The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Fitness

Do you find it difficult to tie your shoelaces? Do you dread grocery shopping because you have to carry a load back home? Does your back hurt every time you play football with the kids? If the answer to these questions is yes, then you need to get fit. Not the “fitness influencer” kind of fit for Instagram, but fit for yourself.

We’re not asking you to get swole like Salman Khan (replete with abs and deltoids from Adobe Aftereffects). You need to be fit enough to perform your daily exercises without feeling pain. If that is what you want and if you are committed enough, I will give you the health fitness guide to give you results.

Sallu jokes aside, exercising is one of the most rewarding things that you can do in your life. In our everyday hassles of earning money, getting good grades, and repaying EMIs, we forget that all this stress and eating outside takes a toll on our bodies as well.

So do yourself a favour. Commit to a journey that will save you hospital visits and surgery bills 20 years later. And is great for your cardiac health

Overview of the fitness journey ahead—fitness for health, well-being, and long-term benefits.

In this blog, we will learn how to keep fit. And by fit, we mean a general level of fitness that allows you to live pain-free. You will enjoy life, playing sports, playing with your children, and being active.

Since investment is the way of the world, look at every day you exercise as a daily SIP towards your health. You’re paying an hour of your day every day, so after a decade or two, you get returns.

There are several long-term benefits of keeping fit. Start exercising, and you’ll immediately feel, function and sleep better. You’ll be a new and improved version of yourself, and you’ll be able to tackle whatever life throws at you—all thanks to this fitness guide.

Why does fitness matter? Why does breathing matter? Just as breathing in and expelling air helps you exist, fitness keeps you alive. Regular training can have a massive impact on your energy levels and improve your mood.

There are many other health benefits of keeping fit, with the most important one being a reduced risk of lifestyle diseases like obesity, heart attacks and cancer.

There are many physical benefits of fitness. In the beginning, you’ll see that you’re moving better, breathing better, and sleeping better. As far as I am concerned, these are pretty good benefits.

A few weeks into your fitness regime, you will start to notice a few prominent changes. First, you start managing your weight better. Second, your cardiovascular endurance increases manifold. And finally, since you lift a few weights, you will find that grocery bags aren’t really that heavy.

Next come the mental health benefits of keeping fit. Well, you might be thinking, “What are bicep curls going to do for my brain?” But before you become all cynical, here’s the scoop. Exercising regularly increases dopamine levels in your brain. Start going to the gym regularly, and you’ll manage your depression, ADHD and anxiety better. Think that is a myth? Think again.

Regularly working out can bust stress, boost memory, help your sleep cycle and do wonders for your mood. Now, before you think, “Okay, I need to turn into John Rambo so my depression goes away”. Your muscle size and depression aren’t related. So go easy.

You can bid goodbye to long-term disease and say hello to longevity and a better quality of life. Fitness can do wonders for you in terms of long-term health benefits, which in turn can boost your self-esteem.

Research says that physical activity can boost life expectancy by 6.9 years. It lowers the risk of chronic diseases and improves overall health.

Setting The Foundation

So you want to get fit. Or you want to start exercising. You have to start somewhere, right? You just can’t randomly walk into a gym and start lifting weights. There has to be some plan, some sort of end game.

Suddenly, you ain’t going to get fit. It’ll require consistency and commitment. The best place to start is with goals.

When you are answering the question of how to start a fitness journey, fitness objectives come first. So, it is important to be SMART about it.

SMART goals—Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound.

With fitness, if you don’t have an end game or a plan to get there, you can feel lost and unmotivated. SMART fitness goals provide a framework for you to get certain results. In case you’re wondering, SMART goals do not have something to do with technology but with fitness. SMART goals are -

Specific

Set specific targets. “I want to lose one kilo in one month.” or “I want to lift a 25-kilo dumbbell in three weeks." Imagine someone asking you what your goal is, and you reply by saying, “I want to exercise more”. Such an open-ended statement means everything and nothing all at once. A goal should be specific so there’s no ambiguity.

Measurable

Goals should be something like “I want to drop a size”. Simply coming up with “I want to lose weight” is very vague. Measure everything - the amount of protein shake you put in your jar, the weight you use to exercise and even the water you drink. Having measurable goals keeps you motivated.

Achievable

Goals have to be realistic and achievable. Saying, “I will be as fit as David Goggins by Saturday”, is as ridiculous as the goal itself. Instead, start small and have something that you can actually achieve. For instance - I want to lose three kilos in two weeks. That makes more sense and leaves little room for ambiguity.

Relevant

This is a very common thing that happens with beginners. They go all in, and after a month, they drop out. Build a sustainable habit that you can commit to, irrespective of rain or shine.

Time-bound

Time is of the essence. We cannot stress enough the importance of time when it comes to meeting your fitness objectives. At the same time, there’s no rule set in stone. Generally, one to two months are enough for you to achieve whatever fitness goal you have in mind.

