December 4, 2024 • 26 mins
I'm covering 2 BIG topics in today's show:
- How to workout when all you want to do is stay wrapped up in your thickest, softest, coziest blanket with a hot cup of hot chocolate/coffee and watching cheesy holiday movies.
- 11 tips everyone needs to hear before starting a fitness journey. Even if you've been consistently working out for years... it won't hurt to hear these!
Next week, I'm talking about setting goals for the new year. Have a question you want answered in that episode? Shoot me a DM (Insta below).
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Kindal Boyle has been a personal trainer for nearly 20 years focusing on women's strength and fitness. She'll teach you how to combine strength training and cardio for a hybrid approach to build the fittest body and life no matter where you are in your fitness journey.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) What's up guys?
Welcome to a brand new episode of the
Fit Women's Weekly Podcast.
I am so excited because we are at
that time of the year where two things
happen.
Number one, those of us that have been
working out consistently, we kind of start to
lose a little bit of our motivation at
least some of us, obviously not everybody, but
I know a large majority of people it's
(00:21):
cold, it's dark, and you just don't want
to work out.
I have found myself sitting on my couch
bundled up under my favorite blanket with a
cup of coffee.
And the last thing that I want to
do is get up, go change, because that
to me is the hardest thing is changing
when it's cold outside and going to get
your workout done.
So I actually sent an email out to
my clients yesterday and my newsletter, just kind
(00:44):
of giving a couple of different tips on
how to stay motivated during this time of
the year, because yes, you could technically take
the rest of the month off and then
once January rolls around, get back to your
routine, right?
You're free to do whatever you want.
But what happens during that time is one,
exercise is more than just trying to build
muscle, build endurance or burn calories.
(01:05):
For me and for a lot of people
exercise is part of our mental care, our
health care, right?
It's part of our sanity.
It helps me be able to handle my
anxiety, my depression a little bit.
And so if I were to just stop,
I know that my mental health would take
a really big decline.
On top of that, I also know that
(01:26):
I'm going to feel sluggish.
My energy levels are going to tank.
I'm going to feel weak.
I'm also going to feel bloated because I
am eating a little bit more sugar and
exercise helps to kind of get rid of
all that salt retention and a lot of
that sugar bloat.
So I know that I'd feel and look
crappy about myself.
And then the final thing that happens is
when you do jump into January and you
(01:47):
start working out again, you feel out of
shape, even though it's only been a month
when you stop working out for even a
week at a time, you know, that first
workout back is always so hard.
So you then feel guilty because you get
back into it and you're like, oh my
gosh, instead of being able to hit the
ground running, I first have to spend the
first week just building back up to where
I was before.
(02:08):
So instead, it's just easier to stay consistent.
And just a couple of my super simple
tips to help you do that in January
is or in December is one, if you're
able to just work out first thing in
the morning, if you're used to working out
in the afternoon, it's dark outside.
It's been a long day.
You're probably a lot more tired than normal
or you have things going on because it's
(02:29):
a busy time.
If you can wake up 30 minutes earlier,
just go ahead and do it that way
too.
You're working out before your brain is able
to fully wake up and convince you that
what you're doing is silly.
That's one of the reasons I run in
the morning because I'm basically half asleep knocking
out my run and waking up while I'm
running.
And it's just such a great way to
(02:50):
start my day.
And then there's no excuse to not be
able to knock it out, right?
Whereas if I were to try to do
that in the afternoon, I'm busy, I'm tired,
I can think of 5,000 excuses.
So if you're able to become a morning
person, but obviously you don't have to and
I know that not everybody is capable of
it, but if you can, do it.
Number two, make a fun competition with yourself.
(03:11):
I wanted to do something fun in my
Fit Women's Weekly Live group, which is my
online training studio, where it's just a little
fun in-house competition to make this time
a little bit more exciting.
So actually what we're doing is having a
little competition of who can work out for
the most minutes for the month of December.
It's not necessarily who can work out the
most amount of days, but can you do
(03:32):
a 45-minute workout instead of a 30
-minute workout?
Can you knock out a 60-minute workout
when normally you'd want to do a 30
-minute workout and see what you're capable of
accomplishing?
Now, of course, when it comes to Fit
Women's Weekly Live, I always make sure that
I am promoting healthy habits.
I'm not telling my clients that in order
to win, you should work out seven days
a week, but I am trying to encourage
(03:53):
them to increase their movement with some sort
of external motivation, where the person at the
end is gonna win a really big bundle
of all of my favorite things that's gonna
be worth over $100.
So that's just something fun that kind of
helps to push you that's not just so
like self-motivated, you know?
Because sometimes those things can help.
(04:14):
So if that's something that you're interested in,
it's not too late to join in.
You can feel free to email me kindle
at fitwomensweekly.com and I can share more
about that challenge, but I'm pretty excited about
it.
Super simple.
You just log your minutes per day that
you work out.
It reminds me, at first I was gonna
do how who can work out the most
sessions for the month of December, but then
(04:36):
Dan was like, you know, that would be
really cool if we could do something a
little bit even more niche about like how
many minutes can you get?
Because that's gonna be a really big number
at the end, which is gonna feel pretty
cool.
And it reminds me of when you're a
kid and you do the reading stuff, the
reading competitions, and it's how many pages can
you read?
And I remember having so much fun logging
that, so I'm excited to see what December
(04:57):
can bring for the Fitments Weekly Live crew.
But if you're not part of our crew,
I'm just sharing that as some sort of
idea that maybe you can do that with
yourself or, you know, last week I talked
about the importance of having a workout wifey,
aka a fitness partner, that you can check
in with.
Have some sort of in-house competition and
then decide on your own what you want
the reward to be.
(05:18):
So that's another idea.
And then the other thing is stop looking
for perfection.
This is not your time to focus on
building muscle mass.
It's not about the time that you should
be weighing yourself because you're in a weight
-loss deficit.
If you're having a hard time staying motivated
right now, just look at this time as
maintenance mode and have fun.
(05:38):
This is the time where it's okay to
find random workouts on Instagram or on YouTube
and say, you know what, I'm gonna give
this a shot.
