READY TO GET FIT?
NOT SURE HOW TO BEGIN?!
If so, I’ve written this guide just for you! While there are many components to achieving a successful fitness transformation, the road to success ALWAYS begins with the basics. If you’re ready to make some big changes and get in shape, don’t allow your motivation & excitement to be replaced with apathy & discouragement because it feels overwhelming trying to figure it all out.
Below you will find 4 essential steps that are crucial to a successful body transformation, as well as the bases you should ensure to cover within each step. So stop winging it. Read the guide below & begin to take control of your fitness journey TODAY!
1. WHERE WILL YOU WORKOUT?
It could be at home, the gym in your building, a fitness club, etc.
2. WHAT WILL YOU DO TO WORKOUT?
To figure this out you could:
- Join a gym that offers full-body workout classes that fit with your schedule.
- Subscribe to Classpass for a month and experiment with different options.
- Hire a 1-on-1 personal trainer
- Get an online personal trainer
- Buy a workout DVD
- Purchase an online workout plan
3. HOW OFTEN WILL YOU WORKOUT?
A good rule of thumb for those who are new or returning to fitness is 3-6x a week depending on your current fitness level & goals.
4. WHEN WILL YOU WORKOUT?
My advice: Workout in the morning if at all possible. It not, the earlier the better, but just decide when & try your best to stick with it.
5. WHAT WORKOUTS WILL YOU DO & ON WHAT DAYS?
Finding workout ideas on YouTube or Instagram can be great but if you want to get the best results you need to structure you workouts and recovery times appropriately.
For beginners who are new to fitness or those returning to fitness after a log hiatus, the best place to start is 3 full-body strength workouts per wk. with a recovery day in between each. So that could look something like strength training M-W-F + doing 1-3, 20-30 minute cardio sessions on non-strength training days (ex. T-TR-S).
Some people best achieve change by making 1-degree shifts, while others have a more all-or-nothing mindset and need to change everything at once. Only you will know. Do what you feel works best for your personality type.
Here are 4 suggestions on how you can begin to eat healthy, starting at the most basic level:
#1: Make your plate with REAL food according to the “plate rule”
No matter where you are, always try to fill your plate with 1/2 green veggies, 1/4 lean protein and 1/4 healthy fats / carbs] & try to avoid 2 of the least healthy things you can put into your body:
- Processed “food”
- Sugar. Especially Added Sugars or sugars in an unnatural state. Natural or not.
[BTW, if #1 was the only thing you did, I promise it wouldn’t take long before you would see & feel an incredible difference with your body.]
Heavily processed food is not just poor in nutrients, it’s also filled with things our body was not meant to digest. Consequently, if your digestive system is impaired it’s very easy to hold onto excess weight & can make it very difficult to take off. 🙁
WHY SHOULD YOU AVOID PROCESSED FOOD & ADDED SUGARS?
Sugar is devoid of nutrients altogether, hence the saying “empty calories”. But there are more side effects to sugar than the calories it comes with. Eating sugary foods causes your blood sugar to spike, your serotonin to rise & your body to produce insulin. In turn, you feel a temporary boost in energy and a sense of pleasure. Afterwards, we feel a “crash” from eating these foods which comes from the subsequent blood sugar & serotonin drop. This causes low energy levels as well as increases cravings. (Whether you’re actually hungry or not, our brain says hey I liked that happy sugar high, let’s do it again!)
Additionally, there’s the insulin effect. Because insulin is a fat storage hormone, when your brain sees insulin it knows you have sufficient blood glucose (blood sugar levels) to give you energy and that there’s no need to mobilize fat stores for fuel, making it harder to lose fat.
#2: Start planning & prepping your own meals with REAL food according to the plate rule.
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#4: Plan your nutrition using a combination of Options 1, 2 & 3
HERE’S AN EXAMPLE:
Obstacle: You signed up for an evening fitness class at a gym by your house that you absolutely loved but ended up canceling your membership because you were just too tired to go after your long evening commute home.
Possible Solutions:
a. Find a gym near your office and go workout right after work before you’re completely wiped out or something else comes up.
b. Look into their morning class schedule & go then or workout from home in the morning.
I cannot stress the importance of deciding on and outlining a plan. A written plan will serve as a tangible reminder & keep you focused on what you need to do to achieve your goal, as well as serve as a good measure of progress.You don’t transform overnight. Which means judging your progress solely on your physical appearance alone on a daily basis is a poor way to assess how you’re doing & a good way to kill your motivation.
Besides, your goal is the “product”. The keys to the product lie in the things you need to do on a daily & weekly basis to achieve your goal, also know as the “process”.
[ If you focus on the process, the product will come. ]
So, get out your phone. Then, open the reminders app. Now, start making your plan!
I hope this guide has given you a good foundation to start from and makes it easier for you to begin your fitness journey. Leave me a comment below and let me know if you have any questions I can answer, or suggestions on things you’d like to see me address.
Good luck babes!
xx ASHLEY
