How to stick to a workout routine for beginners
By: Netra Krishnan
Tags: Workout, Health, Fitness, Lifestyle, Fitness Tips

“Oh god, I need to work out!” That was pretty much how, the workout routine I was so enthusiastic about, ended up feeling like, in 3–4 days.

I’ve heard tons of people say working out should be fun. Honestly, I don’t know how it is for a fitness freak, but to most of us working out can’t be fun. But, that doesn’t mean we can’t work out. I am a straight-A student but does that mean I found studying fun? No, I had fun all week and pulled all-nighters the day before the exam because I had a fear of facing exam papers and feeling blank. Likewise, for my workouts, after several trials and errors, I made a few conclusions.

The motivation: I tried to use the tactic I used for my studies, a fear of what would happen if I don’t work out. But it only made it worse. Firstly, working out didn’t guarantee I’d lose weight. It is hard to put faith in an outcome that is uncertain. Rather, focus on something like, If I finish this workout routine, I’d be more confident the next time I start a routine, or I will become better at doing certain workouts. Treat working out as an art form that needs practice, to master. Picking the right routine: Remember, you can’t get it right on the first time. All workout routines are equally effective. But the key, is to pick the one that is best suited for you. If you find cardio difficult, choose routines that have fewer cardio exercises a day, if you find strength training more difficult, choose routines with fewer strength exercises. Now don’t worry that you’re leaving out on the ones you find difficult. That’s not true, you are working on them at a slower pace and once you get better at it, you can switch routines. Try out multiple routines for a month, remember no workout is flawless, so pick the one you find to be better. Doing the routine right:

Engaging the core: This is one big mistake, most of us make. Engaging your core makes certain workouts so much easier. I have weak arms and all this while I’ve never been able to do the plank right. I could feel my core burn, so I assumed I was doing it right, but at one point my arms would hurt so badly I couldn’t continue. Engaging your core, is to pull your tummy in, when I did that I felt lighter and it became easier for my arms to hold up my body. Most of the exercises require engaging your core and if you do that, trust me, they get slightly easier. It doesnt work the other way around though, releasing your core only tires out the other body muscle that is involved.

Breathing: Remembering to breathe can be very hard when you’ve just started out. It takes practice to make it happen naturally. So for starters everytime, the thought of how painful the workout is , or how you’re running out of breath and can’t continue crosses your mind, imagine a clear blue sky and suck in a deep breath and continue to focus on your breath rather than the pain. It is ok to slow down a bit, but try your best not to stop.

Distractions: Sometimes my thoughts wander off to the tons of incomplete work I’ve to do for the day and without knowing my workout is slacking off. If you notice yourself getting distracted very often, stop working out, clear your mind and come back when you’re ready. Sometimes, the music helps you focus too. Go in sync with the beats or observe how its pumping you up instead of thinking about unrelated topics.

Diet: Your end goal, shouldn’t be weight loss if you’re not planning to diet. Calory deficit is necessary for weight loss. If this is your first time dieting, it can be very hard to focus on both working out and dieting. So make sure you get slightly comfortable with at least one of them before doing them both together and planning weight loss. If you’re starting off dieting, try out 15 minute workouts everyday for a while and then start your routine.If you start with workouts, make mini goals , like avoiding sugar or soda and then start a proper diet.

4. Scheduling: I know most of us aren’t determined enough. If there’s one thing we need, to workout, its a lot of determination and motivation. When I first started out, my planning was messed up. I’d say ok the workout is 40 minutes long, so lets start at 12:30 pm, finish whenever and then have lunch. This turned out so wrong, I realized I didn’t feel hungry after working out, and if my workouts ended too late, the rest of my schedule would mess up. Sometimes the work I was doing before, didnt end at 12:30 exactly, it would go till 1 and then I’d say ok, there’s no time to workout.

Fix a time span of 1 hour everyday, for working out, no matter how long your routine is. Make sure the activity you’re doing before it is something simple, like drinking a cup of coffee or listening to music and not something that requires a lot of focus. Then when the clock strikes get to working.

5. Avoid Overthinking:This is the most important and I don’t know why I’ve put it in the end. Working out it is simple, all you’ve to do is get your ass off the chair and workout. Do not think about the muscles you’re stretching, if you’re doing it right, etc unless it’s been some time and it still doesn’t feel right. Do all the thinking before you pick your routine and once you’ve picked one, blindly stick to it.

These are only a few suggestions, there are several other ways to customize and manipulate your mind into making working out exciting. Wearing workout gears, keeping the gym mat in sight, etc are a few of them. You can try them out too along with this and ta-da you’ve miraculously completed your first workout routine.