Versus, you know, normally we're always saying follow
a plan.
Follow a specific training partner or specific training
coach and do their plan instead of jumping
from one type of workout to the next
where you're just kind of lollygagging around and
(06:01):
you're not going to get specific results.
Right now, lollygag around.
Move your body, focus on maintenance, and then
in January you can really put your foot
down and start working towards your new goals.
Which is also another tip.
Start brainstorming what is it that you want
your January goals to be.
Because when you have that in your head,
you're gonna want to hit the ground running
(06:21):
with working on those specific goals.
And remember, like I said at the beginning,
you don't want to spend that first part
of January having to rebuild what you lost
in December.
So use what you want to accomplish in
January as motivation to just stay where you're
at and stay moving for this month.
So hopefully those tips help.
(06:41):
I'm gonna talk more about specific goal settings
in the next week's episode.
So definitely keep your eyes open for that,
which means if you're not already subscribed to
the podcast, go ahead and do that.
Just hit the subscribe button and that way
you can make sure that you are in
the know of how to set up your
goals for the year so you can actually
(07:02):
be successful and you're not gonna give up
like most people do after a week, two
weeks, or three weeks.
I want to help you hit your goals
and I'm not just gonna say hey, here's
my program.
I want to actually help you set up
specific goals that are meant to be attainable
and not break you down.
All right, which brings us to today's episode,
(07:23):
which I know a lot of us, maybe
you are not working out consistently right now,
but you want to start working out consistently.
So I have 11 tips for beginners and
this is going to be really helpful.
So go ahead and write these down so
that you have them if you are a
beginner, and even if you're not a beginner,
a lot of these will be different tips
that are just really good to reiterate and
(07:44):
to recommit yourself to so that you can
kind of look at your own training, go,
you know, I kind of lost track of
this and I need to get back to
it.
Basics work, basics matter.
So if you are somebody who is really
gearing up towards January, you want 2025 to
be the year of health and wellness for
yourself, then go ahead, have these written down
(08:04):
somewhere so that once you are ready to
rock and roll, you have them for you,
for you and you can be better brain
fart lost my track of thought and you
can set yourself up for success.
Okay, so here we go.
It can seem really intimidated for a fitness
newbie and that intimidation makes it really easy
to have a start date that gets pushed
(08:25):
back from a Monday to next week to
next month and of course to next year,
but next year is coming upon us.
So let's talk about the 11 tips to
help your mind, get your mind at ease
and give you real expectations of what you
can expect.
Number one, you are probably going to be
a surprise at how out of shape you
(08:45):
are.
You mentally know that you haven't worked out
in quite some time, but a part of
you also holds on to this idea of
your being in decent shape or holding on
to the idea where you once work.
I know that I've had family members who
haven't worked out in years and even decades,
but yet they still hold on to this
idea of, well, when I was 20, I
could do this.
(09:05):
Well, now that you're 40 and older, that
fitness isn't there anymore.
So it can be a really big shock
when you go into that first workout and
realize that, wow, 10 body weight squats and
you're already going to be sore tomorrow.
So have realistic expectations of yourself that you're
probably not going to be as in shape
as you think you're going to be and
(09:26):
that's okay.
It just means that that's the start of
your fitness journey.
Your start doesn't begin where you left off
a year, two years, five years, 10 years
ago.
Your fitness journey begins where you are today.
So give yourself some grace and acknowledge that
and build upon where you are now and
not where you once were.
A lot of people burn out too fast
(09:47):
because they're trying to start where they were
versus where they are today.
So check in with yourself and just don't
have that shock of, oh my gosh, I
am so out of shape.
Use it as a wake up call, but
don't use it as a way of feeling,
I'm so out of shape, I can't do
this.
Just simply start building where you are.
Number two, build off of that, which is
(10:08):
avoid jumping all in.
I know you guys at the start of
your journey, you are going to want to
commit yourself 110%.
You're going to say, I want to work
out five, six, even seven days a week.
But what happens when you can't do that,
you might be successful at that your first
week or even your first few days, but
then you're so sore that you have to
(10:29):
take a day off.
And because you're so sore, you're thinking in
your head, going back to that first tip,
I'm so much more out of shape than
what I thought that I was.
I'm weak, I'm pathetic.
You start having these mental talks with yourself
that bring you down.
Whereas if you were just to say, I'm
going to start with something that I know
(10:50):
that I can keep up with.
And I know that my body can handle,
you can always add on.
So instead of saying I'm going to work
out for six or seven days a week,
how about say, you know what, I haven't
worked out in six months, I'm going to
start with just three days a week.
And I think that if that's where you're
at, if you haven't worked out, and I
would say, at least a year, then working
(11:12):
out two days a week is probably where
you want to start.
If you are haven't worked out in six
months or less, I would suggest starting with
three days per week and making that a
consistent habit where you're successfully hitting that target
number for not just one week, two weeks,
three weeks, where you can do that for
one month.
(11:33):
And then you can say, wow, I have
been successful as hitting two workouts per week.
OK, next month I'm going to hit three
workouts per week.
Or if you were successful at doing three
workouts per week, next month I'm going to
do four workouts per week.
But always remember to give yourself at least
one or two rest days, complete rest days.
If you're brand new to the whole fitness
(11:53):
thing and this these tips are for beginners,
I would suggest giving yourself a minimum of
two rest weeks, two rest weeks, two rest
days.
Number three, start strength training.
You've probably heard before that you should lose
weight first with cardio and then tighten up
with strength training.
I have people in my life that tell
me that all the time where they'll say,
(12:15):
oh my God, I love what you post.
It looks like those workouts are awesome.
I'm going to come join in with you
after I lose some weight.
That is absolutely the most ridiculous thing that
you can do for yourself.
Science has proven over and over again that
strength training is just as important when it
comes to body transformation and overall fitness and
wellness as it is with cardio and helping
(12:37):
to improve your metabolism.
It's going to change your body.
It's going to help with your bone density.
It's going to help your overall health and
wellness.
So don't just choose one or the other
and you also want to make sure, and
we'll talk about this here in a second,
that your diet also goes hand in hand
with that.
So you shouldn't do cardio until you lose
weight.
