How Often Do YOU Workout?

As we all know by now, exercise is great for your body. It helps you build cardiovascular endurance, helps your body control the fat levels, and also manages insulin levels and blood sugar.

It’s great for your mind and soul as well, it can be a way of releasing stress and being happier, and so many other things.

However, there are many reasons why people don’t seem to want to work out: they say they don’t have enough time or space, they don’t want to spend money on equipment or workout gear, and they don’t have someone to do it with them, or they simply don’t know where to start.

Been there, done that. Trust me, I get it, these used to be my excuses as well. When I first started my workout journey, I had no idea where to look and I didn’t have money to go to a personal trainer.

So I started looking for workout ideas on Google and I found a lot of pictures with exercise ideas and examples. As I said, I didn’t know anything, so I tried them all until I almost passed out.

I was very unfit. My body was tired after going up the stairs to the 4th floor, but smart me, started doing 20 burpees, 100 crunches, and 15 minutes of running without doing even a little warm-up.

I hope you won’t make the same mistakes I did. I want to help you find your rhythm and I’m about to tell you how to do that. Seriously, I’ve learned a lot from my gaffes, so hear me out. Here is your workout journey guide, perfect for a beginner!

…How many times have you thought about embarking on a workout journey, but you’ve never actually started?

1. Find Your WHY

This is the most important thing when it comes to building a new routine for your workout or making some changes to your lifestyle. Why do you want to do it? Maybe you want to lose weight, look more fit, get rid of cellulite, or have enough endurance to keep up with your grandkids.

Whatever the reason might be, find it and stick to it! We all know that motivation comes and goes, but your WHY will always be there with you.

2. Do a Health Check First

Now that you have your WHY, you can go to the next step, which is scheduling an appointment with your doctor, to get a physical medical examination.

This is important because you might have some health affection you didn’t know, and that could put you at risk for injuries during your workout.

Besides that, your doctor will be able to tell you if you have some exercise restrictions after doing this test, so make sure to not neglect it!

3. Pick Your Exercise Types

Don’t do what I did and start your journey in beast mode! If you’re completely new to working out, start with something simple, such as walking or jogging.

Once you have enough strength and you feel like you can do something with more intensity, you can search for workout videos on YouTube (Jane Fonda is one of the best) or you can ask for a professional’s help.

There are also many fitness apps you can try, which already have plans for beginners and seniors, you name it! However, as we’ve previously said, make sure to talk to your doctor before starting any fitness program!

…Start slow and build up from there! Don’t rush and don’t expect to get stronger overnight, because it’s not that easy! 

4. Make a Plan

The fourth step on our list for a perfect workout is to make a plan you can stick to. If you can only manage to work out three times a week, then add only those sessions to your plan or calendar.

If you add too many and you can’t complete them, you might get discouraged and unmotivated, which might sabotage your overall fitness regimen.

Think of it like a to-do list you might be creating for work. If you write too many tasks there and you can’t mark all of them complete, you have a higher chance of feeling anxious and unproductive and you might try to make up for it the next time.

When it comes to working out, these things can lead to overtraining and being more prone to injury, so make sure to stick to your realistic plan!

5. Set Realistic Goals

Setting goals for a workout is great because it gives you an opportunity to work towards something that makes you happy and motivated! However, when people start working out on a regular basis, they tend to set a lot of goals and some of them are not very attainable.

For instance, if your goal is to lose 20 pounds in a month, this is not realistic. You’ll have to work out a lot and be in a caloric deficit every day to reach it.

Besides that, once you reach your goal, you’ll have to maintain it with exercise and diet, because otherwise, you’ll end up gaining those pounds back.

Keep in mind that losing weight in a short amount of time and dieting too much can do more harm than good for your body and you shouldn’t do it unless you’ve talked to your doctor first!

A good example of setting goals is to break them into small and big ones. Let’s say that you want to be able to run 5 kilometers without stopping.

Approximate how much is going to take you to be at that stage (e.g. 5 months) and break it into smaller objectives: month 1 – run 1 km without stopping, month 2 – 2km, and so on.

If you start with small and achievable goals, you’re increasing your chances of reaching them and being successful! Here’s a journal where you can write down your goals!

6. Make It a Habit

Don’t adopt the all-or-nothing mentality! If one day you only have time to do 10 minutes of exercise instead of 30, do it and call it a day! Life happens and we get busy sometimes! Don’t think that you have to exercise for a certain amount of time to get results! Every single workout counts!

You want to create a lifestyle change and something temporary, so when you don’t have the motivation to get your workout in, remember your why and just do it! I guarantee you’ll feel so much better afterward!

7. Don’t Forget To Warm Up And Cool Down

Doing between 5-10 minutes of warm-up and cooling down before and after your workout is very important for improving your flexibility, promoting blood flow, and preventing injuries and soreness.

If your body feels extremely stiff and tired, you can also try foam rolling at night. It acts like a deep tissue massage and helps relieve soreness, tightness, and inflammation.

8. Take rest days

Make sure to take rest days when you need them and don’t push yourself too much! These days are just as important as the workout days because your body has time to heal, repair its muscles, make them stronger, and rebuild itself, so you’ll be ready for your next session!

If you force yourself to work out every single day, you’re increasing your chances of getting injured and burned out. As a result, you’ll be forced to take a longer break from exercise and your progress won’t be as fast as it used to.

CONCLUSION

Before you start your workout journey, make sure you know your WHY and you are properly informed on what you have to do. Remember to set realistic goals, not force yourself to work out to the point when you feel pain. Hydrate, and take rest days when you need them!

Other than that, stick to eating healthy and clean foods, take progress pictures, don’t go crazy with the number on the scale, and good luck with your new journey!

…If you want to read something else, here is our recommendation for you: Sleep: 7 Reasons Why You Should Prioritize It.