Healthy Living

3 Essential Tips For A Beginner Fitness Routine

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Even the fittest people in the world started somewhere and nobody is born toned, muscular, or super fit. Becoming healthy through beginner fitness is a difficult process that takes time, dedication, and strength of will if you want to carry it through to achieve the best results possible. Not only is hard work required, but a complete lifestyle change that includes dietary adjustments and a positive mental attitude is also essential.

Like most things, when beginning exercise you will need to begin slowly and work your way up to more intense and physical exercises and while even relatively easier workouts can seem hard for a beginner, time, patience, and ultimately visible results will give you the drive to continue to become a fitness master before you know it.

But before you begin, there are some important things you need to do, including:

  • Finding the right place
  • Assessing your level
  • Planning out a routine

Going to a gym will almost certainly be scary for most people the first time while knowing your limits and what you are physically able to do is extremely important and you will need to plan a routine around your current work and home life.

Finding the Right Place

Pretty much everyone is intimidated the first time they go to a gym and see fitness fanatics running like Olympic athletes, pumping iron like Arnold, or rowing like they are practicing for the Oxford vs. Cambridge race. This is normal, especially if you have never been to a gym before and it is essential that you find a place in which you are comfortable.

Fortunately, despite outward appearances, most people in gyms are very friendly and will be pleased to help you with a workout and it isn’t uncommon for gym members to give advice or help with machinery if they spot someone struggling. Also, most gyms such as Fitness 19 have professional trainers on hand that are paid to help and will guide you through your experience.

Assessing Your Level

It is extremely important that you know your fitness level and begin at a suitable pace. If you go into a gym and immediately try an uphill run, heavy lifting, or a sport you have never played before, you will definitely hurt yourself and possibly cause long-term damage. Basically, if you have never worked out before then start at the lowest levels; no one will laugh at you or judge you because that’s exactly where they started themselves.

Aerobic, muscular and cardio levels must be assessed and most gyms employ trained professionals that can do this for you, however, some simple techniques you can use to help them before you go is to measure your resting heart rate by counting your pulse, do as many push-ups as you can and briskly walk for 10 minutes to assess your elevated heart rate.

Planning Out a Routine

One of the most difficult barriers for many people when starting an exercise routine is fitting it into their daily lives. The demands of the modern world mean that it is very difficult to begin a new routine and work it around the home life and work-life when we have children, a marriage, or a demanding career, but the good news is that just 1 hour a day is enough to achieve meaningful results, so working with your trainer on a schedule is essential.

Even the busiest person can donate 1 hour per day but when to use this hour is an important decision. Most people start an exercise routine either before they go to work or immediately after they finish, but this isn’t possible for everyone. Studies have shown that it is better to exercise in the evening since we typically need less oxygen later in the day than we do in the early hours, therefore the same results can be achieved with less effort.

Karla Urwitz
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