You shouldn't just do strength training but I'm
(12:59):
getting ahead of myself just a little bit.
So and I just want to also note
again for beginners that strength training doesn't have
to mean barbells, dumbbells, or kettlebells.
Again, start where you are.
So if that means starting with body weight
movements like squats, elevated push-ups and lunges,
that's where you need to start.
If you can't do multiple sets of that,
(13:21):
then you have no business yet picking up
external weights like dumbbells or kettlebells.
You need to make sure that you're learning
the fundamental movements with your body, that your
body is capable of doing that through range
of motion, that you have the mobility and
the flexibility to be able to do those
without putting your body at risk of injury.
So make sure if you need to start
(13:42):
with body weight, start at body weight and
don't feel pressured just because you feel like
strength training has to be these big weights
or you have to put a barbell on
yourself.
That's not where you need to do.
Don't feel pressured to do that.
The basics work too.
You don't need to do all the fancy
stuff.
So I would suggest when it comes to
strength training, starting with at least two days
(14:02):
of strength training, if you're going to just
do two days, then I would make those
two total body workouts.
If you have the ability to do more
than like three, you could do up to
three total body workouts.
And if you're going to do four strength
training sessions a week, I would most likely
cut that up into two total body sessions,
one upper body session and one lower body
(14:25):
session.
Tip number four is get your heart rate
up with cardio.
Just like strength training, cardio doesn't need to
need to be neglected either.
You're going to work your glutes, right?
You're going to work your legs, you're going
to want to work your shoulders and your
biceps and your back.
Those are all really big muscle groups.
Your heart's a muscle too.
So I don't know where over the past
few years, not few years, decades, people have
(14:46):
said you need to focus on one or
the other or that cardio is bad for
you.
I am so happy because I have been
talking about hybrid training for the past 18
years that I have been a personal trainer.
At the time, it wasn't called hybrid training.
That is definitely a newer term.
But people used to tell me all the
time, like you need to back off the
cardio or, you know, you would be a
(15:07):
faster runner if you didn't focus so much
on strength training.
And I would tell them this is what
makes me a well-rounded, healthy individual.
I'm not trying to go out and run
a five minute mile.
I'm not trying to go out and do
a 500 pound deadlift.
I do want to make sure that I'm
as strong as possible in each of those
modalities because I want to simply be the
healthiest person that I can be.
And now research shows that cardio does not
(15:29):
impact your ability to increase your muscle mass
and get stronger and strength training helps you
do better at cardio.
Have you ever gone into a set of,
let's say, lunges of heavy lunges and you
put your weights down at the end and
you are so winded.
You feel like you just ran a mile
and a lot of people say, oh, that's
my cardio for the day.
(15:50):
No, that's your sign that you actually need
to do cardio and improve your aerobic capacity
because you should not be getting so winded
when it comes to your strength training.
So if like certain sets of your strength
training are exhausting you and your heart feels
like you're pounding out, it's going to bounce
out of your chest, then I'd focus on
(16:11):
getting a little bit more zone to cardio.
And I've done plenty of episodes on this
before.
So if you're interested, let me know and
I can link it up.
But get your cardio in again, two to
four sessions per week.
It doesn't have to be anything long.
It could be anything from 20 minutes to
60 minutes, anything that keeps your heart rate
up for a steady amount of time.
And, you know, people are so afraid of
(16:32):
like, I can't work out two times per
day.
Well, you can if you're doing like you
can do 30 minutes of strength training, follow
it up with 30 minutes of cardio, that
is then a 60 minute session, or you
can absolutely do one session in the morning.
And then if you wanted and you had
time to do a light session in the
afternoon of your cardio, that's absolutely fine as
(16:53):
well.
If you are brand new, then I would
either divide it up like I first mentioned
of half of your workout is strength, half
of your workout is cardio, or alternating so
that one day you're doing your strength training,
the next day you are doing your cardio
routine, at least until you can find a
routine that you're able to make as efficient
as possible.
Because when you're first getting started in strength
training, it might take a little bit longer
(17:15):
just to get comfortable moving from one move
to the next or understanding exactly the routine
that you're trying to do.
And you probably don't have time to be
able to knock out both sessions in one.
So hopefully that's helpful.
But get your strength training up or do
your strength training workouts and do your cardio
do not neglect one or the other.
(17:35):
Then we've got number where am I five?
Get a trainer exercise isn't something that comes
naturally to most people.
So if this is all new to you,
it's not going to hurt you to get
a certified personal trainer to help.
I'm not talking about a friend that likes
to exercise or following somebody on Instagram who
is a fitness influencer that looks amazing just
(17:58):
because they look amazing doesn't mean that they
know how to teach exercise properly.
So it would not hurt you to reach
out whether that is a personal trainer online.
Hey, or you want to go into your
local fitness studio, talk to somebody who can
actually set you up so that you're learning
how to move your body properly.
And that way you're going to be able
to get the most bang from your buck
(18:18):
with every rep that you do.
So you're going to learn how to actually
do the exercises appropriately.
And you're going to be able to learn
how to do the exercises so that you're
not going to put yourself at risk of
injury, especially as you progress forward.
Because yeah, you might be able to do
a certain exercise body weight, but then as
you start increasing the load and you do
start using weights a little bit more, that's
(18:41):
when the injuries can come about where all
of a sudden you're like, Oh, my back
hurts when you should have learned how to
brace your core properly so that that doesn't
happen at all.
Right.
So talk to a personal trainer.
If you need me, I'm here for you.
Number six, set a realistic schedule.
We talked about this at the beginning where,
you know, going back to trying to avoid
too much too soon.
(19:02):
Ask yourself what you can realistically do and
on what days and then go ahead and
schedule those days.
If you want to work out three times,
but you know, you have a jam packed
schedule ahead of you, schedule for two days.
And if you have the opportunity to fit
in that third day, then consider that a
bonus and give yourself a high five, but
set yourself up so that you know you
can be successful each week and also allow
(19:23):
yourself some flexibility.
If you want to work out on a
Tuesday, but something happens on Tuesday, do you
have the ability to push it and change
it to a Wednesday instead?
