How to start exercising and stick to it

How to start Exercise

Let me begin with this: I am perfectly happy when I think that you are sitting at your computer and reading this article; You are about to start a whole new lifestyle, which is not easy, but the confidence, energy, vitality, passion and discipline you will bring into your life is wort it.

"Note: This article is based on fitness trainer Katelyn Delaney, in which we talk about her personal experience with exercise, and give us some tips on how to start exercising and stick to exercise.

I know you're committed, and I also know that there are some questions on your mind, including: "Where do I begin?"

Well, because I care about your success, I won't give you a definitive answer, like, "You need to do these exercises" or something like that; Creating a new lifestyle means not only changing your physical habits, but your mental habits as well. You can start exercising if you want to, but you may be doing yourself a disservice by making things more challenging than you need to.

There are three things you can build on to make long-lasting change:

First, the right mindset:

Let's start with the main pillar of your goals, which is a "healthy mindset".

As a fitness trainer, I have realized through my experiences how a simple change in the way of thinking can completely change an individual's life, and all you have to do is:

1. Finding Your Motivations:

If you walked towards me in the gym and asked me how to start exercising, I would stop you and answer you with another question: “Why do you want to start exercising in the first place?”

In fact, I do this personally because I know for certain that changing behavior is emotional, and it often takes some struggle to commit to change.

As for me, I had been suffering from a chronic illness for many years, so I started exercising to save my life; The others, perhaps having shortness of breath due to exhaustion, kept them from playing with their children. One of my clients saw a picture of her that made her cry because she didn't recognize herself anymore.

These are the feelings that will lead you towards your goal; So you need to know why you are taking this step; That's because just knowing what to do will never help you reach the potential you deserve".

 2. Setting SMART goals:

This is an exciting moment; You have to discover what you want from your habits, and know what dreams and goals you want to reach. Just writing down your goal will get you closer to achieving it; But there's another career secret I'd like to share with you: It's the power of SMART .

A SMART goal is a way to break down your big goal into actionable steps, where each letter of SMART represents a step to help you achieve it.

Take, for example, the goal of someone who wants to lose weight. This goal can be turned into a SMART goal by making it a goal:

• Specific: I want to lose 10 kilos of body fat.

• Measurable: I want to lose 10kg by February 1st.

• Achievable: I can safely lose 1 kg per week by doing strength training and cardio 3 times a week.

• Realistic: Am I ready to devote enough time to this goal?

• timely: I will lose 1 kg per week, 4 kg per month; In 5-6 months I reach my target weight.

Using this goal setting method clarifies your goal and provides simple action steps to ensure that you achieve it.

Second, behavioral and habits change:

How to get started with exercise may be relatively simple, as you just have to get started; But if it were that easy, you'd find everyone exercising, right?

What if I told you there was a way to exercise naturally, where you wouldn't have to think about it, and you would wake up and do it automatically; And all of this lies in the power of habit.

If you've ever read atomic habits, you'll realize that you can dissipate a lot of unnecessary energy without sticking to certain patterns. Once the practice becomes instinctive to you, it becomes easier to achieve the goals; This is because the habit is “a routine behavior that is repeated regularly, and tends to occur involuntarily.”

Think of a bad habit you've always wanted to get rid of, and you'll find it hard to give up because it's so ingrained in your mind; The same is true of good habits; Once you develop a good habit, your brain will do it automatically.

There are many ways to build a habit, but I prefer two:

1. Take advantage of accumulated habits:

Habit stacking is a way of acquiring new habits by making use of existing ones.

You've probably acquired hundreds of habits over the years, like making coffee every morning, brushing your teeth , pulling out your phone when stressed, and driving a certain road when you come home from work; You can take advantage of these habits instead of trying to build a new habit from scratch, for example: if you change your work clothes every evening, you can easily make your workout for the day a new habit of wearing sports clothes instead, and send a text message to friend.

In fact, this is the reason why I love sports in the first place. Every evening I put my gym clothes and exercise equipment on my bed, and in the morning I would go for a walk or a jog; Within a short period, getting up early became a basic habit on which other habits were built later.

2. Make the habit accessible.

Our brain always likes to do the easy things. If we complicate the situation by adding unnecessary steps, we will find it difficult to follow; The simple solution is to make your habit easy.

When I learned how to start working out, I would prepare for it at night, and it only took one step of getting dressed before I was ready to work out; Now, I carry a gym bag, pre-write my exercise programs or assign someone to write them, and also have a specific way of keeping track of all my goals and progress.

So, whatever you choose, prepare for the thing you want to do, and practice it the day before the day you actually do it.

3. Daily Commitment:

It may become an obsession, but it is necessary to stick to your goals daily; If you don't, you are likely to give up the habit.

For me, that means working out every morning without stopping, and sometimes it can't be as intense; In fact, I restrict my movement to recover for at least one day, and instead go hiking , brisk walking, or stretching; In any case, the daily commitment ensures that I stay in shape.

Most people think they shouldn't stick to this plan for life; However, I think everyone should stick to that for the first 30-90 days, and I personally use a device called a Benchmark to track my perseverance and perseverance, as I've been able to change the rules of the game with the help of this device.

 Third, exercise:

The last step is to choose which exercise to do.

My recommendation is to spend the first 30 days just getting into the habit, and that could mean attending classes, walking, doing strength training, and whatever it takes to keep it going seven days a week.

Once you have acquired your habits, there are some types of exercise you can do to achieve positive results; Such as:

1. Aerobic exercises:

Almost everyone knows aerobic exercise, and since I work out in the gym, I always find that the equipment I use the most is the equipment for this type of exercise.

Aerobic exercise is excellent for your heart , and helps you burn calories instantly; However, these exercises don't boost your metabolism , and make you lose fat in the long run (if that's your goal).

Be aware that aerobic exercise is only useful if you exercise a lot, or push yourself to increase your heart rate.

2. Strength exercises:

Strength training sculpts the body and allows you to burn more fat in the long run. This is true for several reasons:

These exercises reduce insulin resistance; If you suffer from diabetes and are trying to reduce the impact of carbohydrates in your body, this is good for you.The process of building muscle burns fat; The more muscle you build , the more calories you burn daily.Recovery after strength training boosts your metabolism for at least 2-3 days.If you ask any fitness expert if aerobic or strength training is better, almost all of them will say that strength training will do the job quickly.

How do you do strength training exercises?

Since strength training is so beneficial, the obvious question is: "Where do I begin?"

From my personal perspective as a trainer, I always recommend starting with stabilization exercises that help you build your core muscles and increase your balance so you don't get injured later.

If these exercises are difficult to learn, I recommend hiring a personal trainer to guide you through your workout or yoga class, improving your stability and basic movements; Once you've mastered some balance and stability exercises, you can do others as well.

Since strength training is so beneficial, the obvious question is: "Where do I begin?"

From my personal perspective as a trainer, I always recommend starting with stabilization exercises that help you build your core muscles and increase your balance so you don't get injured later.

If these exercises are difficult to learn, I recommend hiring a personal trainer to guide you through your workout or yoga class, improving your stability and basic movements; Once you've mastered some balance and stability exercises, you can do others as well.

Conclusion:

Good luck on your journey to change your life for the better; To make things easier for you, remember the following steps:

1. Find your own motives.

2. Set SMART goals.

3. Make habits accessible.

4. Stick to your daily habits.

5. Spend 30 days to build a habit that will help you progress.

6. Do cardio and strength training.