How To Start Exercising

It is never too late to start exercising if you haven’t before, and it is up there with one of the best things you can do for your health, alongside eating a healthy, Mediterranean diet, so read on for our tips on how to start exercising.

Incorporating an exercise routine into your life is the best way to ensure you’re getting the movement you need for a healthy lifestyle. Whether you’re losing weight, or maintaining a healthy weight, physical activity brings so many brilliant benefits.

Why should I exercise?

The main physical benefits of exercise include:

• Achieving and maintaining a healthy body weight and muscle mass. [1]
• Improving your heart health and lung functioning.
• Preventing and managing chronic conditions, such as reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes by up to 40%. [2]
• Helping you maintain good energy levels. [3]

The main mental benefits of exercise include:

• Lifting your mood. [4]
• Boosting mental health and self-esteem. [5]
• Improving symptoms of anxiety, depression and ADHD. [6]
• Helping you sleep better. [7]
• Even enhancing your sex life.

If you want to learn how to start exercising, but you don’t like the thought of lifting heavy weights in a gym, or running on a treadmill for half an hour, then there are plenty of other ways to incorporate movement into your life in ways that suit you.

The Online Programme hosts a collection of over 175 workouts for all abilities from Low Impact to Advanced. Each week, you’ll benefit from HIIT, resistance, Pilates and stretching videos along with demonstrations for each exercise, with modifications available for those looking for more gentle movement. 

Finding the form of exercise that works best for you is the best way to ensure you maintain a regular routine, see results, and even enjoy it.

How to start exercising

Health check

It’s important to check in with your doctor to get a physical examination before starting an exercise routine to prevent risk of injury during exercise, particularly if you have had difficulty exercising in the past. If you do have mobility issues, you may benefit from our Low-Impact, chair-based exercises, which you can try for free here. If you’re unsure, please share with your usual healthcare professional.

Incorporate hobbies

If you’re wary of beginning an exercise routine, or are worried you’ll struggle to keep it up if you don’t enjoy it, then see if you have any hobbies or interests that might lend itself well to becoming an exercise routine. For example, if you enjoy dancing, try a weekly salsa class, or if you enjoy getting out in nature, try running or a weekly hike somewhere you think is beautiful. 

Make a plan 

If you have a particular fitness goal, creating a plan can help keep you on track to achieving it. Start with small goals and each time you tick them off, set new, achievable ones.

Keep accountable

If you struggle with sticking to a fitness plan, keep yourself accountable by having an exercising buddy. By sharing your exercising journey with a friend, you’re much less likely to fall off the wagon and you can encourage each other to stick at it. It’s for this reason that we created The Fast 800 Community in our Online Programme, where you can join an exercise group to chat to others who are in a similar situation, and are also keen to get into exercise.

Make it a habit

A 2017 study found that habit-based interventions showed promising results in sustaining behaviour change and weight loss maintenance. [8] Essentially, the easiest way to keep up with exercising is to make it a mindless habit. Plan to workout first thing in the morning, or try more specific habits like squatting while brushing your teeth, or calf raises while you’re waiting for the kettle to boil.

All these top tips are what we aim to provide in our Online Programme, so if you want an easy way to find them all in one place, with helpful guides, workouts, communities and accountability, sign up to our Online Programme today and check out the exercise section.

A final word from our Exercise Manager

Exercise is essential to lose or maintain weight, and improve your physical and mental health. It’s never too late to start, and if you can find exercises that fit with your existing hobbies, it can even be fun. The Fast 800 Exercise Manager, Pascal, puts it pretty clearly: “The more often you exercise, whether it’s in the form of specific training sessions or just a walk in the park, the easier it will be. The more you enjoy your exercise sessions, whether it’s because you love the satisfaction afterwards or you’re doing it with friends, the quicker it will become a habit.” Fitting exercise in as a routine habit is key to keeping it up, and programmes like The Fast 800 can be a great place to begin if you’re unsure.