The most important characteristic of a goal is that it has to be achievable and measurable. If it isn’t, then it’s a wish - the kind of wish you made when you were five.

There are two types of gratifications in fitness. Long-term and short-term. They’re just resolutions that have action plans. Short-term fitness objectives could be something basic like “I want to lose five kilos in two weeks”.

With short-term goals, the end game is six months. Small and manageable, these will also make you feel like you’ve achieved something. A long-term goal, however, is completely different. For instance, you might have a long-term goal of shedding 25 kilos. You will require short-term milestones that will act as stepping stones.

Wherever you are in terms of fitness, it is very important that you start. Without starting, short-term and long-term goals will remain goals - they won’t become actionable. Starting at your current fitness levels helps you set realistic goals, pick the right exercises and track your progress. You stay motivated and feel confident in yourself.

Carry out some simple self-assessment tests. So you can tell where you stand in terms of fitness. Using scales, body metrics and endurance tests, you can gauge your current level of fitness before embarking on your fitness journey.

You can start with your weight. How much do you weigh currently? Using a weighing scale would be a great way to find your weight. Next, try to do some simple tests like -

A core strength and stability test

First, assume the plank position. Hold for a minute, then lift the right arm off the ground for 15 seconds. Do the same with the left arm. Next, do your legs - lift the right one for 15 seconds and then the left. If you can do this comfortably, your core is fit and should benefit from some core strengthening exercises.

Push-up test

To perform this test, assume the push-up position. Do as many repetitions as you can with good form. Record the number of repetitions you did. If you do more than 40 pushups, you’re good. However, if you can only do 10-12, you might need to work on overall fitness.

An American army doctor, Kenneth Cooper, in 1968 came up with this fitness test. The test is a great way to determine aerobic fitness and provide a benchmark of maximal oxygen consumption max (VO2 Max) for military personnel. It is still used today as a field test to determine aerobic fitness.

Factors to keep in mind when you perform this test :-

• Distance

• Equipment

• Location

• Safety

• Speed

• Warm-up

How to perform the Cooper Run Test :-

• Warm-up using some light jogging or dynamic movements.

• On a flat, hard surface, mark a clear starting point.

• Start a stopwatch at the moment that you begin running.

• Count each lap completed.

• Stop after 12 minutes and see how many laps are done.

• Walk to cool down for 10 minutes.

You should warm up properly before doing this test. Do it on a track, or along a road or a trail. Run for 12 minutes. Then, insert your distance into the formula below to judge your VO2 Max.

Kilometres : VO2 max = (22.351 x kilometres) - 11.288.

When we look at types of exercises for beginners, we look at basic movements that can be done without much difficulty or stress. As a beginner, your main aim would be to complete the movement and do it properly so you observe the correct form and stay injury-free.

For any exercise that a beginner will do, an expert will do the same thing as well, either with more repetitions or variations.

Cardiovascular workouts

You’ll often hear seasoned gym rats talking about or at least complaining about doing cardio. But at the outset, let us tell you - if you don’t do cardio, you won’t get fitter. Cardio comes from the Greek word ‘kardia’, which roughly translates into heart. When you do cardio, you perform intentional, coordinated physical actions that boost your heart rate.

Do a good cardio session, and you’ll breathe faster because there’s more oxygen in your blood so that the heart can pump more efficiently. Cardio involves things like jogging, running and cycling. In a nutshell, cardio -

• It acts as a mood booster, bringing down stress.

• It is great for your heart and blood vessels.

• Strengthens muscles, joints and bones.

• It brings down the risk of heart disease, as well as cholesterol levels while managing blood pressure.

Strength Training

This is the real deal - also called resistance or weight training; strength training helps you pack on muscle, increase bone density and strengthen your ligaments and tendons. As a result, your quality of life improves, and your risk of chronic disease goes down manifold.

Normally, when we say strength training, we mean lifting weights to build muscle. However, as a beginner, you would benefit from doing the movements without the weight. For instance, start with bodyweight squats, push-ups, pull-ups and parallel bar dips.

Flexibility and Mobility

How limber you are will dictate how flexible and mobile you really are. Stretching before, during and after your workout is extremely important because it helps prevent injuries and keeps your muscles supple.

Stretching works your flexibility, boosts your range of motion, improves how you perform in physical activities, facilitates blood flow to your muscles, improves posture, helps you to heal and is great for relieving stress.

Together with stretching, you could do some basic yoga poses. Simple and suitable for everyone, it improves physical and mental well-being. Some basic yoga poses are - tadasana, bhujangasana and shavasana. They are great for improving flexibility and mobility.

Combining workouts for balanced fitness

If you don’t want to look like Johnny Bravo, you have to combine workouts for balanced fitness. When you draw an exercise routine, you must try to perform the movements and workouts in such a way that it remains balanced.

