Beginner-Fitness
I often get asked by girls who have never eaten healthy or worked out before.. where to start! I totally get how overwhelming it can be! Here are some basic tips I have for those JUST starting out on a health and fitness journey! =)
Get rid of the junk food! This includes (but not limited to): regular and diet soda, cookies, chips, crackers, candy, white breads and pastas, fruit juice, sugary cereal, condiments like ketchup, mayo, ranch and other fattening/sugary dressings and marinades, fast food, frozen dinners and most packaged goods. Start making your own meals from wholesome lean proteins, veggies, fruit and healthy fats. Basically, eat as close to natural as possible!
Cut out the alcohol. It shuts down your metabolism, promotes fat storage and breaks down muscle tissue. It’s basically treated by the body as a toxin… If you’re serious about getting in shape, not drinking won’t be a problem.
Start exercising! The trick is to find something you enjoy so that you will actually DO IT. There are SO MANY options, some of which include: weight lifting, pilates, yoga, cross fit, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, powerlifting, olympic lifting, jogging, cycling, spin, zumba, interval training, jazzercise, jumping rope, dancing, running, hiking, mountain climbing, swimming… the list goes on!!
Develop patience and a positive attitude if you don’t already have them! You WILL have set-backs and losing weight/getting fit WILL take time. You will occasionally cheat on your diet, you will miss a workout, you will stumble, you will make mistakes… you’re human! Nothing worth having ever comes easily… if it WERE that easy, everyone would be in shape! Know that you are only a failure if you QUIT. So don’t quit! You will regret it in the long run!
Surround yourself with people who support you. There is nothing worse than having negative and/or jealous people around when you are trying to make a healthy, positive change to your life. There WILL be people you THOUGHT were your friends try to drag you back to your old, unhealthy ways. They might tease, taunt or grill you for your new habits. Some people can’t handle change. If you find that your healthy habits are being mocked or demeaned by those around you … ask yourself why your ‘friends’ would want you to go back to being unhealthy. Do they not understand the sudden change? If so, explain to them why you’re doing it… Or, are those friends just jealous? If so, CUT THEM OUT OF YOUR LIFE!
Plan ahead! If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Prepare your meals and workouts in advance. Always keep workout clothes, a water bottle and protein powder with a shaker cup in your car so you never have an excuse not to hit the gym. Always carry an apple, a serving of almonds in a ziploc baggy and a packet of tuna with you.. that way you never have an excuse to hit the vending machines or burger joint!
Set realistic goals and track your progress! Keep a journal log of your workouts, your food intake and your stats each week so you can track your progress easily! 1-2 pounds of weight loss per week is a reasonable and healthy goal (depending on your current weight). The scale is not always a good indication of your progress though! Numerous factors can affect the number that are unrelated to fat gain/loss. The mirror, pictures, the way your clothes fit and your measurements are better ways of tracking progress!
You can do anything you set your mind to. Believe in yourself, don’t give up and you will get there <3
Can you please email me or post your full body workout routine that was listed on your tumbler?! I can’t pull it up anymore and it was the best detailed explanation of what days to work different body parts and what exercises to do. It also had detailed reps and cardio plan… I really wanted to start following it today and of course your tumbler is messed up:(
I don’t know if you received a response or not. But if not, I think this could be potentially what you wanted:
Breathe properly and keep your core tight during all movements.
If you do not know how to do a particular exercise, refer to this website for explanations and examples: (http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/)
Move quickly from one exercise to the next.
When the muscle begins to burn, do an additional 2-3 reps. (if I say 15 reps, it should be burning by about rep 12).
Go as heavy as you can while maintaining proper form (remember, we don’t want an injury).
