Fitness Program: 5 Steps to Get Started

There are many benefits of a fitness program. If you are an athlete, then the right fitness program will improve your performance. If you are trying to lose weight, a weight loss fitness program will be the key to your success. By taking time to evaluate what type of program will work best for you, the chances of success will be higher. This is simply because a fitness program is more focused than a workout...and having a direction is what leads most to success. Another benefit of a fitness program is that it can be tailored to your specific needs. If you have an injury or disability, there is a fitness program for you. If you simply dislike doing a certain type of exercise, that doesn't mean you should neglect it...and there's a program designed to make it more bearable. A properly designed fitness program is an invaluable tool.

Many people think they can just go to the gym and exercise to become physically fit. The truth is that fitness is a journey. You have to have a course of action. That is where a fitness program comes into the picture. A fitness program is designed to take someone from their current fitness level to a higher fitness level, or even take them from point A to point B. Usually, a fitness program can be designed around a sport or event. The main reason people start fitness programs is to get to a certain look. Whether it is to be bigger, faster, stronger, or simply to look good, a fitness program is the key.

1.1 Benefits of a Fitness Program

After that, the health problem becomes a reason or a motivation to cure their problem with doing exercise and a controlled diet. Then, the second reason is because they want to prevent a health problem. These people will usually have a good understanding of how bad a health problem is because they have already experienced it. And they do not want to waste more money to cure it. So the best solution they can think of now is to prevent a more severe health problem by doing exercise and having a healthy diet. The third reason is having a recommendation from other people. This has a high level of success because they already know a clear example of how a fitness program can change someone's life from other people who have experienced it. Lastly, there are several people who start a fitness program because they are just following their willingness. Although it's not a strong reason, they still have a chance to make it happen if they have good motivation.

In our life, we will commit to something when we are convinced that the thing will give us more benefit than the risk. So the most important reason for someone to start a fitness program is because they have found a good reason to start it. This reason is also called motivation. In general, there are some reasons why a person starts a fitness program. The first reason is because they are having a health problem. It is human nature that we will do anything to prevent a bad thing from happening. Well, there are a lot of people who start to realize the importance of having good health after they have a health problem.

People know that we can achieve a healthy body through regular exercise. Some people do not realize the actual movement to reach a healthy body. They just see the result, but they do not want to start it. A sense of readiness, ability to move to a new lifestyle, and a positive approach are important qualities when it comes to a time to gear up toward a healthier lifestyle.

1.2 Importance of Getting Started

If you’re thinking about starting an exercise program to get fitter and healthier, this is the best time to start. The first step to take is the most important one. All it takes to get started is making the decision to do it. There are many ways to increase your activity level: walking more, joining a fitness program, and following an exercise guide. The hardest part can be those first few steps. One of the biggest problems anyone has starting a fitness program is sticking with it. When starting a fitness program, you want to be sure you’re going to stick with it. If you keep with it, the benefits are immeasurable. Any exercise program in a fitness guide should be easy to start, so I know the exercises in the guide are right for you. High-intensity cardio exercise can be too much for anyone, it’s difficult, and you may not continue with it. The best way I know to improve fitness is jogging. This is a very easy way to start, and anyone can do it. If you’re very unfit, a good guide is to start jogging for 5 minutes and increase that time next time you go for a jog. You want it to be a bit challenging, yet something you can commit to. That way, you are more likely to stick with it. Now one of the most important parts of starting a fitness program is setting goals. This can help to improve motivation and provide a sense of direction. Your goal might be weight loss, fitness improvement, or lifting a certain amount of weight. Whatever it is, try to make this goal realistic. Now you know you’re going to stick with your program if you’re actually doing it, but knowing how much to do can be difficult. You want it to be sure you’re doing enough to fulfill your goal, yet not doing more than you expected. An exercise guide can be too much to commit to, as you may only find time to do half of the recommended exercise. This is why I feel exercise guides often don’t last. I find the best way is to arrange your own plan. Plan what you are going to do each day in a week and what you want to achieve next week. This can be easily changed around to fit in with your expectations and to what you are capable of. Always continue to set small goals throughout your program. This way you can provide yourself with a satisfactory level of achievement. Without goals, there can be no achievement. At this point, it all comes down to personal motivation. No one else can make you do it. You’ve read the benefits, consider the reasons you want to become healthier and fitter. Now compare this with your current lifestyle. What’s stopping you from doing it? That is the reason why you want to make this change. Keep that in your mind and never lose it.

