2018 seems to have flown by faster than most years, or maybe that’s just something we say at the start of the year. If you are feeling the same way and have come to the realization that fitness has not been a priority for you over the past year, you are not alone. Perhaps you haven’t made it to the gym since the fitness rush of the last New Year, and you are feeling completely out of the routine, or maybe you have just never been someone who is into working out consistently. Wherever you fit on the spectrum here are some actionable tips to show you how to start working out when you haven’t exercised in a really long time.
How to Start Working Out When You Haven’t Exercised In A Really Long Time
First things first, beating yourself up for not making time for fitness does not count as exercise. The best way to start working out it to keep a positive attitude. Instead of focusing on what’s wrong with your body, think about your long term goals and how you will look once you reach your goals.
Starting To Workout Again
You’ve seen the people who seem to always make time for their exercise routine. Those people may be a mystery to you, and maybe you have resigned to the idea that fitness is not for you. Fitness is for everybody. We all need it to stay healthy to be the best versions of ourselves. Understand that fitness is not one size fits all, and it is also not a competition. Competing with others can have a negative effect because it may force you to feel like you are not making progress or that your body will never look like person A or person B. This is about you and no one else, so as you go through these tips, I want you to keep this in mind.
First Things First
If you have not been to the gym or worked out for a very long time, you should head to the doctor for a physical. The last thing you want to do is find your motivation to start working out and injure yourself. By getting a full physical, you will have a good understanding of your health, and you will know exactly where to start in your fitness journey. The key here is to make sure your body is ready to start an exercise routine so that you can get started and stick to it.
Take Photos
Taking photos may be the last thing you want to do, especially if you are not feeling the most confident about your body, but trust me, this is an important step. By taking photos of yourself, you will be able to accurately track your progress. I recommend taking these photos in a sports bra and shorts ( you do not have to share them with anyone). In addition to taking photos of yourself, grab a measuring tape and take your measurements. The combination of photos and your current measurements will help you to chart your progress.
Seeing that you are making progress will help you in the long run when you start to feel unmotivated or feel as if you are not seeing results fast enough.
Try to take photos of yourself and measurements every two weeks once you have gotten into a consistent exercise routine.
The Best Way To Start Working Out
Set Goals
Setting goals helps us to feel accountable and gives us the push we need to keep moving and measuring your progress.
You could set a goal to start working out again and to hit the gym at least twice per week, to begin with. If you like to run, you could set a goal to run your first 5k.
Understanding why you are doing this will help you to set goals that will be attainable for you. Think about what you want to achieve for your body, and write down your goals based on this. People often look at getting in shape based on fitting into a particular dress or going to a particular event. While this may be great for motivation, it is a very short term goal. There will not always be a dress or event, so we want to think of goals that will stick with us long term.
Keep in mind that the longer it has been since your body has been exercised, the slower you will need to start. There is nothing wrong with starting slow, but it is important to keep this tip in mind as you continue to learn how to start working out.
Find What Works For You
Starting to workout again can be difficult when you haven’t done so for a long time. Take the time to figure out what works best for you. You can start by doing light exercise like walking on the treadmill. Or joining a fitness class.
Be realistic with yourself about what you do and do not like. For example, I do not love cardio. I know it’s a necessary evil, but it is my least favorite exercise. If I had taken a long break from the gym, I probably would not reintroduce my body to working out by doing cardio.
This is what I mean about being realistic with yourself. If you hate doing something, it will feel like a chore, and if we are keeping it real, we all dislike chores.
What do you enjoy? Maybe spin class or group fitness classes that involve dancing like Zumba. Find something enjoyable to you because as you continue on your fitness journey, there will be times where you feel less motivated than others.
Make Small Changes
Fitness requires a conscious state of consistency.
This means that you will need to actively make an effort to get to the gym and work toward your fitness goals.
Start by keeping a fitness journal. Whether you use an actual journal or the notes section on your phone keep track of your fitness is up to you.
Start the beginning of each week by writing down what you will do to help get healthy. Understand that words hold a lot of weight, and sometimes it is not until we see things written down that they actually start to sink in.
Some examples of things that you can include on your list are drinking more water, eating vegetables with at least one of your meals, and not drinking soda.
When you are learning how to start working out, you do not want to overextend yourself by setting the bar too high. This is not to say that you should have low expectations for yourself, but you need to be realistic.
By setting the bar at an attainable level, you give yourself a higher probability of reaching your fitness goals.
Plan Out Your Days
Make a plan or plan to fail. Remember above where I said that fitness requires an active state of making consistent decisions?
Are you going to workout in the mornings? Are you more of an afternoon person? Or maybe you have flexibility during the days and you can workout in the middle of the day?
I prefer morning workouts and I share tips on how to workout in the mornings in this post.
Figure out when you can workout and be sure to choose the days and times that you are able to stick to. Of course, life happens, and we have to be able to change our schedules at times, but your workout days should remain pretty consistent so that your body becomes used to working on those days at a specific time.
