What YOU Need to Get Fit and Stay Fit

Have you always wanted to get fit but don’t know where to begin? Or maybe you are already fit, but feeling like you’ve hit a plateau and you are bored with your current exercise program? Not to worry, you are not alone, this is very common in gyms and within the fitness industry across the board.

First thing first, where to get started. You need to decide where the best workout place will be for you. If you’ve been thinking about joining a gym make sure before you make the commitment that the gym is the place you intend to get fit and stay fit. Once you have made that commitment, take advantage of any orientation trainings the gym has to offer, try a group exercise class and ask the fitness staff questions. A great way to hold yourself accountable is to log your workouts and meals whether or not you decide to have a personal trainer, always report to yourself first and be honest.

If you have hit a plateau, do a quick check in with yourself:

Take your measurements or have a body fat test done.

Disregard the number on the scale and ask yourself, “how do my clothes fit?

After taking measurements or clothes fit into consideration, you may find it’s not a plateau at all, just the scale tells you so. Muscle is denser than fat, so as you tone, you’ll become much more lean without all that fat hanging around as extra inches on your body. If you have been doing the exact routine for some time, you might need to change it up a bit.

If you already have a plan in place, mix it up, keep it interesting, and keep your body guessing. It’s a great idea to change your cardio between impact (hiking, running, walking for example) and non-impact or low-impact (swimming, elliptical, biking, spinning). Such changes in your routine are not only good for your mind, so that you can avoid boredom, they are good for your body too. Remember that an all impact focus is too tough on your body and no impact at all is not tough enough. Impact exercises can help strengthen your bones, but too much will weaken them. Non/Low-impact exercises won’t give your bones any impact to go by and therefore could in turn weaken them.

Whether you are new to fitness or a fitness pro, be sure to add in one to three sessions of strength training every week. It boosts your metabolism and gets you leaner and stronger faster. Start out slow with a few strength training exercises and build on and/or mix it up using machines, free weights, bands, or just your body weight but always allow at least 48 hours of rest time between each strength training session. If you’re at a gym, ask the fitness staff questions about what to do, at home you can go online and search for additional exercises and resources. Always feel free to ask. Fitness professionals love to answer your questions!