Ultimate Workout Guide for Beginners
You’ve signed up for your new gym membership and taken that first step toward achieving your fitness goals, so now what? As an exercise novice, it can be difficult to find your rhythm with a new workout routine. How do you learn all the new lingo and how to do every exercise, stay motivated to succeed, AND keep yourself on track to reach your goals, all while avoiding feeling overwhelmed or getting burnt out?
Luckily, we’ve got a few tips and tricks in this Ultimate Workout Guide for Beginners that can help you hit the ground running. Take a look at what you can do to set yourself up for success today!
Start Small & Work Your Way Up
Instead of focusing on your larger goals at the beginning of your fitness journey, you should look for smaller, more manageable goals you can achieve to get you closer to your end goal. For example, if your main goal is to lose 50 pounds, then you could set smaller goals like exercising at least three days a week or cutting out sugary drinks and sodas. Doing this can help prevent burnout early on, and it will give you a better sense of direction towards your ultimate goal.
Think of these smaller goals like steppingstones leading you up to your larger goal. Once you’ve mastered your first set of smaller goals, you can find other ways to make an impact on your fitness journey and work your way up to your final goal. Gradually introducing changes like this will help you find sustainable solutions for your exercise and eating habits that can last a lifetime.
Pro Tip – Don’t forget to celebrate when you reach a new goal before moving on to the next! So many people hit a goal and just keep going without recognizing their hard work. Whether it’s a small treat meal or a fun activity you wouldn’t normally do, celebrating your accomplishments is something that can help keep you motivated!
Take Time to Learn Proper Form
One of the best things you can do in the beginning of your fitness journey is to take time to learn the proper form for each exercise. This not only helps ensure you’re doing the moves correctly, but also that you’re targeting the right muscle groups to help your body grow stronger.
It’s best not to add too much weight or increase the speed of your reps before you’ve mastered your form to help prevent injuries as you’re learning. Once you’ve mastered your exercise form, then you can increase the intensity of each move with additional weight or a faster workout pace.
Pro Tip: Having a trainer by your side to coach you is a great way to stay on top of your game! At 9Round, one of our Champion Trainers is always there to ensure you’re crushing your workout with proper form from start to finish!
Don't Overcommit Yourself
When setting up your new fitness routine, it’s important to find a schedule you can fully commit to early on. Overcommitting yourself with 5-7 workouts per week right from the start is a great way to experience burnout and defeat, as you will inevitably miss a day down the line. It can also make you more likely to get an injury, as your body is not used to doing that much activity on a regular basis.
Instead, you should try starting with just three workouts per week and see how you handle that before adding in more. This is a more sustainable approach that can make it easier for you to maintain your new exercise habits, even when your schedule gets busy. Once you get used to working out three days a week without missing a session, then you can start adding more workouts to your routine. But no matter how fit you are, we still recommend having at least one rest day throughout the week to give your body time to recover.
Find Accountability
Whether it’s a fitness app on your phone that reminds you to get up and move or a workout buddy who always makes sure you show up to the gym, having some level of accountability will help you stay on track for your fitness goals and keep you from slacking off when things get difficult.
Finding something or someone to hold you accountable is incredibly important in the beginning of any new fitness routine because we naturally resist change. Luckily, there are plenty of options when it comes to finding accountability, and even our 9Round Champion Trainers are there to call you out when they haven’t seen you at the studio in a while.
