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9 Simple Fitness Principles Worth Knowing

Are you getting ready to start a health kick? It's best to keep things simple in the beginning. Here are a few basic principles you shouldn't forget. 

Would you like to get fitter? Lose a few extra pounds? Feel better and have more energy? Tone up your belly muscles? Fit into your old clothes?

If so, you’re not alone.

So many of us want to live longer, have more energy, and feel more attractive and self-confident. The only path to all of those things, though, is exercise.

There is no way around it. If you want to have a toned, healthy body, sitting in front of the computer all day and pressing buttons on your keyboard won’t get you there.

On the other hand, “getting in shape” doesn’t have to be as sweaty and painful as you might anticipate.

With that in mind, here are some of the fitness tips worth keeping in mind as you hit the gym with new energy:

1. Start with a Positive Attitude

Most people believe that achieving their fitness goals is about finding the right workout program and following a special diet.

As it turns out, though, transforming your body is more about attitude than anything else.

If you believe that you don’t have the time, willpower, or motivation to stick with your fitness goals, you’ll just sabotage your success. No trainer or slimming pill will change that.

2. Get in Shape for Life, not an Event

The majority of people spend their lives getting in shape for summer vacations, weddings, high school reunions, New Year parties, and other social occasions.

What’s wrong with that? Unfortunately, those motivations are only temporary.

Creating the body of your dreams is not about six weeks of intense exercise or a 2-week crash diet.

It’s a lifelong commitment and realizing that will help you find the motivation you need to succeed.

3. Make Better Choices

bike riding workout

As you make your way through a fitness journey, you’ll be faced with hundreds of tiny decisions.

To take the elevator or the stairs? To grab a bagel or to make a smoothie? To hit the gym or take a rest day?

Making the right choices becomes progressively harder and harder. Because of this, it’s essential to learn to ask the questions differently.

When you reframe these questions with your commitment to health and fitness at the center, it becomes easier to keep pushing toward your goals, even when you’re tired or bored.

4. Set Clear Goals

Let’s be honest, “Getting in shape” isn’t much of a goal.

It’s far too vague to mean anything. If you want to reach your goals, they’ve got to be SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely.

For example, a better goal than “get in shape,” might be “lose 10 lbs. and run my first half marathon by April.”

5. Be Realistic

If you want to follow through with your fitness goals, make it as realistic for yourself as possible.

Instead of committing to a crazy, Olympic-level training plan, start small, and work your way up.

Not only does this keep your fitness journey fun and enjoyable, but it reduces the likelihood that you’ll give up out of frustration. Remember: we all screw up once in a while.

What matters though, is how fast we get back on track once we get a little lost. Don’t let just one missed workout snowball into a week of sloth.

Instead, set yourself up for success with realistic and attainable goals.

6. Run Your Own Race

Everybody is different. We lose weight differently and progress at a different rate. Comparing yourself to others is the fastest way to get discouraged and quit (especially in the beginning).

What should matter to YOU are your goals, your habits and your achievements – not someone else’s.

7. Give Your Body a Reason to Change

push ups workout

If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.

This is the same for fitness goals. If you walk for 10 minutes every day for about a year, your body just won’t change much.

Whatever kind of exercise you are going to start with, make goals for increasing it over time. Keep your goals challenging, and you will be amazed at your progress.

8. Eat Better

Every fitness trainer will tell you that getting in shape is not only about workouts, but about your diet, as well. With this in mind, it’s time to start paying attention to what, when, and how you eat.

If your goal is to lose a few pounds and get slimmer, tweak your eating habits to include fresh, nutritious food over empty-calorie snacks and preheated dinners.

9. Get Social

If you want to stick to your workout plan and give yourself an incentive to reach your goals, get your friends or partner involve.

This accountability will help you push yourself harder and enjoy greater community while you do.

Say Hello to Your Fit Self

Getting fit and staying that way is a challenging process. Fortunately, these nine tips are a great way to get motivated, get healthy, and achieve the goals you’ve set for yourself.

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Our team at The Fitness Tribe often collaborates together to produce content. Many times the content is not written by a single author, instead it is usually a team effort.