If you’re new to fitness or just getting back into an exercise routine after a long hiatus, The Ultimate Guide to Fitness for Beginners has everything you need to get started, Revelation Wellness style!
We answer all your questions, from: Why does exercise matter to how to burn calories without working out.
We hope this guide shows you how to begin a fitness routine from a place of grace and joy instead of fear and guilt. We hope this guide will lead you on a health journey like you’ve never experienced before.
Check out the table of contents and start your freedom journey today!
21 Day Walking Program
Table of Contents
Set a Foundation for Fitness
Why does exercise matter?
Why do you exercise?
Are you motivated by weight loss? Or, toning your thighs? Or, are you feeling the pressure to drop the pregnancy weight? Do you enjoy the competition? Are you looking to hit your PR or max? Did your doctor recommend it?
While we are motivated to exercise for so many different reasons, I think we’ve lost sight of one of the most central reasons why exercise matters.
Your brain.
When you exercise, the blood flow produced by greater physical exertion has the capacity to change the architecture of your brain. This is called “neuroplasticity.”
Start a new fitness program with grace
Health and wholeness don’t begin with me picking up my mat. It begins with me hearing the voice of Jesus. It begins with me knowing the voice of my Lord. It begins with that! Pressure off! Shame slayed!
It’s not my job to “go first,” to start, to make a plan, set a course, or know the way. It’s not about me controlling anything. It’s about me knowing God leads. He goes first. He makes the way. He speaks. I listen. He begins the process, AND He also completes it.
How to be consistent in your health journey
You only have to Google “healthy lifestyle” or “workout plan” for thousands upon thousands of blog posts, videos, books, and guides that will help you live your best life. In this world of abundance, it is very easy to jump from one new plan to the next. But in doing so, you will never experience transformation. You will never experience the strength that comes from enduring challenges.
Your workout plan is one thing. But what about your marriage, your job, your family, your faith? At some point, this addiction to novelty will leave you more lost than when you started.
When the workout plan is suddenly familiar. When those new workout clothes start to stretch. When your muscles are sore, but you’re not seeing results.
You need to remember the cross.
Remembering the cross means following Jesus in His crucifixion and resurrection.
When the going gets tough we follow the way of the Lord by:
1. Embracing suffering
2. Expecting resurrection
LET'S GET MOVING!
How do I start an exercise routine?
How do we make a rhythm of wellness and exercise when our lives constantly change?
Let’s start with grace and compassion! It is God’s grace that keeps us going. You will have to put effort into cultivating a rhythm of wellness and exercise, but you don’t have to strive or feel guilty when things don’t go as planned.
ON-DEMAND WORKOUT VIDEOS
Get access to hundreds of workout videos for FREE by signing up for RWTV. These HIIT, yoga, cardio dance, and strength (& more!) workouts will not only challenge your body, but will fill your soul with the goodness of God.
Try a Christian fitness challenge
Sometimes the most challenging part about working out is figuring out what to do and using your time effectively.
When you participate in one of our Christian fitness challenges, we take the planning time off your hands! Check out this downloadable guide to comparing our top 10 Christian fitness challenges.
We have challenges that can help you reach all kinds of fitness and health goals.
Don’t see what you’re looking for? There are even more challenges available on our Challenge Page!
Workout tips for plus-size bodies
First, consult your doctor. Make sure you are cleared for exercise. After that, the simplest change you can make is to move in a way you enjoy. Perhaps you can walk around your neighborhood or park on a sunny day. Maybe exercise at home or at a local gym. Do what you enjoy and build momentum!
The most important thing you can do is just start. We all must begin our fitness journey somewhere.
Then try these three tips to fitness routine success:
1. Get moving and be mindful of your joints.
2. Consider your diet.
3. Rest, seek God’s peace, and enjoy the ride!
Workout tips for people with limited mobility
Don’t let limited mobility due to age or physical disability stop you from moving with strength and confidence in your unique way.
Learn various modifications for four basic exercises and try a seated workout on RevWell TV!
A fitness routine that sets you free
There are so many options for beginner workout routines that leave you feeling tired and dry. I want to help you lay a foundation for a better beginner workout routine. You already have everything you need to get started, namely, your body and your joy!
Here are a few tips to build a workout routine that sets you free!
Don't do this:
1. Earning your calories with a workout.
2. Earning your value with a workout.
3. Obsessing over opinions, trackers, and measurements.
Do this:
1. Define your core values.
2. Identify your current daily physical activity.
3. Reflect on past exercises you enjoyed.
4. Balance your workout routine.
How to start an at-home workout routine
Gyms have great resources and can be a good fit for some people, but the gym is not the only option to incorporate a well-rounded exercise routine into your life. I could have just given up, but by the grace of God, I quickly discovered the joy and success of working out at home.
