Stop Starting Over – Your Fitness Journey isn’t Linear

 

Starting your fitness journey can be difficult. The new road you’re walking on can be rocky and filled with obstacles. Lack of motivation, as well as lack of reasons to continue the fitness journey might be stopping you and giving you doubts about where you’re at: whether you think what you’re doing isn’t enough, or it is becoming too much for you to keep up with.

The idea people have about fitness, how it works, and how it influences their lives is mostly false. Fitness isn’t linear, your journey doesn’t start and stop at some ending point. Achieving some goal, such as weight loss or muscle gain doesn’t put an end to the journey you invested your time, money and effort in. After you spend some months, or a year, exercising and doing your best with this new lifestyle you try to keep up with, you might face some situations that you might think are “obstacles” and are holding you back. Those obstacles might be everyday things, such as celebrations, holidays, hanging out with your friends, and even your own birthday. You find yourself craving some more food than usual, and you might want a sip of alcohol. Meanwhile, you observe everyone not restricting themselves as you are, and it’s making you anxious. This is where you should put a stop to your toxic thought process, relax and enjoy yourself, eat delicious food, have a drink and spend time with your loved ones.

How you think, and what you need to understand

 

Moreover, you don’t think positively, you think you’ve made a horrible mistake, and all you worked for the whole week is for nothing, right? Your day is ruined, you get depressed thinking that you overstepped, ate too much and ruined your calorie deficit, you definitely didn’t get the right amount of protein for that day etc. Then you make a decision, you say “maybe I’m not ready to dedicate myself to this lifestyle, I lack discipline, I will never be good enough, so I will stop and continue when I’m ready”. The next day, you eat less and you train harder, to burn the extra calories you consumed. Perhaps, you even starve yourself and do a juice cleanse, to detoxify your body from eating a piece of cake and drinking a cocktail.  Does this sound like you? It does sound ridiculous when you observe thoughts like this, so alter them, change this way of thinking. This thought process will get you stuck in a loop, a never-ending cycle of starting your fitness journey, and putting a stop to it. Meanwhile, you will let your health suffer again, you’ll slowly lose the reasons that kept you on the right path to a better you, and you won’t start again until you look in the mirror and notice something that bothers you.

How to break the cycle

 

As a beginner and a person that just started diving into the world of fitness, you have to understand that fitness isn’t linear. You don’t have to invest 100% of your time, money, will and strength for your fitness plan to work out. It’s important to reevaluate, think about your strengths and weaknesses and accept them, put your basic needs and your mental health first. It’s okay to eat more when you feel like it: start practicing intuitive eating to feel your best, and eat nutritious meals to keep you full for longer.
When you feel like you’ve overstepped, or made a mistake, alter your thought process and practice positive thinking, think about why you reacted that way and if it really does bother you, think about ways to avoid it next time. While having a plan with a solid and attainable goal in mind is great, you should always prepare for unexpected celebratory meals, outing with your friends and dinner parties. These normal social activities should not give you anxiety and fear of the food you’re going to consume. If they do, consider consulting your doctor and getting an opinion on whether you need professional help.

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Conclusion

 

Fitness is a complex concept that involves the likes of nutrition, dieting, exercise, and if needed, taking the right kind of supplementation to help with keeping up with everything mentioned above.  It will not take you only a few months, or even a year to understand how everything works, and how to even start aiming and/or working for your set “goals”. Be patient with yourself and learn, try and fail, but do not give up. If you find yourself getting stuck on a toxic thought process, reevaluate your thoughts and change them. If a break is what you need desperately, take it. If you need to recover physically and mentally, then take your time. However, stop thinking that eating one bag of chips will ruin your whole year of hard work and dedication, because it is simply not true. Work on your mindset and remember:

“The only person you should try to be better than, is the person you were yesterday”.