2. Step 1: Goal Setting

When it comes to exercise, the importance of setting and reaching specific fitness goals cannot be overstated. Measurements of strength, endurance, weight control, flexibility – whatever your personal fitness objectives, all need to be clearly defined in order for you to develop an effective plan to reach them. It's worth giving this some serious thought if you haven't already, so take a few moments to consider what you seriously hope to achieve. Are your expectations realistic? What resources do you have to help you (knowledge, time, support, finances etc)? How long are you giving yourself to achieve them? Remember to make short-term goals that are small steps on the way to your long-term goal. If you have a long-term goal of losing 40 pounds, an example of a short-term goal would be to lose 5 pounds in one month. A goal of running a 10k race in 6 months time may have a short-term goal of running 1k in one month's time. The use of short-term goals will keep you motivated and will also give you an indication of progress.

Once you have thought out your goals, write them down and make a contract with yourself to commit to the plan. This may sound silly to some, but in our experience, those who write down their goals and commit to an exercise plan are far more likely to succeed. This plan need not be complicated; it may involve choosing your exercise and planning when, where, and what you will do on each occasion. Best results are often achieved when detailed planning becomes an integral part of your goal setting, so be prepared to take some time to set out a clear plan for an optimal result. Once you have written your goals and exercise plan, keep a record of it and the progress you make. This brings us to the final point of setting goals – that of achievement and feedback. A goal without a clear endpoint and feedback on your performance is not a very useful goal. If running a 10k race, find a specific race and set an exact date. If you have a body composition goal, set a date to re-evaluate your goal every 4-8 weeks. On the set date, measure your progress, evaluate your commitment to the goal, and ask yourself if the goal is realistic and achievable given more time. If your goal has been reached, set a harder goal next time. If you have not reached the goal, ask yourself what factors have impeded your goal and adjust the plan for a more successful result. By setting clear goals, planning the performance, recording and evaluating the feedback, you can vastly improve the probability of a successful result from exercise.

2.1 Identifying Your Fitness Goals

Now that you have an idea of your goal, consider choosing more than one. Many people to only make 1 objective, but having 2 or 3 concurrent goals can add variety to a fitness program and make it more interesting. An example could be someone who wants to increase muscle mass and also improve cardiovascular fitness. This person could cycle between the 2 exercises and track the relative progress, making the free day to choose between the 2 activities. After making the decision on your goals, write it down! This is the first step in making yourself accountable for this goal and increases the commitment as opposed to making a mental note.

First, ask yourself what you wish to realistically achieve within the next couple of months. Whether it's to decrease body fat, increase muscle mass, or be able to complete an aerobics class without being out of breath. Forgive the cliche, but your objective must be SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. For example, if your current 1.5-mile run is 15 minutes and you want to decrease it to 12 minutes in 4 months, that is an example of a SMART objective. A very important point often overlooked is the attainability of the objective. You must honestly assess your own limitations and judge what is realistic given your current level of fitness. Getting all pumped up and excited, then going full steam into a hardcore fitness program can lead to unnecessary injuries for people who have been living a relatively sedentary lifestyle. This can be physically and mentally demotivating.

Everybody knows how much a clever objectives perceiving frameworkmed in a positive line of action can help in achieving crackers results. Same thing goes with fitness program. Whether you want to lose weight, get into shape for an event, or just maintain a healthy lifestyle, you must start with this step. A clear objective can help you gauge your progress and stay motivated.

2.2 Setting Realistic and Achievable Targets

If you are looking for ways to start exercising, it's important that you set yourself goals. This way, you are more likely to stick to your training and, in time, see encouraging results. Short-term and long-term goals can give you motivation. An example of a short-term goal would be "To increase my fitness levels," and a long-term goal might be "To run a 10k race." These goals must also be measurable so you can keep track of your progress. For example, setting a goal to "Lose weight" is not measurable, whereas "Lose 5 pounds" is.

