Moving is critical when it comes to physical exercise. This article will guide you on how to start training and not quit. What should you not give up after two or three workouts?
It may have happened to you or one of your friends, you pay for a year or a quarter of a gym, and you only go the first week.
It’s okay; I couldn’t go to the gym yesterday, and not in the last 7 years either, but during these 7 years, there’s not a day when I don’t train.
This is because the strategies we use to move have failed.
I am not saying this. Most people do not do physical activity, and a sedentary lifestyle has become the fourth leading cause that generates the most significant number of deaths worldwide.
And it’s not just that…
👉 The prescription of physical activity is performed most by health professionals and less by patients.
A natural disaster SHIFT.
Today I’m not going to talk to you about theory but about some practical keys, so you know how to train strategically without abandoning.
Strategies to start training
Link pain to not moving and link pleasure and value to execute it.
As I’ve told you, we haven’t moved most of humanity by prescription or cognitive decisions. We were driving because it was inevitable.
We were moving to get something or avoid something.
Get food, escape a predator, look for new places to live…
When there was no need for the other way around, we were programmed not to move. So as not to waste calories because…
👉 If you didn’t move, you’d die.
However, now there is no apparent need to keep applying what if you don’t move, you die. So, even if we don’t need to mind daily, we must generate it. There’s no other way.
But to do so, you must speak to the body in your language. As you know, all needs generate a certain point of discomfort. When you have to drink, you are thirsty, not the most pleasant feeling, hunger, pain, abstinence, or sleep.
So first, imagine the worst fantasy of your future, something that generates discomfort. Imagine yourself emaciated, sick, in pain, without autonomy, depressed, and dying too soon. Exaggerate as much as you can because you will fall short.
Wake up and move
In today’s world of environmental aggressions, toxins, stress, and junk food, you’ll come up with what you imagine and more if you don’t move.
When you’re already visualized like this, you’ve got the image you’re fighting for. That image must be powerful enough to overcome the ancestral mechanism of not moving if necessary.
This will cause the alarms to wake up, such as when you have an exam.
You know that when there is much left to do so, you propose to study but… you don’t study all the time, and a few days before, boom! You study all day. This study day will likely be done for fear of the near consequences because the risk of suspension is more accurate and overcomes the laziness of studying.
How to start training and not quit?
👉 The more challenging and more discomfort you link to not moving, the more effective it will be.
You must also have something to gain or lose. Ask your friend, the heaviest one that encourages you when he sees that you don’t train, advertises your new challenge in networks and that you will publish photos of each training, and consider powerful penalties if you do not qualify with yourself or with your partner (if you do not train, you will do more tasks in the home than you belong, you will walk the dog all week, etc.).
Now, like every need, being covered generates pleasure. I used to set an example of thirst and hunger, and drinking and eating generated satisfaction as a reward.
Give yourself rewards every time you finish training, like going to dinner, giving yourself a massage, buying yourself something, a long foam bath, a game of video games, etc.
This will be very useful because your body will also feel high energy after training, and you will no longer need these prizes.
Reward circle
This strategy is a reward circle. When you start seeing the results, like a leaner body, you have more energy, attractive muscles, etc. You continue to train to keep your results get closer to your physical goal.
This image of your future self in achieving your goal must be great and attractive, don’t make the mistake of setting yourself too low a target.
Low targets generate little traction and are abandoned. If you imagine it, it must be something you notice that ticks your belly.
All these things I’m telling you may seem, in principle, superficial. In this video, spontaneous movement is mediated by a neurotransmitter called dopamine that makes an effort that can be made without feeling fatigued.
So, for your body to feel the need to move, it must have a reward when training and something that makes it uncomfortable if it doesn’t perceive the sense of usefulness that what you’re doing does it right.
The clearest example is when you get to the bus stop and see it coming. You run at full speed, so you don’t lose it. And all this without thinking that you are performing the physical activity at high intensity for the discomfort of losing the bus. If you catch it, your sensations will be delicious despite the effort made, which is the reward.
Forget your beliefs
Have you ever heard the phrase: a thousand-mile journey begins with a first step?
If, before you start, you don’t feel able to play sports because you either feel clumsy or think it’s going to give you a heart attack, you’ve already unintentionally sabotaged yourself.
The word decision comes from Latin decision and etymologically consists of the word caedere, which means cutting off, and the suffix -tion, which means taking action.
More than clearly, you should take action by cutting with these boycotts that prevent you from starting training.
A practical way to do this is to generate an alternative neural pathway; for example, an antidote to the belief of I am clumsy is… but I know how to walk, and you can start gradually walking a minimum number of steps a day (now, with smartphones this is easier to follow than ever) and when you get used to it, start by accelerating the pace, running a little and jumping, you will see that in nothing, the awkwardness has disappeared. Besides, all these fears will likely be precisely the product of not doing physical activity.
In the case of awkwardness, the best way to improve your coordination and balance is precisely through training.
Except for some significant cause, 100% of physical or emotional reasons for not training are solved by training.
Make it incremental and enjoyable.
