Starting a new fitness routine: Tips for beginners

With summer looming--or for some of us, already here-- a lot of people are suddenly concerned about how they will look by the pool when the temps start rising. Living in Arizona, I am always surprised at how many people in the southwest wait until the heat reaches triple digits to begin a workout routine. In the land of endless summer, where it's a beautiful 70 degrees even in the winter, I would personally prefer to start a workout program when the chances of heat stroke are much lower. But I digress...

As I mentioned, I get a lot of questions about new fitness regimens right around this time of year. I figured I would put all of the answers to these questions into one location so that it's easy for people to go back and reference.

Set Yourself Up For Success

I think that first and foremost, motivation needs to be addressed. The best workout for you, is the one that you'll stick to. This is one of the reasons why I don't recommend that people begin a new program in the summer time in Arizona. It's just too damn hot, which only serves to dampen most people's enthusiasm after about a week or so (the exception might be some kind of water workout: swimming, water aerobics, crossfit style workouts in the pool, etc). If you live in a cooler climate, you may be an exception to this rule, but the bottom line remains the same: take external factors into consideration when choosing a program. You wouldn't sign up for a Zumba class that took place right in the middle of your child's nap schedule, so why would you begin a running program in the middle of the hottest part of the year? All of these elements influence the way you approach your workout, and can easily become a deciding factor in whether or not you stick to it.

Part of setting yourself up for success is being realistic with your goals. If your goal is to lose 20 lbs by summer, and it's already the end of May, you're going to be disappointed with your results. I can't tell you how many people come to train with us with these unrealistic expectations, and then when they don't see the number on the scale plummet overnight, or they don't have six pack abs the first week, decide that working out just doesn't work. When it comes to fitness, slow and steady really does win the race. By patient with yourself, and don't bite off more than you can chew when you're first starting out. People tend to get overly enthusiastic when they begin a new routine. They want to dive right in to the advanced Olympic lifting, or sign up for a full marathon, or simply enroll in every program all at once, which leads to burnout. Not only that, but they are much more likely to injure themselves, which can sideline someone for months, if not years.

If your goal is weight loss, about a pound a week is reasonable depending on where you're starting out. If your goal is to run a marathon, set mini goals working your way up to it. Start off with a couch to 5k, and build from there. And don't make weight loss your primary focus. Focus on building speed, stamina, and strength, and the weight will take care of itself.

Show Up

99% of life is just showing up! Everybody has days where they're just not feelin it. They have to drive carpool, there's a big deadline looming, the house is a mess, etc. There are endless tasks in our everyday lives that can distract us from our personal goals. Whenever I have one of these days, I don't consider my workout any less of a priority. Instead, I take it one step at a time. I  first tell myself that I'm just going to get dressed to workout, and see how I feel. Then I'll put my shoes on, and tell myself I'll just go outside and see what I feel like doing. Then I get outside, and I tell myself I'll just start warming up. After I warm up, I consider the workout. I tell myself, that I may not even do the whole thing, or I'll just go at my own pace without timing myself, and on and on and on... But every single time I go through this thought process (once I actually start the workout) I feel like I can push myself a little more and a little farther, until next thing I know, I've not only done the whole workout, but actually crushed it! I figure once I show up, I'm already there, so I might as well just give it what I've got.

This can apply to any kind of workout, even if it just means putting on your sweats and jumping around to P90X in the comfort of your own living room. Once you've moved that coffee table out of the way, you might as well do what you've set out to do.

Be Consistent

One of the most important pieces of advice that I can give anyone starting a new routine, is to just do something every day. So you had to work late and missed your spin class? Go home and do a five minute bodyweight workout while the kids do their homework. Workouts don't have to be long and complicated to be effective. As long as the intensity is there (i.e. you're breathing heavy for several minutes) you won't be wasting your time. The rule of thumb is that the longer the workout, the lower the intensity. So if you keep it short, just make sure you're constantly moving during that time frame to keep the heart rate up. Or you could incorporate the family, and go for a bike ride, take the soccer ball to the park, or simply go for a brisk walk. There are endless ways to fit fitness into your routine aside from a structured program. As long as you move every day, you won't have to worry about losing all of your progress just because you weren't able to make it to that class at the gym on Tuesday.

Have Fun!

Like I said in the beginning: The best workout program for you is the one that you'll stick to. And you're not going to stick with something that you don't enjoy! If you're not having fun, you're not going to keep showing up, no matter how much you try to guilt yourself into it. Also, if you're not enjoying the process, you're not going to give it your best effort. Which means that you won't see the results that you should be seeing. No trainer wants to have clients walking around telling people that they're following their program if they're not getting anything out of it. External motivation can only do so much before the inside job begins. If you find that CrossFit isn't your thing, go try out a dance class, or kickboxing! Find an activity that sets you on fire and pursue it with all of your passion. That's the program that is going to give you the best results.