It's also important you understand the importance of achieving realistic and achievable targets. By setting yourself an unrealistic goal, you will quickly lose motivation and will be less likely to stick with your training. If you set yourself a series of short-term achievable goals, the feeling of success will motivate you and push you further towards your long-term goal. For example, if your long-term goal is to run a marathon, a series of shorter-term goals might be to increase your fitness by walking and gradually introduce running at a later date.

2.3 Tracking Progress

Finally, a long-term timeframe must be set. This will determine the overall time taken and efficiency of moving from one goal to achieving the next. This will provide a clear timescale and give a sense of urgency to your goal.

Establishing a timeframe is important. It provides a realistic timescale for achieving each goal. For example, if your weight loss goal is to lose 5kg, daily check-ins with your progress will determine if each day is contributing to the 5kg weight loss on schedule. A short-term goal, on the other hand, is one that you aim to achieve within a timeframe of one week to four weeks. This can be used to break down a main goal, such as climbing stairs to promote weight loss. By tracking the progress of each step, you can see how each step contributes to the overall goal. Depending on the type of goal, a simple upward or downward arrow can indicate the action that needs to be taken for each step.

If you do not have a map to track where you are going, how are you going to know if you have reached your destination or are on the right path? Your goal needs to be clear so that you can measure your progress and understand the importance of your achievement. Measuring progress traditionally requires self-reflection, but if you are serious about achieving your goal, there is no better way to track and document your progress than using a goal sheet, because it just works. A goal sheet will allow you to choose an approach that keeps you on track to achieving your goal, whether it's a specific training program or changes to your diet.

3. Step 2: Choosing the Right Exercises

The next step is to match the most suitable type of exercise to your specific goal. For example, if you chose to dedicate time 3 days each week with the primary goal of enhancing cardiovascular fitness, the most suitable exercise activities will be fitness walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, and cross country skiing. And it's always okay to have more than one goal. This would mean choosing exercise types that best combine together or spreading multiple types of activities over the week. The important thing is to find exercises that you enjoy and are practical and easy to include in your regular routine.

When you have clearly outlined your fitness aims, you need to choose what activities you will intend to accomplish them. One general main objective of many individuals is to enhance cardiovascular fitness and make a constant dedication to aerobic exercise. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that healthy adults under age 65 should aim for a moderate intensity for a minimum of 30 minutes on 5 days each week or a vigorous intensity for a minimum of 20 minutes on 3 days each week. A combination of both moderate and vigorous intensity is also acceptable. According to this, it is simpler to accomplish fitness recommendations for healthy adults by working out 5 days a week. This gives an off day to rest or a chance to divert to another type of exercise. Step 1 has already helped you decide how often you will be willing to devote time to exercise.

3.1 Assessing Your Fitness Level

Once you have assessed your fitness level with respect to the above components, you can begin to set specific goals to improve your fitness level with respect to the components, and design an exercise program to achieve these goals.

Flexibility - the assessment can be the easiest muscle and yet most variable component. The sit-and-reach test is a good upper body flexibility test and there are various lower body tests as well.

Body composition - a simple assessment of the lean body mass compared to the fat body mass. This can be done by many health professionals and also can be an estimate using various online resources or simple equations.

Muscular strength and endurance - often judged by your ability to perform push-ups, sit-ups or as simple as lifting weight relative to your body. It is important to assess the strength and endurance of each major muscle group.

Cardiovascular fitness - assessed by how fast and easily you can walk, run, cycle and how elevated your heart rate gets during these activities. The end result should be a good indication of your current aerobic capacity.

As you begin to design your fitness program, be sure to take an honest look at your current fitness level. By doing this, you can set realistic goals and implement an exercise program suited to your own fitness level. An excellent way to assess your fitness level is to consider your current fitness assessment that have a personal trainer or health professional at a gym or health club. Another method is to simply take a look at each of the pertinent fitness components and judge your current level with respect to each component. These components include:

3.2 Selecting Cardiovascular Exercises

Duration and frequency: If your goal is to lose weight, then you will want to do an uninterrupted minimum of 30 minutes of exercise at least 5 times a week. Each week you can reassess your fitness and gradually increase either the intensity, duration, or both. If your goal isn't to lose weight, then you can get away with less than this. If your main goal is to improve your fitness, then higher intensities are more effective. But be careful not to do too much too soon, and check our article on overtraining.