Or if you had this goal to work
out on Tuesday, but again, it got busy,
instead of doing the 60 minute workout that
you had planned, can you tweak it to
make it a 20 or 30 minute workout?
(19:44):
Because at the end of the day, you
guys know my, my phrase is something is
better than nothing.
So don't be afraid to change and tweak
things a little bit to fit into your
schedule because being consistent with how many days
you're working out is going to be a
lot better than staying consistent with the length
of the workout, because if you're so focused
on getting a 60 minute workout in, but
(20:05):
something comes up, you're going to skip it
all together.
And so then all of a sudden you
wanted to do two workouts per day, but
that one workout got canceled.
Now you're looking at one, whereas you'd be
a lot better off if you were able
to get in a 20 minute workout and
that 60 minute workout, and it's going to
help you mentally stay more committed to your
program as well.
Number seven, don't avoid workouts because you're kind
(20:28):
of sore.
When I had my fitness studio here in
Charleston, I would have people all the time
come in for their very first workout and
I could tell that they were going to
be sore.
And so I would always tell them, you're
going to be sore tomorrow, take tomorrow off,
but get up and move as much as
possible.
But then on your next workout day, well,
(20:49):
so let's say this was Monday on Wednesday,
I want to see you back in here,
even if you are still sore, I'm going
to help you modify the exercises so that
you can still get through the workout.
But what this does is if you are
to skip every workout because you're sore, your
body's never going to adapt.
And then every Monday, when you go into
workout, you're still just going to come out
(21:11):
super sore, right?
Versus if you push through it a little
bit, as long as you're able to maintain
proper form, then you're still going to be
able to create the consistency of your exercise
and your body gets adjusted to it.
So then that soreness becomes less and less
with each time.
Soreness is not a sign of a good
workout, but it is a sign that you're
(21:31):
doing something new.
And so when you're starting a new program,
you're going to be sore.
So just because you're still on one day
doesn't mean that you need to skip the
next day, but make sure that you're following
really good recovery protocols.
You're getting sleep, you're eating protein, you're drinking
water, you're stretching your foam rolling, and you're
getting up and moving as much as possible.
That's always been my biggest tip for people
(21:53):
is that the day after a tough workout,
when you're really sore, try to get up
every hour and just walk for at least
five minutes of that hour just to help
things stretch out to get the blood flowing
to those muscles.
And it's it's the best medicine for sure.
And then that workout back that let's say
it again, if it's a Monday, that Wednesday,
when you come back for your next workout,
(22:13):
you're going to leave feeling even better because
you're taking your body through that range of
motion, you're working the muscles, you're going to
increase the blood flow.
So that exercise, even if it's at a
lighter intensity is going to help you in
the long run.
Number eight, don't step on a scale.
My one of my biggest tips for beginners,
overnight results don't happen.
I know we would love it if we
(22:34):
do one deadlift session and all of a
sudden we look in the mirror and our
butt looks amazing.
Or we do one core finisher at the
end of a workout and we want to
be able to look in the mirror and
see more to find apps.
That's not going to happen.
And so when we don't see the results
that we want to see at the pace
we want to see them, it's really easy
to give up.
And obviously we want to look at that
(22:56):
way with the scale too of weight loss
as your options.
So what I always tell my clients is
at the beginning, don't focus on a scale
if you don't have to.
Instead, trust the program, track where you're eating,
if weight loss is your goal so that
you know you are in a caloric deficit,
and then give yourself at least two to
four weeks before you get on the scale.
(23:16):
And instead go off of progress goals.
Did you accomplish the workouts that you set
out to?
Are you pushing yourself hard in each workout?
Are you following your nutrition plan?
And if all of those things are yes,
then you are going to see results.
Trust the process and don't consider yourself a
failure if you don't lose one pound overnight.
(23:37):
So biggest tip, don't rely on the scale
and remember what your why is any time
that you want to give up.
Number nine, fuel your body for results.
If fat loss is your goal, it's really
important to remember that you cannot out exercise
a bad diet.
It takes exercise and a healthy diet to
see results in the mirror and it takes
being in a caloric deficit if you do
(23:59):
want to lose weight or burn body fat.
You know, I've talked about this in the
past as well.
The exercise and diet go hand in hand.
You can absolutely diet alone and lose weight.
However, the type of weight that you lose
is not going to be what you expect.
Most of the time when you lose weight
through diet alone, you're going to lose a
lot of muscle mass because your body doesn't
(24:20):
want to be in a deficit.
Your muscle takes a lot of calories to
upkeep.
So your body sees it as you're not
working out.
You don't need this.
So I'm going to get rid of my
muscle mass so I can lower my metabolism
down and then I'm not going to be
in a deficit anymore.
However, if you strength train and you do
exercise along with being in a caloric deficit,
(24:41):
then your body sees it as, oh, you're
using these muscles.
I need to keep these muscles, but I
can get rid of my body fat instead.
So the two go hand in hand.
So make sure that you're fueling yourself properly
to be able to handle your workouts with
high protein member 0.8 to one gram
of protein per pound of weight you weigh.
(25:02):
Make sure that you're hydrating yourself.
Make sure that you're not avoiding any type
of macronutrient nutrient you need your carbohydrates for
energy.
But they're eating in a way that supports
the goals that you have.
Number 10, remember you're not going to get
bulky.
I don't think that I need to go
too much into this.
I feel like we've outgrown this a lot.
But unless you're in a huge caloric surplus,
(25:24):
it is very, very hard for women to
build a ton of muscle mass.
You are not going to get bulky from
strength training.
You are going to do so much good
for your body and turning into a man
is not going to happen.
We don't have the hormones for it.
We don't have the appetite for it.
For most of us, don't worry.
It's not going to happen.
Most of us don't have the genetics to
(25:45):
support getting bulky.
And then last but not least, just have
fun with it.
Look at this as a journey.
Like every single day you're going to see
yourself improving in some way.
Make sure that you're highlighting all of the
little wins along your journey and not just
the big win of the overall goal that
you want to accomplish when you find yourself
all of a sudden able to do five
(26:06):
pushups on your feet.
Celebrate that when you're able to do your
first weighted squat.
