You've been thinking about taking up a fitness journey for a while. The time has come to do the work as you are only too aware of what further neglect and avoidance will do to you, but where do you start? There are literally so many options that the overwhelm is very real. You only need to take a few steps in the right direction and this article is aimed and giving you solid advice and how to begin and keep it going. You can do it!
First, determine your goal - do you want to lose weight? Gain some muscle? Whatever your goal is, make sure you're doing what's best for YOU. I cannot emphasise enough how important goals are that are specifically for you and not other people and I work with many, many people that have actually held goals for others and what they have realised is not only is the journey extremely tough and disappointing, but should they achieve those goals, there is an incredible sense of loss and deflation as they come to the realisation that it wasn't their goal - it was to impress somebody else and possibly prove a point not worth proving.
I think one of the best things you can do for goal setting is actually read the book Atomic Habits by James Clear. I've read many, many books and it's quite rare that one of them has a huge impact, with material that you not only can benefit from yourself, but that I would also teach my clients and include in courses and the book Atomic Habits mentioned looking at the system that you use rather than specific goals themselves and I highly recommend this framework for success and a new way of looking at the journey ahead of you.
When choosing your goals it's important to be honest with what you actually want and look at whether you want it out of desperation or anger because of a deep-rooted belief that you're not good enough or don't deserve something. Are you trying to prove a point to you or other people, or are you actually working on something that will specifically increase and improve your enjoyment of life as an individual related to either physical fitness or mental health? Obviously there is an overlap here and there is a huge interaction between the body and the mind. My experience with goals is unless they are deeply meaningful at some level and inspire you then they are mostly dreams, or things you think you want because of what you hope they will bring.
It's crucial that you understand fitness is a journey and what I mean by that is let's say you are currently sat on the sofa desperate to change and well aware that health left a long, long time ago. Let's be honest, you have a big journey ahead of you and are not going to start running 5K, half marathons and break records. You have to realise and accept that you start where you start and with what you have right now. Not The ideal that you would like or dream of, but the you that is here right now reading this very article.
To be completely honest, when you can accept that as a start point and also take responsibility for actively managing the first few steps of that journey you will see how progress comes from stepping up. Almost exactly the same as motivation and confidence that people believe is the missing ingredient in order to get started. My advice here is to begin and that act of stating I am doing this, it has begun, will allow all of the things that you thought were essential and needed to fall into place as a function of starting.
A very helpful first step would be figuring out what type of exercises you're interested in doing as well as what your current fitness level is. In addition to exercise, diet plays a major role in the fitness journey and should be taken into consideration. There are 2 ways of looking at this - 1 - You choose exercises and training styles that you can do and enjoy 2 - You choose something that you may not like in order to create the discipline that leads to results in fitness and other areas of life Many people have taken up running that actually hate running - why? They know the method is not as important as what the method brings in terms of results. Be warned - number 2 is not for everyone and certainly not recommended, but if you were nodding your head then you have your answer and way in :)
As more people start to realise the dangers of an unhealthy lifestyle, the number of obese or overweight people will hopefully begin to decrease with the right support over time. However, for most people it is all about taking back control as it starts with you. Be honest, what can you do today, or even right now to make an impact? It really can be that easy and this is a powerful way of seeing how much control and influence you can have in your life. It's not just about numbers on a scale, it's about quality of life and longevity into your old age. The best way to get started is by making small changes to your daily routine. Another tip is to make small changes in your diet. Work towards eliminating one unhealthy food item from your diet at a time while filling up on healthy alternatives like fruits and vegetables.
There are so many ways to get healthy, but the best way is to find what works for you. Whether it's walking, running, lifting weights or practising yoga, as long as you're getting your body moving and breathing deeply to release tension and oiling the joints, you're doing something right. To summarise - start and declare ownership today! Because anything is better than nothing and the act of stepping up will build healthy habits over time and I wish you success in your journey
