I’ve been working out and pursuing a healthy life for the better part of 10 years now. As I look back on my journey, there are so many things I wish I understood early on. No matter where you are on your fitness journey, remember these simple tips. I guarantee they will all help you.
1. Nobody is judging how much weight you can lift. Most people could not care any less how much weight you are lifting and are not even watching you. You should always focus on doing an exercise correctly, especially if you’re a beginner- if that means just using your bodyweight, then that’s what you should do! Ego lifting is only going to get you injured.
2. If you don’t understand something, ask somebody who does. If you don’t know how to do an exercise, ask someone. If you hear about a fad diet in the news and don’t know anything about it, ask someone who does. Health and fitness is constantly evolving and we are ALL students.
3. Arguably the most important lesson of all: progress takes time. There are no shortcuts to fat loss or muscle gain. Take it slow. If you’re committed to this whole fitness thing, you’ve got your entire life ahead of you. You don’t need results in 4 weeks.
4. Log your progress. Write down your weight, how you feel, everything. And take progress photos. Don’t be embarrassed to have photos in your phone of you flexing in a mirror in your underwear. I truly regret not taking progress photos and logging everything along the way, because there’s no way to see just how far I’ve come.
5. What you see in the mirror isn’t what everyone else sees. We dissect our bodies in the mirror every single day, noticing every ounce of fat and imperfection. Not only do we have a filter on ourselves, but we are looking at the same angle of our body every single day. I recently saw a candid photo of myself and came to the major realization that I looked better than I ever thought. YOU are your own worst critic, and staring at yourself in the mirror is always going to give you a flawed perspective.