For instance, in a week, if you’re doing strength training for three days, dedicate one day for cardio and another for flexibility. What this will do is ensure that your workouts are fruitful, i.e., they will have some impact on your body. This will also ensure that you don’t overwork any particular muscle group unnecessarily.

So when you decide to embark on a fitness journey, the first thing that you need is a proper routine. You can’t just do one kind of exercise and expect it to help you reach your fitness goals or even ensure you’re motivated throughout your session.

What goes into a balanced exercise plan? According to The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans from the US Department of Health and Human Services, here are the guidelines.

• 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise weekly or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity.

• Two or more strength training sessions weekly, keeping at least two days in between so your muscles can recover.

When you embark upon your fitness journey and start going to the gym, it is important for you to maintain consistency in the early stages. The best thing to do is perform a particular set of exercises for a pre-determined amount of time.

During this stage, consistency is more important than intensity. For instance, the very fact that you’re making it to the gym is half the battle won. You don’t have to do anything heavy, at least initially.

I know that going through the internet looking for beginner-friendly routines is difficult, so I have done that for you. Here’s the plan that I have compiled. Keep in mind that this is just a general outline, and your trainer will be able to assign a more specific exercise routine for you.

How to Warm Up and Cool Down Properly

Have you seen soccer players running around, stretching, and jumping before their game? That’s called warming up. Warming up your body is important because it prepares your muscles for the workout that will follow. If you have not warmed up and stretched, you will get muscle injuries.

For the same reason, cooling down is also important to transition your body smoothly between activity and rest.

Basically, it assists the body in adapting to the demands of exercise without shock - resulting in a safer and better workout experience.

Remember, fitness is 30% exercise and 70% diet and nutrition. So if you’re not eating right, no matter what your bench press numbers are, it’s not going to work.

It is imperative that you eat healthy and get in all the necessary nutrients so you maintain overall health and keep diseases or other health conditions at bay. You need to eat a balanced meal of all the minerals, vitamins, proteins, carbohydrates and fat because all of these are integral parts of your body's composition.

In order to get the most out of your fitness regime, you need to double it up with great nutrition as well. That’s the only recipe for fitness success.

Basics of nutrition - understanding macronutrients, proteins, carbs and fats

What you choose to eat can have a huge impact on your physical or mental health. Contrary to our societal understanding, we do need fat in our bodies. It’s not that we don’t need a certain element - we need to strike a balance in the proportion of elements that we consume to maximise their effect.

Proteins

Large, complex molecules that play a very important role in the body. They carry out most of the work in cells and are indispensable for maintaining the structure, function and regulation of our body’s tissues and organs.

Carbohydrates

Colloquially known as carbs, they are sugar molecules, and one of the three main nutrients present in foods and drinks. Our body breaks down carbohydrates into glucose or blood sugar - the main energy source for our body’s tissues, organs and cells.

Fat

Other than making us look socially unacceptable, this micronutrient in our diet gives us energy, insulation and structure. They are found in foods like milk, cooking oil and butter. The different types of fats are saturated fat, trans fat, monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat.

Ever seen anyone working out? They’re often sweating buckets. There’s a reason for this. The body expels sweat to stay cool. As the sweat evaporates from our skin, it gets rid of excess heat from the body.

We have to drink water during workouts to replace the fluids we lose upon sweating. That way, we keep heat stress away and maintain normal body function and performance levels. You must drink water before, during and after workouts to stay hydrated so you can workout properly.

Pre-workout meal - One meal with a lot of carbohydrates so you have fuel while working out.

Post-workout meal - One meal with a lot of protein to help with lean muscle mass.

There are a lot of challenges when it comes to working out. First is time; second, you might have some physical anomalies that may be a barrier. Next is the lack of motivation to work out. According to most fitness industry statistics, around 50% of people who join a gym drop out within the first six months. Also, 63% of gym memberships are virtually unused.

How do we find the motivation to work out? If you want to prevail over common challenges with exercising, you can start by setting realistic goals, doing exercises you enjoy, working out with a buddy, mixing up your routine, starting small, paying heed to your body, addressing workout anxieties and generally motivating yourselves to workout.

Staying Motivated on Your Fitness Journey

Working out is easy - working out consistently is hard. If you ever find yourself slacking off and not going to the gym, there are certain ways you can motivate yourself to stay on the wagon.

Switch it up

Choose from a range of different physical activities and exercises. Don’t stick to one thing for too long, because you’ll get bored.

Try something new

In the rare event that you do get bored, try something new or challenge yourself. Did benchpress this week? Great. Start with flies. Or try something new. Like kettlebells, for that matter.

Set fresh fitness goals

Nothing screams motivation like new fitness goals. Try to set new goals and throw out the old ones. That should get you off your chair and to the gym.

