Advice for the Girl Starting a Gym Routine.
So you want to start, or re-start, a gym routine for yourself?!
I AM SO EXCITED FOR YOU! You are taking initiative to reclaim your time, a healthy habit, and a personal goal for yourself! You GET to follow through for yourself and see what that end result feels like, all while graciously allowing yourself to grow in the process of smashing that personal goal. How freaking beautiful is that!
I am inspired and encouraged by so many things around me, and today the question of “if you could give advice to a girl just getting back into a gym routine, other than consistency, what would it be?”
My heart lit up. I LOVE helping people see their potential, and that the BEGINNING of ANYTHING.. is full of potential. There is so much excitement & power in BEGINNINGS.
Back to the question. I could go on for days about my advice to girls just starting, or re-starting the gym, but in true Strong. Beautiful. Athlete. fashion, let’s talk about empowering yourself through the scary part of BEGINNING:
1 —
EMPOWER YOURSELF BY FOCUSING ON ONE THING AT A TIME.
Focus on one thing at a time so it feels empowering and not overwhelming!
I am 100% am familiar with the feeling of excitement & being ready to jump all in from 0-100 (hello inner competitor!), but with some estimates telling us that 80% of people don’t stick with a new resolution or routine by February - let’s set ourselves up for success by making the goal smaller and building solid foundations.
Examples:
Let’s say this week is just about engraining the routine! You commit to showing up at the gym at the same time 3-5 days per week, even if it’s just parking, going inside, and walking on the treadmill for 10 minutes. If that feels too scary in the beginning, just commit to driving to the gym after work and parking in the parking lot. Get used to taking yourself there. The biggest thing to remember is that you are training yourself to implement a new routine. Baby steps are good, and makes it feel a little less overwhelming if you give yourself permission to ease into it. Especially if it feels intimidating.
If showing up at the same time every single day feels too restricting, make the umbrella bigger! Give yourself more flexibility! Maybe YOUR goal, is not allowing yourself to go to bed tonight UNTIL you go to the gym to walk on the treadmill for 10 minutes!
Play with this. Make it fun & make it empowering.
2 —
What do you want to add next?!
Once you feel like a baddie for smashing the above goal of going consistently, check in with yourself! What are you craving next?
Maybe it’s doing 30 minutes on the treadmill instead of 10!
Maybe it’s joining a fun class so you can meet new people!
Maybe it’s asking friends to join you!
Maybe it’s asking the front desk to schedule a session with a trainer to develop a beginner strength training program, and a session to show you how to use the equipment & the plan, so you can feel EMPOWERED when you show up on your own to work that plan!
One of the biggest reasons (not the only reason) I hear people quit or decide not to go to the gym, is because they don’t know what to do when they get there. It’s the lack of clarity, the not knowing, or the newness itself that feels intimidating and makes us decide this isn’t for us a lot of the time. Or, folks work some sort of movements learned at some point, but it gets stagnant & folks end up not enjoying it.
Let’s decide right now not to let those things keep us from our goals. It is okay to talk to someone about your CURRENT goals, and get help developing a plan that will get the most out of the time you have while you’re at the gym.
Strategic use of time, AND helping you feel like a baddie for knowing what you’re doing and why every time you walk in that door - how empowering is that?!?
Remember: This is about you continuing to build your own confidence & setting yourself up for success in the ways that works best for YOU - for the long haul.
3 —
Okay Now What?
Honestly, we can map out 12 month goal plans to give you clarity of the vision, but that truly does overwhelm some folks. So to keep it simple (simplify is a key Strong. Beautiful. Athlete. mantra!), the take home message for you for step three is:
Rinse & Repeat!
Every time you hit a milestone, it’s time to stop, check in, ask yourself where you want to go next or what habit/ritual you want to master, then figure out how to get there.
Building on solid foundations and evolving goals to continue building yourself into the next version of you is so fun. You are consciously choosing to take yourself to your next level & intentionally creating experiences & opportunities for yourself that are fulfilling personal life goals.
Remember: This isn’t about the gym. This is about you. You’re teaching yourself foundations that help you get stronger physically, mentally, and emotionally & eventually can help you look at the bigger picture of your life & decide what you want to be strong for. Physique goals, strength goals, racing your grandkids one day, having the physical ability to go on epic hikes & adventures for as many years of your life as possible, etc.
HOW FUN!
I get so stinkin’ excited thinking about all the FUN and all the POTENTIAL you have in front of you when you’re at the beginning, and your current beginning. You get to DESIGN this. You get to make it dreamy, fun, and empowering… you GET to continue making yourself feel strong in your body physically & mentally to help yourself FEEL your best in your body every single day.
HOW FUN IS THAT?!
You made this commitment to yourself for a reason. You GET to have the end result. You deserve to follow through for yourself.
There is nothing more empowering than getting clear on what your goal actually is, then asking for/getting support to help you make an efficient and effective plan to get to that goal. When you smash it, you revisit where you are, ask yourself where you want to go next, and figure out what the next step is from there.
No matter where you are starting, no matter how far away the goal seems, no matter how hard it might be… YOU CAN ACHIEVE IT!
You are STRONG. You are BEAUTIFUL. You are an ATHLETE. Never quit working toward that goal.
Advice for the girl just starting the gym:
Focus on one thing at a time. Empower yourself!
Build solid foundations. Baby steps. Master a habit, add the next step!
Build your plan. Having a system helps you stick with it!
Make the umbrella bigger. If you feel resistance, reframe the “how”!
Rinse & Repeat. Smash a goal, reflect, decide, & add to your foundation.
Keep Going. Give yourself a break if needed, but keep it up. You didn’t come this far, just to go back.
ABOUT YOUR COACH & AUTHOR
I’m Savannah. I am a performance coach excited to help my clients with nutrition, wellness, goals, accountability, and performance. I love to focus on helping women, professional women, & corporate wellness clients with their goal for reclaiming their time, health, wellness, & nutrition so they can feel & perform their best in their every day lives, & perform even better at work. Feeling our best, performing our best, & staying healthy for the longevity & fulfillment of our one life is my passion. I love helping women beginning their fat loss journeys & supporting them through a healthy transition to a maintenance lifestyle for their life with solid foundations taught through my exclusive SBA Foundations Framework.
There are many ways we can work together. Join my SBA Performance Mentorship for a very high touch habit building, fat loss, & goal smashing experience, or schedule a call to discuss your goal and 1:1 coaching. I can’t wait to support you!