Goal number one when starting a fitness journey is knowing your why.
Write it down so if you ever lose your way, you can go back to your why. When starting an exercise routine, you first must train to specificity.
This simply means designing a plan specific to your goal.
So, if your goal is to be fit and improve your running, you would primarily focus on running.
If your goal is to build muscle, then resistance training is a must for this to happen.
If your goal is fat loss, then you will need a combination of resistance training and look at expending more energy daily by simply moving more.
To lose fat, we need to burn more calories than we consume so we are in a caloric deficit, as it enables our body to burn more fat.
Muscle controls our metabolism and that is the biggest key to fat loss and long-term weight management.
A great starting point with your nutrition is simply start by tuning up your diet.
Less alcohol, drop the sugary drinks, have less butter and oils in your cooking, grill don’t fry.
Simple changes to start will go a long way and this will create a calorie deficit alone and encourage fat loss.
Add in lean protein sources, lean meats, chicken, fish, turkey and eggs, along with great carbohydrate sources like fruits, grains, vegetables, rice, sweet potato and potatoes just to name a few.
It is also essential we add unsaturated fats, like avocados, seeds, almonds, salmon and whole eggs, as these are great for our hormones, insulate us and help protect our vital organs.
You then can go another level and start by weighing your food and tracking what you eat using apps like MyFitnessPal.
If you know your daily intake of calories, you then know that if you are not losing weight, you can make slight adjustments.
A builder does not build a house without knowing his/her measurements, so it makes sense with fat loss to know your variables.
But the most important thing is that you enjoy the journey you choose.
It’s way easier to stay motivated if you enjoy your chosen exercise.
Always strive for progression over perfection. Look at improving and progressing on one new behaviour or exercise weekly.
Start with just a few times a week and build the process up weekly. This will help build momentum at a steady consistent pace. Rome was not built in a day.
Lastly, switch your focus to your wins and the great things you achieved that week over what you felt didn’t go to plan. This is immensely powerful for motivation moving forward.
Leon Stensholm is a Sunshine Coast bodybuilder and personal trainer
bodybyleon.com.au
