Content provided by the Health & Wellness Team at GBS Benefits
Starting a fitness program doesn’t need to be overwhelming. Keep these tips in mind to ensure your success and to stay healthy along the way.
Common Pitfalls
Avoid these common pitfalls in your fitness journey:
- Skipping breakfast. You need to fuel your body each morning to jump start your metabolism and provide yourself with the energy you need to get through the day.
- Over-training. To get stronger, your body needs to recover from your workouts. If you are strength training all of your muscles on one day, don’t strength train the next day. Schedule a day of rest in between your strength workouts to reap the greatest rewards from your training.
- Skimping on sleep. Shoot for seven to eight hours of sleep each night.
- Setting unrealistic goals for weight loss. A healthy rate of weight loss is one to two pounds per week.
- Forgetting to reward yourself. Celebrate your achievements no matter how big or small!
- Losing focus. Keep an open mind and remember Rome was not built in a day. Getting to your desired goal will take time and effort on your part!
Positive Steps
Lay a solid foundation for your health goals with these recommendations:
- Talk to your personal physician. Determine guidelines if you have heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, are pregnant, or just starting to exercise after a long period of inactivity.
- Assess your current fitness level before starting an exercise program. This will help you better establish your fitness goals.
- Write down your fitness goals. You will be more likely to stick with your routine if you establish a goal.
- Participate in exercises you enjoy. There are a wide range of exercises to choose from so try some out and stick with the ones you like.
- Consider an organized fitness event. It can be a local race or an exercise class. Accountability increases when you invest time and effort.
- Warm up with a light walk or jog before you begin your pre-workout stretch or strength training routine. This will help to circulate blood to your muscles before stretching them out.
- Vary your routine. Don’t get stuck doing the same thing day in and day out. Keep your interest by switching things up a bit.
- Work out with a friend. Peer support is powerful and will keep both you and your friend motivated when achieving fitness goals.
- Stay hydrated. Drink plenty of water before, during, and after each workout.
- Make a fitness schedule. Set a weekly workout routine to keep yourself on track.
