We have officially entered spring 2019!

How’s your New Year’s resolution to start working out going? Have you even started? Have you tried several fitness programs, but given them all up? If so don’t worry…That’s OK you can turn it back round and this post will help you…

So, how do you find a workout program that suits you? Fortunately, it’s much easier than finding your soul mate. lol! Here are a couple of tips that will hopefully help…

Assess your current fitness level

Before you decide on a workout program you should asses your aerobic and muscular fitness, body composition, and flexibility. For example to test those components you could do the following:

• aerobic fitness – bleep test
• muscular fitness – 1 rep max test
• flexibility – sit and reach test
• body composition – take photos (side shots are best)

What do you want to achieve?

The first step to discover the appropriate fitness program is to know your goals. Do you want to lose weight? Do you want to build muscle? or do you just want to live a healthier lifestyle overall? Set a measurable goal before you go on the workout hunt. Some example of goals…

• Lose 10 kg.
• Pack on 5 kg of muscle mass.
• Fit into your old skinny jeans.

How much time for training do you have?

This is another factor that will have a serious impact as to what workout program you choose. If you want to achieve fast results, you need to know how to workout effectively with the time that you have.

The recommended minimum by the Department of Health and Human Services is 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity (75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity) a week or a mishmash of moderate and vigorous activity.

But not everybody has this amount of time to workout each week! If you are limited for time you are better off trying HIIT workouts, which get your heart racing and are very intense, but don’t take up much time. You can complete an effective HIIT workout in less than 20 minutes.

Experiment with different programs

Find what you enjoy before committing to a set workout routine. Some of the things you can try are things like: running, yoga, HIIT training, cycling, swimming, gym, dancing, weightlifting, martial arts, and CrossFit.

Maintain the balance

You have probably seen a bunch of internet memes about forgetting to do “leg day”. They’re pretty funny because they are true! lots of people skip leg day!

To get a great workout program, you will need symmetry and balance. If you lift weights regularly then it’s important to balance out your resistance training out with lots of stretching and mobility as your muscles will get tight and sore from pumping iron.

Combine different activities

Different exercises have a different effect on your body. Some help you lose fat, others help you build muscle. Essentially, you need both to achieve success as quickly as possible. For example combining HIIT (High-intensity interval training) with yoga will help you increase cardiovascular capacity, and improve flexibility.

Speaking of speeding up progress, you can always combine training with a healthy diet and fitness apparel for an enhanced workout. A sauna belt, for example, is a popular solution because of the advanced fabric compositions, and because you can wear one while working out and speed up your results.

Start slow and build your routine

If you are just beginning working out, you should start with caution and build up your routine slowly. This is particularly important if you have an injury or a chronic medical condition. In this case, you should consult your doctor and a fitness instructor to help you find the best program for your circumstances.

After some time, you will gradually improve your fitness, flexibility, strength, and endurance, and you will be able to achieve more. To build a solid routine you should schedule exercise time, as you would do for any other weekly task/meeting. Put your schedule on paper, to encourage yourself to stay on track.

Even thinking about starting to work out is a big step. So, kudos for that. If you find a program that works for you, giving up will not be an option, as you will see the results, and have fun whilst you’re exercising.