For instance, more intense cardio sessions may include an exercise such as HIIT which increases your metabolic rate.
Cardio supports heart health
Your heart health is very important and so you
should do whatever it takes to keep your heart healthy, and that should include
cardio. Your heart is a muscle which pumps blood, and as you know all muscles
in the body should be put to work to keep them healthy and strong.
Cardiovascular exercise is one great exercise to keep your heart healthy and strong. Cardio gets your heart pumping at a faster rate throughout the session, which is great for keeping it healthy. So, you should perform cardio regularly to ensure that your heart is healthy, in shape and strong. Don’t always get stuck with simple exercises, do things that will get your heart pumping at a faster rate.
Cardio improves your recovery ability
In the fitness journey, you will
need time to recover after a session in the gym, but you don’t want the
recovery to take so long. You want the recovery time to be short. Well, several
types of cardio exercise can help improve your recovery ability. These types of
exercises involve lower, moderately paced movements such as light jog or
walking on the treadmill.
This kind of exercises, when done after
a hard session in the gym can help effectively remove the unwanted fatigue or
simply the byproducts that developed during the hard session in the gym. This
will in turn can result in the reduction of your DOMS, or delayed onset of
muscle soreness. Also it promotes the flow of oxygen rich blood to the muscles
thus facilitating the repair and rebuilding process of the tissues. Therefore,
this means you will get back to the gym for hard sessions quicker.
If you want to build muscle, you
need to strike the perfect balance between enough workouts and adequate rest to
allow the muscles to repair themselves. If you happen to be skewed on either of
the direction, you will not get the desired results.
Remember, you need to keep working your muscle more frequently to gain new muscle. Here cardio comes in handy.
Cardio boosts your brain health
Regular cardio training is good for
your brain health as it encourages the release of endorphins, which are happy
hormones. These hormones effectively provide pain and stress relief and boosts
your confidence and emotional stability.
When we’re aging our brains loses tissue which can be detrimental on the brain function, but cardio training can help slow the loss and boost cognitive performance. So add cardio to your daily workout to support your brain health and feel good about yourself.
Cardio can improve your immune system
Performing cardiovascular exercise regularly improves your immune system. You will be less likely to catch colds and other viral illnesses. Cardio training promotes the release of immunoglobulins, antibodies that help improve your immune system.
Cardio lowers blood pressure
This another good reason you should add cardio to your daily workout, especially if you have blood pressure problems. Cardio training can be an effective way to control your blood pressure symptoms lowering it to the healthy level.
Cardio can help deal with depression and fatigue
Depression has become common in the
today’s world and millions of people across the globe continue suffering from
it. While there are prescription medications to deal with depression, cardio is
a natural way to deal with this condition.
Fatigue is another condition that can take a toll in your life, lowering the quality of your life and your productivity at work. You should consider adding cardio training to your routine to deal with fatigue as well.
Cardio can help you manage diabetes
If you’re suffering from diabetes, cardio training can help you manage it. Cardio training does so by enhancing the ability of your muscles to utilize glucose, thus helping you to control your blood sugar levels. Therefore, you will not experience skewed blood sugar levels from as often as you used to before.
Cardio helps manage your weight
Cardio training is a great way to burn more calories, helping you lose weight and manage your weight as well. Adding cardiovascular training to your workout routine will result in a well-toned body with a good posture. You will be able lose weight and keep it off. At the same time, you will need to lower your calorie intake.
Cardio training can boost your mood
Having a good mood is great for you
and your relationship with other people. Cardio exercise can boost your mood by
releasing the happy hormones in our bodies which also help reduce the symptoms
of depression.
You don’t need to perform long sessions of cardio, a short session can significantly impact your mood.
How to choose a cardio exercise
You have just discovered the
benefits of adding cardio to your workout, it’s time to choose cardio exercise.
A few factors should be considered, such as what aligns with your personality,
what is accessible to you and what is comfortable for you.
The gym has a lot of options for
you to choose from including various equipment that you might not have space
for at home.
You need to choose a cardio
exercise that you can tolerate when you’re just starting. Go for something that
you can enjoy or even consider joining a fitness class to socialize with others
and get the motivation to keep going.
It is recommended to perform cardio
at least three times a week. You want an exercise that accessible and
convenient for you. You might also consider having a personal trainer to keep
you accountable and motivated.
Don’t perform one from of cardio exercise every other time. You need to perform other new forms to keep you challenged achieving milestones.
How long should you perform cardio workout
Once you have settled on the type
of cardio exercise to do, you need to know how long you should perform it. When
you’re just starting, make things simple for you and adjust as you progress in
your fitness journey. So, you might want to start with simple types of cardio
training.
Cardio workout, specifically for
beginners should be done for at least 20 minutes and a maximum of 60 minutes
for each session. You can also split your exercise into smaller bits and
perform them throughout the day. That way you will still reap the benefits of
cardio.
The focus of a beginner should be on building a strong cardio foundation which will make it easier for them to progress without ever thinking of giving up on it. Cardio should never be overdone. Start with simple exercises and then increase the intensity and duration as you progress to advanced levels.
Conclusion
You have discovered the benefits of adding cardio to your daily workout. Cardio training is great for your heart health, improves metabolism, boosts your immune system and improves your brain health. For those suffering from diabetes, cardio can help manage the condition. Cardio also lowers your recovery time, thus you can get to the gym quicker and workout your muscles to add more muscle.
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