Some "getting started" tips

Hi there, do you find that getting started with a fitness routine is the toughest part ? Do you find yourself going to the gym for a week or two, not seeing results, getting frustrated and giving up ?

If this sounds like your experience, I'd like to offer you some tips that, hopefully, will enable you to get past that tough initial phase.

A bit about me: I'm a fitness addict, and am studying to become a (US) NASM certified personal trainer. Exercise saved my life.

First off, it is very natural for the first week or two to feel boring, difficult, and unnatural. This is because your body is just not used to the work you are now making it do. However, if you stick with your routine, over time, a phenomenon called neuromuscular adaptation will take place, and you WILL get stronger and fitter. This is basically your body saying to itself, "This person keeps making me lift 20 lb dumbbells, and I'm not used to it. I'm not strong enough for it, but this person won't stop lifting, so I had better get stronger."

So, consistency is key to a successful fitness routine. Give it some time, and you will feel your body getting fitter and stronger. Suddenly, your exercises will feel almost too easy, and then you'll know it's time to make them harder ! If you get to that point, congratulations, because you've passed the toughest phase of the regimen - getting started. On top of that, you will start enjoying your workouts ! Hey, if you enjoy doing something, you're more likely to keep at it.

Baby steps - start off with whatever you're comfortable with. As an example, 20-30 mins 3 times a week is plenty, if you don't exercise at all currently. If you start off super ambitious, you run the risk of your body just rebounding and saying, "I can't do this, forget it". So, start off with baby steps.

Another thing - DO NOT let others intimidate you. At the gym, you will likely see others who are in better shape or are performing more challenging exercises ... running faster, lifting heavier, etc. This is to be expected ! We all go through different life paths, we have different bodies with different genetic pre-dispositions, so why should we expect to be the same as anyone else ?

So, when you find yourself feeling jealous or discouraged by seeing someone in better shape, just remind yourself that you're getting started and that it will take time to get there, and pat yourself on the back for giving it a shot ! One day, you'll get to the point of making others jealous, though this is NOT your goal. The point is ... do your thing, and don't let others discourage you. You might also see crazy Hollywood propaganda portraying "perfect" bodies ... please don't buy into that. This is something special you're doing for yourself, and let it not become something you're doing for others.

As you feel ready for it, make sustainable (not drastic) changes to your diet, which is a very important part of a good fitness routine. Again, baby steps and consistency are more important than making huge changes that you may not be able to keep up.

Give it time, keep at it, don't let others discourage you, and I promise you - you will enjoy one of the best things in life ! This is as much a psychological battle as a physiological one. Exercise can do wonders for your mind as well as your body. So, it's worth it ! YOU are worth it !

I'd love to help y'all get started and stay motivated, so feel free to send any questions my way. Good luck !

Guess I'll put these in the right spot, too (I swear I'm not following you!)

So here's me in 2011, after my first serious relationship ended. The relationship was about three years long, and was abusive for about two and a half. I ended up eating my feelings and rarely wanted to leave the house. I suffer from depression and an adjustment disorder with anxiety, due in no small part to tons of horrific failed relationships, and I was really in the depths of those things for months after the relationship ended. I was 5'10" and a hair over 225lbs.



The day that picture was taken, I bought a pair of running shoes and started running.

As time went on, I realized that running just gave me time to be alone with my thoughts, which is NOT what you need when you're newly-single and have serious issues with your self-worth. I kept at it and adjusted my diet, getting down to about 145lbs by early 2013. The photo I took at this time is on my Twitter account, which has been temporarily deactivated so I can't get to it.

I then made the switch to lifting. I wasn't fat anymore, but I still didn't really look the way I wanted, and it still damaged my self-esteem to be the "scrawny guy." I ended up loving it immediately - and most importantly, it didn't leave me alone with my thoughts. I had goals. I had to focus. I had to pay attention to what I was doing, I went into that gym on a mission and I wouldn't leave until it was accomplished. It was me, the iron, and the endorphins.

In late 2013, I realized that despite my diet and training being perfectly in order, I wasn't making progress at all in the gym - I eventually found out that my endocrine system had been shut down for the better part of a decade. I had the testosterone levels of an eighty-five year old cancer patient (217ng/dL). Heck, I was mostly mad because I could have saved a fortune on condoms if I'd known I'd been sterile the whole time, but I digress. I found a good doctor who got me all sorted out and WOW. I couldn't believe that this was what other men felt like ALL THE TIME.

With a renewed sense of purpose, I stepped back into the gym, and, barring a back injury in January of 2014 that put squats and deads on hold for five months, haven't missed a day since.



