tips for beginners that no one told you.

curlsintherack

Let's have a little fun and add some potentially useful tips that you wish someone might have told you before you learned them the hard way.

Never and I mean never fart during your first squat or deadlift rep unless its a 1rm and you have a chance to get away. This is extra important if you tried preworkout powder before you started working out.

NorthCascades

Slow, clip out, stop. Not slow, stop, fall.

tulips_and_tea

This varies per individual, but mine is: don't compare yourself to others. I spent far too long trudging along on the treadmill wishing I could run for 90 minutes as effortlessly as the gal on the treadmill next to me almost every day. Wasted time and mental energy.

Finally, I accepted I'm not a runner, nor do I want to be. I shifted to lifting primarily and walk as much as possible during daily activities and I finally made the progress I was wanting all along.

Although the first two posts are much more entertaining than mine!

kgirlhart

If you are going to start out by walking and especially if you are going to start running make sure you have good shoes.

cwolfman13

Moderate exercise is good. You don't need to go balls out for hours every day...not every bout of exercise must be a sufferfest...most bouts should be of moderate pace and duration. It's ok to take rest/recovery days.

It didn't take me all that long to figure this out on my own...injuries that keep you from doing pretty much anything for weeks and months suck...but I'm sure most noobs are like me in the beginning and just figure that you have to be doing all of the exercise, all of the time to be healthy and fit and to lose weight.

tracymegan

Eons ago, I was a heavy lifter, so have lottos thickness and muscle mass...even though I have padded the crap out of that mass. In seeing a trainer, I changed my routine from 10-12 reps of 3 sets to 20 reps of 4 sets..no breaks and stepped training! Cannot believe the changes!!! Huge in literally weeks! Have lost 5 inches on each thigh!

lauraktobe

To have patience while training and wait for those results rather than give up because i dont see changes instantly!!!

sardelsa

Brazil Butt Lift will not give you the booty of your dreams

curlsintherack

when your out running and nature calls go further off the road than you think you have to because someone will be driving along that road at about 10mph looking into the woods before your done.

Also bring toilet paper I lost a good glove last winter that I just didn't want back.

GottaBurnEmAll

It's okay not to lift heavy. You can achieve progressive overload with more sets or reps.

dinadyna21

When you're tracking calories buy a scale for accuracy. Eyeballing portions is a skill I will never have.

NewMeSM75

Eat too few calories and protein = hair loss !

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cmriverside

If you just can't do one more, if you're tired and grumpy all the time...maybe you need to eat more.

notreallychris

You aren't going to burn off that candy (or whatever treat) by getting on the treadmill for 30 minutes. Fit that candy (or whatever treat) into your daily, or weekly, allowance.

CTcutie

To get the results I want, I will need to push myself much harder than I expected, for WAYYY longer than I thought it would take! (Or "Weight Loss: It's Not a Race", my memoir, lol!)

(Thought a trainer I had an intro session with was NUTS when he told me it would take 12+ months to go from an obese 227 lb couch potato/high cholesterol/junk food junkie, etc. to "sorta-fit" condition/decent muscle tone/healthy eating habits/healthy cholesterol/still overweight 175 currently... Seriously thought 6 months would do it

LiveLoveFitFab

If you can't take eating a deficit any more, mentally that is - move up to maintenance for a week or however long and just concentrate on fitness. Dieting for months on end can be exhausting and instead of giving up it's okay to take a break from eating to lose as long as you keep logging and keep your work up at the gym. This is a marathon, not a sprint.

lericzon

Be patient and exercise!

cmacphee3

If you have a lot to lose, be prepared for loose skin. You might not look as good as you had hoped without clothes, but with clothes on you won't be able to tell

RachsLosses

- If you're bloated get a spin bike at the back that's open!
- Not everyone in the gym is looking at you, most people won't notice you crashed out after 2minutes running
- Don't be afraid of the weight section (I hear people calling this the 'Mens section'

lorrpb

I felt like I got really good support & advice starting out. The most important thing I would pass along is CONSISTENCY brings success. Many small steps are best, rather than a few huge leaps followed by a crash.

Goober1142

tracymegan wrote: »

Eons ago, I was a heavy lifter, so have lottos thickness and muscle mass...even though I have padded the crap out of that mass. In seeing a trainer, I changed my routine from 10-12 reps of 3 sets to 20 reps of 4 sets..no breaks and stepped training! Cannot believe the changes!!! Huge in literally weeks! Have lost 5 inches on each thigh!

Ooh, I'm trying this!

BruinsGal_91

Always buy running shorts with a tie waist. ALWAYS!

Oh, and you can never have too much Body Glide.

spartan_d

Work on running, even though you don't currently like it.

I wasted way too much time walking as a beginner. Fitness magazines completely oversold its health benefits. It was only years later that I realized how much I was wasting my time. I later learned that doctors and mags exaggerate its benefits because it's hard to get people to do anything more strenuous.

mysteps2beauty

Great information, everyone....

but these really speak to me and getting me back on track after Halloween binge of a week.

LiveLoveFitFab wrote: »

If you can't take eating a deficit any more, mentally that is - move up to maintenance for a week or however long and just concentrate on fitness. Dieting for months on end can be exhausting and instead of giving up it's okay to take a break from eating to lose as long as you keep logging and keep your work up at the gym. This is a marathon, not a sprint.

notreallychris wrote: »

You aren't going to burn off that candy (or whatever treat) by getting on the treadmill for 30 minutes. Fit that candy (or whatever treat) into your daily, or weekly, allowance.

JerSchmare wrote: »

It’s a lifetime pursuit, not a goal to stop when you get there. Slow and steady win. Slow progress is still progress.

Getting back to it....!

jamesnewberrysr

Jogging is the best weight loss exercise for me. I am not talking running or racing. Those are competitive and lead to injury and disappointment. My idea is that I don't measure distance, I don't care how far I go. I don't measure pace, I don't care how fast I go. I jog to fill time, meaning I will go out in one direction for thirty minutes and return That is one hour of consistent exercise. I need nothing more than a wristwatch and a good pair of shoes. (The best shoe I ever bought was NewBalance 475) I was able to do this for a year with a minimum of once every two days and lost over fifty pounds without a difficult diet. I never had an injury other than a scrape from tripping on the sidewalk. The whole idea was that competing with others didn't help me with my personal goals of health and happiness

JennyRATL

Make small changes to begin, then work up to a total lifestyle change.
You'll burn out fast if you try to go balls to the wall changing everything all at once--your diet, trying to exercise until you die every day, giving up all your vices--carbs, wine, candy, fries, whatever. Make small changes along the way so you don't get burned out and become self defeating when you mess up in an area.

michael1976_ca

don't weigh your self every day. take measurements and before pics

apullum

Someone has to be the heaviest person in the gym/runner on the road/cyclist on the trail/whatever. Maybe that person is you and maybe it isn't. No one else around you is judging you nearly as much as you're judging yourself.

kidrauhldrew

I learned to not skip out on the exercises I don't like. I never enjoyed running and would always go with another alternative for cardio that was easier for me. I realized that I only never enjoyed it because I was never good at it, not for any other reasons. So I need to get off my behind and run, improve myself to the point that I can say I don't suck at it anymore and actually find the fun in going out for a run.