Now that you’re learning how to train strategically, it’s essential to know that if utility perception is one of the critical factors in moving, the other significant factor is the perception of likeability.
There is the following paradox: As you train, your body generates dopamine, and you have a sense of pleasantness during exertion that hooks you up, but when you start training after time, the first sensation is not pleasant because of the tiredness, shortness of breath, and pain felt from the hole the next day.
So before you do your first workout, you should ask yourself the following questions:
What kind of physical activity do you prefer to do?
For example, hundreds of people wouldn’t run for 1 minute. On Sundays, however, they run for an hour while playing football, giving it their all. This happens because the feeling of pleasantness is strong, making up for other feelings like shortness of breath, the pain of tired muscles, and sweating. Start with it before training if you already know what activity you like. This will make your body slowly accustomed to physical activity and cost you less to start your regular workout. If you don’t have that sport or activity you enjoy doing, move on to the next question.
Is there an environment where you have a good time and is comforting for you?
These can be various places like the park, the mountain, the beach, or even your house. In these environments, you should start training if it is challenging to decide. It is easier for your body to cushion the unpleasant sensations initially in a place where you feel comfortable.
Is there an activity you like to do that you can do while training?
There are hundreds of things you can add to make sports practice enjoyable. For example, I like to train with music because it helps me disconnect from the outside world and focus on my body’s movement. Train with your favorite music and move to the rhythm of the song. I feel great.
I even have a patient who figured out how to train without suffering at first. Before his first workout, he put on his favorite Netflix series and started teaching in front of the TV. So, every workout, he saw a chapter of his series.
In this way, his body was leisurely anticipating the moment he was going to train because he knew he would have a good time. He continued to train when he finished all the chapters in his series. He no longer needed to teach in front of the TV. He had already joined his training plan.
Be consistent with your body.
It is known what the metabolic conditions your body considers suitable for sport are.
First, I recommend attaching you to the chair. This may surprise you as it contradicts many beliefs of some nutritionists and coaches.
It’s better to fast without eating anything.
Yes, you’ve probably heard many people say they eat before training and see people with pre-workout drinks. However, your body prefers to be on an empty stomach before performing any intense physical activity.
This happens because, historically, our body evolved to be very efficient when it came to having to look for food. It makes a lot of sense. If your body weren’t optimized to work 100% when you haven’t eaten, you wouldn’t have had the energy, speed, or strength to hunt.
If you don’t have a habit of fasting, it can cost a little more. I don’t recommend training directly fasting because the feeling may not be pleasant. But, after your first fasts, you’ll find it easy to extend your periods without eating and training using your reserved energies.
Perform functional training
Indeed when you think of training, images like this come to mind.
But consider homo sapiens the most intelligent animal on this planet.
An intelligent person does not use strength to raise a log, drop it, and lift it back up again. These movements in the past were unnatural. Why should we make a repetitive movement without any objective?
Unfortunately, in modern times, you don’t need much physical activity to meet your basic needs. So, you have to simulate movement with a training session.
👉 But there’s one much worse thing. Train only a few muscles in your body.
The human body integrates all its bones, muscles, and joints to optimize movement. Doing the same exercises in the gym machines, which always work the same powers, is counterproductive and reduces their utility.
The training that best suits your health and fitness is functional. It is based on the idea that you should do movements that your muscles are designed to do every day.
Just do it
No, it’s not a joke.
We have hundreds of data in the Mammoth Hunters app that you can download the app if you train. You’re more likely to do the second workout than if you leave it for later.
After five workouts, we’ve even seen that people have an 80% chance of sticking to a sports plan (we’ve even written this article about it).
So, to strategically train to make it a habit, I only have one answer: Do it.
Do not hesitate, do not think about it much. Once you have made the first repetition, you are already training. When you reach the end of your early training, overcoming your barriers will give you high energy that you will appreciate.
It’s that easy.
Yes, you may find some difficulty in principle, such as not having enough space at home to do it, but just as if you take a bus trip at night. Despite the discomfort, you do not consider not sleeping; you have to rest, then you are looking for the thousand ways to be as comfortable as possible to make ahead, with physical activity is the same… it’s not about doing it or not. It’s about how to adjust to the difficulties of doing it.
How to train on the first day
If I’ve persuaded you and you want to start training immediately, I recommend you start with the most important thing: find tailored training.
For this, I have two options.
The long option is to read this complete article on creating your training plan and then take a picture with your exercises, series, rest, and session time or…
The short version is to download the Mammoth Hunters app that already does this for you.
I recommend trying it out and finishing the five workouts that will ensure 80% that you won’t give up on the road and seeing how training with a 100% personalized program is much better than training with gym boards.
FAQs
References
How to Start Exercising and Stick to It – HelpGuide.org
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As a veteran fitness technology innovator and the founder of GearUpToFit.com, Alex Papaioannou stands at the intersection of health science and artificial intelligence. With over a decade of specialized experience in digital wellness solutions, he’s transforming how people approach their fitness journey through data-driven methodologies.