Still 5'10", now 176lbs and slimming down for the summer. Friends joke about me being the buff guy in the group, I've made a lot of good friends through various fitness communities online and off, and most importantly, even though I still struggle with my self-image, I now know that the issue isn't so much that I'm NOT kickass, it's just that I have trouble internalizing it. But I get better every day. We all do.

Lifting changed my life. We're all gonna make it.

For me, consistency in GETTING to the gym is key. Doesn't matter what I do when I get there or how long I'm there--as long as I go, I'm nurturing the habit of health.

The biggest problem I have with the consistency is within a couple weeks of starting working out at a gym, I ALWAYS catch a horrible cold. It keeps me out of the gym for a week, and then the habit is incredibly difficult to get back.

This time around, I'm taking it easy, despite what do-gooders say. For instance, my endurance athlete teen claims failing at something big is better than succeeding at something small. He wants this obese 40-year-old woman with high blood pressure to start out running instead of walking. Lol So I'm walking 20-30 minutes three times a week to start. And it's WORKING! :-)

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Wow, what an awesome thread. And, Lilodian4ever, two things - 1) based on reading your past posts, I would say that becoming a PT is really your destiny - it is what you were meant to be, and man, I gotta say, bravo! I would LOVE to take the training myself. I don't think I could cut it as a PT for a couple of reasons, but I would love to know all of the science and art behind it. 2) "Saved my life" - absolutely, brother, absolutely. I can state with 100% certainty that I would have killed myself in the fall of 2012 if I hadn't joined the gym and discovered what I needed my entire life. I'm STILL a work in progress, learning and improving, and working on fixing the mistakes I made. And I love it.

Great thread!

I was bedridden for the past four years from such severe depression, just now starting to get back to my amazing shape before (I was always naturally athletic, but lost all my muscle.) I am so scared that at forty it is just too late to get it back. Also, I hate doctors -- I really do. I know my exhaustion is something more and have had to beg fro the most simple ?tests. Doctors are just such jerks. Why can't I at least get tests to find out why my hair is falling out, why I have zero energy, etc. ? It's rdiculous that I have to keep struggling like this. I wish all doctors would just....go do another job like shovel coal. There are no good ones for people like me. I am so very terrified right now because I can barely do the simplest thing -- please tell me it can get better and don't suggest getting a doctor to help because I have already tried for over a year.

During your severe depression how was your nutrition? Could you possibly have some deficiencies? I know when I was extremely deficient in Vit D, every joint in my body was in pain and I was losing hair. There are a lot of jerk doctors out there, but there are ones that do truly want to help.

Hi, sorry for the late response. I didn't see activity on this thread for a long time, so didn't pay it much attention.

I can only offer possibilities and suggestions based on what you've said.

Exhaustion can be caused by:
- Depression ... you know this already.
- Lack of adequate sleep
- A slow metabolism (several possible causes of this). Metabolism is nothing but the measure of how well/efficiently your body produces energy from food or stored fat. If your metabolism is low, you're gonna be weak/fatigued.
- Bad nutrition in general. Or, more specifically, perhaps a lack of carbohydrates in your diet or too many high-glycemic carbs (sugars, starches)
- *** Hypothyroidism *** Have you gotten your thyroid level checked ? This is often the cause of much bodily dysfunction.
- As above poster mentioned, vitamin deficiency.
- Too much physical activity ? Cooking, cleaning, two kids, a husband, friends, the gym, no me-time ?
- Improper/inadequate breathing (too stressed, shallow breathing)

As for losing muscle mass (aka atrophy),
- Age: You seem to know this already. Yes, testosterone levels decline with age.
- Inadequate protein intake, for your activity level
- Inadequate rest/sleep. Sleep is when the body repairs damaged muscle fibers with the protein you give it.
- Inadequate exercise. Exercise stimulates muscle growth, so lack of exercise can and does definitely cause atrophy.

Some suggestions for improving energy levels:
- Adequate sleep - HUGE
- Better time management, which can lead to more discipline and regularity with regard to sleep/rest.
- Eating smaller portions more frequently, and each meal ideally containing some carbs, some protein, and some good fats (can go into details if you want).
- Kickstart your metabolism first thing after waking up: Eat a piece of fruit and drink a glass of water.
- Take plenty of deep breaths regularly during the day. Oxygen plays a vital part in metabolism and other physiological processes.
- Consume a good amount of fruits/veggies to get your vitamins/minerals. If you don't like fresh produce, at least take multivitamin tablets.

*** Please, please, don't hesitate to PM me with more specific questions. I'd love to work with you to try to come up with a better diet and/or exercise routine ***