Celebrate that.
Celebrate the path to get the results that
you want.
That's what I got today.
Again, if you're not subscribed to the channel,
make sure to do that.
And I am going to go teach fit
women's weekly live get on with our December
challenge.
(26:27):
If you want to join in or you
have questions, feel free to reach out to
me and I will be back next week.
Thanks, guys.
Bye.
(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) What's up guys?
Welcome to a brand new episode of the
Fit Women's Weekly Podcast.
I am so excited because we are at
that time of the year where two things
happen.
Number one, those of us that have been
working out consistently, we kind of start to
lose a little bit of our motivation at
least some of us, obviously not everybody, but
I know a large majority of people it's
(00:21):
cold, it's dark, and you just don't want
to work out.
I have found myself sitting on my couch
bundled up under my favorite blanket with a
cup of coffee.
And the last thing that I want to
do is get up, go change, because that
to me is the hardest thing is changing
when it's cold outside and going to get
your workout done.
So I actually sent an email out to
my clients yesterday and my newsletter, just kind
(00:44):
of giving a couple of different tips on
how to stay motivated during this time of
the year, because yes, you could technically take
the rest of the month off and then
once January rolls around, get back to your
routine, right?
You're free to do whatever you want.
But what happens during that time is one,
exercise is more than just trying to build
muscle, build endurance or burn calories.
(01:05):
For me and for a lot of people
exercise is part of our mental care, our
health care, right?
It's part of our sanity.
It helps me be able to handle my
anxiety, my depression a little bit.
And so if I were to just stop,
I know that my mental health would take
a really big decline.
On top of that, I also know that
(01:26):
I'm going to feel sluggish.
My energy levels are going to tank.
I'm going to feel weak.
I'm also going to feel bloated because I
am eating a little bit more sugar and
exercise helps to kind of get rid of
all that salt retention and a lot of
that sugar bloat.
So I know that I'd feel and look
crappy about myself.
And then the final thing that happens is
when you do jump into January and you
(01:47):
start working out again, you feel out of
shape, even though it's only been a month
when you stop working out for even a
week at a time, you know, that first
workout back is always so hard.
So you then feel guilty because you get
back into it and you're like, oh my
gosh, instead of being able to hit the
ground running, I first have to spend the
first week just building back up to where
I was before.
(02:08):
So instead, it's just easier to stay consistent.
And just a couple of my super simple
tips to help you do that in January
is or in December is one, if you're
able to just work out first thing in
the morning, if you're used to working out
in the afternoon, it's dark outside.
It's been a long day.
You're probably a lot more tired than normal
or you have things going on because it's
(02:29):
a busy time.
If you can wake up 30 minutes earlier,
just go ahead and do it that way
too.
You're working out before your brain is able
to fully wake up and convince you that
what you're doing is silly.
That's one of the reasons I run in
the morning because I'm basically half asleep knocking
out my run and waking up while I'm
running.
And it's just such a great way to
(02:50):
start my day.
And then there's no excuse to not be
able to knock it out, right?
Whereas if I were to try to do
that in the afternoon, I'm busy, I'm tired,
I can think of 5,000 excuses.
So if you're able to become a morning
person, but obviously you don't have to and
I know that not everybody is capable of
it, but if you can, do it.
Number two, make a fun competition with yourself.
(03:11):
I wanted to do something fun in my
Fit Women's Weekly Live group, which is my
online training studio, where it's just a little
fun in-house competition to make this time
a little bit more exciting.
So actually what we're doing is having a
little competition of who can work out for
the most minutes for the month of December.
It's not necessarily who can work out the
most amount of days, but can you do
(03:32):
a 45-minute workout instead of a 30
-minute workout?
Can you knock out a 60-minute workout
when normally you'd want to do a 30
-minute workout and see what you're capable of
accomplishing?
Now, of course, when it comes to Fit
Women's Weekly Live, I always make sure that
I am promoting healthy habits.
I'm not telling my clients that in order
to win, you should work out seven days
a week, but I am trying to encourage
(03:53):
them to increase their movement with some sort
of external motivation, where the person at the
end is gonna win a really big bundle
of all of my favorite things that's gonna
be worth over $100.
So that's just something fun that kind of
helps to push you that's not just so
like self-motivated, you know?
Because sometimes those things can help.
(04:14):
So if that's something that you're interested in,
it's not too late to join in.
You can feel free to email me kindle
at fitwomensweekly.com and I can share more
about that challenge, but I'm pretty excited about
it.
Super simple.
You just log your minutes per day that
you work out.
It reminds me, at first I was gonna
do how who can work out the most
sessions for the month of December, but then
(04:36):
Dan was like, you know, that would be
really cool if we could do something a
little bit even more niche about like how
many minutes can you get?
Because that's gonna be a really big number
at the end, which is gonna feel pretty
cool.
And it reminds me of when you're a
kid and you do the reading stuff, the
reading competitions, and it's how many pages can
you read?
And I remember having so much fun logging
that, so I'm excited to see what December
(04:57):
can bring for the Fitments Weekly Live crew.
But if you're not part of our crew,
I'm just sharing that as some sort of
idea that maybe you can do that with
yourself or, you know, last week I talked
about the importance of having a workout wifey,
aka a fitness partner, that you can check
in with.
Have some sort of in-house competition and
then decide on your own what you want
the reward to be.
(05:18):
So that's another idea.
And then the other thing is stop looking
for perfection.
This is not your time to focus on
building muscle mass.
It's not about the time that you should
be weighing yourself because you're in a weight
-loss deficit.
If you're having a hard time staying motivated
right now, just look at this time as
maintenance mode and have fun.
(05:38):
This is the time where it's okay to
find random workouts on Instagram or on YouTube
and say, you know what, I'm gonna give
this a shot.
Versus, you know, normally we're always saying follow
a plan.
Follow a specific training partner or specific training
coach and do their plan instead of jumping
from one type of workout to the next
where you're just kind of lollygagging around and
(06:01):
you're not going to get specific results.
Right now, lollygag around.
Move your body, focus on maintenance, and then
in January you can really put your foot
down and start working towards your new goals.
Which is also another tip.