Intensity: A simple way to monitor exercise intensity is to measure how hard the activity makes your heart and lungs work. The more they work, the higher the intensity. The easiest way to measure it is to use the talk test. Low-intensity exercise will allow you to comfortably hold a conversation. Moderate intensity will allow you to talk but not sing. High intensity will only allow you to say a few words at a time. If you understand heart rates, then you can use this method to monitor the intensity. A rough guide is that low intensity is about 50-60% of your maximum heart rate, moderate is about 60-70%, and high would be 70-80%.

Type: Identify activities that are fun, do not cause pain or discomfort, and can be sustained for 30-60 minutes. This can be anything from walking to playing a specific sport. You can read more about the different types of cardio exercises available with our article on the topic.

Despite what many people believe, there isn't a one-size-fits-all approach to cardiovascular exercise. Just as with strength training, this is the area where greater specificity to your individual needs can be provided. After assessing your fitness in the first step and understanding what your goals are, the next step is to come up with the type, intensity, duration, and frequency of what you should do.

3.3 Incorporating Strength Training

The first step in fulfilling the strength training portion is to determine the approach you will take. Various progressive resistance training can be done using free weights, weight machines, elastic bands, or even one's own body weight. However, in deciding which approach, or combination thereof, you will wish to employ, it is important to consider that the ACSM recommends that a training stimulus is placed on each of the major muscle groups at least 2-3 days each week. It is also important to consider your current fitness level and any potential limitations. Those who are novices to weight training or are older adults may prefer the use of weight machines as it is known to be a safer and more effective means to improve muscle strength changes and functional abilities. Free weights are usually recommended for athletes and persons under the age of 50 with no or minimal restrictions. Free weights or machine training has the same relative benefits, as long as proper technique and safety precautions are taken.

Review the guidelines for strength training exercises. The decision to incorporate strength training was the correct one. The ACSM's Position Stand suggests that a strength training program should be an essential part of an overall fitness program for all adults. It states that in addition to the functional benefits, a properly designed and executed program can deliver significant improvements in overall health, fitness, and quality of life. Current research demonstrates that activities once reserved almost exclusively for athletes are a valuable means of enhancing health, fitness, and quality of life in the general population. This is extremely important towards your success in changing your body. When you look good, you feel good, and people will notice. No other activity can provide the extraordinary range of physical and mental health benefits that strength training does. It is also known to have a favorable impact on several major chronic conditions and can reduce the signs and symptoms of many diseases and chronic conditions.

3.4 Including Flexibility and Balance Exercises

For flexibility exercises, static stretching is the most common method. This is moving a joint as far as it can go and holding the position. This should be done slowly and then held for a period of 10-30 seconds. Other methods involve moving the joint slightly past its range of movement i.e. a yoga position and propelling the limb through its full range of movement i.e. tai chi. Try and focus on the major muscle groups and always move into the stretch of flexibility exercise slowly and carefully, until you feel tension and hold the stretch position. Remember to never jerk or bounce while stretching, a common mistake many people make which can result in injury. Static stretching is recommended 3-7 days a week at an intensity of 10-30 seconds per stretch for 2-4 times each. High levels of flexibility are only required for the performance of a particular task so do not overdo it, just aim for an improved level, especially with increasing age.

Flexibility and balance exercises can help maintain your independence and quality of life, especially as you get older. A number of flexibility and balance exercises can easily be done at home or a gym, such as Tai Chi, a form of Chinese martial art thought to be good for preventing falls and other exercises like yoga and pilates are good ways of improving flexibility and balance. Anything that keeps you moving, a game of badminton, tennis, bowls or something as simple as a walk in the park with a friend will vastly help you to maintain flexibility and balance. When choosing the right activities, an easy rule of thumb is to pick something where moving is required, is not performed whilst seated and that is of low to moderate intensity.

4. Step 3: Creating a Workout Schedule

Determine frequency and duration.

