Today, I'm going to share with you my best fitness tips! There are just four tips I'm giving you, for when you want to get in the gym, or start becoming more active, so keep reading and up your game!
1. Get someone who knows what they're doing to show you what to do!
Or better yet, get yourself a block of Personal Trainer sessions. The benefits of a great PT are invaluable; you will be given exercises specific to you, your goal and ability; and a great PT will also take into consideration any limitations you may have. Without fail, every single day in the gym I will see someone performing an exercise incorrectly.
PT won’t seem expensive when you are getting out of it what you want. Ask for sessions for your birthday or Christmas and really research the PT you are potentially picking. Unfortunately, there are a lot of poor personal trainers out there, amongst the gems, just like with any profession! So, chat to them before agreeing to anything, and read plenty of reviews.
2. Work out your BMR (basal metabolic rate) so you can control your results easier.
The reason I am bringing this one into my top four is because 99% of clients want to lose weight. You can’t do this as easily if you don’t know how many calories your body needs to maintain its weight. Your BMR is essentially the amount of calories your body needs to keep you alive when you are literally just sat on the sofa and do no physical exercise all day.
Your height, weight, gender and age will determine you BMR. There are plenty of BMR calculators online so try a few. Once you know this figure, any exercise you do take, even if its chores around the house will mean you have now increased your BMR.
For example:
- BMR = 1200 calories
- Gym session= 400 calories burnt
- Walking around at work and doing general chores= 600 calories burnt
- Total calories burnt = 2200
If you consume 2200 cals each day you will maintain weight, if you eat more than this you will gain weight, less and you will lose weight. Get it?
3. Have balance with your food
Now you know your BMR, it's time to plan your food! Download an app like MyFitnessPal, so you can input your food each day. This means you will see that having a chocolate bar each day is fine, as long as you are still within your set calories for the day. Try to eat a varied full diet with plenty of nutritious food. I often get asked how I can eat chocolate each day and remain lean and now you can see that it’s actually easy to do that.
4. Set goals other than targets for scales and Ibiza 2020 bodies
Set yourself targets with your weights, reps and sets. I find that clients who focus on something other than their reflection staring back at them tend to feel more fulfilled and motivated than others. If you don’t fit into your ‘thin’ jeans after three weeks of the gym, you’re likely to lose hope. If you achieved a new weight on a squat as well as not fitting into those jeans you’ll think "I may not fit into those jeans yet but I did smash that new weight on squats yesterday so I’m carrying on!" That will make you feel amazing and you’ll not want to stop. Without even realising it, your body will change as you will be regularly training with your exciting gym goals in mind. The Ibiza bod and slim jeans will come in time.
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