Fresh Start Fitness

You have to know what you’re doing before you start doing it. The gym is the perfect place to practice. You don’t need to know how to do the moves before you come take a class: an instructor will demonstrate the moves and you can follow along imperfectly until you get it down. Now, I’m not saying you should head to the weight room and start throwing around a barbell without supervision because that would be unsafe and frankly idiotic, but grab a reasonable pair of dumbbells and turn a video on YouTube and have at it. Friends who work out would love to show you a few moves. Or better yet, hire a trainer to coach you 1:1 while you build confidence! As my mentor says, “It’s not rocket science. It’s moving your body.”

You have to be really super motivated. Discipline beats motivation. It’s okay if you don’t love exercise. You don’t have to be “all in”, all the time. Just show up, and sometimes you’ll give 100% and sometimes you’ll give 20% and that’s normal and human and still beneficial. Like building muscle, building a habit takes time. The mindset can grow.

You have to wear the right shoes and athletic wear. I used to train a woman who worked out in cut-off pajama pants covered in cat hair, and it didn’t stop her from moving her body and putting forth great effort. Now that I’m seasoned in this industry, of course I have favorite brands for different purposes. But don’t let your clothes or shoes hold you back from what you want to accomplish. You’re the magic, not your outfit.

You have to burn “X” number of calories. Maximum calories = maximum benefit! False. High intensity exercise is great for heart health and it can burn the most calories in a single session. It is also hard on your body, makes you hungry and more likely to overeat afterwards, takes longer recovery time, and takes time and energy away from other types of exercise that are beneficial in different ways. Strength training, low intensity, Pilates, yoga, swimming, stretching, biking, walking… all serve multiple purposes and benefits. A designated strength training regimen can lead to increased muscle size and bone mineral density: your bones bulk up to support the shape and size of muscles. So you’re not just able to lift heavy things, you’re strengthening your bones to prepare for aging and independent living. Riding my bike is good for my body, but it’s also good for my soul when I feel like I’m 10 years old and zooming on the trail. And while I love how my body feels after lifting weights, I love how my brain feels after a long run.

You especially should exercise after you’ve overeaten bad food. Exercise is not a punishment for what you ate, it’s a celebration of what your body can do. Food is fuel to move our bodies and also fun to enjoy. Bodies need carb, fat, and protein to survive and thrive. When I know I’ve overindulged in food that doesn’t support my heath and fitness goals, I exercise as usual which usually convinces my brain to be more disciplined with eating habits, and I move on.

You have to track your workouts on your watch or they don’t count. You already know this one is stupid. Ditch your watch for a few days or weeks and enjoy how it feels to move without being consumed by the watch data. Let’s use it as a tool and make it work for us, don’t be enslaved to the technology.