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These tips will leave you feeling glowy and strong by the solstice. They are perfect for both beginners and fitness enthusiasts. Follow our guide to upgrade your life!
Summer is right around the corner and now is as good of a time as any to start picking up fitness routines once again. Whether your goal is a dreamy beach body, to feel vibrant and strong, or to become the best version of yourself, these tips will help you get on your way.
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If you don’t know where to start try…
Fitness Clubs
Consider joining a club where you can meet people in your area. You can type in your city name and then search accounts that sound promising. Consider searching apps such as MeetUp, Facebook, or Instagram to find groups in your area.
First Class Free Workouts
Try a first class free workout! (Available at a lot of gyms, and some have consults with personal trainers that can help you get started). Apps like ClassPass can help you find places offering these trials.
Workout Partner
Find a workout partner who will help hold you accountable and give you advice. This can be someone more experienced than you who can help explain drills and give you ideas of what to do in a workout. Or, alternatively, they can be someone of a similar experience level and goals who is there to provide more emotional support as they also start their workout journey. This can help make the gym less intimidating and can also help you build relationships and have more fun while doing so.
Another plus of having a workout buddy is you can coordinate outfits. The cuter the fit the better the workout. If you are looking into buying fitness apparel consider the following:
Gymshark: low-cost European based brand of athletic wear.
Lululemon: higher-cost Canadian brand with high end athletic wear that lasts a long time, is versatile and cute. TIP! 'We Made Too Much' section of their store sells items at a deep discount, which can help offset the steep cost of products.
Girlfriend Collective: eco-friendly brand which sells cute workout outfits while being kind to the planet. Products are sourced from recycled materials and transformed into cute workout pieces.
Use Online Sources to Create Workouts
The internet is vast. Use it to your advantage. It can be a lot of pressure to make all of your own workouts, especially as a beginner. You can find sample workouts online (from trusted sources). Check out some of ours here.
Additionally, if you do decide to create your own workouts, look into compound exercises. These are exercises which work multiple muscles at the same time. Some examples of these include squats, hip thrusts, and bench presses. You can start with 1-2 compound exercises before moving into to more targeted muscle work.
Start Slow and Build Upwards
Remember Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither were you! All of these things take time and it is important to ease into a skill when trying something new. Push yourself, yes, but not to the point of injury. Avoid risky situations by keeping a spotter nearby and making sure your are not overloading yourself and your form is correct.
Practice self compassion and reassure yourself you will make it to your goals if you keep showing up for yourself time and time again.
If you know what you’re doing and just need some momentum…
Establish a Goal for Summer Fitness
Make sure you establish your goals. Do you want to lose weight, gain muscle, etc? What will get you there? Start by defining what you want out of your workout routine. Write down this goal and make it as specific and measurable as possible. Set the time frame for achieving it and break it down into small, actionable chunks.
Routine and Plan of Action
Set a routine. What will your workouts look like? What days and what time will you go to the gym? Build workouts you know you'll enjoy and don't be afraid to try something challenging (with proper form and safety). For more on routine building, check out our other post here.
Track your weight and rep counts, and watch your progress. You could also take progress pictures if your goal is aesthetically motivated and you can do so in a healthy manner.
TIP!! If you really want to build a habit fast, go to your workout ALWAYS. Unless there is a risk to your wellbeing, you should try and go. Even if you don’t feel like it that day, get dressed and just go to the physical location. You can turn around and leave once you get there but this will help reinforce the habit of going to the gym, and most of the time you will just end up working out since you already went to the trouble of going there.
Find Workouts You Enjoy and Don't Be Afraid to Switch It Up
If that's what you need to stay motivated, go for it and try something new to freshen up your routine. Consider taking a dance class, trying out pickleball, or doing something new that intrigues you. It could also be something smaller, like adding a new exercise to your workout and seeing if you like it. Plus, you'll probably feel a good burn!
Create a Playlist That Gets You Going
From EDM to Running Mixes to Reggaeton, create a playlist of whatever songs make you feel best and most vibrant. You could also even consider including an audiobook or podcast if that's your vibe as well. That way you can learn or enjoy a good story while at the gym. Music can make or break a workout. It can provide motivation and give you something to look forward to while at the gym. Check out some of out Spotify playlists for inspiration.
Fine Tune Your Post-Workout Shake
If you enjoy a good protein shake post-workout, you'll have something to look forward to. You can try different types and flavors of proteins, adding different fruits, superfoods, and liquid bases. It can be a fun experiment and a fun recipe to look forward to trying post-workout.
General tips for everyone!!!!
Safety is Key
Working out can be risky and dangerous, make sure you know what you are doing or are watched by someone who does. To avoid injuries, make sure your form is correct and avoid going up in weight too quickly. You don’t want to start working out consistently just to get hurt! Make sure you have your form down before progressing to heavier weights.
Track your Workouts
Having a solid method of recording your progress can be helpful in motivating you. You will be able to see how far you have come since you have started, and it can serve as a benchmark figure to determine if you are on track to achieve your goals.
Consider keeping a workout journal, recording the weight, number of sets, and number of reps for each exercise. You can also consider using progress pictures, or even a fitness tracker watch which tracks things such as minutes exercised or heart rate, if that's your goal. For runners, there are a ton of great apps (Nike Run Club is one of my favorites, but there are many more). If you are doing video workouts, you can consider joining a gym or online platform that keeps track of them for you.
Don't Forget the Stabilizers!!
One mistake many people make is not incorporating their stabilizers and functional movements into their workouts. These are smaller muscles that help support other parts of your body. Often, workouts target large muscles (think biceps, glutes, etc.) but gloss over other important muscles which help your mobility. Consider varying your workouts or intentionally strengthening them to help reduce the risk of injury later on in life.
Food and Drink Impact Your Workouts
Food is fuel, and what you put in your body can drastically shift the results you see. The correct food choices can help you reach your goals more quickly, while poor choices can hinder your progress. Food is the energy we need to run, or lift weights, or play sports, and we want to make sure we are optimizing this process in a way that helps us achieve what we set our minds to.
Exercise is not 100% of creating a body and life that feels good to you. A huge part of fitness is reliant on diet. you can check out some of our healthy recipes here if you need some inspiration.
Lastly, drink water! We are mostly made of it, and it's hot out here. When we workout, we expel water in the form of sweat. That, combined with the hot summer sun can leave us vulnerable to dehydration. Make sure you are packing a water with you and listening to your body's cues.
Conclusion
Whether your are a beginner or a seasoned gym-goer, there are always ways to level up your workout routines. We hope you have taken away something from this post that you will be able to implement into your exercise program.
Remember, all good things take time, and you may not see results as soon as you expect. But keep with it!! Start slow and build up to your goals. You will get there!!!
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