Five Steps for Starting a Fitness Routine

Starting a fitness routine can be a challenging activity. Between finding the right gym, an exercise you enjoy, comfortable workout gear, and creating and maintaining this healthy habit – it’s not an easy task. It can take a while to see the results you’re working towards and ultimately be defeating. But everyone must start somewhere. Here at CHWB, we have the amenities and support staff, including our Crosby Wellness Center, designed to help you start a fitness routine that leads to a healthier lifestyle. If you’re looking to start a fitness routine, use this as your beginner’s guide:

Step 1: Set your Goals

Using a journal and writing down your fitness goals helps give you a place to start, it allows you to understand your wants and needs when it comes to fitness, and ultimately, holds yourself accountable throughout your journey. Whether you have a specific weight loss goal, want to build muscle, help maintain stress and anxiety – write it down in your fitness journal. Once you set your goals and objectives, then it’s time to find a gym and exercise you enjoy. 

Step 2: Find the Gym or Fitness Center for You

While looking for the right gym think about your goals and objectives. Do you want a facility with a pool? Personal trainers and dietary support staff? Or maybe just a large free-weight option, fitness machines, and equipment. It’s important to know what you’re looking for in a gym and how it aligns with your goals and budget. After you have a list of two to three gyms you are interested in joining, visit for a tour and ask for a guest pass. That way, you can work out in the gym before you move forward with a membership to see if its amenities are the right fit for you.

Step 3: Sign up for a Gym Membership 

After you tour the different gyms and test out the equipment, join the facility that is the perfect fit for you. Once you have your gym membership, start participating in group fitness classes. This is a great way to find a workout you enjoy. When you have your favorite classes, add those to your list and schedule your day around them. Forming a workout schedule that fits with your day-to-day activities helps you maintain your fitness routine.  

Step 4: Create your Fitness Schedule

Once you have your classes and workout routine you enjoy, schedule it into your day-to-day. If you have a 9 to 5, test to see if working out in the morning or evening works best for you. Are you an early riser? Night owl? Start there and schedule your workout session accordingly. If there are specific times that the group fitness classes are scheduled for, work them into your schedule during a lunch break, or pack a gym bag and participate while you’re on your way home from work or on your way to the office. 

Step 5: Follow Through

Now that you have a basic fitness routine down, the hardest part is to follow through. Stick to your plan and create a healthy habit that your future self will thank you for. The best way to follow through with your plan is to schedule your workout as part of your daily schedule, exercise with a buddy so you have an accountability partner, and find a routine you enjoy. You are more likely to continue your fitness journey if you enjoy the routine you set in place.    

Week-Long Fitness Planner

Below is a week-long, sample fitness schedule you can use to build your own!

Tips & Tricks

• 1 – Ask for help. While figuring out the best workout routine for you, ask a fitness specialist at the gym to show you how to use the machines, equipment, and best ways to use them for your goals.  
• 2 – Talk to your doctor. Before starting a fitness routine, talk to your doctor about existing health concerns that would limit your exercise and discuss your plan with them.  
• 3 – Don’t stop at just fitness. Learn more about how you can create healthy habits that will transform your lifestyle through other ways like nutrition, education programs, and classes. 
• 4 – Find a health and wellness community. Join a Facebook group where you can learn different workouts, recipes for healthy cooking, and even meet new fitness friends!  
• 5 – Prioritize you. Put your health and wellness at the forefront of everything you do.  

At the Center for Health & Wellbeing, we support your healthiest you by creating world-class, free, and open-to-the-public Community Education programs that support every dimension of your wellbeing. Participating in a fitness-focused program allows you to test out different activities that could be right for you. Discover how CHWB can support your health and wellbeing by scheduling a tour of our state-of-the-art facility that includes the membership-based Crosby Wellness Center fitness facility, HERE.