5 Things You Should Consider Before Starting a New Fitness Regime

Congratulations if you are reading this because you’ve finally decided to take one step towards a healthier lifestyle—exercise. For many, however, starting a fitness routine can be intimidating. You’ll find tons of online materials with many suggestions on what you should do. As such in this guide, we’ll share five of the most important things to consider before starting a new fitness regime.

1.    Exercise Alone Isn’t Enough 

Regardless of your fitness goals, exercise alone will not help you achieve such. Whether you want to lose weight, build muscles, or improve flexibility, among other things, relying only on exercise isn’t a good idea. Instead, you must complement it with a proactive approach to accomplish what you want.

In one study, it has been concluded that physical activity alone isn’t enough for reducing the risk of mortality from all health causes. In the same way, diet alone will not be an effective preventive measure. Instead, diet and exercise should go hand in hand to maximise their benefits. Building the right workout routine and maintaining a healthy and balanced diet are crucial for living a healthier life, so ensure these elements are built into your new exercise regime.

2.    What You Eat Before and After Exercise Matters

A lot of people may be too focused on exercising that they forget about proper nutrition. As mentioned above, diet and exercise should be complementary. Nonetheless, it does not mean that you can eat anything and anytime.

Pre-workout nutrition is important as it provides the fuel your body needs to perform. Learn about the macronutrients you require. The proper ratio is also important, and it will depend on individual conditions and the type of exercise you’re about to do.

To make the most of your meal, it will help to eat two to three hours before exercising. More so, what you eat after exercising also matters. It’s especially important if you fasted before exercising. It’s best to eat as soon as you have the chance to after working out.

Speaking of nutrition, fitness experts at BarBend recommend meal replacement for those who are too busy and unable to hit their daily macros. Meal replacements, such as shakes, might help in bulking, weight loss, and other fitness goals. Pay attention to the quality of the product you’re using to ensure effectiveness, but as you will see there re lots of different options available.

3.    It Takes Time Before You Can See the Results

Patience is a virtue, even when it comes to exercise. Results won’t be apparent overnight. Do not lose hope if you’re not seeing the effects. It’s common for a lot of people to be easily disheartened only because the results are taking quite a while to become apparent.

It’s almost impossible to give an exact timeline for when the results will show up. Such depends on many factors, such as how much effort you exert, how you complement it with a healthy diet, and how your body responds.

If you’re working out for the first time and if your body has been out of shape, it can take two months of moderate exercise before you can feel the effects. This is a really important aspect to consider if you are starting a new fitness regime, otherwise it is easy to become disillusioned.

4.    Warm-up is Crucial

Don’t be too excited about getting straight to your exercise routine. Instead, take the time to warm up. As the name implies, it prepares your body for strenuous activity, which should help minimise the strain that physical activity can leave on your body.

One of the most common ways to warm up during exercise is stretching. Nonetheless, there’s one thing you must know… it may not be as beneficial as you have thought.  Stretching might impede the performance of the body. Worse, it also seems that there’s no sufficient evidence that it can prevent workout injuries.

Instead of stretching, one thing you might want to do is a dynamic warmup. It means that you should start with a low and slow pace of your chosen exercise before you reach full speed. You can also do brisk walking. Doing such might help in gradually revving your cardiovascular system and increasing muscular blood flow.

5.    Hydration Is Your Best Friend

Your body sweats when you exercise. Sweat, in turn, evaporates from your skin. While it is beneficial as it removes body heat, it also means that your body is losing fluid. The best thing to do is to drink water regularly to replenish the fluids your body loses. In turn, it can reduce heat stress and help your body to function optimally.

Drinking water is crucial before, during, and after exercise. Water intake can help in regulating body temperature and lubricate the joints. Lack of water intake can lead to dehydration, which can cause heat stroke, muscle cramps, fatigue, and heat exhaustion. More so, a lack of water can make your heart work harder than usual. Plus, your body temperature might increase faster.

1.    In Closing

Before you kickstart your new fitness routine, take note of the things mentioned earlier. We hope helping you understand what to consider before exercising, from proper nutrition to water intake, pay attention to different factors that can help increase the effectiveness of exercise.