If you’re interested in losing weight, getting into better shape and improving your strength and muscle tone, you might be interested in starting a workout regimen but find yourself unsure of where to start. After all, a quick internet search of strength training routines will have you spending an entire day’s workout focusing on one specific muscle group while keeping up with a complicated schedule. Then, you need to incorporate cardio, but when should you do it and for how long? The reality is that you can do a full body workout for weight loss without making things more complicated than they need to be. In order to maximize your success, you’ll need basic equipment, like a stability/exercise ball, Bosu, pair of dumbbells, bench press, a barbell, and weights, but there are plenty of exercises you can do at home with just your bodyweight while still getting a great workout. Online fitness communities like Body FX offer a ton of great resources like hundreds of hours of streaming workouts, personalized coaching and nutritional advice, and the opportunity to engage with others looking to get fit and lose weight. For something that is seemingly simple, losing weight can be surprisingly challenging (hint: it’s not just calories in versus calories out). If you’re ready to start incorporating full body workouts for weight loss, make sure you remember these five secrets.
Secret #1: Keep It Simple
When first starting a fitness routine, it can be tempting to try and jump into a major lifestyle change and add complicated exercises, detailed schedules, and a brand new diet all at once. Resist the urge! Many people give up on their fitness goals because they feel overwhelmed and find the changes unsustainable. It’s best to keep things simple at the beginning by sticking with exercises you feel confident doing and looking for help where you can find it. This is where companies like Body FX really shine – they offer an online treasure chest full of hundreds of hours of workout footage that can be filtered by the length of time you have to work out, the equipment you have available, and workout style. You’ll take the guesswork out of your workouts when you stream videos online, but it’s also possible to design your own full body workout for weight loss by incorporating simple hiit training routines or a full body workout using bodyweight exercises only, such as a side plank with leg lift, squat with overhead press, push-ups, burpees, lunges, and more. Your total body workout doesn’t have to focus on body strength training, either; dance is an incredible full body exercise that torches calories fast while working your core and building lean muscle mass in your entire body. Of course, you’ll find plenty of dance videos to suit any style of dance through Body FX, but you can also hit up other classes at your local gym, try line dancing at your recreational center, or hit the club for salsa with your sweetie! As long as you’re moving and feeling good, you’re making progress.
Secret #2: Focus on Food
Have you ever been told that “you can’t out-exercise a bad diet?” Unfortunately, it’s true, which means that no matter how great your full body workout for weight loss is, you’ll need to make dietary changes to see the results you want. Unfortunately, exercise alone is not enough to cancel out eating too much food or making unhealthy choices regularly. It’s easy enough to say “Just eat whole grains, lean meats, and fruits and veggies,” but if you aren’t familiar with the pillars of a healthy diet or the amount of calories and nutrients you should be eating each day, you’ll need more help than that simple advice. After all, what exactly is lean meat or a whole grain? For people who have not grown up learning about nutrition, the right starting point is not so obvious, nor is the amount of food you should be eating. If your goal is to lose weight, you’ll be able to get a sense of how much you’re eating each day by tracking your food intake through an app like My Fitness Pal, which is free, or a program like WW. However, those apps will only count your calories and nutrients – not tell you whether you’re making nutritious choices. It’s important to take the time to weigh and measure your food so that your calorie count is correct, but what do you do if you need more help? You might consider looking for personalized coaching and nutritional advice through a certified personal trainer and nutritionist or an online coaching platform like Body FX. Online coaches will be able to talk through your workout routine and make recommendations for your food intake, plus offer great recipes and helpful tips that will point you towards success.
Secret #3: Be Consistent
Getting started is the first step, but staying consistent with your workout plan is where you’ll start to see big results. The American Heart Association recommends getting in 150 minutes of moderate activity per week or 75 minutes of high-intensity activity, that raises your heart rate, per week, so assuming you’re working out at a moderate intensity, you’ll want to aim for five 30-minute workouts each week. Make sure to include a warm-up and cool down to help avoid injury and give your body proper time to acclimate to exercise. Staying consistent and working out more frequently with shorter sessions is a great way to keep your metabolism boosted throughout the week, helping you to lose more weight. In addition to working out more often throughout the week, also try moving more throughout the day. You do not even have to go to the gym, doing at home workouts can help to keep you consistent since you do not have to go anywhere. Even getting up and walking for ten minutes each hour will help burn extra calories throughout the day and keep your metabolism lifted.
Secret #4: It’s the Little Things
Everyone knows that in order to lose weight, you need to exercise and eat well, but as they say, the devil is in the details. You can be eating well and working out like a crazy person, but if you’re not getting enough sleep and not hydrating well, your weight most likely will not budge. Our bodies contain a hormone called cortisol that is associated with stress, and increased levels of cortisol correspond to weight gain or difficulty losing weight. This is due to a biological response to stress that is left over from our ancestors; our bodies try to hang on to body fat and extra weight in times of stress in case food becomes scarce. Increased levels of cortisol can be caused by outside stress, of course, so make sure to try and reduce sources of stress where possible. Increased levels of cortisol can also be caused by not getting enough sleep, so if weight loss and fat loss is a priority for you, try to get your eight hours per night. After all, your body needs a chance to recover from your workouts! Finally, make sure you’re getting enough water to stay hydrated throughout the day, not just during your workout. Getting enough water will keep you feeling fuller longer and help make sure that when you do feel hungry, it’s actually hunger that you’re experiencing instead of thirst. Drinking water also boosts your metabolism, so make sure you get at least eight to ten glasses per day.
Secret #5: Seek Support
Let’s face it, losing weight is hard, and there’s a reason why so few people succeed in the long term. When you’re making a huge overhaul to your lifestyle, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by all of the changes and feel resentful about the things it seems like you’re missing out on. That’s why community support is so important. It may feel like you’re on your weight loss journey alone, but there are thousands of people out there who are going through the exact same things you are right now. In addition to matching you with a supportive coach, online fitness communities like Body FX offer the opportunity to connect with people just like you who are trying to lose weight, get fit, and improve their health. Membership in these online fitness communities offers accountability and provides a sounding board for difficult questions or personal challenges, while also helping you stay committed through your newfound connections. Monthly challenges for sweet prizes like swag, trips, and cash are an added bonus when you consider how incredible you’ll feel as you get fit. Studies have shown that weight loss program participants who receive social support are more likely to keep their weight off in the long term, with two-thirds of those who have social support keeping the weight off for six months as compared to only a quarter of those who had no support. It just goes to show that weight loss is better when we’re all in it together!
Losing weight is hard, but it’s not impossible when you have a game plan and support. You can find everything you need to lose weight and keep it off for good with online fitness communities like Body FX. You don’t have to go it alone!
