How to start a fitness regime

               1)   "Why do I want to start a fitness regime?”

Your analysis will be the first step. Ask yourself, why do I want to start
an exercise plan? No doubt you may be doing this for a combination of reasons, for example, “I want to lose a bit of weight and regain fitness” or perhaps even more reasons; “I need to lose weight for medical reasons, I want to have more energy to be active with my kids and I want to feel confident again”. Establishing and accepting what is it you need to do is essential if you want to turn an idea into reality. Also, if you don’t have a good enough reason, you may find yourself making excuses to avoid exercising. Your initial reason has to get you in that ‘get up and go’ mood, so make sure that it’s a good’un!

              2)    The Exercise Plan:  Be realistic!

When it comes to exercise, if you are anything like me, sometimes you
may find yourself going a bit OTT when setting goals. I tell myself that I need go cycling EVERYDAY and I need to do a whole range of sit-ups, squats and army training exercises that I don’t even know I can do, and that would push my body way beyond its capabilities. Advice: Don’t get carried away. You won’t do it! If you want exercise to become a habit, it HAS to be achievable for YOU. 

Here’s the weekly plan that I set up:

Time	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
9:00 AM	Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast	Lie-in	Lie-in	Breakfast
10:00 AM	Breathing	Running	Breathing	Cycling			Running
11:00 AM					Breakfast	Breakfast
12:00 PM						Breathing
1:00 PM	Lunch	Lunch	Lunch	Lunch		Yoga	Lunch
2:00 PM			Walking		Cycling
3:00 PM					Lunch	Lunch
4:00 PM		Cycling		Sit-ups & Squats			Sit-ups & Squats
5:00 PM
6:00 PM	Dinner	Dinner	Dinner	Dinner	Strider machine	Sit-ups & Squats	Dinner
7:00 PM
8:00 PM	Sit-ups & Squats		Sit-ups & Squats		Dinner	Dinner
9:00 PM
10:00 PM

Blue         = Low intensity exercise
Orange   = Medium intensity exercise
Pink         = High intensity exercise
Green      = the all important food breaks

As you can see, most days have 2 activities that are at different exercise intensities. I’ve chosen one “intense exercise day” (Sunday), which I know I may feel the effects of the next day. Therefore, Monday starts with a low intensity activity, breathing, and gives me loads of time to cover during the day before sit-ups and squats in the evening.

In terms of length of each activity, I have created time slots. For example, Monday’s sit-ups and squats session should be carried out within the time slot, 8 – 10pm. I recommend that the amount of time doing your activity shouldn’t be too long or short depending on your own limits and capabilities. So, when you’re on your run, cycle or swim, keep going until you feel either: your muscles working, or: your breathing is slightly challenged (not asthmatics!), and keep on going until you really feel like you cannot do any more.  If you choose to rest a bit, you may find that you recover quickly and can carry on pushing yourself. The only thing I stress - keep to a swimming/running/cycling pace that you are not only comfortable with, but one where you think you will be able to carry on for a long time, because it’s the continuation and the burning feeling that will get the results you are craving.



   3)   Be enthusiastic but don’t go overboard!

Pushing yourself is one thing, but there are times when you may push yourself a bit too much (especially if you’re quite eager, like me). I only started realising that I was running at too fast a pace, was when ran with a friend who has lower fitness levels. When I started the regime, I would stop every 5 minutes when out running. I thought it was because I was unfit (which was partly why), and I never thought of changing my pace. If you notice something similar happening with yourself (stop/start habit), it may be because you’re tiring yourself out too quickly with too fast a pace.

I later found out that running just a little slower was a lot more comfortable and doable; also a lot less chest pain from over compensating breaths (the chest pain is normal for people who are quite unfit, but obviously if it’s abnormal chest pain..carries on for ages etc, see your doctor). On the other hand, if you keep stopping and starting during exercise and change of pace doesn’t help, you are simply unfit and need to keep at it until you pass the stop/start phase (it does improve, although progression is slow – so don’t give up!).

 4)   After one week...

Once you’ve carried out a week of the regime, you may start to drift a bit, get a little lazy or distracted perhaps (this is what happened to me). That one week’s exercise made a massive difference to my fitness levels and in a really short period of time as well. After a week, I would choose my activity, but not necessarily on the same day or at the allocated time written on my table. As long as you feel like you are doing enough exercise to reach your goal (initial reason for starting), then there doesn’t have to be a schedule. 