Start brainstorming what is it that you want
your January goals to be.
Because when you have that in your head,
you're gonna want to hit the ground running
(06:21):
with working on those specific goals.
And remember, like I said at the beginning,
you don't want to spend that first part
of January having to rebuild what you lost
in December.
So use what you want to accomplish in
January as motivation to just stay where you're
at and stay moving for this month.
So hopefully those tips help.
(06:41):
I'm gonna talk more about specific goal settings
in the next week's episode.
So definitely keep your eyes open for that,
which means if you're not already subscribed to
the podcast, go ahead and do that.
Just hit the subscribe button and that way
you can make sure that you are in
the know of how to set up your
goals for the year so you can actually
(07:02):
be successful and you're not gonna give up
like most people do after a week, two
weeks, or three weeks.
I want to help you hit your goals
and I'm not just gonna say hey, here's
my program.
I want to actually help you set up
specific goals that are meant to be attainable
and not break you down.
All right, which brings us to today's episode,
(07:23):
which I know a lot of us, maybe
you are not working out consistently right now,
but you want to start working out consistently.
So I have 11 tips for beginners and
this is going to be really helpful.
So go ahead and write these down so
that you have them if you are a
beginner, and even if you're not a beginner,
a lot of these will be different tips
that are just really good to reiterate and
(07:44):
to recommit yourself to so that you can
kind of look at your own training, go,
you know, I kind of lost track of
this and I need to get back to
it.
Basics work, basics matter.
So if you are somebody who is really
gearing up towards January, you want 2025 to
be the year of health and wellness for
yourself, then go ahead, have these written down
(08:04):
somewhere so that once you are ready to
rock and roll, you have them for you,
for you and you can be better brain
fart lost my track of thought and you
can set yourself up for success.
Okay, so here we go.
It can seem really intimidated for a fitness
newbie and that intimidation makes it really easy
to have a start date that gets pushed
(08:25):
back from a Monday to next week to
next month and of course to next year,
but next year is coming upon us.
So let's talk about the 11 tips to
help your mind, get your mind at ease
and give you real expectations of what you
can expect.
Number one, you are probably going to be
a surprise at how out of shape you
(08:45):
are.
You mentally know that you haven't worked out
in quite some time, but a part of
you also holds on to this idea of
your being in decent shape or holding on
to the idea where you once work.
I know that I've had family members who
haven't worked out in years and even decades,
but yet they still hold on to this
idea of, well, when I was 20, I
could do this.
(09:05):
Well, now that you're 40 and older, that
fitness isn't there anymore.
So it can be a really big shock
when you go into that first workout and
realize that, wow, 10 body weight squats and
you're already going to be sore tomorrow.
So have realistic expectations of yourself that you're
probably not going to be as in shape
as you think you're going to be and
(09:26):
that's okay.
It just means that that's the start of
your fitness journey.
Your start doesn't begin where you left off
a year, two years, five years, 10 years
ago.
Your fitness journey begins where you are today.
So give yourself some grace and acknowledge that
and build upon where you are now and
not where you once were.
A lot of people burn out too fast
(09:47):
because they're trying to start where they were
versus where they are today.
So check in with yourself and just don't
have that shock of, oh my gosh, I
am so out of shape.
Use it as a wake up call, but
don't use it as a way of feeling,
I'm so out of shape, I can't do
this.
Just simply start building where you are.
Number two, build off of that, which is
(10:08):
avoid jumping all in.
I know you guys at the start of
your journey, you are going to want to
commit yourself 110%.
You're going to say, I want to work
out five, six, even seven days a week.
But what happens when you can't do that,
you might be successful at that your first
week or even your first few days, but
then you're so sore that you have to
(10:29):
take a day off.
And because you're so sore, you're thinking in
your head, going back to that first tip,
I'm so much more out of shape than
what I thought that I was.
I'm weak, I'm pathetic.
You start having these mental talks with yourself
that bring you down.
Whereas if you were just to say, I'm
going to start with something that I know
(10:50):
that I can keep up with.
And I know that my body can handle,
you can always add on.
So instead of saying I'm going to work
out for six or seven days a week,
how about say, you know what, I haven't
worked out in six months, I'm going to
start with just three days a week.
And I think that if that's where you're
at, if you haven't worked out, and I
would say, at least a year, then working
(11:12):
out two days a week is probably where
you want to start.
If you are haven't worked out in six
months or less, I would suggest starting with
three days per week and making that a
consistent habit where you're successfully hitting that target
number for not just one week, two weeks,
three weeks, where you can do that for
one month.
(11:33):
And then you can say, wow, I have
been successful as hitting two workouts per week.
OK, next month I'm going to hit three
workouts per week.
Or if you were successful at doing three
workouts per week, next month I'm going to
do four workouts per week.
But always remember to give yourself at least
one or two rest days, complete rest days.
If you're brand new to the whole fitness
(11:53):
thing and this these tips are for beginners,
I would suggest giving yourself a minimum of
two rest weeks, two rest weeks, two rest
days.
Number three, start strength training.
You've probably heard before that you should lose
weight first with cardio and then tighten up
with strength training.
I have people in my life that tell
me that all the time where they'll say,
(12:15):
oh my God, I love what you post.
It looks like those workouts are awesome.
I'm going to come join in with you
after I lose some weight.
That is absolutely the most ridiculous thing that
you can do for yourself.
Science has proven over and over again that
strength training is just as important when it
comes to body transformation and overall fitness and
wellness as it is with cardio and helping
(12:37):
to improve your metabolism.
It's going to change your body.
It's going to help with your bone density.
It's going to help your overall health and
wellness.
So don't just choose one or the other
and you also want to make sure, and
we'll talk about this here in a second,
that your diet also goes hand in hand
with that.
So you shouldn't do cardio until you lose
weight.
You shouldn't just do strength training but I'm
(12:59):
getting ahead of myself just a little bit.
So and I just want to also note
again for beginners that strength training doesn't have
to mean barbells, dumbbells, or kettlebells.
Again, start where you are.
So if that means starting with body weight
movements like squats, elevated push-ups and lunges,
that's where you need to start.
