Are you a beginner looking to start a fitness program? It’s probably one of the best things you can do for your health. Choosing the right fitness routine can be challenging, when you don’t have clear health goals set.  It must suit your body, your mind, your lifestyle and your overall health.  You must consider proper nutrition, hydration, sleep patterns, daily routine and other health conditions while you set the routine.

With numerous workout programs, unsolicited advices, pro-tips from influencers, unlimited diet tips from nutritionists and all those countless online data flooded around us, it’s easy to get confused and feel overwhelmed.

Before starting, you need to consider the major blocks to exercise which may include:

• Lack of Motivation
• Procrastination
• Lack of Energy
• Time constraints
• Setting unrealistic goals which leads to burnout
• Other possible distractions

In order to stay motivated you’ll have to realize that everybody was once a beginner, took that very first step, before embarking on a consistent and sustainable health journey. Remember, Your body needs it. Focusing on health and wellness to improve overall balance and co-ordination, lower the risks of many diseases, manage weight loss, enhances better sleep patterns and boost your overall confidence and self-esteem.

Steps To Start an Effective Fitness Routine

1. Set your fitness goals right.

 One of the primary steps to start an effective fitness routine is to set your fitness goals right. Analyze your health and note down your fitness goals. Whether you need to lose weight postpartum, or build your muscles for an upcoming sports event, or losing that extra fat to look good for an upcoming function, or training for a marathon, or simply to look more energetic and younger, it is very important to set your goals prior to starting your fitness journey. This helps to stay focused and measure your progress in a daily basis and keep you motivated.

2. Consistency is the key

It’s easy to lose motivation and drop your fitness plans altogether when you get exhausted in the first few days. Try to add efforts to make the workout time more productive by playing music, listening to podcasts/audio books, exercise with a friend/family member or adding any other fun-elements. You have to consider the routine exercise as part of your life, without you even know it’s happening. Dedicate a preset time to workout daily, so that you can be prepared and get ready both mentally and physically. Try different activities to add in more movement to your daily routine.

3. Ensure sufficient nutrition and hydration

It’s important to stay hydrated as there are more chances of dehydration and sweating while you work out. Sufficient intake of healthy food with appropriate amounts of carbs, protein, healthy fats and other nutrients need to be included in the diet. As you burn more energy, adequate nutrient intake is necessary otherwise it may need to exhaustion, weakness and burnout. Consult a dietician and choose a diet that works well for your fitness goals. Drink fluids throughout the day to maintain healthy hydration levels. Also, try to add more fruits, vegetables, dry fruits, protein-rich foods, whole grains and legumes in your diet.

4. Follow a balanced fitness routine

Plan for a particular schedule for your workout routine. For example: You can aim for 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity and 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity for a week. Try a combination of various modes of exercise so that you can follow it easily. Various types of exercise you can choose from:

• Cardiovascular exercise
• Weightlifting
• Push-ups/Squats/Planks
• Walking/Jogging
• Zumba/Freestyle Dancing
• Swimming
• Cycling
• Yoga

Following a mixed varieties of physical activities help strengthen muscles, enhances mind-body coordination, improves heart health, lung health and bone strength. Take enough time to relax and perform intermediate light exercises to reduce muscle stiffness and prevent injury.

5. Enjoy your workout time

The best tip to stay consistent with a fitness routine is to actually enjoy the process. You can incorporate Zumba dancing, Cycling, Swimming or Yoga to your workout routine to stay active. Celebrate small milestones you achieved and be proud of yourself. You can also use smart gadgets for tracking your daily health activities and monitor your overall health. Don’t be harsh on yourselves by setting unrealistic, strict rules that you cannot cope up with. Stay relaxed, Enjoy the time spent, and keep believing that it helps you become a better version of yourselves.

The biggest mistake you would make is making the workout process hard by doing too much, at the initial stage. This results in immediate exhaustion and weakness which may actually end up in dropping your fitness plans. Set small goals at first, begin with 20 minutes of exercise, on alternate days, achieve them and gradually increase the duration and intensity. Ensure you take adequate rest and get good sleep for your body to adapt.

Everyone has a unique fitness journey. Regular exercise can help in various things include

• Improve your overall physical and mental health
• Manage your blood pressure levels
• Instantly lifts up your mood
• Reduce the risk for various diseases
• Maintain a healthy body weight
• Improves bone density and muscle strength
• Boosts the immune system

Balanced nutrition along with exercise can work like wonder. It’s a magical power that not only give us a sense of control over our health, but also boosts up our confidence and self-esteem. In order to stay aware of your body and your health conditions, you can consider undergoing a preventive health screening, to ensure your body functions properly. Preventive health checkup lets you identify potential health issues early, when they are easy to manage, with timely intervention. NURA’s comprehensive health screening package includes various tests for lifestyle diseases and the most common cancers in men and women.