Starting your fitness journey is hard. There's no point in beating around the bush. But one way you can make it easier is learning from the people you look up to. That's what I did, and I'm fortunate to now be in a position where people ask me for advice. So, to help make things that little bit easier for you, here's the four things I wish I knew when I started:
1️⃣ Don’t chase scale weight.
Building muscle takes time. A very long time. We’ve all seen those adverts that claim “I put on 10lbs of solid muscle in 2 weeks“. Yeah, right! The truth is, they didn’t. Yes they might've put on 10lbs of weight, but the majority will be water, followed by fat, then finally followed by 1lbs of muscle at most. Weight gain should be slow and steady. 1-2lbs a week is a very good aim. Anything more then that and the fat to muscle ratio you are putting on isn’t in your favour, I guarantee it.
2️⃣ No supplement will make you lose weight!
So many companies claim their new tablet or diet drink will get you to lose weight or get shredded. I wasted so much money buying these supplements in the past. They appeal to our human nature, “get results quick with minimal work”. Unfortunately it’s all bs and no drug will get you there if your diet isn’t on point. As with all things in life worth having, there are no shortcuts. Now it seems to have become my life's mission to rid people of this nonsense and instead get them focused on hard work in and out of the kitchen!
3️⃣ Cardio isn’t magic.
What’s the first thing most people do when they want to start losing weight? They jump on the treadmill. But after losing a little weight initially they soon give up when stop seeing results. So does this mean cardio doesn’t work? Absolutely not. Other than the well known health benefits, cardio is an amazing tool that can be utilised to help create a calorie deficit. We either become more active and burn more calories or eat less food to create a deficit - and it's only in a deficit that we start to lose weight. It really is that simple.
4️⃣ Rest days are as important as training days. (This is a big one!)
If you’re team #NoRestDays then you might want to stop reading. And also stop buying into that rubbish. I used to be in the mind set of more is better. Train 6/7 days a week and you will get better results. I learnt the hard way, through burnout, that this isn't true. If you’re training properly then doing this is not allowing your body the recovery it needs, your CNS (central nervous system) will be fried and progression will likely stall due to overtraining. Give your body the rest it needs each week and progress will continue. 2 rest days a week should be the minimum for most people. Remember, you grow when you’re resting not when you’re training.
So there you have it, four little things that I wish I knew when I was starting out. If you'd like to learn more, discuss any of these further, or enquire about getting me your personal coach contact me today or send me a DM via social media. I look forward to speaking with you.