I hope the following suggestions and tips help you have the confidence to begin your own at-home workout routine.
1. Invite God into your workout
2. Build on the basics
3. Prepare your workout space
How to get moving when you don't feel like it
We all know the reasons WHY we need to move our bodies. It’s good for us. It boosts our mood and our metabolism. It helps us get a better night’s sleep. The list of good reasons to move our bodies goes on and on.
So, why do we often NOT want to move?
We identify five obstacles to consistent movement and solutions to get you moving again.
How to recover from an exercise session
Recovery days can help your muscle tissue regrow, aid with better sleep, prevent fatigue and overuse of muscles, and stave off the lactic acid build-up which will help you become motivated to keep going in your next workout.
So, how can we implement exercise recovery? Here are a few ways you can assist the recovery process.
6 better reasons to exercise
Motivation is not what is going to get us healthy, whole, and well. Motivation is certainly not what is going to set us free from the temptations of instant gratification. We need a meaningful reason that will endure beyond New Year’s Day and the wedding and the reunion and every Monday morning.
So what will finally do it?
Here are 6 BETTER reasons to care for your health and wholeness:
1. To celebrate your freedom in Christ
2. To worship God in joyful movement
3. To nurture your body with healthy habits
4. To build strength to love others
5. As an act of gratitude for your well-being
6. To train your patience, love, and peace
1000 reasons to exercise are great, but He is greatest!
Should I workout today?
The kids get sick. An unexpected phone call from someone who needs your help. You had a rough night’s sleep and you just don’t feel like waking up and working out.
What is one to do?
Do you push through and make it all happen and call it a heavy dose of self-discipline (which is godly according to God’s word)? Or do you give yourself a pass and call it grace (also a godly necessity according to God’s word)?
Take your workout outside
If you are new to fitness and just beginning a workout routine, it is helpful to keep it light and fun. There’s no better way to do that than to work out in the great outdoors.
Read the blog for eight ways to get an effective workout outside of the gym and in your local park, neighborhood, or even your front yard.
NEAT: Non-exercise activity thermogensis
How to burn calories without working out
What is N.E.A.T?
The energy you expend during the day on activities that are not done with the specific intention to exercise or workout. This is the energy you expend while doing the things you do daily: cooking, cleaning, working, walking the dog, and sleeping.
Learn more about the benefits of Non-Exercise Activity in our NEAT 101 Guide. As a bonus, you can download free coloring sheets to help you remember to move throughout the day!
Why is it significant?
Even if you work out for an hour a day, that are at least 15 more waking hours that you are using energy. However, many of us are sedentary for most of the day and don’t take advantage of the health benefits of regular daily movement outside of a workout.
Ways to increase your N.E.A.T.
1. Make a meal for someone in need
2. Serving in the nursery at church
3. Pull up a neighbor’s garbage can
4. Walk with a friend in the neighborhood
5. Stretch break during your work day
6. Set an alarm to stand up and pray every 45 minutes throughout the day
7. Go for a walk with friends, instead of coffee
8. Fold laundry while standing
Walk the Words of Jesus
How To Keep Going
Fitness for every age
God uses men and women of every age and stage of life for his glory. There are no limitations based on the season that we are in.
As a Revelation Wellness Fitness Instructor, I move my body as an active act of worship. It is the place where I give myself G.R.A.C.E. to show up as a “whole” person without preconceived notions about what fitness should look like.
Maybe you getting older and recognize you can’t move in all the ways you used to, but there is still room for you at the fitness table.
Fitness at every age just begins with a little bit of G.R.A.C.E.
3 obstacles for women who desire to be fit
We often get asked about the most common barriers to a healthier lifestyle for women. My answers are most commonly the following:
1. Unrealistic expectations
2. Comparison
3. Results aren’t fast enough
Do any of these ring true for you? Or maybe you know one I haven’t shared. If so, you aren’t stuck there.
Fitness fails where faith cannot
How often do you come to the end of yourself?
If you are like me, a go-getter, you find yourself slamming into and sliding down the wall more times than you care to count. Thank God for God’s grace and mercy to start fresh.
It’s time for us professing followers of Jesus to stop trying to do it ourselves. Saving ourselves is a nasty habit to break.
The Psalmist tells us “Unless the Lord builds the house the laborers build in vain.”
I am proposing a strike!
It’s time for us hard hat-wearing construction workers to throw our hammers down and take a “staycation.” Staying with the Lord (not running away when things get hot – that’s our work!) and letting Him do the work of building the house.
