So how do you begin?

Well the first thing about beginning, after you decide, is to start thinking of your goal.
Is your goal to:

• Lose weight
• Gain mass
• Maintain your weight yet reduce the fat
• Look good for the opposite sex (the goal that’s most prone to failure in the long run)
• Improve Health and lower the risk of disease

This is crucial as it would give you clarity and you’d then be able to choose the food, nutritional supplements and activities that will support your goal. You’ll also be able to join the relevant clubs or interest groups with the same goal as yourself.

So if you want to lose weight in a healthy manner (and the only healthy manner is by exercising and changing what you eat), your goal will help ensure that you do not join a group of body builders but a group of walkers or joggers instead.

Next then is to make a financial commitment in some way. You could, find a personal trainer, buy a book on getting fit, buy a good pair of running shoes, join a gym and if you’re like me, go to a sports shop like B.I.R.D or ADIDAS and buy the correct equipment. And if as a result you look good wearing the equipment, it’s an added bonus. :o)

Face it; you need all the emotional support and mental visualisation to stay on this life changing journey. If you do not think it’s OK to wear what you go to bed in, to work, why would you think it’s OK to wear what you go to sleep in when exercising?

Start appreciating the value and benefits of having proper attire and equipment. They’re designed to give you the proper support and cushioning for the appropriate sport, to prevent injury and long term bodily damage. Besides, they’ll also boost your confidence level and put you into a correct frame of mind.

So if you’re taking up tennis, invest in a good pair of tennis shoes; and do not wear them for jogging. Invest in a pair of jogging shoes instead.

Wearing any pair of shorts to run can be painful and utterly uncomfortable experience. One, it’ll chaff your inner thighs and you’ll develop a John Wayne walk almost automatically. Two, they may not allow certain ‘crucial’ parts of your anatomy to breathe creating a damp environment in your nether regions.

So set your goal and choose the correct activity and equipment to support your goal. It’ll put you on the first path to lifelong health.