5 Workout Rules For Beginners

The first time you start a workout program can leave you with a lot of questions. Like, what should you actually DO when you get to the gym? Or, how do I know if I’m doing this correctly?

Workout rules to help when you're starting out

While we can’t answer every question that might come up during those first few weeks, we want to help as much as we can. So these are a few workout rules for beginners that you should try to follow!

Find someone to workout with

Grab yourself a friend to workout with! This is one of the best ways to stay on track with a new program. If you’re both beginners, you have someone to encourage and support you at each stage, because they know exactly what you’re going through. If they’re no longer a beginner, they can share some of their tips for beating those inevitable hurdles in your fitness journey. You can also join the SWEAT forum for advice and tips from women all over the world!

Always stay hydrated

Our bodies don’t function well without water. It’s a very simple fact. And once you begin working out and sweating more, you need to keep up the fluids to ensure your muscles don’t become fatigued too quickly. Listen to your body — and if you find it hard to drink plain water, try some of these tips for staying hydrated instead!

Don’t skip rest day

We get it, you want to results as soon as possible. But skipping rest day may actually end up having negative impacts on your body, and on your results. Each time you complete a workout, you’re causing your body stress and creating micro-tears in your muscles. Your body then repairs itself, adapts and becomes stronger. However, if you start skipping your rest days, you put yourself at risk of turning micro-tears into something bigger. Give yourself time to rest and recover between workouts so that your body can heal. That’s why the programs in the SWEAT app become progressively harder — it gives you time to build and get stronger!

Focus on your form

This can be one of the hardest parts of new fitness programs: getting the exercises right. Performing an exercise incorrectly means you may not be efficiently working your muscles, and you may be putting yourself at risk of an injury. Check out the video tutorials in the app to see how they should be done, or ask a trainer at the gym for help. 

Keep records

If you really want to change your lifestyle when you begin any new workout program, it means changing behaviours. Keeping records can really help you to identify healthy habits that you want to improve on, or behaviours that you want to stop altogether. Make some notes throughout your fitness journey. Track how often you worked out, what you did and how you felt after it. Many women notice changes in their energy levels and their moods long before physical changes, and that can be fantastic encouragement to keep working hard and improving. Once you form a habit around exercise and healthy living, it can become part of your life!

Hopefully these tips are helpful for any members of the SWEAT Community who resolved to get fitter, healthier and stronger! Remember, you can ask for help at any time by heading to the forum — there is a whole community of women here to offer advice, encouragement and support.