Frequency and duration are the most important aspects of a workout schedule. If it's your first time, I recommend only working out 2-3 times a week and slowly progress to more. This will allow your body to adapt and get used to the new stimulus. It will decrease the possibility of you injuring yourself due to the body not being conditioned for the exercise. It will also deliver steady results in the beginning. Duration is the length of your workout. It is tied in with intensity. If you are doing high intensity, you don't have to workout as long, and vice versa. Duration can be anywhere from 30-90 minutes. Duration isn't as important as long as you are getting your desired intensity and frequency. High intensity, you will want to keep it shorter; going for a longer time might decrease the intensity.

Designing a balanced routine.

The best way to ensure a balanced routine is to mix different types of exercises in a week. Plan strength training or anaerobic training (cardio workouts) a couple of times in a week with days off or low intensity cardio between these. This will ensure lesser developed parts of your body get a chance to exercise and grow. You may also want to alter your routine every few weeks to ensure continued development and to avoid hitting a plateau. This may involve increasing the intensity, changing exercises, or changing the duration of the workout. Always make sure to exercise larger body parts first before going to smaller body parts. This will ensure you have maximum energy for the more demanding exercises. For example, do legs before doing biceps.

4.1 Determining Frequency and Duration

When beginning to design a program, it's important to set your training schedule. The frequency and duration of your workout program should be based on your ability, goals, and the time you have available. If you are just starting a fitness program, do not have very good fitness, or are unsure of your goals, you should aim for a relatively light program which is the minimum required to stimulate progress. This might mean a workout only two days a week, this is fine to start out with. Often, one of the biggest mistakes is taking on too much too soon, and starting with a frequency which is higher than is sustainable in the long term. This can lead to failing to meet targets, lack of motivation, and can lead to the perception that exercise is failure. It is better to start too easy and build up, than start too hard and have to cut back. Time will generally be able to increase frequency, but first make sure that an exercise pattern has been successfully sustained for 3-6 months. If you performing other exercise such as sports, or other training (e.g. strength training) these need to be taken into account to avoid conflicts with your fitness program and overtraining. In this case, some of this other training might have to be counted as part of the exercise program, and might mean reducing frequency of other training for the extra program to be effective.

For aerobic exercise, frequency can be increased to as often as 6-7 times per week for athletes in heavy training. However, it is best to keep most of them at moderate to low intensity, and only have 1-2 high intensity days. This is to avoid intense workouts becoming counterproductive to energy levels and immunity. Intensity and duration are inversely related, so it follows that moderate to high intensity exercise should not be performed as often or as long as it is uncomfortable. High intensity exercise can be performed as little as 2-3 times a week, with shorter durations at near or above lactate threshold.

4.2 Designing a Balanced Routine

The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified that the most important issue in preventing death and disability, together with a longer healthy life, is "regular physical activity". This might be confusing considering the idea of Physical Activity and Exercise. They're not the same thing, even though exercise may be a type of physical activity, not all types can be categorized in this category. So what's the distinction between the two? If we take an example of a farmer, he will be digging, planting, or mowing the grass. However, this work is not done as a result of his interest in health or the need to increase fitness. Activity here is just a movement done to carry out a task. Exercise, on the other hand, is the achievement of the same task specifically to improve fitness or health.

If you're a beginner or an experienced athlete, you would like a well-balanced routine that features the six main styles of exercise. For all, the way to the best and healthiest life is to look at the straightforward motto: move quite a bit, eat well, get lots of rest. Regular exercise can deliver all that and more. It will offer you a better outlook on life in general and it cannot price an excessive amount of your pocket. It's also a good way to alleviate the daily stress and strains you may be afflicting. If you are not used to exercise or are merely searching for how to stay fit, it's additionally a good way to start. However, not knowing how to start will be an obstacle in itself.

4.3 Allowing for Rest and Recovery

Too much exercise and not enough rest can lead to many negative effects on the body. Overall, it can weaken the athlete, reduce strength, and increase the risk of injury. In extreme cases, too much exercise without rest can lead to overtraining syndrome. This occurs when an athlete has trained so intensely that the balance between work and recovery is lost. This can result in both physical and mental symptoms such as depression, decreased performance, increased susceptibility to infections, and injury.

