There are many reasons why a person would want to start their fitness journey. It may be because they want to look more toned or shed some weight for health concerns. Whatever the reason, pursuing it is a commitment that requires consistency and dedication. If you plan on improving your physique, it’s helpful to do it for the right motivation. This way, you’ll strive to pursue your goals, even when it becomes challenging. Additionally, it’s best to do it one step at a time to ensure you won’t feel overwhelmed.
If you don’t know how to start pursuing a healthier lifestyle, here are some tips to get you started:
1. List Your Fitness Goals
Before you start changing your habits, you should first identify why you’ll do it. You can list down your goals before you embark on your fitness journey so you can find the proper routine that’ll help you accomplish them. For instance, if you want to gain muscle mass or lower your body fat percentage, focusing on weight training will help you achieve your goals faster. On the other hand, if you want to build your cardiovascular endurance to prepare for a marathon, you should include cardio exercises like running in your workout regimen.
If you can, be specific about the things you want to achieve. You can write long-term goals like your target body composition or short-term tasks you want to accomplish like eating more fruits weekly. Writing your goals will help you track whether you’re improving or not. Furthermore, you can identify which aspects of your routine are aiding your journey and which ones are trying to hold you back. This way, you can adjust your daily tasks and develop healthy habits to help you achieve your target.
2. Plan Your Workouts
There are various ways you can achieve your desired physique. For instance, you can eat foods that boost your metabolism so your body can burn the foods you eat more efficiently. Alternately, you can switch your diet to maintain a calorie deficit to aid weight loss.
However, one of the most effective ways to speed up your fitness journey is working out. Incorporating some type of activity into your routine may help improve your overall physical health. Furthermore, it can target the body parts you want to enhance or tone. So, if you’re going to embark on a fitness journey, you should plan a workout regimen that suits your level and preferences. You can make a weekly or monthly workout plan to make it more manageable to follow your routine.
Some beginners often get a personal training session since they need guidance in performing various movements when they start working out. It’s especially helpful if you want to learn how to lift weights or perform compound exercises that require proper form. You must learn basic techniques to ensure you won’t get injured once you start working out regularly.
3. Gradually Change Your Diet
One challenging aspect of pursuing a healthier lifestyle is changing your eating habits. After all, it isn’t easy to give up some products you always consume. However, if you want to succeed, it’s best to make a positive change in your workouts and your diet.
You don’t need to suddenly commit to a strict eating plan once you pursue a fitness journey. Doing so may only make you feel less motivated and more prone to relapsing to your old eating habits. If you want to make a healthy change you can maintain long-term, do it step-by-step.
For instance, if you usually eat sweets like chocolate or cake after your meals, switch them to healthier alternatives like fruits. This way, your body won’t feel shocked by your new meal plan. Over time, you won’t feel the need to consume sweet treats after you eat.
If you need to monitor your calorie intake, try to find healthier alternatives to the goods you usually eat. For instance, you can opt for plant-based milk like oat milk or almond milk instead of whole milk since they contain fewer calories. Although it may seem insignificant, the small habits you change in your daily routine will contribute to your improvement.
4. Find A Buddy
Although it’s not a prerequisite, finding someone who also wants to pursue a healthier lifestyle may make it less stressful for you to stick to your routine. For one, you’ll have someone to encourage you whenever you feel unmotivated. Also, working out with a friend may make it easier for you to complete your exercises when you head to the gym. After all, going to a fitness center can feel intimidating, especially when you’re not familiar with the equipment or exercises.
Your workout buddy can be anyone. They can be your relative or a friend who also wants to change their habits. Having someone you know as your fitness buddy will allow you to feel comfortable around them. Also, you can rely on them whenever you’re facing roadblocks in your fitness journey.
5. Learn To Celebrate Small Achievements
Pursuing a fitness journey is a great way to jumpstart a healthier lifestyle. If you develop positive habits, it’ll be easier for you to practice them even when you’ve achieved your goal. However, it’s undeniable that it can be challenging to follow a healthier routine, especially when you don’t seem to be improving.
Hence, one method that can encourage you is celebrating your achievements. If you fulfill the short-term goals you set like drinking more water or completing your workouts, you can reward yourself.
There are various ways you can congratulate yourself whenever you hit your goals. For instance, you can pamper yourself and get a massage or buy clothes you want. Doing these things can help keep you positive and ensure you won’t feel disappointed, especially if you ever hit a plateau.
Overall, acknowledging your hard work and celebrating small wins is an excellent way to reinvigorate your journey and remind you of your progress.
Things To Avoid When Pursuing A Fitness Journey
You should avoid some things once you decide to pursue a fitness journey. These things can hold you back or discourage you from following your plan. Here are some:
- Crash Diets
If you want to lose weight and keep it off, you should avoid doing a crash diet. Although you may see the number on the scale decrease once you practice this, you can quickly gain it back once you return to your regular eating habits. Not only is this practice unsustainable, but it can also be unhealthy for your body. So, instead of crash dieting, you should prioritize healthy eating habits.
For instance, you shouldn’t miss your meals just because you don’t want to end up in a calorie surplus. You can consume low-calorie options to ensure you feel full and stay within your recommended calorie intake.
- No Rest Days
Exercising regularly can help you reach your goals faster. However, if you do it without letting your body rest, you may only end up hindering your progress. If you perform rigorous workouts a few times a week, you should allow your body to rest. You can alternate your exercise and rest days so your muscles will have time to recover.
Also, opting to rest when you don’t feel good will prevent you from getting injured on sick. For instance, if you’re still sore, it may be best to rest instead of lifting heavyweights.
- Comparing Yourself To Others
You should remember that your fitness journey is different from others. So, you should avoid comparing your progress with other people since it may only affect your mindset. For example, you shouldn’t feel bad if you lose fewer pounds than someone who’s also trying to lose weight. After all, various factors can affect a person’s weight loss. Constantly comparing your achievements to others may only make you feel unmotivated.
Also, it may affect your mental well-being and push you to stop pursuing your goals. Instead, try to focus on the changes you’re experiencing in your body. This way, you can maintain a positive attitude throughout your fitness journey.
- Setting Unrealistic Expectations
If your goals are too ambitious, you may be unable to achieve them, no matter how hard you work. Also, if you have unrealistic goals, you may not even try to pursue them since they’re too difficult to achieve.
Hence, it’d be best to focus on creating plans you can do at your own pace. It can be something simple and easy to accomplish. This way, you won’t push your body past its limits just to meet them. Also, setting attainable goals may help maintain your positive mental state throughout your fitness journey.
Final Thoughts
You should approach your fitness journey as a lifelong commitment instead of a short-term activity you’ll end once you reach your goals. After all, your hard work will be put to waste if you revert to your old habits once you reach your dream physique. If you’re pursuing a healthier lifestyle, try to take things one step at a time.
Also, it’d help if you did it for the right reasons so you’ll be motivated to follow your routine, even when things get difficult. Overall, achieving your goals is doable as long as you take your time and maintain a positive attitude towards the changes in your life.
