Today I’d like to talk about getting started in health and fitness, we all have to start somewhere, I remember the first time I was in the gym, I was nervous, unfit, self conscious and didn’t have a clue what I was doing.  These days I walk in the gym, chat to the staff, say hello to a few of the regulars that I see all the time, I’m fit and I know exactly what I’m doing for a workout that day. This all came about by using progressive fitness goals.

The first few weeks of going to the gym or starting a home workout are the hardest weeks. This is because your body is not used to the extra physical activity and you have undergone a whole lifestyle change. Most people blow it and take the easy option of giving up and heading back to the sofa with a pizza.  As you are reading this I expect that you are not that type of person, you have my respect.

To keep you on track my best advice is to start setting yourself some progressive goals and keep improving on those goals. This will keep you motivated.

A lady emailed me the other day telling me that she was clinically obese and had no idea where to begin to lose weight.

Progressive goals are the way forward for her, my reply was the following:

Dear Amanda,

Try this, go out the front of the house and look for the nearest tree/lamppost which ever is nearer.  Run to the tree and run back again to your house.

Great you are done for today, read the rest tomorrow.

Day2 Today’s task is to run to the first tree, then on to the second tree and then back to you house. You are done for today go have a rest.

Day3 Run to the first tree, then to the second, now on to the third and run back to your house

Keep this up and you’ll be running marathons in a year’s time, keep building upon your goals.

Take care

Hopefully my reply has explained to you what progressive goals are.  Start with a small goal, make it achievable, go and do it, you will probably think it was easy. Next day go out and add a bit more to that goal, run a little further, cycle a bit further, lift a bit more weight.  Make the goals easy and progressive. Fitness is only as hard as you make it, so make it easy for yourself.

Decide on you ultimate heath and fitness goal. It could be lose a stone, tone up, build some muscle, run marathon, swim the channel, you decide its your ultimate goal. Now decide how you are going to get there, seek some advice on this if you are not sure email , start of small and build on top of that initial first step.

Keep this up and you will see yourself progressing workout by workout, it will give you a sense of achievement, you will start to feel really good about yourself and your whole attitude towards fitness will change.  You’ll see it as easy enjoyable and fulfilling.

Using progressive goals is a great way to start off exercising, it will keep you going through those first few tough weeks by giving you a feeling of achievement and make you proud of yourself.

Like the saying goes “Rome wasn’t built in a day" it started with one brick and the rest of Rome was built on top of that one brick.  So go out and run to that first tree, it can be your first brick, and add a new brick each workout you have, keep you focus on improving and before you no it all you bricks will have built a city, and you’ll be running marathons.

Aim big and start little!

Until next time keep improving!

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