5 ways to start your fitness journey

You're not happy with how you look. You feel that you should exercise because it's healthy. You want to exercise because it means that you can eat more. Whatever your motivation is, there are many advantages to working out. For me, aside from vanity, I exercise for both physical and mental health reasons. I find that endurance sports is able to help me regulate my thoughts better so that I don't overthink about issues in an unhealthy manner.

So, here are 5 small ways for those who wish to start their fitness journey but feel that they have absolutely NO inclination to work out and ZERO fitness level. That was me about 3-4 years ago.

1. Start with small goals
Don't sign up for a 10km run in a few months and start training for it. Chances are, your body isn't even used to exercise and your heart isn't able to take the sudden increase in workout load. You'll feel that your stamina is very poor and you'll get tired so easily, which is very discouraging. Without much motivation to begin with, doing this would make you give up and quit within a week or 2. Instead, set achievable goals for yourself based on what you're comfortable with. 2km runs, 15 min on the stationary bike, or even just 30 sit-ups a day.

2. Get into a routine
No matter what your starting point is, the key thing here is to get yourself into a routine of working out. Many people have the tendency to want quick results - they start trying all sorts of diets, sign up for classes, get a gym membership etc. In the end, all these don't quite last. What we're going for is something sustainable. Hence, it has to be part of your way of life. You need to eventually incorporate it into your lifestyle. By setting aside purposeful time to exercise, you're more likely to stick to that timing and have more regular sessions of workout.

3. Do it with a friend
Life is not a journey alone - you will realise that it's so much better and easier with an accountability partner. Aside from reminding each other and prodding one another, working out with your significant other or a friend makes things so much more fun! There are many buddy workouts that you can try, and I can share them another time. For those who do couple workouts, it's also a cheap and good way to spend time together and build each other up (literally and figuratively).

4. Have realistic expectations of yourself
There are many fitness gurus and social media influencers that show their toned muscles, 6-packs, abs etc. Those are nice and fancy to have, good to look at, but they do not equate to fitness. That should not be your goal (or at least not at this juncture - when you get fitter they come along naturally). Having these unrealistic expectations will only serve to discourage when you don't get them even after having worked out awhile. I was overly concerned about them at one point and it wasn't very healthy at all. In the end, I just stuck to eating healthily and working out as how I usually do and I realised that I definitely became stronger and fitter.

5. Celebrate mini checkpoints
Working out gets really dreary if you don't celebrate the milestones in between! I always set my own mini personal bests that I want to hit. They aren't that far off from my current standard so I make sure that they're achievable in the near future. I give myself mini rewards when I've hit my target! The sense of accomplishment is also enough to keep me pushing myself to the next target, so it becomes like a game where you level up slowly. Alternatively, when you feel that you're ready, you can sign up for small races which also serve as platforms for you to hit your milestones.

The most important thing to remember is that you are not competing against anyone else but yourself. The greatest barrier to working out is your mind, which is why exercise trains discipline, perseverance and character. It also pushes you out of your comfort zone and challenges you so that you realise that you need people to walk alongside you and God to give you strength.