Congratulations! You made the very smart decision to improve your health, your body and your mind by beginning a new training plan. You found an exercise you think you will enjoy and you're excited, motivated and ready to jump in! But before you begin your new program, there are few things to consider. Here are my five best fitness training tips for beginners (and good reminders for the more experienced). 

LESS IS MORE

When you are just beginning a new exercise program and you are pumped up on the possibilities, it may seem like a good idea to plan to work out for an hour a day six days a week (and try to squeeze in some two-a-days). While this kind of enthusiasm is to be admired, doing too much too fast is a sure fire path to exhaustion, burnout and injury. A more sustainable action plan would be to ease into your new exercise routine. Start by committing to just 20-30 minutes 2-3 days a week. This will allow your body (and mind) time to adapt to your new program and allow for plenty of room for growth well into the future.

FOOD FOR FUEL

You may be tempted to jump start your exercise program by going on a strict diet. After all, the key to weight loss is to move more and eat less, right? Not so fast. While it is always a good idea to try to improve your diet (if needed), it is not a great idea to slash calories at the same time as starting a new exercise program. By drastically cutting calories you could be setting yourself up for failure. Food is the fuel that your body runs on, so less fuel will leave you feeling low on energy. Concentrate instead on improving the quality of the food you are eating. Work first on adding more whole foods, fruits and vegetables. If you need more help, work with a professional to determine the amount of calories you should be consuming for maintenance or to lose weight.

CONSISTENCY & PATIENCE

Everyone who ever succeeded at anything started out as a beginner. If you spend too much time browsing fitness accounts on Instagram or staring down the other people at the gym, you may need the reminder that most of these people have been working towards their goals for years. Success in fitness lies in two key factors. (Lucky for us mere mortals, the factors are not genetics and will-power.) The key factors for success in fitness are consistency and patience. Understand that anything worth doing is going to take time, hard work, consistency and patience. It doesn't happen overnight, but if you keep working towards your goal, it will happen. 

WARM UP AND STRETCH

Before beginning your workout, it is always a good idea to warm up, stretch and foam roll. (More on foam rolling here soon!) If you skip the warm up and stretching you are missing an important component of any fitness program and could be setting yourself up for injury.

Flexibility benefits include correcting muscle imbalances, increasing joint range of motion, decreasing muscle tension and relieving joint stress. What's not to love about that?

With these five tips, I hope you start off your new exercise program on the right foot. I am sure with a little hard work and consistency you can achieve any goal you put your mind to. 

Any questions about your new workout program? Free free to contact me with questions or training advice. 

-Lea 

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