Give us five minutes and we will tell you how to get fit?

Question

Thomas Jefferson – who was the third president of the United States of America – is known for  the following quote: “If you want something you’ve never had, you must be willing to do something you’ve never done.” The same logic can be applied to getting fit. If you want to attain the state of being fit you need to put your body through activities that it may not have ever done before or may not have done for a long time.

However, getting fit and maintaining the status of being fit doesn’t have to all be about blood, sweat and tears – and not much else. You’ve probably heard the old wives’ tale that there is categorically no pain without gain and that you should mistrust any gains that you achieve if they don’t come with a good amount of effort.

Don’t believe us? Give us five minutes and we’ll tell you how this is possible.

Set realistic fitness goals

First of all: in order to get fit you need to be specific about what you want to achieve. It’s not good enough saying “I want to get fit”. You need to lay down certain deliverables in your journey to getting fit so that you can picture what being fit means for you and actually see it. This will make you hold yourself accountable in the journey and will help you gauge where you are so that if you are not achieving what you want to you can go back to the drawing board and redesign how you are going to achieve your goals.

Hire a personal trainer

This type of professional has trained for years and years about how to help their clients along the road to physical wellness and fitness in addition to assisting them to reach their various goals for their physiques.

Thus, to attain your fitness goals in the time that you have available, enlisting the assistance of a personal trainer is the best way to go. Such an individual will be able to assess what you want to achieve, the time that you have available and will work out a plan that fits in with both elements. The great thing about a personal trainer is that they will be able to give you benchmarks along the way – in the form of assessments – so that you can see what you’re achieving. This will also help to motivate you to keep on with your exercise programme.

Critically examine your eating habits

Training and good nutrition principles go hand in hand. You can train as hard and as long as you like but unless you back it up with the right nutrition, your mind as well not even have started your training routine.

Think we’re talking a load of nonsense? Let’s illustrate what we’re saying with an example.

Say, for instance, that one of your fitness goals is to build lean muscle mass. We know that the majority of muscles is made up of protein and that the body doesn’t keep stores of protein. It uses what it needs to, at the time, and then excretes the rest.

The best way to build lean muscle mass is through training with weights. In order to promote the development of muscle, you need to consume protein – either through protein-rich foods such as hard-boiled eggs or lean chicken breasts or by taking a protein shake. If you don’t do this, or don’t consume enough protein in your diet, it will be very difficult for you to reach your goal of building the lean muscle mass that you want.

If you’re struggling to decide on what are the best nutrients you should be taking in to support your training goals, consult a registered dietitian or a nutritionist. These professionals have studied the art and science of good nutrition for years which makes them well placed to assist you where you need to.

So there you have it – our five-minute guide of how to get fit. What are you waiting for? Follow these principles today and see how they can help you to a world of fitness.