If you can get up in the morning and say, “I think I want to go for a bike ride this morning”, then you are making exercise a habit as opposed to a chore! Hurrah! This is the stage you want to get to; it is as if you hardly think about your daily lunges session or 30 minute treadmill appointment.
If you are not at this point, or don’t feel you could get to the point where exercise is that easy, you should stick to your regime. That’s why you made it in the first place, right?

 5)   Boredom :)

You have been carrying out your regime for a month now, and quite frankly are pissed off with it. You’re bored... and are not showing as many signs of improvement as you were in the beginning...

But fear not! It is not that you aren’t making progress; it is that you are MAINTAINING your fitness! Plus, boredom is normal and it easily fixed. The answer? Try something new! Challenge yourself by joining a weekly Zumba class or dance class. Try a sport like netball, which will push your cardio fitness right up, or even try some extreme sports if you’re brave enough.

Don’t be afraid to try new ways to exercise, you can only benefit from it - perhaps in a social or psychological manner as well as the physical... it’s a win-win situation.


6)   Diet

I believe the key to losing weight is exercise. My BMI is considered normal and I am not overweight, so I didn’t really need to change my eating habits drastically. I think that if you can do the right amount of exercise, you don’t need an extreme diet plan on top of that like these silly celebs have. Just be aware of eating a variety of healthy foods... think little changes - for example - swapping Frosted Sheddies for original Sheddies, or better yet swapping Nesquik for Muesli with yoghurt and fruit. It’s all about thinking with your head instead of your heart... or stomach. Replace sweets and artificial sugars with natural sugars like fruit, and replace fatty foods with healthier alternatives (there’s tons of stuff online). 

It’s easy (if you have some sort of will power), and once you’re into the exercising swing, you won’t want to eat junk food as much. Coke turns into water and cake into salad! (Sort of).
P.s. the occasional unhealthy snack really isn’t a crime... if anything you deserve the odd treat for exercising yourself to death.

Tips on activities:

Running: The feeling of determination!
Find your pace (trial different speeds), bring a water bottle, whenever you feel like stopping, remind yourself of your goal (you will get better results if you carry on), run with a friend to keep motivated, time your runs to see what you need to beat next time, run somewhere scenic and choose somewhere with a variation of terrain. Also, if you have joint problems like me, run on grass or dirt tracks (I choose to run in a forest nearby), which have a lot less impact on your joints than tarmac does.

Cycling: The feeling of freedom!
If you have a road bike, choose a road that you can go fast on, and put your gears up high to work your muscles. Same gear rule applies to regular and mountain bikes, but if you want to venture out to somewhere more scenic, choose a place with a variation in terrain to push yourself. I personally recommend somewhere quiet and quite green; warms the soul.

Swimming: The feeling of relaxation.
Set a pace, vary speeds and strokes every so often to avoid boredom, swim with a friend for company or go to a water park with a group or family if you’re up for an adventure.

Sprinting: The feeling of exhilaration!
Eat carbs beforehand for energy, water is vital, warm up and stretch before, cool down and stretch after (if you pull anything- hot baths help to relax muscles, and keep working and stretching the pulled muscle/s for faster healing). Try a short burst of sprinting, followed by a short recovery time and repeat - for as long as you can (this is the ultimate get fit solution).

Exercise Machines: The feeling of monotony!

I find exercising in a gym very tedious and not very encouraging. If you have an exercise machine at home, you will feel five thousand times more comfortable because you’re never worried how sweaty or stupid you look! ( I use a Strider machine - REALLY easy and works the derrière - picture right) Exercise machines are good for targeting stubborn areas and working particular muscles... the down side is lack of scenery, fresh air and being stuck in one place = boredom. I manage to keep my determination by setting rep targets, time targets and listening to loud music; or if you’re feeling really bored, work out while watching an episode of Corrie or The Inbetweeners. J I use a Strider machine - REALLY easy and works the derrière 

For all activities: Wear suitable clothing (breathable and light), wear good trainers (less chance of injury), have water easily accessible (important not to dehydrate), make sure you have eaten before exercising (especially high intensity or prolonged activities) and don’t be disheartened if you don’t see results immediately. If you don’t see improvements within two weeks, you are probably already quite fit or you’re not pushing yourself enough. If you are feeling too pushed, like you don’t even have the energy to get off the couch after exercise, you are probably pushing yourself too hard (or lazy or majorly unfit)!

That's it! I wish you all the best of luck with your fitness regime and just remember, exercise is fun C