Happy New You!

Welcome to the Gym!

1/1 – It’s such a symbolic number.  Starting over.  A new beginning.  Remember this too:  Top 20.  Know why?  Because of all the people who start going to the gym in January, only 20% of the newbies are still there by February.

So congratulations in advance by being part of this elite group!  When you first start going to the gym here are a few tips to give you some street cred:

1. Take a picture of yourself today, holding a newspaper or something with the date on it.  This will come in handy if you end up getting in the best shape of your life and you want to enter contests for money.  Even if you don’t plan on entering contests it’s great to have progress pictures so when you feel really bad about cheating on your diet (it happens) or don’t feel very strong after your workout, you can look back to your very first day and realize how far you’ve come.  I totally wish I had done that!  My before picture is from April of 2011, but I pretty much looked the same (a little heavier) on January 1, 2012.
2. Wear sneakers.  When you wear flip flops it makes everyone nervous that you are going to hurt yourself.
3. Take a group class.  The participants there are just as nervous as you and the instructor is extra invigorated because the class is big for the first time since Thanksgiving, so you’ll probably have a lot of fun.  Plus you might make a friend.  🙂
4. Get a personal trainer.  If you have some Christmas money or a birthday coming up, invest in a 10 pack of personal trainer sessions.  There are deals going on right now and any trainer worth his/her salt will be able to take your body to amazing levels, but it takes time.
5. Don’t be afraid of/Don’t player hate the gym rats.  Just like anywhere, some gym rats are d’bags.  But most are not.  They are passionate about fitness and are secretly rooting for you to be in the Top 20.  Know why?  Cause a large portion of the gym rats were just like you last January.

 

Good luck on your journey!  If I can do it you can do it.

See you at the gym!

Lisa

Sheslosingit.net (c) 2013 Lisa Traugott.  All rights reserved.  No portion of this blog, including any text, photographs, and artwork, may be reproduced or copied without written permission.