How To Get Fit For Beginners

If you’re looking to get fit, you are not alone. Millions of people have learned the benefits of regular exercise and a healthy diet, leading to many options for beginners, including walking, running, strength training, flexibility training and burning belly fat with changes in your diet.

Once you commit to getting fit, you’ll also want to make sure you have all the proper gear to get the most from your body, as well as protect it from injury. Compression socks and compression leggings can go a long way to sparing you from muscle aches and pains.

The following looks at some of the best ways to get fit for beginners, including diet and exercise. As with all exercise, make sure you don’t push yourself too hard. Consistency, not setting world records, is the key! 

Also, those over a certain age (about 45 for men and 55 for women) or with major health risks should get permission from a doctor before taking on rigorous exercise.

Walking/Running

A great place to start is with walking and running for a sustained half hour, four or five times a week. Remember you don’t have to push yourself. Going slow is OK, your cardiovascular system is still getting the benefits. A great test for beginners is the “talk test” - you should be able to hold a basic conversation without being too winded while you run or walk.

Strength Training

Strength training is an excellent way to keep your body strong and burn fat. Beginners should start doing one set of exercises targeting each of the major muscle groups. As for weight, the rule of thumb is to pick a weight that you can do eight to 12 times in a set. Increase the weight as you get stronger. It’s best if you can do strength training twice a week, but remember not to do the same body part two days in a row. Recovery compression socks can help improve circulation, prevent inflammation, reduce chafing, speed up post-workout recovery and give a boost to athletic performance.

Flexibility Training

Staying flexible helps keep muscles from becoming too tight and can help with circulation. Many people choose yoga to keep their muscles loose and their body stretched. If you’re not quite ready for that, try doing sustained static stretches three to seven days per week on your own, which each stretch last 10 to 30 seconds.

Burning Belly Fat

In addition to exercise, you can burn belly fat by making dietary choices that will lead to better health. This is just as important as getting proper exercise. Consider taking on some of the following eating habits.

More soluble fiber. This helps your digestive system slow down, helping you to feel full and leading to you eating less. You can find soluble fiber in foods such as flax seeds, Brussels sprouts, avocados, legumes and blackberries.

Limit alcohol. Research has found that drinking too much alcohol can lead to too much body fat.

Eat lean protein. Protein leads to the release of a hormone in your body that makes you feel full, leading to eating less. The key is to find healthy, lean sources of protein. Those include chicken, fish such as salmon and tuna, beans and vegetables such as broccoli and spinach.

Avoid sugar. Many studies have found that eating excess refined sugars leads to weight gain and belly fat. This even includes sugar from healthier sources such as honey. 

Avoid carbs. Eating too many carbohydrates, including those found in processed foods like chips, can lead to weight gain and belly fat.

Just taking these small steps can help beginners quickly get fit. After a few weeks of adopting these habits, you’ll feel different. That feeling, and the loss of weight, will be all you need to keep up your exercise routine and healthy diet!