You decided to start! That is absolutely amazing.
You got to the gym the first day, bought your membership, stepped onto the gym floor, felt so overwhelmed, and left.
You were never seen at the gym again.
Let’s take a few steps back and troubleshoot.
You decided to start working on your health so you want to get in shape and build some muscle. This is a major habit to build and one that will serve you for the rest of your life, if you are able to maintain it. So why not make the most of it by planning it well?
- Make sure you know why you are doing this and take note of it somewhere. Remind yourself that you are doing this to get stronger, healthier, more fit, more explosive. You want to be able to keep up with your kids, to go up a flight of stairs with ease, or you saw someone compete in a strength sport and got inspired. Remember your WHY.
- How many days a week can you commit to this goal without it disturbing your life too much? Where you can still enjoy social gatherings while also getting enough rest for work. It might be exciting to say you want to exercise every day, but if you are just starting out, committing to a sustainable 2-3 times a week might be just what you need to build this habit for months and years. This is why we have the 12 Week Strength Program, and we have found great success for those that can just make it 2 times.
Whatever you can do consistently for months will always be better than what you can do for a few days or weeks.
- What do you want to focus on the most? Which exercises or muscles do you want to develop? Do you have some knowledge about this or will you need guidance to get going?
- Speaking of guidance, have you considered outsourcing? A lot of the time we put off getting started because the steps just feel like so much in our head. We need to find the gym, figure out how many days to go, understand more about which muscles to train and for how much, and also navigate our way through all the machines in the gym. Let’s not forget technique. What works for your body and how to execute a lift? Hiring someone to eliminate all that guess work and set you up for a successful start will only make things easier and guarantee a smoother introduction to exercise. With our online coaching service, this becomes so much easier to do from anywhere in the world. Check out the online coaching tab for more about this.
- Last but not least, don’t over complicate it in your head. Do what you can do when you can do it. Remember, perfect doesn’t exist. Don’t be too hard on yourself and make sure you do most of the work. And always communicate with your coach about what you are able to do and what is too overwhelming. This feedback will allow for a more dynamic program and help you sustain habits instead of burning out.
You are doing this for you and getting started is most of the work. So find what allows you to keep this going for as long as possible.
If you need guidance and want to speak to one of our personal trainers then get in touch with us now. Desert Barbell is located in Dubai and offers specialized personal training and strength training services.
This article was prepared by Strength Coach Dalia Zawil.