[dropcap]I[/dropcap]t’s that time of year when everyone decides it’s ‘their year’ to get fit and get that beach body that they always dreamt of. This is an exciting and daunting place to be for many of you.
Exciting to think that in 6 months you could be in the best shape of your life and daunting, as you don’t have the foggiest idea on how to get there. Well the daunting part is no more; I’ve got you covered! Here are some top tips to help get your journey started.
The first thing you need to understand is that you MUST set yourself a goal that is achievable, measurable, realistic and has a time frame. This will keep you on track. If you have a goal of losing 3 stone for example; set yourself 3 smaller goals to break it down so it doesn’t appear to be so daunting.
Nutrition – We all know that nutrition plays a huge part in achieving your fitness goals. If you are looking to lose fat, please remember that just cutting out carbohydrates isn’t the answer. If you remove carbohydrates, you need to increase your good fats and protein. Try downloading ‘My fitness pal’ to your phone and logging your food and drink for a few days and looking over how much carbohydrates, proteins and fats you are consuming. There will be plenty of foods that you will not realsie what you are consuming. Use this period to educate yourself on what foods contain what; this is an important time in your new fitness journey.
Training – Hit the weights and hit them hard! Train with a purpose, you are there to achieve a goal, not to have a social workout and watch TV on apiece of cardio equipment. Weight training will burn more calories than a conventional cardio session. Be sure to write everything you do in the weights room, the weight, sets and reps. You can also note down how you are feeling on the day during the session.
The weights section may seem daunting at first, but remember everyone was a newbie at some point. You will actually find that most people are happy to lend a hand if you need it. The fitness world is full of camaraderie and we all like to help others out.
To help alleviate some fears, here are some general rules of thumb for gym etiquette:
- If you pick a 10kg dumbbell up from the rack, put it back in the same place. The same goes for plates, 20kg’s next to 20’s etc.
- If someone is standing in front of mirror training, don’t stand in front of him or her. Chances are they aren’t just checking themselves out but using the mirror to check form.
- If you sweat on it, clean it!
- Don’t interrupt someone mid set, ever.
- Do ask to work in on sets if the machine you want is being used. You can work during each other’s rest periods.
Good luck to everyone starting out for the first time this year. If you aren’t sure about what you should be doing, please consult a fitness professional. Your time is far too valuable to waste hours a week getting nowhere!
If you haven’t seen any of our amazing transformations yet, or would like more information about our personal training services, click here.
RG
