This is your reminder to adopt the right mindset and routine when it comes to starting out your fitness journey
Everyone, from beginners to regular gym goers, can benefit from key advice and guidance. We’ve given our own two cents on the right approach for beginners to take when transitioning out of a sedentary lifestyle, but now, let’s hear from fitness experts, athletes, and certified trainers and see what they have to say about it. Read ahead for the tips and tricks we’ve collected from various interviewees over time.
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Having the right mindset
When you’re just starting out in fitness, it’s important to remember that some effort is better than no effort at all. Kirk Bondad, MEGA Active’s November cover star, echoed this sentiment in his interview. He spoke about the necessity of making one’s new routine sustainable by finding enjoyment in the process, as well as not thinking about intensity but rather consistency.
In an interview with MEGA Active, Arnold Aninion also had words of encouragement to share for those that are kickstarting their new fitness journey. He said, “Take yourself to your absolute limit and be amazed at what your mind and body can achieve, and the wonders they can accomplish.”
Echoing these sentiments, Fino Herrera said, “Show up! You might be feeling tired [or] exhausted, or you don’t feel like doing it, but show up.”
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More recently, fitness and nutrition coach Patricia Gatus also shared her insights with MEGA Active on exercise and weight loss. What stood out to us was her kinder approach to making working out a habit. She shared, “Start small—walk around the house or outdoors, do more household chores, stand every 30 minutes, take the stairs. Any sort of movement that you can, do it and do it more frequently and consistently.”
Last but not least is Nikki Torres, the yoga teacher and holistic wellness coach who recently talked to us about her advocacy. She had plenty of insights and advice to share, too, which are in the same vein as the ones shared above, but with a focus on a mind-to-body connection.
Beginner-friendly movements
Similar to how the other trainers emphasized consistency, Nikki advised others to “start easy and explore all kinds of movement until you find ones that you look forward to doing.” She continued, “Workouts don’t have to be ‘killer’ or super challenging in order for them to be effective. The most effective ones are the ones that you can continue to do in the long term. That said, exercise isn’t limited to our idea of working out. Any form of light to moderate movement counts.”
What exactly counts as light exercise, you may ask? She said long walks with friends, roller skating, and taking a dance class all count. But the beginner-friendly exercise Nikki always swears by is yoga for beginners. As a yoga teacher herself, she had plenty to say on the subject.
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For one thing, she clarified that one’s lack of flexibility is a good reason to start taking up yoga. “Yoga focuses on breath, form, and alignment, which increases one’s body awareness,” she said. Nikki also emphasized that yoga helps you to develop a lot of strength, especially around the core area, and can even keep you grounded and centered, which is helpful if you struggle with mental health issues. Nonetheless, according to her, always go for whatever activity piques your interest as long as you follow the guidance of a credible, qualified, and experienced coach.
Besides yoga, she suggested the popular 12-3-30 workout. This workout entails setting your treadmill to a 12% incline, 3mph speed, and walking for 30 minutes without holding onto the treadmill handrails. But if you’re coming from a zero-exercise background, Nikki advised to start out with a 2.5% to 5% incline and possibly lower the speed until you find a sweet spot between challenging and doable.
“The duration can also be cut down if you start to feel beaten down in the middle of the workout. Just remember to keep coming back to it with the goal of working your way up to 12-3-30. Also, make sure to add some form of strength or resistance training that you can inject on other days when you’re not working on the treadmill,” Nikki added.
Lastly, Nikki said that it’s important to keep two things in mind. One is that sweat is not fat melting. There’s a common misconception that the more you sweat, the more effective the workout. However, this notion is false because sweat is simply your body’s way of regulating its temperature during physical activity, according to her. She added that what you’re actually losing is water, which is why it’s important to hydrate before, during, and after exercise.
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The second important thing to keep in mind is that you shouldn’t always replicate what you see on social media. While it’s great to use others’ workout videos as inspiration, you should be better informed before copying others’ movements. Using weightlifting as an example, Nikki said, “The tendency is to go much heavier than what you should be lifting without emphasis on proper form. The danger of this is that without body awareness, and without a coach watching and correcting you, the foundations of certain movements fly out the window for the sake of lifting as heavy as your fave fitness influencer.”
Adding to this, she said, “Remember that even though content creators are aware of form, more often than not, these cues won’t make it into the Reel or TikTok they put out, so be aware that there’s always more to these workouts than what you see at face value. Make it a goal to move safely in the long run and reduce risks of injury.”