If you can't do multiple sets of that,
(13:21):
then you have no business yet picking up
external weights like dumbbells or kettlebells.
You need to make sure that you're learning
the fundamental movements with your body, that your
body is capable of doing that through range
of motion, that you have the mobility and
the flexibility to be able to do those
without putting your body at risk of injury.
So make sure if you need to start
(13:42):
with body weight, start at body weight and
don't feel pressured just because you feel like
strength training has to be these big weights
or you have to put a barbell on
yourself.
That's not where you need to do.
Don't feel pressured to do that.
The basics work too.
You don't need to do all the fancy
stuff.
So I would suggest when it comes to
strength training, starting with at least two days
(14:02):
of strength training, if you're going to just
do two days, then I would make those
two total body workouts.
If you have the ability to do more
than like three, you could do up to
three total body workouts.
And if you're going to do four strength
training sessions a week, I would most likely
cut that up into two total body sessions,
one upper body session and one lower body
(14:25):
session.
Tip number four is get your heart rate
up with cardio.
Just like strength training, cardio doesn't need to
need to be neglected either.
You're going to work your glutes, right?
You're going to work your legs, you're going
to want to work your shoulders and your
biceps and your back.
Those are all really big muscle groups.
Your heart's a muscle too.
So I don't know where over the past
few years, not few years, decades, people have
(14:46):
said you need to focus on one or
the other or that cardio is bad for
you.
I am so happy because I have been
talking about hybrid training for the past 18
years that I have been a personal trainer.
At the time, it wasn't called hybrid training.
That is definitely a newer term.
But people used to tell me all the
time, like you need to back off the
cardio or, you know, you would be a
(15:07):
faster runner if you didn't focus so much
on strength training.
And I would tell them this is what
makes me a well-rounded, healthy individual.
I'm not trying to go out and run
a five minute mile.
I'm not trying to go out and do
a 500 pound deadlift.
I do want to make sure that I'm
as strong as possible in each of those
modalities because I want to simply be the
healthiest person that I can be.
And now research shows that cardio does not
(15:29):
impact your ability to increase your muscle mass
and get stronger and strength training helps you
do better at cardio.
Have you ever gone into a set of,
let's say, lunges of heavy lunges and you
put your weights down at the end and
you are so winded.
You feel like you just ran a mile
and a lot of people say, oh, that's
my cardio for the day.
(15:50):
No, that's your sign that you actually need
to do cardio and improve your aerobic capacity
because you should not be getting so winded
when it comes to your strength training.
So if like certain sets of your strength
training are exhausting you and your heart feels
like you're pounding out, it's going to bounce
out of your chest, then I'd focus on
(16:11):
getting a little bit more zone to cardio.
And I've done plenty of episodes on this
before.
So if you're interested, let me know and
I can link it up.
But get your cardio in again, two to
four sessions per week.
It doesn't have to be anything long.
It could be anything from 20 minutes to
60 minutes, anything that keeps your heart rate
up for a steady amount of time.
And, you know, people are so afraid of
(16:32):
like, I can't work out two times per
day.
Well, you can if you're doing like you
can do 30 minutes of strength training, follow
it up with 30 minutes of cardio, that
is then a 60 minute session, or you
can absolutely do one session in the morning.
And then if you wanted and you had
time to do a light session in the
afternoon of your cardio, that's absolutely fine as
(16:53):
well.
If you are brand new, then I would
either divide it up like I first mentioned
of half of your workout is strength, half
of your workout is cardio, or alternating so
that one day you're doing your strength training,
the next day you are doing your cardio
routine, at least until you can find a
routine that you're able to make as efficient
as possible.
Because when you're first getting started in strength
training, it might take a little bit longer
(17:15):
just to get comfortable moving from one move
to the next or understanding exactly the routine
that you're trying to do.
And you probably don't have time to be
able to knock out both sessions in one.
So hopefully that's helpful.
But get your strength training up or do
your strength training workouts and do your cardio
do not neglect one or the other.
(17:35):
Then we've got number where am I five?
Get a trainer exercise isn't something that comes
naturally to most people.
So if this is all new to you,
it's not going to hurt you to get
a certified personal trainer to help.
I'm not talking about a friend that likes
to exercise or following somebody on Instagram who
is a fitness influencer that looks amazing just
(17:58):
because they look amazing doesn't mean that they
know how to teach exercise properly.
So it would not hurt you to reach
out whether that is a personal trainer online.
Hey, or you want to go into your
local fitness studio, talk to somebody who can
actually set you up so that you're learning
how to move your body properly.
And that way you're going to be able
to get the most bang from your buck
(18:18):
with every rep that you do.
So you're going to learn how to actually
do the exercises appropriately.
And you're going to be able to learn
how to do the exercises so that you're
not going to put yourself at risk of
injury, especially as you progress forward.
Because yeah, you might be able to do
a certain exercise body weight, but then as
you start increasing the load and you do
start using weights a little bit more, that's
(18:41):
when the injuries can come about where all
of a sudden you're like, Oh, my back
hurts when you should have learned how to
brace your core properly so that that doesn't
happen at all.
Right.
So talk to a personal trainer.
If you need me, I'm here for you.
Number six, set a realistic schedule.
We talked about this at the beginning where,
you know, going back to trying to avoid
too much too soon.
(19:02):
Ask yourself what you can realistically do and
on what days and then go ahead and
schedule those days.
If you want to work out three times,
but you know, you have a jam packed
schedule ahead of you, schedule for two days.
And if you have the opportunity to fit
in that third day, then consider that a
bonus and give yourself a high five, but
set yourself up so that you know you
can be successful each week and also allow
(19:23):
yourself some flexibility.
If you want to work out on a
Tuesday, but something happens on Tuesday, do you
have the ability to push it and change
it to a Wednesday instead?
Or if you had this goal to work
out on Tuesday, but again, it got busy,
instead of doing the 60 minute workout that
you had planned, can you tweak it to
make it a 20 or 30 minute workout?
(19:44):
Because at the end of the day, you
guys know my, my phrase is something is
better than nothing.
