Today I am sharing something that I have a love/hate relationship with. Fitness. I’ve always been a “bigger girl”. I had a my growth spurt early and matured physically really young. I was into sports. Horseback riding, swimming, soccer and gymnastics. I was quite fit. Then I had knee problems. I had two knee surgeries and had to stop all sports. Needless to say I got bigger….and bigger….and bigger. Summer of 2013 my goal was to get FIT and THIN. I lost 30+ pounds and went from a size 10/12 to a 0-2/4. Since then, I’ve put about 10 pounds back on and am a flabby 4/6. Ha! Right now my goal is to get fit again. Here are my 5 Tips for Starting {or getting back into} a Fitness Program.
Tip #1- Start off slow. Do not over-do working out or “dieting”. Just start off slowing cutting the bad stuff and putting in good stuff in your diet. Remember, food is fuel for your body. It’s there to help, not harm you. Eat good, natural foods. And maybe start off working out two or three times a week and work up to five or six days a week. It’s better to add more than to cut back.
Tip #2- Work through the soreness. After one of your first real “good” workouts, you might be pretty sore. Don’t skip a day because of it. Your body is getting stronger, and it won’t get stronger if you don’t keep pushing it. That being said, if it HURTS, don’t keep doing something. Try an easier workout or just get out a do something fun like a walk or a bikeride. Swimming is great too, but doesn’t seem like hard work. 🙂
Tip #3- Switch up your workouts. Do some DVDs, ride your bike, do a running program. I like doing Jillian Micheals’ DVDs. My favorite is her Ripped in 30 and her Extreme Shed and Shred. But I started out with the 30 Day Shred and for an easy day I like her Kickboxing one. She keeps me on my toes. And I never get bored! Ha.
Tip #4- Have a workout partner or an accountability partner. When I was living at home, me and my mom were workout partners and accountability partners. Now I don’t have an accountability partner at home- but you can still check up on each other. But I am blessed with two workout partners still. My mom and I lift twice a week and I meet my sister-in-law at the gym at 5:30am three times a week.
Tip #5- Lift HEAVY. I don’t mean walking with hand weights. I mean get out there with free weights and LIFT. No, it won’t make you big or bulky. It’s great for our bones and our muscles and it burns more calories throughout the day than cardio. Find a good program and stick with it. Add weight when you need to. I started off bench pressing around 20lbs and I moved up to 40lbs. When I started I couldn’t do man push-ups and I was to the point where I was doing them with 20lbs on my back. Girls can lift. And it defines your muscles and whittles your core down. It helps you lose fat, not necessarily weight. I gained 2lbs in muscle but went down a size after I started lifting.
What tips do you have for starting off? What fitness programs do you like or don’t like?
Sincerely,
Hannah Diane
wildandfreehomestead.com 
Great reminders!
Hey Hannah, it’s Shaynie! I came across your blog awhile back and decided to say hello. I’ve enjoyed reading your posts, and I’m glad to see you and Luke are doing well! Maybe we can keep in touch via our blogs, since I don’t have Facebook anymore.
I hope you have a good day!
It’s good to hear from you, Shaynie! Thank you for leaving a note. I will definitely be checking out your blog. 🙂
I’m definitely going to invest in some weights, I don’t have a car at the moment so there is going to the gym for me.
I can vouch that free weights are awesome! I wish I had a better routine to do to my music like they do in classes at the gym though (I do not favor videos).
Love these tips! I also love doing workout classes; Zumba, yoga, spin, kickboxing, just to name a few. You still get a good work out while switching your routine up to something different and dare I say, fun. Happy New Year!
These are great tips – I agree with lifting and keeping things fresh. It’s so great that you get to work out with your Mom and SIL 🙂