5 Thing I Wish I had Known About Fitness 5 Years Ago

5 Years Ago I was just 18 years old. Very impressionable and all the fitness gurus I looked up to were thin, beautiful Instagram models and let's be real... they aren't the most realistic body types to aim for. With so much information out there it's hard to know what is right and what is wrong to do but honestly, being fit, strong & happy isn't all that hard once you start shifting through all the BS articles, info and 'skinny me' teas.

Over the past 5 years I have gone through a lot of ups, downs, high, lows and mishaps to gain the knowledge & progress I have made from 18-23 years old. A lot of wasted hours killing myself with cardio, lot's of days going hungry because I had no idea about calories, and relying to much on the fitness influencers who have absolutely no qualifications surrounding health, fitness or nutrition.

Looking back, here are the 5 biggest things I have learnt and wish I had known back then:

1. If we ate the same & worked out the same we would still look different

If there is one thing I have learnt from the past 5 years of training people and myself it's that you could give the same training session and meal plan to 100 different people and they would all get different results and still look different from each other. I would religiously follow Instagram influencers on their daily workouts, what they were eating for breakfast, lunch & dinner and I would repeat that but somehow I still didn't manage to lose weight how they did or look the same as them because: 1. We all have different genetics. Some hold fat around their waists others around their butt but all of us are genetically different. We can't train away genetics y'all !

2. All of our bodies react differently to different foods. Others can eat dairy, some react to bread, people are allergic to different things, we bloat from certain foods etc. Also, we all have different likes & dislikes and that's okay !

For example, here are three girls I have trained with very similar training programs, given the same nutritional advice to and they all have different body types ! Just because one person has got results one way doesn't mean you will get the same results. You will definitely feel healthier, happier & fitter but you won't look exactly the same.... which leads me into number #2.

2. Progress comes in all different forms

Progress is a funny thing and depending on your goals they can be tracked a million different ways. When I first started all I focused on was losing weight and smashing cardio because I believed that was the best way to go about it (for the record...it's not). But you can have different goals and you can track them all in so many different ways. Instead of focusing on the scales going down I wish I had focused more on: - How insane my fitness had increased - The way my body was changing and fitting into clothes nicely - How much clearer my skin had gotten from eating healthy, exercising & drinking water - My clearer mindset & focus during the day - My joints weren't so sore anymore because they were getting the support they needed from stronger muscles

- I had become more strict and disciplined in my eating and nutrition

There was so much progress being made but because I was so focused on the scales moving I didn't get to enjoy those little changes. Next time you set goals or start reflecting on your progress FORGET ABOUT THE SCALES. Focus on the little changes because once you do you will see you have achieved much more than you give yourself credit for !

3. You should enjoy the process

One thing I wish I knew was that exercise shouldn't feel like a chore. You should enjoy it, love it and actually have fun ! This might sound weird to those of you new to exercise but seriously, there are SOOOO many ways to exercise, you just have to find the right one for you. Examples of exercise and incidental exercise include: 1. Going for a run/walk with your dog or friends 2. Swimming or water aerobics 3. Group Fitness Classes 4. Pole Dancing Classes 5. Online Programs to complete at home 6. Dancing 7. Playing a sport you enjoy

There are so many ways to get active and enjoy moving your body, just choose one that connects with you and do it. I smashed myself in the gym doing cardio by myself, sweating my ass off and doing it because I thought I had to ! Now I lift heavy weights three or four times a week, occasionally play volleyball with friends on the weekend and play netball three times a week. I incorporate different types of exercise because I like a variety of training methods. I find it works with my body AND I enjoy it. Simple as that !

4. It is 80% diet and 20% exercise:

I am going to share a valuable lesson with you that I wish I had known at the beginning.....YOU CAN'T OUT EXERCISE A BAD DIET. You can flog yourself at the gym, you can exercise twice a day if you wanted to but that is not going to do ANYTHING unless you back it up with a solid nutrition plan. I say this because I did exactly that. I would train and train and train and just seemed to always look the same and sometimes feel like I was back at the beginning again, why ? Because my post-workout recovery meal was a fillet-o-fish meal from Mcdonalds with a chocolate frappe on the side. I might as well have done absolutely nothing because I was ruining all my hard work by eating foods that didn't help me recover, they didn't give me the energy I needed and I just kept creating a vicious cycle.

Before you even start training, focus on your nutrition first. You will need to back up all that hard work with nutritious, healthy and filling foods that are going to aid you in achieving your goals. Plan out your meals, create food and recipes that you can't wait to eat and be flexible with your dieting. Don't cut out an entire food group because Karen down the street told you carbs are the devil, because NO. Do your research, talk to a doctor or nutritionist and see how they can help you. Get PROFESSIONAL help if needed but DO NOT rely on the opinions of others around you or on the advice of Instagram influencers who have no qualifications to tell you what is good and bad for you to eat. Most importantly just focus on what works for you !

5. No one gives a shit about what you are doing except you

Judgement. We are all so terrified of being judged at the gym for not knowing anything. When first starting out none of us know what we are doing, how to do things, we are scared of the way we look, feel like we will be judged for not lifting as much as Johnno next to us but seriously, no one gives AF about what you are doing except for you. Everyone else is to focused on themselves, their progress and the way they are training that they seriously don't care about what you are doing. No one is going to judge you for trying to better yourself and this is the biggest thing I wish I knew 5 years ago. I would enter the gym and just stand on the treadmill for half an hour and waste my time doing cardio. It was a safe option and I was to scared to go to the weights section that I would literally just leave out of fear of being judged. Now that I look back I know I wasted my time, my money and got nowhere all because of fear and in reality no one gave a shit about what I was doing. I just got into my own head and psyched myself out.

Don't allow your fear of being judged (when no one is actually judging you) hold you back from becoming the best version of you ! Don't waste your time, money and yourself on something you can totally control.

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Thank you so much for reading our latest blog post and I hope this inspired a few of you to get out there and reach for your goals. If you liked this post let us know and share with your friends x