Building Your Own Workout Plan – The First Step Towards Fitness

FITNESS! What image do you get after hearing this word? Let’s play a rewind button and one can find people associating fitness with athletes or people in the armed forces. If we move forward a little, models and actresses were also included in this category. Fast forward to the present and we can see everyone in the picture, who loves themselves and would love to take care of their body. Nowadays, we all want to be fit, our reasons may vary but the goal is ultimate, to have a healthy lifestyle and toned body. So here we are, ready to help you out with the basic steps of planning a workout routine for yourself. We’ll tell you how to take that first step towards making a successful workout plan. So, Let’s dig into it.

1. Analyzing current physical fitness

First things first, you need to carefully observe your present state of the body to plan a workout routine accordingly. You can get checked by a health professional or you can follow simple guides available on the internet to see which department of your body needs to be worked on. You need to make sure you do not have any underlying medical condition which could worsen due to moderate or high-intensity workouts. Analyzing your body mass index (BMI) is also a great way to help you determine your fitness goal. Assessing your current condition will take you towards the next step of fitness.

2. Why a workout plan?

So, the basics can’t be ruled out and the basics of a workout plan need you to first determine what you want to do with your body? Why? When? and How? So, you are going to ask yourself 3 Ws and we’ll tell you the answer of How. The first and foremost thing is you need to be very clear about your fitness goals to lay out your workout plan. You can set your goals while keeping this golden rule referred to as SMART in your mind.

Specific: You need to be precise and detailed about your motivation behind this goal.

Measurable: To monitor your progress, you need to set a goal that you can measure over time and can assess the progress.

Attainable: Setting a goal and attaining it are two different things, and both should come together to achieve your goal. You need to set the goal, keeping in mind your schedule, family commitments, job routine and other activities.

Realistic: Do not just jump straight into a high-intensity fitness program, you need to set realistic goals which could be challenging but do not exceed your limits.

Timeframe: Giving yourself a deadline to accomplish your goal can motivate you to be consistent and complete it in time.

After following this rule, you need to question yourself why you want to take on a journey of fitness routine? This crucial question is what will lay out the base of your fitness plan.

3. Design a realistic and achievable workout plan

Now you are done with estimating your physical fitness and putting out your goal. It’s time to generate a realistic and achievable workout plan. You need to focus on the four main factors that determine a workout plan’s success i.e., the frequency, intensity, and duration of your workout sessions. It’s important that you do not lie to yourself and only put those workouts in your routine that you can commit to and find fun to do. You need to understand that physical activity of any kind can help you reach your goal only if you keep doing it every day. You can choose the time of your own choice, which suits you. As a beginner, incorporating variations of aerobic exercise of your choice can help you achieve your goal. Like swimming, cycling, running, jogging, etc.

4. Let’s do it

You need to pat yourself right now as you’ve achieved the daunting task of setting out a workout plan according to your goals. Now, you just need to get started. We know, the beginning is hard, but follow these steps and you’ll do just fine with your fitness routine.

Keep an eye on the prize: So, you have started this fitness routine after setting a certain goal, right? Then all you need to do is to keep the final result in your mind to keep you motivated.

Get started, but slowly: Start with small steps, try walking to a nearby shop of your house to get your favorite yogurt, or try walking to the metro from your school/university/office. You might think about what these little walks would do, but you’ll be surprised to see how these small steps add up and warm up your body and muscles for exercises that you plan out to do in a day.

From low to high: You need to start with low-intensity workouts to make your body familiar with the routine. With time your stamina will improve, and you will be able to do high-intensity workouts without getting fatigued.

Rest, Relax, Repeat: Allowing your body to take rest in between sessions might do good for your body. Squeezing in small sessions of workout in your daily routine might be a good idea rather than finding it hard to take out time for a 1-hour session daily. You need to give your body a day or two to relax if you feel tired or demotivated to get back in form.

Change is good: Keeping variations in your workout will prevent boredom and help you remain consistent with your plan. One day you might try taking a hike, or a bicycle ride with a friend rather than doing daily exercises to keep your mind and body fresh.

Eat healthy, stay healthy: If you think munching on your favorite chocolate or cheesecake while doing lots of workouts will get you your desired results, then you are so wrong. You need to eat healthy to see the results of all your dripping sweat in your workouts. A balanced diet and balanced workout go hand in hand and will get you to your successful destination of a healthy lifestyle.

5. Evaluation and feedback

But, how would you know if you’ve been going towards a healthier lifestyle, or are you just following the routine aimlessly without even getting close to your goal? Continuous feedback and evaluation can help you keep check on this. You can visit your doctor after a month to get your condition monitored, or you can simply use internet-based tools to check out the difference in your weight, body shape, and the circumference of your belly.

Good friends can also be your evaluators. They can tell you if they have observed your weight loss or the change in your stamina while you try to outrun them in cycling or morning jog. The repeated evaluations will help you know if you need to keep doing the same exercises to reach your goal or if changing a strategy would be a good idea, you’ll know.

6. Keep the company

Joining a fitness club or exercise group in your locality with your friends can be beneficial. As we humans crave for the company to keep going. Keeping company might keep you motivated and get better at your fitness game on the daily basis. You might get inspiration from that 70-year-old uncle in the group, or from that girl in her teens, committed to staying fit. Getting inspiration can boost up your morale on those days when you feel low and do not feel like doing exercise anymore. You might wonder what the point is. At that time, such groups will motivate you to look forward and think of the bigger picture.

Conclusion

All things summarized, taking the first step is the key. If you take that step, with the right motivation, and positive attitude there is nothing that can stop you from having a healthier lifestyle and fit body. You must be honest and committed to yourself, and voila, you’ll see the long-lasting results of your effort, which will be incorporated into your lifestyle. Just keep in mind that it’s your body and the success of your workout plan depends only on YOU.