5 helpful pointers for beginners

culled from:pulse.ng

These days, there are so many diet trends, fitness fads around, thanks to the Internet, that is so easy to get overwhelmed especially if you are a beginner, the below tips take away whatever confusion you might have been experiencing.

1. Change your daily habits and behaviors- With fitness, consistency is the the key, you will very surprised to find out that something you do DAILY can affect your fitness goals. Examples include switching soda for water, walking instead of driving and so on.
2. Find your own workout program- As a beginner, experiment with various forms of working out until you find something of enjoyment and simultaneously beneficial to your goals. It is easier to stick to a workout plan if it is something you enjoy.
3. Make sleep your best friend- Before you plan an extensive workout program, make sure to plan and commit to a sleep schedule. As a beginner, no one may tell you this, but sleep is your greatest ally as lack of sleep has the ability to affect our hormones, moods, and hunger cravings, all of which leads to weight gain.
4. Clean up your diet- As there isn't a one size fits all nutrition template for everyone to follow, the important thing is to eat healthy by eating less processed foods and more nutrient dense based foods. Replace junk food for fruits, vegetables and you can also add spices like ginger, garlic to your diet.
5. Adopt the 80/20 principle mindset- The Pareto principle ("80/20 rule"), in the business world, states 20 percent of your customers represent 80 percent of your sales. Twenty percent of your time leads to 80 percent of your results. This can also be applied to fitness, instead of trying to implement every tip you come across while turning your life upside down, only select the tips that deliver the biggest result. Your goal should be to get the most value for your actions out of the least amount of effort put forth, for example, do more of high intensity exercises for a short period of time than routine exercises for longer periods, high intensity exercises burn calories even when you are not working out, this way, you get the most value for your actions out of the least amount of effort put forth.

Let us know if you have a helpful tip that someone new to fitness could use to get started down the right path.