Are you just starting on a fitness journey? Or are you flirting with the idea of starting on one? If so, you have come to the right place. I understand you. You have got a mixed bag of emotions going on inside you. There’s a bit of fear of the unknown and intimidation, a sprinkle of “This is going to take a lot of effort I don’t know if I can be fucked”, along with a big amount of excitement and hope for a healthier lifestyle!

I like to think I have a knack for beginners. Having been a personal trainer and CrossFit coach now for years I have put in my fair share of hours with beginners. And although it has its unique challenges, there is so much to love about it. There’s something awesome about teaching someone something for the very first time and seeing them flourish and completely change their life! Although I love the more advanced, nerdy stuff when it comes to fitness and nutrition, one of the most fulfilling parts of my job has been working with beginners. I think it’s fair to say I have learned how to be a better coach from the hands on experience of teaching and training beginners; more than I have learned from any book or any course.

So, today I am going to give you my top 10 tips that I wish I could tell every single person that is just starting out on their fitness journey! Included will be some straight talk, some compassion and some good old common sense!

Change one thing at a time.

This one is a big belief of mine! The best thing you can do is set yourself small achievable goals. Don’t try to change everything in your life all at once! Change that lasts in the long-term does not happen by completely uprooting your life; it happens incrementally. This doesn’t mean you should be lazy, it just means that you will build better habits if you focus on one thing at a time, one battle at a time, and change one habit at a time, before moving onto the next. Don’t be tempted to go bat-shit crazy with your health and fitness resolutions, even though you are all excited and motivated initially, or it will just turn into another fad. To create lasting change you need to build habits, which take time, and focus on one thing at a time.

Start with a few sessions a week and then bump it up when you are adjusted.

I think 2-4 training sessions a week is realistic for beginners, depending on your level of fitness when you start (scale it down to 2 times a week if you are very de-conditioned and/or overweight). It may take a while for your body to get used to training, so in the beginning you may need more recovery time between training days. This doesn’t mean you are any less dedicated than if you were to jump straight into training 6 days a week right off the bat. If anything, it means you are smarter and more sensible.