I hope your New Years resolutions are going well! I know a lot of people that are starting theirs this week, opting to begin fresh on the first full week of the new year. Here are a few points I want to make about starting a fitness journey.
One thing I want to impress on all people starting their fitness journey, is that it’s exactly that, a journey. It takes time and patience to achieve goals. Unfortunately, there is not a magic pill, diet or workout routine. It comes down to hard work, patience and dedication. But holy cow is it worth it.
I am sharing this side-by-side comparison of myself to illustrate this point. These pictures are roughly 6 years apart. It takes time! So don’t get discouraged when you hit a lull, or you’re not seeing results immediately, it will happen! I promise you.
One thing I tell my clients regularly is that you will be among the last ones to notice changes. You see yourself every day, so seeing the changes isn’t as evident as it is to people that see you occasionally.
Way too often I see people come into the gym in January, or whenever they’re starting out, and they are gung-ho! They’re excited and they’re going to try and do 10 years of work in one week. It doesn’t happen that way.
The biggest piece of advice I can give is to START SLOW. Ease your way into a workout routine. Too many people start too hard and burn out or get injured, and that’s why they stop coming into the gym.
For the most part, my clients are either new to the gym completely or are returning after a significant break (years more often than not) and I always start them slowly in the first few weeks and progressively increase intensity and load. This leads to proper mechanics and habits more than anything. You’re going to be sore in the first few weeks, but it shouldn’t be debilitating.
It would be irresponsible and negligent of me to have a brand new client do the exact workout that I do myself. I have been doing this for years, my body is conditioned for that kind of stress. Someone that has never worked out before is not ready for heavy, deep squats, followed by burnouts on leg extensions.
Be reasonable with your abilities and expectations. Healthy and sustainable weight loss, which is what we’re mostly looking for, is 1-2 pounds lost a week. Initially it may be higher than that, but that’s mostly water weight. 1-2 pounds is a good marker to shoot for. And if it doesn’t happen one week, DON’T WORRY ABOUT IT! Weight fluctuates so much and that’s why I’m not a big fan of the scale.
Speaking of the scale, use it sparingly. Weight is not the end all, be all, of fitness goals. I prefer to use the term “fat loss” rather than “weight loss.” Burning fat is what we’re trying to do, not necessarily lose weight. We’ve all seen the comparison of a pound of fat vs. a pound of muscle, if not Google it. Use things like how your clothes fit, or how you look in the mirror, rather than being a slave to the scale. The scale doesn’t always tell the full story.
Don’t be afraid of the weight room! Cardio is great, and should be done by everybody, but strength training should be done by everyone too. I am going to go into a lot more detail about this in later posts, it’s that important.
And don’t be afraid to ask for advice. First of all, the big scary guys or super fit girls are typically the nicest people in the world. And we LOVE to talk about lifting weights. Outside of Jesus, talking about lifting is my favorite thing. Please don’t interrupt us when we are actually lifting, but afterwards don’t hesitate to ask questions. The best piece of advice my father gave me when I first started lifting weights as a 14-year old kid, “Watch what the biggest guy in the gym is doing, and do what he does.” There’s a lot to be said for that.
And maybe the biggest thing I can say is, enjoy it. Enjoy the process. Enjoy trying something new. Enjoy building the body you’ve always wanted.
So be patient. If you’re disciplined, show up and work hard, eat right and drink plenty of water, you WILL see results. I promise you.
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