The 7 most important fitness FAQ’s from Exercise Beginners.
Hello all of you beautiful wonders of humanity, you seekers of strength, confidence and compassion on this journey we call life, today we are sharing with you some of the most common questions that people have asked us since we started this quest to bring fitness to the world in 2008. These questions represent some of the most frequently asked queries that people who are just getting started with their fitness quest want answers to.
Fitness is a quest, and plays an important role in peoples overall health and wellbeing, but more than that, it’s what’s going to keep you mobile and active and able to move through the experiences that constitute a life that has been well lived. And what better way to show your gratitude for this miraculous experience that we call life than by living it as fully as possible. That responsibility to yourself and others to live as the best version of you possible is what gives life meaning, texture and flavour. It’s deciding that you aren’t going to live life on the sidelines, watching everyone else pursue their goals while you sit on your hands.
I believe that starting anything new requires courage - you need to have the minerals to take that first step, and to pull yourself back up when you fall down. Any fight that is worth winning involves getting back up multiple times. That you will fall down is a certainty. Getting back up without bludgeoning yourself for being vulnerable and human is a choice that each one of us has to make. If you are reading these words and seeking a way forward on this quest, I’m willing to bet that you have faced past setbacks. Chances are you have fallen, and maybe even hard - but here you are, still seeking a pathway forward, and that is very encouraging. Let’s get started.
How hard should my workout be? Hard enough to challenge you in the truest sense of that word, but easy enough that you can accomplish and complete it. Well how do we find that balance? By paying attention to how you are feeling. Only you know with any measure of accuracy how to gauge your own effort. You want to get rocked a little bit - pushed enough to feel the outer limits of your comfort zone and maybe just past that point - that’s what you are aiming for. The exercises in our 30 day Beginner Bootcamp workout series have been arranged to get you to this level of exertion.
A shot from our 30 day Beginner Bootcamp Workout series.
When you design a fitness experience like our Beginner Bootcamp to be challenging but achievable, there is a real power in that - because you are allowing people to feel what it's like to succeed in an area where they have likely only ever felt shame and insecurity.
Give people a few experiences of conquering their fears around exercise, and boy, miraculous psychological shifts start to take place. Namely, that their perception shifts around fitness from something exceedingly unpleasant to something approaching enjoyment. Then they start to associate other strong emotions with fitness - namely feelings of competence that they have probably never associated with being active and moving their body. Once they get a taste of this initial success, then suddenly you’ve opened the doors to other positive feelings and experiences and on and on it goes, building layer upon layer until that person has completely transformed their thinking around fitness. The epic nature of this transformation in thinking cannot be overstated. It’s not like the positive outcome is just associated with their fitness. As soon as people realize and really prove to themselves that - wait a minute - I’m far more capable than I ever imagined myself to be - as soon as they make that discovery, it's like the lights start to come on in other areas of their life. They start to think, well ok, I got my fitness turned around, and I didn’t think I could ever do that, so lets look at what else in my life is not the way I want it, and lets do something about fixing that too. You just have to wake up once to your power - and fitness, more than almost anything else can provide that needed jolt.
How long should my workouts be? We’ve found from helping over 250k men and women with beginner workouts, that 10-15 minutes per workout is enough time if you are working out consistently. Studies have also proven that 10 minutes of the Beginner Bootcamp workout program is more effective than 45 minute long jogs. The value of working out for 10-15 minutes for fat loss, building strength and and leaning out has been well established and has been proven by multiple peer reviewed studies.
What is the best time of the day to workout? The best time to workout is whenever it consistently works for you. The BodyRock Beginner Bootcamp (and all of our other programs) can be accessed at any time on demand, and streamed to any device - so you literally have access to your program in your back pocket. Find a time that works best for you - you just need between 10-15 minutes.
What should I eat before I exercise? It depends on how you feel with something on your stomach when you exercise. I would suggest waiting until after you train to eat, but if you feel like you need something to power you through your sweat sesh, have a protein shake. I personally prefer to wait until after I exercise to eat, to lessen any chance that I might upset my stomach.
I’m nervous about bulking up. Should I avoid heavier weights? The golden rule about lifting weights for fat loss, is to always lift the heaviest weight that you can, that will also allow you to complete the workout. Don’t worry about bulking up - women don’t have the genetics to easily bulk up. Lifting heavy weights will only ever help you shed excess fat and get leaner and more defined. The best way to add weight to your workout as a beginner is to snap on our BodyRock Weighted Vest. Our vests optimize every movement that your body makes, adding balance friendly, hands-free resistance to your movements that mimic holding dumbbells or barbells. You can check out our weighted vests here (start with the 6lbs vest - it’s enough to up your calorie burn and get you started).
I’m still sore from my last workout. Should I exercise or take a rest day? It really depends on how sore you are. If you feel like you have pulled a muscle, then absolutely take a rest day. If you are just experiencing muscle soreness and stiffness, movement can actually help resolve this. The amount of soreness that you experience should gradually start to lessen as your muscles become used to being activated.
What’s better for losing weight and shedding excess body fat - cardio or strength training? Strength training will always beat steady state cardio like jogging when it comes to losing weight. The fastest way to burn excess fat and lose weight is actually to combine cardio (HIIT) with strength training into the same workout, which is exactly how we have structured the 30 day Beginner Bootcamp. By combining cardio exercises with resistance training, the Beginner Boot Camp provides the most effective workout for body composition transformation and general athletic conditioning. It’s a very specific fitness prescription for fat loss, and it’s measured out in a way that is achievable for beginners.
This is a rare combination, as most workout programs expect beginners to make modifications and adjust themselves to the workout - which is just incredibly frustrating for people because it becomes clear in a matter of minutes, that the workout wasn’t actually intended for people at the beginner level. Then you are effectively running to stand still - trying just to keep up. With the Beginner Bootcamp, you aren’t having to start from that place of anxiety - you are presented with a program that purpose built to meet you at your level. Nothing extra is required of you. There is nothing to figure out. You can show up on your schedule knowing that you have everything you need inside of yourself to smash out your workout.
It’s our intention here at BodyRock to bring the best workout solutions to the people that most need them - helping beginners get access to more effective workout programs. We don’t believe that the best fitness options should be reserved for people that are already fit. Nothing against people that are fit, obviously, but there are already lot’s of programs and resources for them. What’s missing in the fitness landscape is accessibility to decent programs for beginners.
If you like our vibe and want to support our mission, you can simply share us with friends and family that might have an interest in or need for beginner support. For a limited time, we are offering a full year of access to our 30 day Beginner Bootcamp series on our fitness streaming service BodyRockPlus.com (as well as all of our other programs) for just $69 with code: NY22. Come and give us a try, we would love to have you in our fitfam.
Best,
Freddy
P.S. If you are a beginner and want to up your burn by incorporating strength training into your walks, hikes, workouts or bike rides, you can check out our Weighted Vest here:
