How to get started
'Getting super ripped, super muscly or super fit is hard work. It doesn’t happen in 6 or 12 weeks like often advertised unless you’re close to the achievement when you start'
Everyone takes up exercise for different reasons. Some people wish to drop weight, some add weight and others want to achieve a certain athletic accolade. With any of these the motivation can be there but you just don’t know how to go about it. Below is a few simple guidelines to follow regardless of your goals.
Identify your goal – If you want to be lean like Brad Pitt in Fight Club, curvaceous like Kim Kardashian or become an Iron Man Competitor then that’s a great start as you can clearly describe what you want. Though being realistic is import. Your goal may take some time. Often people will change their goal as their previous one was taking too long. Stick to the most important goal, the goal that matters to you the most. Work hard and make a change you’re happy with.
Make a routine – Don’t just go to the gym or diet whenever you feel like it. Make a plan for the week and then stick to it. Book it in like you would anything else in your diary and stick to it. One of the benefits to this is that if you move it to another day and something unexpected comes up then you find you’ve missed two days. Bank the training sessions when you can as life happens sometimes. Don’t let the excuses prevent you from making progress. We can always find an excuse if we want. The same with your diet. Keep it as good as can then when it’s (for example) John’s birthday on Saturday, take on more calories and less ‘healthy options’ and enjoy it.
Measuring your process – If it’s a body composition goal you have then take photos, weigh yourself and get the tape measure out and take some readings each week. This is a great way of seeing the progress you’re making as time goes on. You can look back when times get tough and see just how far you’ve come. Exercise wise you can make note of the weights your lifting or use an app like Strava to record your distances and pace.
Play the long game – Getting super ripped, super muscly or super fit is hard work. It doesn’t happen in 6 or 12 weeks like often advertised unless you’re close to the achievement when you start. If you want to do a triathlon but don’t run, cycle or swim then start with something small like the NHS Couch to 5k or go for swimming lessons to improve your technique. Don’t start with a 10k run after 30 lengths in the pool if new to it all. If you do the pain through DOMS or injury that might follow will possibly put you out of action. The same with dieting, don’t starve yourself. With 100 calories less a day you can make good improvements then increase the deficit it in time. With adding muscle, get good at bodyweight exercises then move to the weights.
Consistency is key – I touched on this briefly at the start of the article. Anyone that you want to look or train like is consistent. They’re eating or training in a particular way all year round. They may post photos of a pizza on Facebook but that could be after a week of very low calorie days. Social media can be deceiving in this way. The guy on the front of Men’s Health or the women winning the local half marathon have their diet and training as a major priority in their week and keep it that way. This is what it takes sometimes to get to these extreme levels. We don’t all have to be at this level but just don’t be fooled by what can seem like something so easy to others. Ask anyone who is in great shape and they’ll tell you it’s a part of their life and has been for a long time.
Enjoy the process – It’ll be tough at times but if you’re miserable and not enjoying it then is the goal really for you? Having a six pack all year round or aiming for a particular triathlon time may mean turning down nights out with friends. If you don’t wish to be this strict then alter your goal. You can still achieve a lot in terms of body composition or fitness and still enjoy life.