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How to start working out in the new year?

The beginning of the new year is the best time to set some health and fitness goals for yourself. Prisma will help you get started – we have a wide range of sports equipment, comfortable workout clothes and shoes that are good for both beginners and seasoned athletes alike. At Prisma you will also find a number of nutritional supplements that support your post-workout recovery and help you achieve better results.

It is important to start training consciously and step by step to create a habit that you can keep for a long time. Below, Katriin Kool, trainer at Gym!, gives a few recommendations on how to find the right training rhythm, stay motivated and achieve long-term results.

Decide on the frequency of your workouts

When starting out, you should first recall the last time you were working out, and what it looked like. That is, how often you worked out, what was the intensity, and how consistent you were able to be. As a result, you could decide on your training frequency so that you can stick to it this time. The fact is that if there is a long break between your workouts, the previous workout was probably too high intensity for you. For example, if you used to train four times a week, you could now set yourself the goal of doing it twice a week first. However, if you have not trained at all before, then more than three times a week for beginners is not even recommended because the most important thing is still to be able to maintain the frequency. First of all, the selected training frequency should be maintained for three months, and if after that you have the time and energy, you can gradually increase your workout load to four times a week, for example.

What to do at a workout

Once you have made an agreement with yourself and have come to the gym, how do you know what to do here? Just walking on a treadmill, unfortunately, is not enough for a fit and toned body. Walking is very good for your body, but I would rather recommend you do it outside where you can also get some fresh air and enjoy nature at the same time!

For a workout to be efficient, weights and gym equipment should be used. If you are a complete beginner, the fastest way to achieve your goals is to train with a trainer. This way you will avoid injuries and will quickly learn what to do and why, to see results. If you have previously been engaged in sports for a while, you can learn how to use the equipment and do the exercises with the help of videos as well, for example. But for the fastest and best development, I would always recommend starting out with a personal trainer.

How to stay motivated?

It is often believed that fit and toned people have lots of motivation because after all, the results can be seen in their body and form. Actually, motivation has very little to do with it. Most of all, it is simply about self-discipline, keeping the promises made to yourself and being consistent. If a person relied on motivation only, we wouldn’t be able to envy them for their toned body. We see them in their top form and in the gym because they don’t listen to that voice in their head saying “nah, I can’t be bothered today, it’s evening already. I’ll go tomorrow”. Instead, they just go and do their workout. Because they have made a promise to themselves to go to the gym a certain number of times a week regardless of whether it is a good day or bad. And that's how they get the results.

You can’t rely on motivation, but there are many tools and tricks that help you stay motivated:

  • sticking to your workout plan: filling out the tables makes you feel excited;
  • setting a specific goal: without a goal, it is often indeed difficult to get your workouts done. However, if you write down a personal goal, then you know what you will be working towards;
  • finding a training partner: if the partner has had a hard day, you can push them to get the workout done, and vice versa;
  • buying new workout clothes: who wouldn't want to go to the gym if they can put on some new clothes;
  • seeing results: the best motivation is actually seeing your own results, but those only come with a consistent and solid plan. Take photos of yourself every month to see the changes.

How to lose weight and keep it off?

I am often asked how to lose weight, but almost never how to lose it so that it would not come back. And the difference is that in most cases, quick diets and changes are sought, as results are wanted immediately. People don’t think, however, that a diet that makes you lose weight very quickly is probably pretty extreme and you won't be able to eat like that for the rest of your life. In fact, not even a few months. A few months tops is usually the time someone can stick to a very strict diet. After that, they return to their usual diet, but then the metabolism has already slowed down due to the strict diet. This means that the weight lost will come back, and often then some.

To break out of the vicious circle of dieting, you should change your entire lifestyle and find a way of eating that is sustainable for life. If your current diet is based either on dissatisfaction with your body or on extreme diets, it's time to learn to eat in a balanced way and so that you can stick to your diet in the long run. The best approach is to follow the principle where 80–90% of your diet is made up of wholesome and home-cooked natural foods, and 10–20% is left for treats and for eating out. There is no need to eliminate something from your diet completely – you should just learn how to adjust the quantities.

This way, it may take a little longer to lose the weight and fat, but it will still pay off in the long run. Quick diets do give quick results, but their effect is temporary – the weight tends to come back later. Therefore, they do not make sense in the long term. Focus on changing your overall eating style: choose natural foods, prepare wholesome meals at home, and opt for natural and minimally processed snacks. Over time, you will notice your body changing and reaching a natural balance.