If you choose to workout in the mornings, use the night before to help you prepare. Pack your lunch the night before, lay out your workout clothes. By taking the time to plan your morning the night before, you will have the time to ease into your workout without feeling stressed out or rushed.
Instead of taking exercise day by day, be sure to look at your schedule each week to make sure your chosen work out days will fit within your exercise routine.
Read this post for tips on developing a workout routine.
Be Prepared To Fail
When you are starting something new, there is always a chance of failure. When you were a kid and learned how to ride a bike, you probably fell off a few times before getting the hang of it.
Failure does not have to be permanent. If you start working out and find yourself skipping the gym more than you would like to, don’t beat yourself up. Accept the fact that you are human, do not beat yourself up, and dust yourself off and start over again.
Understand that everyone fails at some point in their lives. Its how we rebound from those failures that keep us moving forward towards our goals.
You are human, and we are all allowed to make mistakes sometimes.
Be Prepared For The Weeks Ahead
So many people start working out at the beginning of the year. During this time, the gym is more crowded than it is at any other time of the year. But, around week 4, you will notice that the gym becomes less and less crowded.
It is very common for people to start losing their motivation to workout after a few weeks of going to the gym.
This feeling is very normal, and it is ok.
Try to motivate yourself with a small reward like new workout clothes, or a manicure/pedicure. If you spend money on new workout clothes, you will not want to waste your money, and boom, you’re at the gym again, in your new clothes, looking fab and getting fit. Go you!
By pushing through the times when you do not feel like working out, your body will get more into the habit of going to the gym, and it will soon become part of your lifestyle.
Overcome Your Fear Of The Gym
If you have been away from the gym for a while or if you have a lot of weight to lose, the gym can be a very intimidating place. You may feel like people are judging you, but understand that most people in the gym are there for themselves, and they do not pay attention to others there.
If you need to over your fear of the gym, use these tips to help you out.
Start slowly by using the cardio machines, and work your way up to using other machines. Do not allow fear to be your motivation and do not allow fear to push you away from your fitness goals.
Allow Yourself Time To Rest
Wait, what? Yep, you read correctly.
When you are learning how to start working out, you must allow your body a chance to rest.
When you first start working out, your body will get a rush of adrenaline. Believe it or not, but this rush may make you want to work out over and over again. While it may be great to get in multiple workouts, you do not want to over exert yourself.
If you push your body too hard, you could injure yourself, and that injury could cause you to have to take time away from your new exercise routine, putting you right back at square one. We don’t want that.
On the other hand, you might be feeling frustrated because your first few trips to the gym did not go as you had planned. If you are feeling winded after doing only a few sets, it is ok. We all have to build our endurance to be able to do that long run or several reps on the weights.
Instead of allowing yourself to get frustrated, try to incorporate some stretching into your routine. Take a pause and when your body feels ready, get back to it.
Fitness Is About More Than Losing Weight
Know that losing weight and fitness are not one in the same. If you have a lot of weight to lose, it can feel very overwhelming.
Try to separate fitness from losing weight because there are many benefits to fitness aside from the weight loss aspect of it.
Fitness leads to you feel healthier, happier, and calmer. Which all have nothing to do with losing weight. Exercising in terms of losing weight can feel like a punishment, and the goal here to focus on the positive aspects instead of the negative ones.
When you do not feel motivated to workout
Focus on how good your body feels when you exercise. Think about the positive benefits of your new exercise routine, and think about the money you spent on those new workout clothes. Nobody likes to waste money, amirite?!
Make Fitness A Habit
Fitness is not just about the physical. Continue to write down things you will do to keep your body healthy.
Make new habits like going to the gym a few mornings each week. The hardest part about starting to workout is getting to the gym. If you can get yourself up and get to the gym, you have overcome half the battle.
Once you have established a consistent habit of working out your body will become dependent on it, and you will not want to stop.
Incorporate healthy meals into your lifestyle, and try to add healthy snacks into your lifestyle.
Remember that a big part of fitness is not only going to the gym but what we put into our bodies. You do not want to work hard at the gym and then lose the benefits of your workouts by eating foods that are bad for you.
Do It For You
The main person that benefits from you being fit is YOU.
Get fit for you and only you. Do not allow yourself to be bullied by societal expectations.
Do not allow yourself to feel like you have to look a certain way.
Know that getting fit is not about being a size 0 or even a size 2. Getting fit is about being happy and healthy.
Getting fit is about feeling like you are the best version of yourself.
All of the hard work that goes into fitness is yours, so you are allowed to celebrate each and every victory you make.
Remember to chart your progress to keep yourself on track and working toward your fitness goals.
Understand that you are human, and there may be times when you slip into the habit of not working out frequently. As I said above, dust yourself off, and start over again.
Making time for fitness is making time for you, and when we make time for ourselves, it makes us better.
Keep at it, and you will not regret your decision.
It is ok to start your fitness journey at the beginning of the year, but remember that fitness is a marathon, not a sprint and you are your only competition.
Pin this pin on Pinterest to your favorite fitness board and share with a friend who may be looking to learn how to start working out.