Get a training buddy

Train with someone, or join a spinning class or other group activity. The enthusiasm of others shall pull you along.

Buy new clothes

This one is my personal favourite. If you get jaded, buy new clothes. Drop by your neighbourhood athleisure store and see what they have to offer.

Post it power

Scribble some motivational messages about fitness on some post-it notes. Plaster them on your bed-post, bathroom mirror or work laptop. That should motivate you enough.

Dealing with common fitness challenges

When you start exercising, everything is hunky-dory - exercises are enjoyable, you like working out, and you start seeing results, too, after some passage of time.

How do you overcome fatigue? And how do you avoid the dreaded burnout? All you have to do is switch up the workout routine, practise progressive overload, prioritise sleep, and listen to your body - to prevent overtraining. If you want to bust out of a plateau, this is what you should do -

Change your routine

Switching up your workouts is a great way to overcome a plateau, and there are many ways you can do this. Change the intensity and duration. If you normally do short, high-intensity workouts, try swimming, cycling or rowing at a steady pace.

Try something new

Challenge yourself. Try a new activity, exercise class or sport. Jump onto a new weight machine, a cross-trainer, or an elliptical trainer. You will end up using different muscle groups.

Add a buddy

If you have been working out alone, it can get boring. Ask a buddy to join, or try joining a class like a spinning class or a cardio session with other people. This will instantly motivate you to workout harder.

Periodise the training plan

Periodisation training refers to a principle that boosts progress, enhances performance and prevents overtraining. Use training cycles and change your intensity, duration and volume, for maximum effect.

Incorporate progressive overload

Use the principle of progressive overload to change the frequency, intensity and volume of your strength training routine. Increase your weight load, do more reps, train more often - the choice is yours.

Injury prevention

Listen. All this enthusiasm is the perfect ingredient for an injury. In 2021, there were an estimated 409,224 injuries caused by exercise equipment. Don’t get injured in the gym, and know when enough is enough. Here’s how you stay injury-free.

Go slow

Never rush. Gradual progression is the real deal. Whether you’re training for a marathon or starting to play football again, do ramp up the intensity, but be mindful and go slow, especially if you’re coming off the couch.

Warm up the extremities

Achilles tendon ruptures, fractures and ankle sprains are the most common injuries. Make sure you warm them up before you start exercising.

Stretch and strengthen your muscles

This is very important to stay injury-free. Be careful of twists, pivoting or explosive movements - these can cause a strain and give you an injury.

Stay loose

Make sure your muscles aren’t tight - that can cause an injury. Your calves, shoulders and arms get a special mention here.

Check your neck

Your hip, shoulders and neck are the most prone to injury. Always be mindful when working out, and give your muscles a break when required.

Listen to your body

Gym rats and athletes often have shoulder and bicep injuries. Always listen to your body and the signals that it gives you when you’re exercising.

Phew!! That was quite the visual workout. Now, on to the real thing. Time to hit the gym and work out all those dormant muscles. Remember to warm up and cool down accordingly so you avoid injury. Have a good time!

Ready to commit to your fitness journey? Start today!

FAQs

What’s the best way to start working out if I’m a beginner?

If you are a beginner, don’t just land up at the gym and start doing weights. The proper way to start working out is first to set some goals. Do you want to lose weight? Or do you want to gain weight? Do you want to become a better footballer? Or are you looking to swim faster? Whatever the reason, pick one for yourself and start working out.

How long should I exercise as a beginner?

If you are starting out, you should work out no longer than an hour in the gym. One hour will be more than enough to warm up, exercise and cool down. As a beginner, you’ll be doing very basic movements, and for that, you don’t need much time - an hour should be enough.

Can I lose weight by just working out?

It is not possible to lose weight by just working out. You have to follow a diet as well. Only if you eat right and lift right will you see any results. If you just go and work out, nothing will come of it. You have to eat the right food and stay away from the wrong food. Only then will you lose weight.

What should I eat before and after workouts?

Before working out, you could eat a banana or a bowl of porridge. The trick is to get enough carbohydrates in your system so that they can fuel your body. Don’t overeat or stuff yourself before going to the gym. A small nutritious meal should do.

How do I stay motivated when I don’t feel like exercising?

There will be days when you don’t feel like exercising at all. Everything seems bleak, and all you want to do is to stay home and watch Netflix or go out with your friends. Fair enough. We all have our off days. On days like this, remember why you joined the gym in the first place. Remember your goals. Keep them in mind. Let’s see if you bunk your workout post this.

Is stretching really important before working out?

Stretching before working out preps your muscles for physical activity, improving your performance and bringing down your risk of injury. Stretching keeps your muscles long and flexible. It prevents muscles from becoming short and tight. It helps your muscles work effectively to perform when the time comes.