Rest is critical to the rebuilding process. It can be tempting to dig into a workout program and ignore rest days, but just as the rebuilding of roads takes time, so does the rebuilding of muscle. When a heavy load is placed on muscles through resistance training, muscle damage occurs. The body then works to rebuild the damaged muscle bigger and stronger than before. This is why we lift weights to begin with, to place stress on the muscle in order to cause it to grow. However, your muscles do not rebuild themselves while you are in the gym pumping iron. It may take up to 48 hours post-exercise for muscles to rebuild and be ready for another workout. During rebuilding days, muscles increase in strength by anywhere from 20% to 100%. So, rest is just as important as weight lifting in your exercise program.

5. Step 4: Nutrition and Hydration

Timing and frequency of meals is another important aspect to a healthy diet while on a weight loss program. Eating small well-balanced meals at regular intervals throughout the day will provide you with more stable energy and keep hunger at bay. It will also help to preserve lean body mass and improve nutrient utilization. This is a contrast to the typical pattern for many people who will skip breakfast, eat a small sandwich for lunch and then consume a large portion of their daily calories in the evening. This pattern of eating is unfavorable to those who are attempting to lose body fat.

Consuming a low calorie diet that is high in fiber and consists of whole foods with minimal processing is a good start. Examples of high fiber foods include whole grains, fruits, vegetables and beans. These types of foods are usually quite filling, and make it easier to consume fewer calories without feeling too hungry. High fiber foods are also beneficial for the fact that they are typically low in energy density. This means you can eat a larger portion size with fewer number of calories. This is important if you have a large appetite. Step 3 provides an outline for this type of diet and provides some examples on meal planning.

A healthy diet is an important part of a fitness regimen, whether you are exercising to lose weight or to gain muscle. Eating a well-balanced diet will ensure that you are receiving the vitamins and minerals your body needs to support your fitness goals. Eating healthy while you are trying to lose body fat can be a challenge, but it is possible with a little extra effort. The basics of a healthy diet for weight loss applies to anyone, whether you are an elite athlete or just beginning.

5.1 Importance of a Healthy Diet

So eating the right type of foods can have a significant impact on how you will feel and perform throughout the day. If you make the mistake of skipping breakfast, you will feel tired and drained of energy all morning. This is because your body's gas tank is on its last legs. You've deprived it of fuel all night and now it is running on fumes. And the next time you're feeling tired and need a quick boost, don't reach for an energy drink or a cup of coffee. These are just temporary fixes and can even have negative effects in the long run. Caffeine is actually a diuretic. This means it dehydrates you. And dehydration is something you want to avoid (which will be discussed further in step 5). Instead you should strive to consume natural, healthy foods and plenty of water throughout the day. This will ensure that you will function at an optimum level and have energy to spare. And all athletes and fitness enthusiasts can benefit from increased performance, energy, and vitality. A healthy diet can also help fight off and control diseases and ailments. High blood pressure, high cholesterol, and other internal difficulties can be amended with good nutrition. So the need to eat properly is essential, now more than ever. With added activity, you do not want to have a drop in quality of life. You want to feel good and stay healthy. And the best way to do this is through intelligent choices in the foods you eat.

The food you eat can either help or hurt your fitness program. And maybe at this stage in your life you're not convinced that food and eating habits are all that important. You still believe you can work off that ice cream or pizza. This may be true. But as you advance, your nutrition will become more and more important. Imagine the body is a car. It will not run on just any kind of fuel. And the better you take care of your car, the longer it will last. The first thing to understand is that food is fuel. All living things need fuel to survive. This fuel is basically food. Our bodies are not that much different from a car engine. The only difference is that a car will not go bad if you put in the wrong type of fuel. Sure, it may not run well, but it can always be fixed. Our bodies on the other hand, will fail to run if we abuse it too much. And sometimes the effects of abuse are too great to bear. Our bodies on the other hand, will fail to run if we abuse it too much. And sometimes the effects of abuse are too great to bear.

5.2 Fueling Your Body for Exercise

Pre-plan your meals and snacks to ensure that you are consuming the right foods at the right times for exercise. At the end of the previous section on exercise intensity, guidelines were defined for each training zone, such as how much to consume and what type of food to eat. Apply these guidelines along with the timing of your training sessions to form a meal plan. Ensuring you have the right food at the right time can be difficult. The following is a simplified guide to meal and snack timing based on an individual training once per day.

