The start of a new year always sees people exercise more than they perhaps usually would, whether that’s by joining a gym, hiring a London personal trainer or simply starting to walk a lot more as a way of motivating yourself to be more active.
The excesses of Christmas and the thought of starting a new year off on the right foot means that lots of you will already be pulling on your trainers, reaching for the water bottle and hitting the free weights at the gym.
And no doubt one of the biggest questions on your mind, if you know you’re going to stick to your new fitness regime and your goal is to tone up, is how long will it take before you finally start seeing the results of all your hard work.
If you’ve never exercised in your life, you’ll most likely see results quicker than someone who has trained lots in the past, because their bodies will be used to it and more conditioned as a result.
But it’s important to remember that everyone is different and it’s possible that, if you do have a workout buddy to help you stay on track, they may start seeing physical changes before you… so don’t let this demotivate you. Trust the process and you’ll soon be where you want to be.
Naturally, it depends on just how hard you train as to how soon changes will take place. If you’re training between three and five times each week, while prioritising nutrition and generally limiting alcohol, you’ll likely see change happening within a couple of months – maybe less for some people, remember, every body is different.
Do keep this in the back of your mind when you first start because it’s easy to lose focus and motivation when you’re looking in the mirror and not seeing anything happening – especially if you’re training really hard and restricting yourself in other areas, like food and drink.
There are ways in which you can help yourself, however, such as by following likeminded people on Instagram so you can see their journeys and share hints and tips. Try not to get hung up on following fitness models though, they are paid to do this as a job so it’s a different set of circumstances.
Use an app like our Virtuagym app or My Fitness Pal to track what you’re eating when you first start as well so you can work out your macros (protein, fats and carb amounts) and see which calories are coming from where. Good nutrition is all about education and you’ll have a lot of fun trying out new recipes that will help you reach your fitness goals.
Don’t forget to take progress photos of yourself as well. Take one when you first begin your new training schedule and perhaps a couple every few weeks so you can contrast and compare. You’ll soon start to notice the change and there’s nothing more motivating than that to keep you exercising!
Why not get in touch and ask for a free consultation to discuss how we can help?