In that setting, exercise advice can be annoying but, under the right circumstances, the right advice can change a person's life. I'm thinking about the best advice I ever got from a fellow trainer. She was watching me struggle through a workout and said, "You know, it's totally okay to suck sometimes." It's strange, but I've always remembered that and it's helped me get through a number of tough workouts.
I know that many of my readers have years of exercise experience and probably have more wisdom in their pinky toes than many personal trainers I know (including myself). Today, I want to tap into that wisdom to get your best exercise advice. What do you know now that you wish you knew then? Or perhaps you got some great advice that still resonates with you today. Either way, leave a comment or, even better, post your advice here for all of our readers to enjoy. Your advice may just save a floundering workout routine.
Who would have thought a CPT would even think of saying “Oh, you mean this isn’t the nail salon? Well, shut my mouth.” The best advice I can give is to think better of other people in the gym. They might just be paying you a compliment.
As a woman who spends a lot of time in the gym, it wasn’t so long ago that it wasn’t “NORMAL” for a girl to want muscles. You must be really young Mike.
It might sound stupid to some, but I had someone remind to BREATHE once…and it’s true!
For some reason, I get so caught up in focusing on doing it right that I actually forget to BREATHE. LOL. I was getting out of breath and thinking “Wow, I really REALLY suck!”
Very basic stuff: stay hydrated (unfortunately, I learned to heed this advice the hard way) and do what you love (or you won’t stick with it). Mike, you are probably young, but even you must remember the flack surrounding Michelle Obama’s sculptured arms and whether men found that sexy or obscene. Lighten up; it was a joke.
Exercise! I’ve been doing it over half a century, and my advice is: exercise. When you don’t feel like it, do it anyway. 90% of the time the endorphins will kick in, you’ll feel better and glad you did it. If you give in to your ennui or whyever you don’t want to work out and you submit to that wish, I can virtually guarantee that you will regret that decision. Exercise. Do it!
The best advice I can give is none. If it is wanted, it will be asked for. You should have told the guy the nail thing. Nonetheless, I work out at home and my German shepherds don’t listen to my advice anyway.
the main thing about exercise is that you at least do something when you don’t feel like it because something is better than nothing. And often, once you get going, you do more than you thought you would. I don’t know how many times Ill think, “I’m only going to ride this bike for 10 minutes”, but once I reach 10, I go all the way.
Remember fitness is a process. Keep working at it and will be worth it.
I regularly see too many guys working out at the gym that really don’t have a clue as to what they’re doing or how to properly perform exercises. But damn they think they are pumping some big iron and getting all ripped up! I’m sure they must figure they’re about 10 more bicep curls (done while swaying wildly forward & backward) away from a private hot tub party with Kim Kardashian.(LOL) There’s so much good info available from PTs or even online, that there’s really little excuse for being a dork at the gym these days. I offered some advice once and the guy looked at me funny, nodded, and went right back to doing it wrong. Now I say nothing to these people unless they ask, because most of them “know they’re doing it right”, because how could a mere mortal like myself possibly know more about exercise than them?
The best advice that I have (and I will speak epecially to myself) is to DO IT.
Don’t exercise to get thin, exercise to be healthy.
IM 55 BEE, TRAINING SINCE I WAS 15. HAVE TITLES ,MET ARNOLD LOU ALL OF THE BIG GUYS OF THE 70S,
MANAGED SEVERAL GYMS OUT WEST AND EAST.
SOME OF THE BEST ADVICE I CAN GIVE IS TO USE LITTLE PIECES OF OTHERS PEOPLES WORKOUTS AND FORMULATE YOUR OWN SYSTEM .
AUTHOR JONES NAUTILIS TRAING BULLITENS IS A GOOD FOUNDATION FOR A STARTING OR EVEN AN ACCOMPLISHED TRAINER.
TRY TO KEEP IT SIMPLE AND FUN.
SMARTER NOT HARDER.
THINK LONG RANGE.
GOOD LUCK ..
Great article (as usual!)
The best advice I can personally give is to NOT give up. Even if you don’t see a change in the scale, how your clothes fit, or your appearance, especially when first starting out. You are doing something, and changes will happen.
