The Beginner's Guide to Kicking Off Your Fitness Journey
- bgcsportsandfitnes
- Apr 11
- 7 min read
Are you wanting to get starting on your fitness journey, but you are not sure where to start? Or you are finding it hard to establish a good fitness routine to fit with your current lifestyle? Then this blog post is the one for you to read. Within this blog, I am going to go through some of my top tips for getting started on your fitness journey. But first, let's have a look at some of the barriers that might be involved in you getting started on your fitness journey.
Barriers to Participation in Physical Activity
There are a range of different barriers that could crop up when you are trying to make a start on your fitness journey. These barriers can also appear even with a fully established routine. It is important to be aware of these barriers, so that you can find solutions to work around them. Below I have listed some of the potential barriers that you might encounter on your fitness journey:
Limited Time - This can be a big barrier for many people. Life gets in the way and things happen that affects our fitness routine. For example, work, and family. Although not all reasons are negative, these other tasks or appointments if you like, can become more of a priority than your fitness. Most of it probably is, but you need to recognise this and find other opportunities for you to prioritise your fitness routine.
Solution
Try shorter workouts between 10 to 20 minutes in length. I would recommend a Tabata workout (8 rounds of 20 seconds on, 10 seconds rest).
Schedule your workouts as if they were appointments. Appointments are important, so why not schedule your workouts in, so you can commit to them when the time comes?
Try making small habits throughout the day in order to fit in some exercise, such as doing some squats while you are cleaning your teeth. Little opportunities during the day to squeeze in some exercise is better than none at all!
Fear of Judgement - It is normal to feel self-conscious when you first start out on your fitness journey. Don't worry, this is completely normal. The main thing to remember is that everyone has to start somewhere. Think about your job. You were once new. What about now? Progress takes time, so it is important to keep reminding yourself that it is "all part of the process".
Solutions
Try home workouts or going to a gym at quieter times to start with to get comfortable with getting into a regular fitness routine. Having a personal trainer is a great way to get into a regular fitness routine within a safe environment.
Workout with a friend or use headphones to give you more confidence. This can also help increase your motivation levels.
Budget Constraints - In this modern day and age, it can be difficult to manage our finances, especially with prices going up. These increased prices can hinder our opportunities to get into a fitness routine. For example, food shopping, petrol or diesel for your car, rent etc.
Solutions
Why not try some of the free workouts online? There are a range of workouts you can do online as a follow-along. These are also great to get a taste of what to expect before you commit to face to face workouts (I have some recorded classes on the way soon!).
Use the equipment or resources you have. You don't need to spend loads of money of fitness equipment to use at home. Use what you have around your house. For example, towels, tin of beans etc. Or even stick to bodyweight exercises (any exercises performed with no equipment, such as squats).
Low Motivation or Energy - In this modern day and age, we can have some days where we just don't feel it and we 'can't be bothered' to do anything. This applies to experienced fitness enthusiasts as well as beginners. This is a normal feeling, and as long as you find ways to work around this, fitness will become easier to prioritise.
Solutions
Remember 'why' you started your fitness journey in the first place. Have this written and placed in an area where you are likely to see it on a regular basis to remind yourself of why you are doing what you are doing.
Have a back-up plan on the days you want to exercise. This is great if something crops up in your life that affects your original plan. For example, a 15-minute back-up workout if you don't have time to do your 30 to 40 minute run.
Celebrate the small wins. Little progress is better than no progress at all!
Previous Injuries / Physical Limitations - It can be scary if you have experienced something in the past that affected your fitness routine (as well as your life in general). But it is normal to feel nervous. The fact that you are nervous is a good sign as it shows you will do everything in your power to make sure your injury doesn't come back. Having it at the back of your mind is a good thing, but not so much that it stops you from potentially doing the things you love.
Solutions
Prioritise form and recovery. These are two of the main things that everyone should be doing anyway. Performing exercise (s) with the right form can prevent form-related injuries, and recovery helps your body to build and repair your muscles to ensure your reap the benefits of your workouts.
Consult a physio and/or personal trainer to discuss your goals and current circumstances (as much as you feel comfortable to share of course), to find solutions to best suits your current situations.
Now that we have looked at some of the barriers and solutions around starting your fitness journey, let's have a look at how you can get started on your fitness journey in 5-easy steps.
5 Step Guide to Starting Your Fitness Journey
1) Set Clear and Realistic Goals - It is very easy to think too far ahead and think of goals that you would like to achieve, but are too far away at that moment in time. For example, a beginner runner aiming for a sub 20 minute 5K. It is okay to have big ambitions, but it is really important that you break your goals down into smaller chunks first. I would recommend a short-term goal (i.e. weekly goals), a medium term goal (i.e. between 1 and 3 months), and a long-term goal (6 months to 1 year+) to help you categorise your goals. Start from your long-term goal and work backwards (If you are unsure of where to start, a personal trainer can help you to start thinking about your goals to suit your current circumstances).
2) Choose an Activity you Enjoy - The benefits of being new to fitness is that you can test out different types of activities to see what you enjoy the most. From running and swimming, to yoga and Pilates. Take your time trying out different activities to see which ones you like the most. Doing the activities you enjoy helps to make fitness more enjoyable and increase the likelihood that you will commit. Take your time during this process and the right activities will come when you are ready.
3) Focus on Nutrition / Mindset - It is important to factor in nutrition when you start a fitness routine. Some aspects can be complicated, but just as a starting point, focus on the small habits to incorporate into your routines to help get you started. For example, aiming for 6 to 8 glasses of water each day, eating a mixture of carbohydrates, proteins and fats as well as your vitamins and minerals. Don't worry if these terms seem too much. All you need to remember is to have variety within your meals (Have a look at the Eatwell Plate for more information). Having a positive mindset will also help to set you on the right path to be consistent with your fitness routine. This includes getting enough sleep (i.e. 7 to 9 hours each night).
4) Stay Consistent - Although it is hard to start with, trying to stay consistent with your training will allow you to find a good fitness routine that works for you. It doesn't mean you can't switch things around if things come about, but having a plan / back-up plan will help to ensure you don't skip those important workouts. Aim for progress rather than perfection. Why not track your progress within a journal? This can be a great way to help you stay up to date with what level you are currently at, and is very rewarding when you can look back to see how far you have come from where you started.
5) Get Support - Having a workout buddy or having a personal trainer can be a great way to increase your motivation and to inspire you to complete your workouts. It also helps with accountability to ensure you are progressing towards your goals within a safe and fun environment. Sometimes it can be overwhelming on your own, but having that person or people by your side can help the journey feel less scary.
To conclude, this blog post has highlighted some of the potential barriers to getting started on your fitness journey as well as solutions to help combat some of these barriers. In addition, this blog has briefly explained the 5 simple steps you can follow to help get you started on your fitness journey.
Still unsure of how to get started or you need some guidance about where to begin? I offer personal training / running-specific coaching sessions where we can go through your goals and current circumstances, so I can set you up on the right path. If this sounds like something you would like to do, book yourself in for a free consultation with me where we can do just that. There is no pressure to commit to anything there and then, but will give you a better idea of the options available for you.
If you are interested, either book online via my website or send me an email on bgcsportsandfitness@outlook.com. If you quote "BEGINNER" within the email or contact form, I will give you 50% off your first few sessions. Enjoy the process!
Beth
Fitness and Running Coach
BGC Sports and Fitness
April 11th 2025
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