Focus on consuming a balanced diet. Many people misinterpret this to mean eat a lot of protein and carbs. The ideal diet is high in complex carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, and cereal along with moderate amounts of lean protein such as chicken, turkey, eggs, dairy, and fish. Carbohydrates are the main fuel source for exercise; however, simple carbohydrates provide a quick energy source that is short-lived, causing fatigue and hunger sooner than complex carbs do. For example, if you were eating lunch 20-40 minutes before an exercise session, you would consume a chicken/turkey/ham sandwich, pasta, or rice-based meal. A few hours before a session, you would consume the same meal, and earlier than that, you might eat a breakfast cereal. With the exception of a post-exercise recovery meal, you should aim to eat a low-moderate fat diet and be cautious of consuming it in large amounts close to exercise as it can slow digestion. Lastly, remember to enjoy the occasional treat in moderation!

5.3 Staying Hydrated

Achieve the proper amount of hydration, both before and during exercise, is of utmost importance. It has been proven that dehydration has a significant effect on performance. For example, it has been shown that a loss of 2% body weight due to dehydration caused a noticeable decrease in performance. In a 150 lb. athlete, this is only 3 lbs. of weight. A 2% drop in body weight for any athlete will result in a noticeable decrease in strength, speed, and overall performance. For your average gym goer, dehydration can make a workout seem much more difficult than it should be. Dehydration causes fatigue and can make it feel like you have no energy. Because of this, people can be discouraged from working out or feel that fitness just isn't something that they can do. This is an obviously unwanted situation but is one that can be prevented with proper hydration. So how to do it? The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that you drink 16-20 oz. of water at least 4 hours before exercise, 10-15 oz. of water 10-15 minutes before exercise, and 3-8 oz. of water every 15-20 minutes during exercise. For intense events lasting longer than an hour, a sports drink containing carbohydrate and electrolytes should be consumed. This will help to minimize any losses in fluid and will provide an additional energy source for the muscles. This guideline may seem excessive to some, but keep in mind that your hydration level before exercise impacts the onset of dehydration during an event. A well-hydrated person will sweat more efficiently, allowing for better cooling, and will have a lower body temperature at the onset of exercise compared to a dehydrated person.

6. Step 5: Staying Motivated and Overcoming Challenges

6.1 Finding Your Motivation

The key to success is to find a new source of motivation to carry you through the not-so-easy times. Often times, your motivation was simply to change something that was bothering you about yourself. You were motivated to go on a diet because you were sick of carrying around extra weight, you were motivated to put down the cigarette because you were sick of being out of breath. You then allocated that motivation into your new habits. However, at this stage, the "out of sight, out of mind" theory is starting to take effect. You are starting to forget what it was like when you were bothered with those things. You are losing motivation because you no longer have that thing you were initially motivated to change constantly on your mind. It is important to rekindle that feeling. Take a good look at where you have come and what you have done in your program so far. Compare it to the old you. Weren't you so much better than this? Looking at what you have already managed to change is an excellent motivation to avoid regression. You were once very motivated to change; constantly remind yourself of that. An even better motivator is to look forward to the future. Step 5 is the best time to set new goals. When you first began your program, you had many visions of what life would be like once you had made the changes you desired. You need to set some new visions and become motivated to make them a reality.

By this point, you have been in your fitness program for four weeks. You have changed your habits, enriched your life, begun to manipulate your body, and are seeing amazing results. The fifth step is a crucial point in your fitness program when you will see a significant drop-off in motivation and effort. The initial enthusiasm has faded, the new habits have not yet become comfortable, and the results are not yet amazing. This stage is the make or break stage in your fitness program. You can either slide back into your old habits and lose all you have gained, or you can move forward, enrich your program, and make further improvements. This is the point where many people on their quest to get a lean, healthy body throw in the towel and quit altogether.

6.1 Finding Your Motivation

The next step in finding motivation is to choose a fitness program that will provide results that are in line with your goals and the reasons you've listed for wanting to achieve these goals. This is where obtaining the services of a fitness professional can be a great investment. A skilled fitness professional can assess your current fitness levels, any limiting factors that can affect your exercise program, and thoroughly explain the best way for you to achieve your goals. This type of information is not easily obtainable with non-professional sources and provides a clear guideline for your exercise program. If you have knowledge of exercise prescription and feel comfortable designing your own program, you may choose to do so and seek advice to only have it critiqued by your fitness professional. Note that this is just fine-tuning the program you've already designed and it is not recommended to use second-hand information from a fitness professional as the help you'll receive will be more direct and specific to your personal needs. If you are currently using a fitness program and decide that it is not the best program for you to achieve your goals and there are no health or safety issues limiting you from switching to a new program, then by all means switch programs as soon as possible.

