Have you ever wanted to start working out but had no idea where to start? Well, no need to wait until New Year’s to start building your dream body. You can start now! Working out isn’t just about losing weight. Everyone has a goal they want to achieve or a look they want to accomplish. Whether that’s growing your booty or increasing your strength, your goals are solely dependent on what you want to see for yourself. Once you establish your goals, that’s where the fun gets started.
The most important part about figuring out where to start your workout journey is figuring out what your body type is. There are three main body types: endomorph, mesomorph and ectomorph. They each have their own distinct characteristics and can overlap if you fall under multiple categories. For example, if you have a greater skin surface area but also have a heavy, hard and rectangular outline, then you would be considered an ecto-mesomorph. Take the quiz to discover your body type here. Once you discover your body type, you can start to build your workouts and meal plan.
Working out is only 25% of weight loss and 50% of building a healthy lifestyle. No matter the reason you start working out, the food you put into your body is going to be the way you start seeing real results. Healthy eating isn’t just all fruits and vegetables. Your diet is actually not as restricted as you may think. You may have heard of certain diets, including keto, paleo, atkins, etc. Those diets are all targeted at people who want or need to lose weight in order to maintain their health conditions, like diabetes or celiac. The main way you determine your diet is by discovering your body type. For example, for an ectomorph, you would consume a high-protein diet with balanced carbs and fats. Ectomorphs have higher metabolisms and lanky bone structures, therefore, it is important for them to be able to eat a substantial diet in order to maintain energy. As you discover what your body type and diet should look like, you start eating healthy! The best part about working out is all the new recipes you get to try and delicious food that’s actually good for your body. My Fitness Pal is a great tool for discovering new and healthy recipes as well as logging your food to track your calories, if you so choose.
Now that you know your goals, body type and how to diet, it’s time to start building your workout routine. Depending on your prior knowledge of working out, there are various ways you can find workouts or classes that fit your lifestyle and goals. If you’re a stay-at-home type of person, there are great workout programs on Youtube or through a virtual gym membership. If you’re an on-the-go person, you can sign up for a gym membership or find places around your neighborhood to workout, like parks or running trails. If you do decide to go to the gym, the biggest struggle will be building an actual workout. For those who may not have as much experience working out, you can use workout apps like TRX or Nike. For those who want to target specific muscle groups and are somewhat familiar with working out, you can build a workout routine that targets different parts of your body each time you go to the gym. This would be called a split workout routine, where you do different workouts on different days of the week to target different parts of the body. For instance, Monday could be leg day, Tuesday could be back & biceps, Wednesday could be triceps and shoulders, etc. From there, you pick the workouts that not only target the specific muscles you want to grow, but also the ones you feel comfortable doing. Whichever way you choose, the point of working out is to move your body so, over time, you will learn what works best for you.
Now that you have all the tools, it’s time to put it into action! The motivation is all up to you, it’s been in you all along. As long as you stay focused on your goals and keep a consistent mindset, you will see results in no time. Stay away from the scale during this process. A scale is only a number. It is not a reflection of your body or your progress and will only discourage you if you’re not seeing the number you want to see. A way I like to stay motivated is by taking pictures once a month of my body progress. Some months it may look like nothing much has changed, but by the time a couple months or even a year goes by you will see your growth. Growth can also be seen by strength, endurance or personal records you may have had such as being able to do squats with a heavier weight, completing a workout without taking a break or running a mile for a faster time. Your progress is up to you and how hard you’re willing to push yourself. YOU GOT THIS! Your dream body is at your fingertips.