Making healthier choices can be stressful for those who are just starting to get in shape; with a vast amount of information, it is often hard to know where to begin. Patrick Dale, a fitness expert and personal trainer at FitnessVolt.com has compiled this beginner-friendly guide to get you started.
Diets are not one size fits all, so use these steps to create a diet that works for you.
– Determine your daily calorie requirements
Use a Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) calculator to find out how many calories it would take to
maintain your current weight. These calculators can be found online and use your height, weight, and activity levels to calculate how many calories you need to maintain and lose or gain weight.
– Create a calorie deficit
Take your maintenance number and subtract 500 calories from it. You should aim for this daily, and one of the best ways to monitor your calories is to track your food intake. This can be done using an app or manually writing it all down but remember to look at the portion sizes on packets and weigh your food carefully.
To help you lose more weight, you can also drink plenty of water to keep yourself hydrated and eat foods high in fiber to keep your digestive system healthy.
Exercise
Patrick has this advice for beginners:
“A lot of people focus on cardio for weight loss, but strength training is equally important. In fact, you’ll lose weight faster and more easily if you do both.
Beginners may be tempted to dive head-first into an intense workout plan, but that would be a mistake. Doing more exercise than you can comfortably handle is a good way to end up sore and even injured. Also, training too hard too soon could put you off exercise for good.”
Most beginners will start with a full-body plan that includes strength training three times a week on non-consecutive days with cardio in between. It’s important to give your muscles time to recover after training to prevent injury.
This workout on a Monday, Wednesday, and Friday is what Patrick recommends:
1. Goblet Squat, 3 sets
2. Chest Press Machine, 2 sets
3. Seated Rows, 2 sets
4. Lunge, 3 sets
5. Dumbbell Shoulder Press, 2 sets
6. Lat Pulldown, 2 sets
7. Triceps Pushdown, 2 sets
8. Dumbbell Biceps Curl, 2 sets
9. Cable Crunch, 3 sets
10. 45-degree Back Extension, 3 sets
Each of these requires between 12-20 reps with 60-90 seconds of recovery time between them.
A good weekly plan should look something like this:
Mon: Strength Training
Tues: Cardio
Wed: Strength Training
Thurs: Cardio
Fri: Strength Training
Sat: Cardio
Sun: Rest
For your cardio workouts, it’s best to maintain a steady pace for around 20 – 30 minutes. This can be done at the gym by using treadmills or stationary bikes or by just going for a walk around the neighborhood. The sweet spot is making sure you’re out of breath but still able to talk.
It’s also worth remembering NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis) – an everyday exercise that will help to burn those calories. NEAT can include washing the dishes or playing with your kids; anything that gets you moving more will help you to lose weight and be healthier.
