How to Start Working Out for Beginners!
Happy Wednesday Squadies! How many of you are just starting out on your lean journey? Maybe you’ve tried it before and it didn’t work out and you’re ready to take another crack at it, or maybe you are COMPLETELY new to working out and have no idea where to start! Whatever the reason may be, today I am going to help you navigate through the world of working out! I will be talking ALL about how to start working out for beginners!
Why Exercise in the first place?
Great question! As a beginner, working out may seem like a difficult, tiring task with no promise of results. The truth is, no matter what your goals are in life, working out can help you REACH or get closer to those goals.
HOW?
Exercise can not only help you improve your physical appearance, whether you are looking to lose weight, tone, or gain muscle. Although this is a great benefit of it, the benefits of working out go deeper than that! Exercise can help improve your physical and mental health, it helps you feel more energized, and can make you feel happier in general. Basically, working out can help improve SO many areas of your life and is worth trying no matter what your goals are.
Where Do I Start?!
There are SO many possibilities when it comes to working out for beginners. What kind of exercises should you do? How long? When? Where? How?! It can seem overwhelming at first! I am going to break EVERYTHING down, step by step, so you can get started, find what works best for you, and BE SUCCESSFUL in your lean journey!
Step 1: Identify your WHY & Set appropriate goals
Think about WHY you want to start your lean journey in the first place. What’s motivating you? What pushed you to make that jump? For me, a BIG source of motivation is my family. I want to be the BEST dad I can be. I want the ENERGY to be able to run my buisness while still having energy to play with my kids before and after. I want to give them the BEST and HAPPIEST version of myself AND I want to be there to see them grow up. Working out helps keep me energized, happy and healthy so I can do all these things. Write down YOUR why, whatever it may be, and ALWAYS keep it in mind. This will help you stay motivated which is NEEDED, especially at the beginning of your lean journey. With your WHY in mind, start setting some goals, some short term, some long term. Make sure these goals are ACHIEVABLE. A huge reason why people don’t reach their goals is because they make them too big. Of course, it is ENCOURAGED to dream big - but create some smaller, achievable goals that can help lead you to that ultimate big goal. Try setting weekly, monthly and yearly goals. Heres an example of each:Weekly goal: Complete 5 workouts this weekMonthly goal: be able to FINISH all workouts ( no skipping exercises!) by the end of the monthYearly goal: Build Endurance, so you can run longer distances. Everyone’s goals will look different, everyone WHY will look different. Just focus on what YOU want to achieve in life and areas you think you can improve, and use that to help you come up with good goals for yourself.
Step 2: Work on your MINDSET
Working out for beginners can seem like a difficult task. It is easy to look at someone working out and say “ I can’t do that!” and maybe you can’t right now - but that is totally okay! Everyone starts somewhere, and comparing yourself to someone who’s been working out for years is NOT a good source of motivation. The only person you should be comparing yourself to is YOURSELF. Don’t try to beat your best friend's highest rep count, try to beat yours from the previous day. Don’t compare your body to those you see on the internet, compare how you FEEL now and how you felt last week. It is also important to keep a positive mindset while working out. If you are constantly thinking “this is hard” or “I can’t do this” or “this is a waste of time” these thoughts will hold you back! You will NOT be pushing your hardest and you will NOT see the results you want and deserve. Instead, hype yourself up, tell yourself you can do it because the truth is - YOU CAN! This is so so important to keep in mind when you start working out as a beginner!
Step 3: Find a Fitness Plan that works for you
Not that you are mentally ready to start your journey, it is time to find your workout routine! The BEST way to do this when first getting started is to find a program you can follow along with - so the work is done for you! As a beginner, it may be difficult to know what you should be working out, when, how, and how often to do so. Finding a program that offers you a pre-made schedule will be a super helpful key! LEANSQUAD offers a 30-day lean challenge - no equipment needed! If you aren’t ready to invest in weights, no need to! Our workouts are only 30 minutes a day and are all FOLLOW ALONG! This makes it super easy to follow along and make sure you are doing all the exercises correctly. Not ready to commit? We have a FREE 1-week trial program you can try to give you an idea of what you will be signing up for! The 30-day challenge is great for beginners and gives you access to me, Phil Mackenzie, and my LEANTEAM plus a whole group of squadies who are doing the program with you, so you will have all the resources you need to be successful!
Step 4: Get into a routine and STAY CONSISTENT!
Once you have your workouts figured out, make sure you are creating a ROUTINE for yourself and stay consistent with it! Take the time to plan out your day, when can you fit in your workout? Can you wake up an hour early? Do you have some time in the evening? Whatever you end up choosing, make sure you STAY consistent with it for AT LEAST A WEEK before deciding if it will work for you or not. If it really isn’t working, re-examine your schedule and try something new. I typically like to wake up early every morning and get my workout in before starting my day. It leaves me feeling energized and gives no room for excuses! Remember we are all different so what works for you may look different!
Step 5: Listen to your body
Just like anything in life, your body needs to get used to working out. It is something NEW and different, your body isn't used to dealing with that much strain on a regular basis. That being said, it is totally NORMAL to feel minor aches and pains when first working out. You WILL feel more tired than usual and you WILL need to work HARD, especially during the first few weeks. You will eventually get the hang of things and will be out of the woods, you will feel energized and EXCITED to get your workouts in! Throughout your first few weeks, it is also important to listen to your body. If you are feeling lots of aches and pains, or just really aren’t feeling right then give yourself a break! Take a day off or take things a bit slower to start. There you have it squadies! My tip tips on how to start working out for beginners