Kickstarting a Successful Fitness Journey: What You Need to Know

If you scroll through Instagram and other social media sites gazing longingly at fitness models, it could be time for you to start a fitness journey of your own" There’s no point gazing at these super fit models and hoping one day you’ll wake up looking like them. You need to make sure you’re taking all of the right steps to get yourself in that condition. Here’s how to kickstart a successful fitness journey!


Eat Right!
Before you start hitting the gym, it’s a good idea to sort your diet out first. Your diet is more important than exercise. So many people think that they can eat what they want as long as they go to the gym, but this isn’t the case! Your diet should be good at least 80% of the time. You can have treats in moderation, but don’t go overboard .Tracking your food with a good app is recommended, so you can make sure you’re getting the right amounts of protein, fats, and carbs. Try making healthier versions of your favourite foods to begin with and see what you think. There are all kinds of alternatives if you just look online. It shouldn’t take you too long to get into this new routine. Just make sure you don’t undo it all on the weekend by having a whole cheat weekend! Cassey from Blogilates says "abs are shown in the gym, but made in the kitchen"!


Start Off Slowly
When it comes to exercise, you want to start off slowly. This is a lifetime thing, not something you do for a few weeks or months and then give up. If you hit it too hard to begin with, you may begin to burn out after a few weeks or months. Then you might end up having more time off to compensate! Go for once a week to begin with, and slowly build yourself up. You should have 1 or 2 rest days per week too. Walking and swimming on those days is OK, but you should focus on resting up as your body needs plenty of that too! I do yoga every day, even rest days, then mix it up with other activities such as cycling, running or pilates. Remember to listen to your body!

Do Your Research
Don’t just eat and exercise without finding out why certain things work. Find out why some foods are good/bad for us. Find out why resistance training is great, and why cardio is. Find out what happens to your body. Get interested in it! The more interested in it you are, the more progress you’ll make! If you want to learn more about your body and how it works take a look at Cameron Diaz's "The Body Book" it's a great read!

Find The Right Exercise For You
Sticking to your fitness journey is all about finding an exercise style you really like. Mixing up different styles can keep things fun and exciting too. You can try biking, yoga, HIIT, kettlebells, weights, or something else. There are even bootcamps like Prestige Boot Camp to get you off on the right foot. You’ll know when you’ve found something you really love! The great thing is there are so many fitness videos online that you can try many of them at home for free without commiting! It's how I discovered Blogilates and it's still my go-to site when I need a real workout.

Invest In Good Clothes and Accessories
Good gym wear and accessories can help keep you motivated in the long run. Buying nice gym clothing will mean you feel good when you go to the gym. Dressing in baggy clothing isn’t very motivating! You should also make sure you have an armband for your phone, some decent headphones, a nice water bottle, and proper trainers. Not only will you look good, you won’t injure yourself either!

Take Progress Pictures
If you want to continue along your fitness journey feeling motivated, you must take progress pictures to see how far you’ve come. Take one right at the start of the journey, no matter how bad you feel you look. You’ll be so excited when you see the weight coming off and your body shaping up, it’ll motivate you to keep going! You can’t just rely on scales to tell you how well you’re doing. Make sure you take pictures, and don’t forget to measure yourself either.  You don't have to share these with anyone, just keep them to yourself!

Write Down Your Progress
As well as taking pictures, write down your progress in the gym. I like to write my workouts down beforehand, as it helps me to get the best workout in before I go. I’ll write down what weight I used, the settings on machines, and things like that. They help to remind me where I’m at and I can see how far I’ve come too! I also write down if I've down pilates or yoga on the calendar.. it just keeps me on track.

Use these pointers to help you kickstart your fitness journey and you’ll do well! If you’re not enjoying it for whatever reason, take a step back and assess why. Maybe you need to change your attitude towards a healthy diet and exercise first. Maybe you have an unhealthy body image. Or maybe you've not found the right exercise for you! Whatever it is, get it sorted and then do these things for your health!

Do you have some tips of your own? Let me know in the comments below and share your fitness journey!

Stay safe, x