About a year ago, at 44 years old and seventy pounds overweight, like so many times before I REALLY wanted to quit the visits to the gym, because for five weeks, despite a 1200-1500 calorie a day diet, and visiting the gym five times a week, I had no visible results. “What’s the point?” But I kept going anyway.
Then on week six, I dropped seven pounds. And five the following week. The weight loss continued from there, and in eight months, I lost 64 lbs. and I can run 3 miles a stretch when I couldn’t even run .10 of a mile when I started.
I feel great, and I look better than I have since high school – because I finally stopped giving up.
Who cares what others say. You’re exercising for you and you own health, and you and your health are the most important things in your life. You can always give yourself a treat and go to the salon afterwards.
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING FOR ME WAS TO FIND A SPORT OR CLASS THAT I REALLY ENJOYED. I HAVE BEEN EXERCSING FOR 70 YEARS AND HAVE TRIED NUMEROUS CLASSES AND SPORTS.THEY HAVE ALL BEEN HELPFUL. FOR ME, EXERCISE IS A WONDERFUL WAY TO FORGET YOUR PROBLEMS FOR A WHILE. SOMETIMES IT ISN’T EASY TO FIND THE TIME BUT— AS THE OLD SAYING GOES ” WHERE THERE’S A WILL, THERE’S A WAY.”
I would say that to optimize the benefit from exercising, proper nutrition is a must. Also, it is important to have the right mix of cardio, endurance, strength and flexibility training based on your age and body type.
Best advice I ever gave myself was that before I open my mouth, I need to open my mind to the possibility that the totally funky, bizarre, contraindicated, off base, weird, Neanderthal exercise someone else is doing may have a goal other than what I suppose. And it could be that for the person’s goal, that exercise is on target. One never knows the goal of a move until one asks. http://funandfit.org For example, I once wondered why a guy next to me was working super hard to quickly shorten his hip flexors. I thought he was aiming for abs and was simply clueless until I found out he was a hurdler and needed this move to compete. Know the goal.
Do it but remember the goal is long term – don’t think how will this make me better in a few weeks but how much better will I be if I sustain this activity over the years
Like so many others, my best advice is to keep going. Especially in the beginning when each and every movement hurts and the first two weeks are pain-filled, just know that something is working. It’s not easy to dedicate your rest time to something that seems so difficult, but when you see and feel results and when your blood counts go from sky-high to normal, your motivation will kick in. Show up everyday and do your best. Also, don’t be intimidated by free weights. Ask someone for a help or read about them – they’re necessary even for women.
Paige I understand the importance of this question. Like so many I have struggled with consistency and exercise. This lead me to asking “How” do you increase your chance of being like others posted here?
Now I use a FitDesk and my whole family exercises almost everyday. Simply put the “magic” how question was answered with put something you do everyday into your exercise routine and you will easily increase your consistency- which most often leads to more intense exercise.
FitDesk is an exercise bike with a laptop holder for pc fun and gaming. Great to be reading and responding to this post while exercising.
Get a lap dog to keep you company while you’re relaxing and a bully dog to get you moving. I really, really need to get in shape. It’s not about how I look but about continuing my journey away from cancer. Even though I ended radiation last winter I just haven’t gotten my drive back yet. And, even knowing how critical exercise is for my health I just couldn’t get myself to the gym or off the couch enough to make a difference.
I have a threesome of lap dogs but my exercise pups are seniors and not up for much more of a workout than moi. About ten days ago I started fostering a three year old pit named Happy.
That good deed has me out walking FAST at least three miles a day, everyday. That’s how it used to be when my lab/rot/shep was a younger dog and I am reminded of how good I used to feel because I am starting to feel that way again.
If you don’t want to adopt an action dog that demands daily workouts, foster one. You could also become a volunteer dog walker. To find your local shelter or rescue go to: http://www.PetFinder.com.
This is my first time fostering a pit and I am falling in love … he is sweet, smart and comical and gets along great with all my pups (and most of my purrs.) Happy may end up a foster failure. Whatever happens he is doing me right.