“Superset” – two exercises performed back to back with no rest in between
“Dropset” – after the set, immediately drop the weight and perform another set with the same amount of reps (or more if you can.. the point is to burn-out the muscle)
SCHEDULE:
Monday – Legs (no cardio)
Tuesday – Shoulders + cardio
Wednesday – Cardio
Thursday – Back + cardio
Friday – Arms + cardio
Saturday – Rest (no cardio)
Sunday – Chest + cardio
LEG DAY:
Warm-up:
4×20 Leg extensions (light weight, just to get a pump in your quads)
4×10-12 Barbell Squats
4×10-12 Leg Press
3xlength of gym and back Walking Lunges (w/dumbbells or barbell)
3×10-12 Stiff-Leg Deadlifts
Superset #1:
4×10-12 Leg Extensions
4×10-12 Hamstring Curls
4×30 calf raises with dumbbells
SHOULDER DAY:
Shoulder Press 4×12
Monster Set:
3×12 Front raise with dumbbells (neutral grip)
3×12 Side Lateral Raise
3×15 Bent Over Rear Lateral Raises
Superset:
4×10 Reverse PecDec Flies
4×12 Upright Barbell Row
BACK DAY:
Superset #1:
3×12 Wide Grip Lat Pulldowns
3×12 Narrow Grip Pulldowns
Superset #2:
3×12 (each arm) One Arm Dumbbell Row (same side = one knee and one hand on the bench)
3×12 Seated Cable Rows
Superset #3:
3×15 Lower Back Hyperextensions
3×12 Reverse Grip Bent Over Rows
ARM DAY:
Superset #1:
3×12 Standing Bicep Cable Curl
3×12 Rope Tricep Push-Down
Superset #2:
4×12 Seated Alternating Dumbbell Curls
4×12 Skull Crushers
Superset #4:
3×12 Hammer Curls w/ a dropset after each set
3×12 Tricep Dumbbell kickbacks w/a dropset after each set
CHEST DAY:
4×12 Dumbbell bench press
3×15 Cable Cross Overs
4×10-12 Incline barbell bench press
3×10 Pec Dec Flies
4x as many push ups as you can do
***REMEMBER LADIES:: Lifting weights will NOT make you bulky or manly. Women do not have the levels of testosterone necessary to get bulky, so do not worry about lifting heavy!!! Women bodybuilders use steroids, you do not.. so don’t stress.
Push yourself and work hard. You are in control of how much effort you put into this. You will get out of it what you put in! Be safe, and have fun! =)
Don’t have access to a gym? You can do Plyometric/Bodyweight workouts!
Monday – Lower Bodyweight Workout
Tuesday – Cardio
Wednesday – Upper Bodyweight Workout
Thursday – Rest
Friday – Lower Bodyweight Workout
Saturday – Cardio
Sunday – Upper Bodyweight Workout
Lower Bodyweight Workout
Warm Up – jog 10-20 minutes
10 jump squats
10 narrow stance squats
10 wide stance squats
10 walking lunges (each leg)
10 one-legged squats (each leg)
10 bench step ups (each leg)
As many mountain climbers as you can do for 1 minute
As many calf raises as you can do for 1 minute
Repeat this circuit 10 rounds (if you can do more, GO FOR IT!!!)
No rest between exercises, only rest 2 minutes between rounds.. try to keep moving during those 2 minutes (jog in place, do jumping jacks, high knees, butt-kicks, just keep your heart rate up!)
Upper Bodyweight Workout
Warm Up – jog 10-20 minutes
As many pull ups as you can do
As many jumping jacks as you can for one minute
15 push ups
As many burpees as you can for one minute
Repeat this circuit 10 rounds (if you can do more, GO FOR IT!!!)
No rest between exercises, only rest 1 minute between rounds.. try to keep moving during those 2 minutes (jog in place, do jumping jacks, high knees, butt-kicks, just keep your heart rate up!)
Super Simple HIT Workout!
5 minute warm up, easy/moderate pace
30 seconds of all out effort
1-2 minutes of low intensity recovery (easy/moderate pace)
Repeat this sprint/recovery cycle 6-8 times
5 minute cool down, easy/moderate pace
You can do this on ANY machine at the gym, or even just at your local track or park! ENJOY =)
So yeah, hope I could help.