So don't be afraid to change and tweak
things a little bit to fit into your
schedule because being consistent with how many days
you're working out is going to be a
lot better than staying consistent with the length
of the workout, because if you're so focused
on getting a 60 minute workout in, but
(20:05):
something comes up, you're going to skip it
all together.
And so then all of a sudden you
wanted to do two workouts per day, but
that one workout got canceled.
Now you're looking at one, whereas you'd be
a lot better off if you were able
to get in a 20 minute workout and
that 60 minute workout, and it's going to
help you mentally stay more committed to your
program as well.
Number seven, don't avoid workouts because you're kind
(20:28):
of sore.
When I had my fitness studio here in
Charleston, I would have people all the time
come in for their very first workout and
I could tell that they were going to
be sore.
And so I would always tell them, you're
going to be sore tomorrow, take tomorrow off,
but get up and move as much as
possible.
But then on your next workout day, well,
(20:49):
so let's say this was Monday on Wednesday,
I want to see you back in here,
even if you are still sore, I'm going
to help you modify the exercises so that
you can still get through the workout.
But what this does is if you are
to skip every workout because you're sore, your
body's never going to adapt.
And then every Monday, when you go into
workout, you're still just going to come out
(21:11):
super sore, right?
Versus if you push through it a little
bit, as long as you're able to maintain
proper form, then you're still going to be
able to create the consistency of your exercise
and your body gets adjusted to it.
So then that soreness becomes less and less
with each time.
Soreness is not a sign of a good
workout, but it is a sign that you're
(21:31):
doing something new.
And so when you're starting a new program,
you're going to be sore.
So just because you're still on one day
doesn't mean that you need to skip the
next day, but make sure that you're following
really good recovery protocols.
You're getting sleep, you're eating protein, you're drinking
water, you're stretching your foam rolling, and you're
getting up and moving as much as possible.
That's always been my biggest tip for people
(21:53):
is that the day after a tough workout,
when you're really sore, try to get up
every hour and just walk for at least
five minutes of that hour just to help
things stretch out to get the blood flowing
to those muscles.
And it's it's the best medicine for sure.
And then that workout back that let's say
it again, if it's a Monday, that Wednesday,
when you come back for your next workout,
(22:13):
you're going to leave feeling even better because
you're taking your body through that range of
motion, you're working the muscles, you're going to
increase the blood flow.
So that exercise, even if it's at a
lighter intensity is going to help you in
the long run.
Number eight, don't step on a scale.
My one of my biggest tips for beginners,
overnight results don't happen.
I know we would love it if we
(22:34):
do one deadlift session and all of a
sudden we look in the mirror and our
butt looks amazing.
Or we do one core finisher at the
end of a workout and we want to
be able to look in the mirror and
see more to find apps.
That's not going to happen.
And so when we don't see the results
that we want to see at the pace
we want to see them, it's really easy
to give up.
And obviously we want to look at that
(22:56):
way with the scale too of weight loss
as your options.
So what I always tell my clients is
at the beginning, don't focus on a scale
if you don't have to.
Instead, trust the program, track where you're eating,
if weight loss is your goal so that
you know you are in a caloric deficit,
and then give yourself at least two to
four weeks before you get on the scale.
(23:16):
And instead go off of progress goals.
Did you accomplish the workouts that you set
out to?
Are you pushing yourself hard in each workout?
Are you following your nutrition plan?
And if all of those things are yes,
then you are going to see results.
Trust the process and don't consider yourself a
failure if you don't lose one pound overnight.
(23:37):
So biggest tip, don't rely on the scale
and remember what your why is any time
that you want to give up.
Number nine, fuel your body for results.
If fat loss is your goal, it's really
important to remember that you cannot out exercise
a bad diet.
It takes exercise and a healthy diet to
see results in the mirror and it takes
being in a caloric deficit if you do
(23:59):
want to lose weight or burn body fat.
You know, I've talked about this in the
past as well.
The exercise and diet go hand in hand.
You can absolutely diet alone and lose weight.
However, the type of weight that you lose
is not going to be what you expect.
Most of the time when you lose weight
through diet alone, you're going to lose a
lot of muscle mass because your body doesn't
(24:20):
want to be in a deficit.
Your muscle takes a lot of calories to
upkeep.
So your body sees it as you're not
working out.
You don't need this.
So I'm going to get rid of my
muscle mass so I can lower my metabolism
down and then I'm not going to be
in a deficit anymore.
However, if you strength train and you do
exercise along with being in a caloric deficit,
(24:41):
then your body sees it as, oh, you're
using these muscles.
I need to keep these muscles, but I
can get rid of my body fat instead.
So the two go hand in hand.
So make sure that you're fueling yourself properly
to be able to handle your workouts with
high protein member 0.8 to one gram
of protein per pound of weight you weigh.
(25:02):
Make sure that you're hydrating yourself.
Make sure that you're not avoiding any type
of macronutrient nutrient you need your carbohydrates for
energy.
But they're eating in a way that supports
the goals that you have.
Number 10, remember you're not going to get
bulky.
I don't think that I need to go
too much into this.
I feel like we've outgrown this a lot.
But unless you're in a huge caloric surplus,
(25:24):
it is very, very hard for women to
build a ton of muscle mass.
You are not going to get bulky from
strength training.
You are going to do so much good
for your body and turning into a man
is not going to happen.
We don't have the hormones for it.
We don't have the appetite for it.
For most of us, don't worry.
It's not going to happen.
Most of us don't have the genetics to
(25:45):
support getting bulky.
And then last but not least, just have
fun with it.
Look at this as a journey.
Like every single day you're going to see
yourself improving in some way.
Make sure that you're highlighting all of the
little wins along your journey and not just
the big win of the overall goal that
you want to accomplish when you find yourself
all of a sudden able to do five
(26:06):
pushups on your feet.
Celebrate that when you're able to do your
first weighted squat.
Celebrate that.
Celebrate the path to get the results that
you want.
That's what I got today.
Again, if you're not subscribed to the channel,
make sure to do that.
And I am going to go teach fit
women's weekly live get on with our December
challenge.
(26:27):
If you want to join in or you
have questions, feel free to reach out to
me and I will be back next week.
Thanks, guys.
Bye.
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