Fitness Tips for Beginners (and anyone really) from a Beginner
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO JOIN A GYM. There are tons of fitness videos on youtube and websites dedicated to at home or no-equipment workouts. If the gym gives you anxiety, don’t go to one. There is no sense in making yourself uncomfortable just because people tell you it’s what you’re supposed to do.
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO DO PUSH UPS, PULL UPS, BENCH PRESSES, OR SIT UPS IN ORDER TO GET FIT. If you’re like me, and you hate majority of the “required” exercises that everyone and their mom tells you that you have to do, then don’t do them. There are tons of other, much more appealing exercises out there that will give you the same results as the “required” ones. Find out what you like to do and then do it.
YOU DO NOT NEED TO SPEND HOURS WORKING OUT IN ORDER TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN YOUR BODY. If your are like me, and you haven’t worked out in a while or like ever, then hours spent exercising isn’t possible at the moment, and is actually a terrifying idea. (You want me to stay in here for how long and lift how much? Yeah, nah, I’d rather eat pizza. Bye.) You can try to do it if you want to, but chances are you’re going to burn out real quickly, or worse you’ll hurt yourself, and then you won’t want to continue exercising, which is the opposite of your goals. Start with what you can do, first. If all you can do is 10 minutes, start there. If all you can do is 5, start there. You aren’t in competition with anyone but yourself when it comes to exercising. The only person you should aim to beat is you. Add a minute or two with every new workout you do, and eventually you’ll get to an hour.
DO NOT COMPARE YOURSELF TO OTHERS or get discouraged because you don’t look like someone else who’s more fit, or because you can’t lift as much as someone, or because you’re struggling with a machine that you’ve been told should be easy. All those people you’re looking at have been doing this longer than you. You’re just starting. They’ve been at it for weeks, months, or years. They have invested hours upon hours of practice in order to look that way or be able to work that machine and lift as much as they do. You will never be able to catch up to them, so stop trying. Start practicing with where you’re at now, and focus on what you can do right now, and improve from there. You can’t run a marathon if you don’t even know how to walk. Learn from the people who are ahead of you, use them as inspiration, but don’t beat yourself up because you aren’t where they’re at. They aren’t beginners anymore, but you are.
ALLOW YOURSELF TO FAIL. Mistakes are going to happen, that’s just fact. You’re going to cut a workout short one day because you’re too tired or unfocused. You’re going to not be able to do the amount of reps you think you ought to be able to do. You’re going to overestimate you’re abilities and lift something way too heavy and then be sore as hell the next few days and wonder why the fuck you’re even doing this again. It is going to happen, and it is absolutely okay. It is normal. Give yourself permission to fuck up, because you will, a lot. But also remind yourself that every fuck up is a lesson. If you lifted way too heavy and ended up sore as hell, well now you know not to do that, right? If you cut a workout short because you were tired or unfocused, well now you know that you need more rest or need to find something more engaging. If you didn’t hit your goal reps, well tomorrow’s a new day and you can try again, huh? Every mistake is an opportunity to learn something new. Let it happen and don’t get pissed at yourself when it does. I bet if you asked The Rock how many times he fucked up when he first started working out, he’d have enough stories to fill a book and then some. Keep that in mind.
FIND AN ACTIVITY THAT EXCITES YOU AND MAKES YOU WANT TO EXERCISE. If you hate running, don’t run. If you hate lifting weights, don’t lift weights. If you hate swimming or yoga or pilates or riding a bike, don’t fucking do it. There is no sense in putting yourself through absolute agony and boring yourself to fucking tears doing something you hate doing. If it makes you groan just thinking about it, and it feels more like a chore, then drop it and find something else. My best friend loves the stair climber, he can stay on that thing for half an hour or more and come off it smiling and talking about how “good the burn feels”. Me on the other hand, I think all stair machines were made by Satan and need to go back to hell where they were created. So guess what? I don’t ever use the stair machines when I go to the gym, I steer clear of them because I know that it’ll just piss me off and make me not want to work out anymore. You need to do the same thing. Don’t force yourself to do an exercise because you think you have to. Find something you like to do, and do that instead. If you like boxing more than yoga, learn boxing. If rock climbing excites you while the idea of lifting weights makes you want to hurl, then start rock climbing. If getting on a bike and doing yoga make gets you in a zen like state and makes you feel so good after a workout, but the thought of running or swimming just makes you want to lay in bed and never get up again, well then you have your answer on what you should pursue. Everyone is different and everyone likes different things, so find what you like to do, and do it. You’ll be happier, I promise.
There is probably a lot more things that can be added here, but this is all I can think of right now. If anyone would like to add to this (or would like to correct anything because as it says in the title, I’m still a beginner), feel free to do so. Hope this helps someone.