5 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Began My Fitness Journey

 

Everyone starts somewhere. Whether it’s a new hobby or a lifestyle change, the beginnings are always tough. At first, when you start your fitness journey, it may be exciting to try new things, and see how far you can go. You will be excited to finally take those extra steps to better yourself, you’ll buy equipment and workout clothes, maybe try a protein shake; but then things start to change. You go to the gym and you start feeling lost. Everyone around you seems to know what they’re doing, except you. You may be at home and struggling to finish a fifteen-minute YouTube workout, wondering if you can find motivation to continue on this journey.

During this period of uncertainty and doubt, the best thing you can do for yourself is educating yourself, yes, you read that right! Watch videos, listen to podcasts, read articles, blogs, books, anything that will provide you with the information you need. Lack of knowledge and information about your new lifestyle choices, may lead you to quit without even really starting. Nobody starts working out and immediately knows how to hold proper form, or knows a number of exercises that target each muscle group. Everything you aspire to become, is learned through trial and error, which brings us to the first point:

1. Everyone was a beginner at some point

 

Education about fitness is crucial, in every form or way that you want to consume it, but it’s not the only thing you need at the beginning of your journey. Even with all the information provided on the internet, some people still might need a little push. Asking for help from enthusiasts or professionals is totally okay! Most of the people in the fitness world, will be glad to lend you a hand, motivate you or educate you. Don’t let your insecurities hold you back. Being shy, insecure or anxious is normal, even in the world of fitness. As you continue showing up to the gym, your Yoga or Pilates class, these insecurities will slowly fade away. You will eventually realize that nobody is staring at you, and everybody is invested in their progress, this we can promise.

2. Restricting food and dieting won’t help you lose weight.

 

There are thousands of diets out there, most of women have tried a number of them, but do they actually work? Usually, diets give you only short-term results, which can backfire if you’re not careful. The National Eating Disorders Association reports that 35% of “normal dieters” progress to pathological dieting and that 20-25% of those individuals develop eating disorders. If you want to lose weight in a healthy matter, and maintain that weight, you need a lifestyle change, not a diet. Remember that food is fuel; you need fuel for your brain, heart and muscles to function properly. Read our blog post on the classic debate whether abs are made in the kitchen and read our tips for advice on fat loss.

3. Stick to a workout program or routine

 

We recommend sticking to a routine for the best results. Even in the first month, when you’ve just started, its important to have some routine to practice. Presumably, you wont be able to write one for yourself as you are starting your journey, but there are always routines that you can download, or watch on the internet. These ready-made routines will help you learn as you exercise. Sticking to a routine for weeks or a few months will teach you about proper form, and most importantly discipline. Your confidence will only increase when you notice that you get better and stronger each week. Don’t be afraid to try routines, and even challenges if you’re feeling extra motivated! Extra tip for the ladies – don’t be afraid to add weight to your workouts! They will not make you look bulky or less feminine, just look at our coach Sof!

4. Feeling sore isn’t always a good thing

 

Muscle soreness is normal, for the most part. At the beginning, when you first start exercising, or when trying a new routine, your muscles may be more sore than usual, but be aware. Being sore all the time, accompanied by fatigue, might be a sign that you are overdoing it! Prioritize rest for muscle repair and your health in general. Overexercising might spike your cortisol, disbalance your hormones and lead to serious injuries. Consider stretching before and after exercising in order to avoid muscle soreness and injuries.

5. Motivation is learned

 

This is the most important point that we saved for last. No one you know is driven by any kind of motivation. The key to reaching your fitness goals is consistency, effort and discipline. All of these factors combine together and drive your motivation. Each one of these things need to be learned and practiced every day, in order for you to get what you want. So, even on your bad days, show up and do your routine. You can cut the routine short, or do it slower, anything that will help you complete it. Once you finish your exercise for the day you will feel so much better, your energy will skyrocket, your brain will be awake, and your sense of accomplishment will be fulfilled. Never give up the chance to become a better version of yourself!

Don’t forget to check out FitSof’s Push Start beginner program, where we implement tips like these, along with the 4-week exercise routines, and a guide on nutrition!