Cheers! Viveca
Barb–I am 67 yo today,and except for a stint in Army 49 yrs ago,and some biking during the summer teen yrs,I have NEVER exercised before! Then 1 yr ago I couldn’t breathe,spent a week in hospital,was 60 lbs overweight,high sugar/diabetes,high cholesterol;and was diagnosed first with COPD,then changed to ‘undiagnosed lung disease’–no matter,I still couldn’t breathe!There were tests,many meds,and finally 2 inhalers and nebulizer trtmnts 4x/day,and 5 mos. of pulmonary rehab(which I hated,ofcourse!).By March,I had lost the 60lbs,cholesterol and sugars were all normal–but I still couldn’t walk across the room without panting!A local gym(near enuf to walk to) ran a ’sale’,and I decided to join! It’s a little more than 1/2 mi to get there–and I had to rest for 15 min. the first time I was ABLE to walk there!Actually,I would take a cab either to or from each time I went–which I decided in a hurry was too costly,so I started walking 10 minutes every day until I am finally up to 3-4 mi/day,1 hour exercise 6/7 days/wk,and trips to the gym 3-4 days/week!
I definitely understand where you came from,and my best advice to everyone is to ‘challenge yourself’ to do just a little more,etc. I keep telling myself just another 50 steps on the eliptycal,then another 30 seconds,etc.I can breathe again,am off nebulizers,and down to only 1 inhaler–AND I am starting a job 3 days/week in the school system–which I have to walk to each day!
If I can do this at 67,ANYONE can do some sort of exercise–even if you start in your chair,just raising your legs! Good luck to all!
The first piece of advice that I would give is to find an activity that you enjoy. It doesn’t matter what that is as long as you are moving. Once you have started on the path of exercise and you feel the huge difference it will make, continuing will not be an issue. Life can get in the way but you can always fit in time for something that you enjoy doing! If you have fell off of the exercise wagon, then I don’t need to tell you about all of the benefits of “just doing it”. You already know all of that, MAKE A COMMITMENT TO YOURSELF AND STRIVE TO BE THE HEALTHEST PERSON THAT YOU CAN BE.
Wow, a lot of great advice.
I have two basic ideas:
1. Exercise for your health, not for the scale.
2. Don’t listen to everyone’s advice, even if well meaning.
Exercise for your overall health:
I’ve found that having a goal weight is excellent way to stay focused on your goal. However, if you’re basing your exercise on extrinsic motivation, then you’re setting yourself up for failure. When you exercise for your health, not only do you pace yourself better with your goals, have less anxiety about working out, but you can feel the excellent benefits of exercise the same moment or day of your workout. Just from a conditioning point of view, you’re more likely to be consistent and enjoy the process.
Do not listen to everyones advice:
My weight problem started when I was really young. I remember the first diet I went on wasin the 4th grade. Even as a ten year old, I could realize that the amount of soda I drank was unhealthy. So, I gave up sodas and started to drink juice. My Dad would tell me there is pretty much the same amount of sugar in juices as soda on more than one occasion. Rather than motivating me to limit my intake of juice and looking for a healthier alternative, it made me feel like what I was doing was of NO value. Furthermore, it put me in a state of overwhelm. Just like the guy above said about know your goal, I then became focused on just improving my health a little bit each day. I’ve had countless times I could name with similar situations where people were well meaning but literally were able to destroy all my drive to exercise with some advice. In other words trust yourself.
I’ve man, so I have never had that sort of sexist comment made to me in a gym. I do know that if you were waiting for the acceptance of your ‘gym peers’ as drive that it might have destroyed your will. So, your motivation had to be intrinsic – I would guess.
Consistency is the key. As several others have said “Just do it”. However, if after months and months or even weeks and weeks you start to get burnt out then take a break for a couple of days. I always jump back in and have better work outs because of my little break.
The best advice i can give is to stick to a routine. If your plan is to go to the gym everyday, than do it! Missing a day or two doesn’t seem like a huge deal, and it’s not, but it can make it even harder to go back or stick with your program. Good luck!
So, just What ARE “exercise parameterts”???! After 15+ years as a Personal Trainer (AFAAA Cert.), I have found myself removed from the fitness center atmosphere and into “natural surroundings”" for the 35+ y.o.a. crowd. Who wants to deal with cut-throat competative chicanery of the fitness centers??!!
If the key doesn’t fit the lock,just get another lock.