The fitness world can be confusing at times and it is hard to it is hard to pick a thread and stick with it or find the beginning of it. This article is aimed at helping you to cut the Gordian knot by starting with simple things to then build your new self upon it.

 

As Lewis Carrol says in Alice in Wonderland 

 

"Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop." 

 

 

Where you want to start in fitness highly depends on your status quo and what you want to achieve. The first thing to do is to measure yourself. Record your 

 

Age 

Weight 

Measurements 

Fitness level 

Medical history

Food intake 

Drink intake 

 

This alone will already be a start for improved fitness. Tracking your intake and activity levels is the first step to realize where the biggest lever lie. It is a crucial skill to develop and is often overlooked. 

 

Your age is easy to track and has an impact on how fast you will progress and how much maintenance you will need on the journey. The older you are the slower the progress and the more maintenances are needed in general. Especially after years of inactivity you should be careful and ease slowly into the new routine.

 

Weight is another point to measure which can be done in kilograms or body fat percentage. To start stick with kilograms as this is easier. Weight is generally overrated is a way of measuring fitness or attractiveness. You do not look better because you weigh less but how the weight is distributed on your body. Muscle tissue weighs more than fat so the number on the scale can be very deceiving. It is still a good number to track overall progress against your goals on a weekly or even monthly basis. Stay away from freaking out at daily results on the scale. 

 

Your measurements are the holy grail of looks. These are the numbers you should pay attention to for better looks. Do these together with your partner or friend on a weekly basis. You can do them yourself, but that leaves you with a bigger likelihood of making errors. Better to let someone else assess you and assist you. 

 

Your fitness level can also be measured by doing a fitranx or Cooper test. This is also often not done at the beginning of training and should be implemented to see where you stand. One repetition tests for the Olympic lifts or powerlifting lifts are not recommended for beginners. Start with the empty bar for these ones. 

 

Before you start exercising think of your medical record and write it down. Any heart disease that has an impact? Injuries to the spine, broken legs or arms the past? All of the chronic diseases and major injuries from the past should be taken into account for your individual exercise plan. Here you can also distinguish good and bad coaches based on the questions they ask. 

 

For food, I take it is also good advice to track what you eat for a week to a month before making any major changes. This way you will be more aware which foods have the most impact on your calorie intake. This enables you and your coach to pinpoint the changes for maximum progress with minimum sacrifice. Still, be prepared to make sacrifices when you embark on this fitness journey. 

 

Last but not least you track how much water and alcohol you take in to round up the picture. 

 

Once you established a routine of regularly tracking what you take in in an app like myfitnesspal or Fitbit you already made a great start to fitness. 

 

 

Once you start recording all the different factors which influence your daily life the next step is to tackle diet. 

 

Depending on your goal of losing weight or building muscle you want to be in a caloric surplus or deficit. Use one of the freely available calculators on the internet to determine your daily calorie intake. Ideally prepare with what you have tracked for a month, your goal and new calorie mark for a chat with a nutritionist or your general practitioner. Based on the feedback you will adjust slightly. 

 

After the overall intake has been determined you will decide how much of this will be fats, protein, and carbohydrates. I have personally made good gains on a 40% protein/fat and 20% carbohydrates split. 

 

 

After starting to track things and working on your diet it is time for you to decide on an exercise regime. To start anything is welcome which gets you moving for 20 - 30 minutes and makes you sweat. This can be yoga, running, cycling, lifting or whatever you think you can stick to for a long while. Especially in the beginning when you have not invested a lot of time to develop a certain skill, shop around a little. Try different machines in the gym and classes for a month until you find what suits your busy schedule and your personality best.

 

Once you have picked something sit down together with your personal trainer or coach to come up with a plan for the next things months that makes you progress towards your goals. 

 

Goals 

 

Your goals for fitness will help you in all other areas of your life. Here you can try out goal setting relatively stress-free and explore how daily, weekly, quarterly and yearly activities do lead up to overarching results. To achieve this your goals should be 

 

Specific 

Measurable 

Attainable 

Realistic 

Time-bound 

 

Which is also known as the acronym SMART in the business world. Once you have determined a goal break it down into smaller chunks that you can go after. This keeps you motivated and makes sure that you adjust accordingly if you are faster or behind the track.

 

Keeping a record of your goals and the gap towards them will be a good tool for you to plan for the future. 

 

 

Consistency is the most important factor to get results in fitness. You have to be consistent about tracking, exercising, dieting and committing to getting results. Your daily commitment and consistency will make or break the goals you set for yourself. 

 

 

Intensity should be picked at a level which is challenging but not overwhelming. The talk test is a solid tool to achieve this. You should pick the intensity of your workouts at a level where you are still able to speak to a person next to you with some effort. 

 

 

Your aim should be to increase the intensity of your sessions on a regular basis. If you do not consistently get better at what you are doing, it is likely that you are doing something wrong. Fitness is very simple, avoid making it complicated and aim for the stars. 

 

 

You begin in fitness by starting to track what you are currently doing. Based on the data and your personality you formulate goals. To achieve these you first amend your diet and once that is done add exercises to the mix. After this, you are set up to scale as you see fit and based on your progression. A personal trainer will help to avoid mistakes and guide you in the right direction to save you years of mistakes.