A Beginners Guide To Health And Fitness

Incorporating physical activity into your daily schedule is essential for maintaining a healthy lifestyle and relationship with your studies. For me, going to the gym or heading out for a simple jog is often the key to reducing stress levels. It is time to myself where I can disconnect from college and work.  

What are your goals? 

Identifying your goals is essential for setting out on a fitness journey. Ask yourself, what do you want to achieve? Do you want to get fitter, increase your daily movement, or drink more water? No matter the goal, jot it down and identify what needs to be done to achieve these goals. Take simple steps regardless of how simple or advanced your goals may be.  

Some essential tips include drinking at least 2 litres of water daily and picking healthy food options such as five portions of fruit and vegetables daily. As for physical activity, try to clock up 10,000 steps a day and familiarise yourself with the gym. Try to have at least three gym sessions a week and plan your workouts. I also find it beneficial to spread out your workouts over the week. For example, doing cardiovascular training on one day, resistance training the next day, and core training on the other. 

Once these starting points are achieved, you can now tailor your workout plan to meet the fitness goals you aim to achieve. If your goal is to build muscle, you must work each muscle set at least two times a week at high resistance and high repetitions. If your goal is to train for a 5k run, you must do at least three superset cardiovascular sessions per week at high intensity.   

Nutrition  

Once you have planned your workout goals, you can consider nutrition. Nutrition is vital in your fitness journey, and often differs when losing weight and building body mass. However, both a high protein intake and lots of fruit and vegetables are essential. As a general rule of thumb, try to have three protein-rich meals daily and include five portions of either fruits or vegetables in each meal. When choosing your source of protein, it’s important to know that natural protein (found in foods such as chicken, fish and eggs) is the best protein. Protein supplements such as whey powder are good also, but they must not be a substitute for natural protein. Ideally, whey protein and other processed proteins are consumed when you haven’t met your protein targets from food for that day. Drinking excessive amounts of substitute protein without healthy foods and liquids could lead to weight gain, high sugar levels, and kidney problems.  

Sustainability is key! 

It is also crucial to say that just because you have embarked on a new lifestyle with healthier food choices doesn’t mean you must eliminate junk foods. When we are talking about fitness plans and staying fit, ideally, they should be sustainable. Therefore, cutting out all the foods you enjoy over a long period will simply not work or last, leading to unhealthy food habits such as binging. It would help if you achieved a balance while eating healthily throughout your journey. You must allow for foods you also enjoy and work them into your plans, such as a bar of chocolate during lunch or a pizza on Saturday night. Once you do this, the process becomes much easier and more sustainable, leading to better results and fulfilment.  

Those are the little tips I would give to someone who wants to get into fitness. I’m sure that if you ask another person, the answer will be different; there’s no one answer to this question. This is because the fitness industry can be a tricky place riddled with confusion. So my advice is to keep things simple. Set out your goals, and how you will achieve them, and ensure that you have the ability and determination to do so. Once you have done this, I have no doubt that you will smash it. If you have any other questions or need more advice, check out my Instagram page @matthewkeanefitness_. Send me a dm, and I would love to work with you.