First, make sure that your reasons for starting a fitness program are clear and important enough to you that you will not talk yourself out of it in the near future. List your goals for starting a fitness program and make them very specific and measurable. Health-related goals such as lowering blood pressure or cholesterol, losing body fat, or improving your energy levels are great goals to set. Avoid setting weight loss goals as this type of goal often does not carry the importance to you in the long run. This is because most often when people start to focus on improving their health and fitness, they will lose body fat and need a new way to measure their success. Weight is not a good indicator of progress with a fitness program. After setting your specific measurable goals, make a list of all the reasons you want to achieve these goals. Try to revisit and rewrite this list on a regular basis to ensure that the importance of achieving these goals stays at a high level.

6.2 Dealing with Plateaus and Setbacks

Dealing with plateaus and setbacks: Plateaus, or stages in your fitness program where you stop seeing forward progress, may occur at some point. When this happens, you are often left feeling frustrated and unmotivated. The best way to deal with plateaus is to avoid them altogether by seeking variety in your exercise and making sure that your program is suitable for your goals and fitness level. This is also a time to practice patience and continue with your program as you wait for results. It is important to set process goals (goals that you can control) instead of product goals (goals that are affected by other people or things that you cannot control). An example of this would be setting a goal to adopt a healthy lifestyle and lose weight in comparison to just setting a goal to lose weight. By doing this, you can always adjust your effort to reach your goal. If you are not progressing as fast as you wish or even regressing, you know that you may need to increase your output. Finally, plateaus are the perfect opportunity to practice positive self-talk and affirmations. Assess your current level of fitness and health and appreciate how much you have already accomplished. Focus on the benefits you experience from exercise and healthy eating. A positive attitude may be what propels you past the plateau.

Setbacks such as injuries, illness, and life-altering events are very challenging to deal with, especially considering the deterrent it has on your level of exercise. The key to dealing with these setbacks is to face reality and make a new plan. The plan may involve a complete rest from exercise, a period of time with reduced exercise, or a change in the type of exercise that you can do. If you have a leg injury, you can still perform upper body exercises. If you are ill, you can probably still exercise but at a reduced intensity. Come up with a plan that is suitable for your situation and make a commitment to continue with your program when the situation improves. It is also the perfect time to use the SMART goal-setting system in setting goals for recovery. Finally, stay positive! Similar to plateaus, assess your current situation and appreciate the benefits that you are experiencing from your healthy lifestyle. Remember that maintaining a positive attitude is conducive to a faster recovery.

6.3 Seeking Support and Accountability

It is also vital to enlist the support of those who will be involved in helping you make these changes. You need to inform any healthcare provider of your plans to change your diet and exercise habits. This means your physician, nurse, dietitian, physical therapist, personal trainer, etc. anyone who is responsible for your health. These people can help you to plan for any obstacles that may arise and suggest ways to best cope with them. Although family and friends may be eager to help, it is generally more beneficial to seek out someone who also is working to improve their health. An effective way to do this is to enroll the help of a partner with whom you can share the experience. This can be a family member, a friend, or a work colleague. Be sure that your partner is someone who will support and not sabotage you and that you can depend on to be there when you need them. If you are unable to find someone who wishes to do the plan with you, it is critical to do this program with someone who will support you in your efforts and will not let you give up. On a last note, people do better when they have professional help. If you have any medical conditions, it is best to consult with a healthcare provider before starting on your own.

The last step is the one that is most crucial to long-term success – though it is something that many people would rather not do. In order to make lifestyle changes, you may need to assess the people closest to you and how their behavior may be affecting your weight goals. Many people are overly nurturing when it comes to helping others, but are not willing to help themselves. Consider who among your friends and family will be helpful in aiding you stick to your plan, and who may actually sabotage your efforts.