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Exercise. Some people love it. Some people hate it. Everyone knows they should be doing more of it. While many of us dream of having the physique of chiselled athletes, it can seem unattainable. The excess noise in the fitness world doesn’t help, with fitness influencers promoting their products or diets, and if you don’t know what to look for, it can become overwhelming.
Have you ever signed up to a gym but not ended up going? Well, you are not alone as research shows that Brits spent nearly £4bn a year on unused gym memberships (pre-pandemic). A major reason is that it can be intimidating or because people aren’t sure what to do. But maintaining a healthy body doesn’t require fancy equipment or complicated routines.
Most of us want to stay in shape and not have to spend our lives in the gym to do so. With that in mind, below are 4 key things to consider when working towards your fitness goals.
Consistency is key
There is no such thing as an overnight miracle. That holds when it comes to getting in shape as well. Just as you can’t keep your teeth healthy by brushing a few times a year, you can’t keep your body healthy by exercising only when a new year’s resolution comes along.
It is recommended you do 30 minutes of moderate daily exercise to maintain good health. This increases if you have specific weight loss or fitness goals in mind. Importantly, the exercise you do doesn’t have to be complicated. Walking, running, and straightforward bodyweight exercises can be more than enough to maintain good health if done consistently.
The best part is that the more you exercise the more you come to love it and it goes from being something you dread to something you look forward to. It’s a positive upward spiral.
Top tip: if you want to work out in the morning, but struggle to find the motivation, leave your workout clothes next to your bed, or better yet, sleep in them. When the morning rolls around, there will be little to no barrier to get you ready to start moving.
If you’re still struggling for motivation, commit to just doing the warm-up. As I’ve written about in my article on procrastination, getting started is the hardest part. Committing to just the warm-up pushes you to get up and start. Once you start, the rest becomes easier.
Incorporate Movement into your Daily Life
Exercise doesn’t have to be something restricted to the gym or when you’re in ‘workout mode’. Staying active should be incorporated into your daily life.
With office jobs and time in front of the TV, it can be easy to end up sitting for hours on end. But this should be avoided as long periods of inactivity are linked to increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease and cancer.
Try and break up inactivity by moving around for at least 1 or 2 minutes every hour. If you’re in an office, go grab some water or if you’re feeling brave, find a corner and do some squats. As most of us are working from home at the moment, it’s even easier!
Most fitness bands and smartwatches have a feature to remind you to move if you’ve been seated for too long. I would highly recommend this relatively inexpensive fitness band that I use that nudges me to keep moving, tracks my steps, and does pretty much everything else I need.
Similarly, look for opportunities to stay active. Sprint up the next flight of stairs you encounter. Stand instead of sit on public transport or when talking on the phone. All these novelties not only burn more calories but will also mix up your day, which can only be good.
Don’t overlook flexibility and mobility
Everyone’s fitness goals are different. But whether you want bulging muscles or a toned physique, it’s important to emphasise flexibility and mobility which, like everything else, need to be worked on consistently.
A quick summary of the difference between the two:
- Flexibility refers to a muscle’s ability to lengthen passively. For example, flexibility is when you can lift your leg further with the assistance of your arms.
- Mobility is related to the joints and their ability to move actively through their full range of motion. For example, lifting your leg 90 degrees and back down without any assistance.
Mobility is critically important for a healthy body, and especially with age, poor mobility can lead to an increased risk of injury.
Focus on strength training and excessive sitting in chairs can cause our muscles to become tight. Just 10 minutes of daily stretching and mobility exercises can be enough to prevent this. Plus, it feels really good. For a quick morning mobility routine check out this video.
Top tip: Sit and work on the floor if possible. Sitting on the floor in various positions actively stretches your lower body and opens up your hip muscles, which get tight when sitting in chairs. It might feel difficult and might even ache a bit at first, but this is your body adapting to a new way of moving.
Make exercising easy
You are committed to exercising more and staying in shape. But where to start? What exercises should you do and for how long? This is often the point that trips people up. People certainly have the desire to get into shape but there’s just so much information out there it can be hard to know what to do.
Back when they were open, many people would be paying for expensive gym memberships only to lift a few weights, run a bit on the treadmill, and wait around for different machines to become available (I too was one of these people). Going to the gym is great but can be inefficient when it’s busy and yield underwhelming results if not armed with a plan.
Since gyms have closed, people have realised that bodyweight workouts at home can be equally, if not more, effective. While you certainly could sit and plan a routine and motivate yourself through a workout, I believe in making things as easy as possible whenever possible.
That’s why I think it is absolutely worth subscribing to a fitness app. These apps are great because it takes the mental effort and planning out of working out. For most people, following an expert in the comfort of your own home is the perfect fitness solution.
My recommendation
I’ve tried a few different apps during lockdown and the one I use daily and would highly highly recommend is FiiT.
It has expert trainers, live sessions, and workouts with different focuses. Want a 25 minute, lower body workout with low impact? Just choose these options and a list of workouts will present themselves.
The biggest reason I think FiiT is brilliant is that, with 600+ classes and 20+ training plans, there’s something for everyone. There are workouts of different lengths, for different areas of the body, fat-burning classes, strength, flexibility, yoga, accompanying music in all sessions, and instructors who work just as hard as you and motivate you to keep going. It’s basically like having a bunch of personal trainers for a fraction of the cost.
If you want to give it a try, start with a 14-day free trial and if you’re still not convinced, check out my full review of the app where I include screenshots and examples.
Exercise is important. We all know that. Just getting started and staying motivated can be difficult. I hope the tips above give you some ideas and motivation to begin your fitness journey. It doesn’t have to be complicated or take up much time. Just keep it consistent.
Cheers!
