Picture this: You are helping your college aged kid move into their dorm for their first year of college. You think to yourself - oh this shouldn’t be too bad, we can take the stairs.
Fast forward 1 hour and you are bent over breathing heavily and feeling more out of shape than you have ever felt.
The thought in that moment hits you hard: I need to do something about this!
The goal of feeling better while also losing those extra pounds of weight that have slowly crept up over the past 10 years is fresh in the mind. You start to see yourself as someone who is fit and healthy, who would have no problem running up and down these steps, moving your kid in, in record time.
The moment in time is huge, it’s the spark that you need to start an exercise routine. Goals of losing weight, getting stronger, getting into better cardiovascular health…these are all valid reasons as to how many of us get started.
It’s usually in that moment of weakness that pushes us to make the decision to treat our bodies better: the reality of our health becomes front and center.
Now the hard reality is learning how to create realistic expectations as to how your progress will go. If you know what you can expect in terms of time and results, you’ll be able to push through some doubts you might have when progress becomes slow.
And that’s what I want to do for you today: talk about what you can expect to see change as you start an exercise routine.
Your first 1-2 weeks!
During this time period your body will be in SHOCK!
I want to assume that you are doing appropriate intensity during your first 2 weeks of exercise. The idea here is to not get all the gains in 14 days, it’s to start a new habit and stick with it.
During these first 2 weeks you won’t see any weight loss or true muscle gain. It’s too early…but there are some super great benefits very early on..
Muscle Soreness
However your body will feel the difference of added movement. For example, you’ll be hit with a bout of Muscle soreness, or DOMS (Delayed onset Muscle Soreness). Usually this soreness hits you most when you are doing a new exercise. So when exercise in general is new, expect that you’ll be sore!
Muscle soreness happens when there are microtears in the muscle fibers. The body than heals these tears, creating more and stronger muscle fibers. This is how your body adapts to this new stimulus so that next time you do that same movement, the body is more prepared.
Increased Fatigue
Wait, I thought that exercise was supposed to make you feel better? Well, not initially…
You’ll be more tired as your body adjusts to the new energy demands. You might feel extra sleepy either feeling like you need a nap, or just falling asleep earlier.
For many, this is a welcomed change as most of us don’t sleep enough! So if you struggle with sleep and don’t workout consistently, you can game the system and get yourself more tired which would mean you get more sleep, and more recovery!
Boost in mood and Energy levels
This has to be one the most talked about changes over the first 2 weeks. Energy levels seem to be elevated! Yes you are tired but at the same time, your body reacts to this added movement by releasing endorphins.
It’s a beautiful thing, feeling really great after a workout. Those endorphins can last you hours after your workout and I’ll normally hear new clients report to me that they just feel great and have an improved mood. Thank the exercise and the release of endorphins.
I almost like to think of this as your positive reinforcement for working out in the early days. You feel better so the logical thing to do is to keep doing what makes you feel good!
Get that momentum going right from the start - the first 2 weeks will feel like a blur and are only just a snapshot of what you can accomplish with exercise.
3-6 weeks in
Exercise is still novel at this point.
It’s still very early and what helps most people stay on point during this time is the fact that they have been feeling really good. IE: feeling a boost in mood, energy levels, sleeping more and feeling that lovely “sore” feeling.
So what kind of changes can you expect at this point?
Improved Cardiovascular Health
You might find at this point that you have a lower resting heart rate. Pretty amazing that within 6 weeks your body can adapt and become more efficient at how blood gets from your heart to your muscles.
You’ll also find that you have improved lunge capacity and stamina during those aerobic exercises. Think about what you are on a treadmill on day 1 compared to day 30 or 45. You will feel better and feel like you are in better shape.
Another big factor here is feeling like daily physical activities are easier. Walking, climbing stairs, doing chores…all of these things should feel easier to do.
Noticeable Muscle Toning and Strength
Waiting for the body to change after 6 weeks? You may need to wait longer for true physical changes in the mirror but you will definitely feel firmer and more defined.
With this, your strength should increase. Things such as doing heavier weights, doing more reps will be good indications that you are right on track. Let’s say you were able to do a squat with 20 lbs during week 1…by week 6 you might be able to do 35 lbs for a squat!
Not only do you feel firmer, if you are doing a proper program in which you work your full body - you’ll feel you have improved posture due a stronger core, and back muscles. This can be HUGE for office workers as posture and healthy spine alignment will be improved with exercise.
Fat loss and Body Comp changes
You might see some reduction in body fat around week 6. If you are consistent with your exercise and doing the right movements, you’ll notice some change in how clothes fit.
You still won’t see any weight loss on the scale, but surely will notice changes in the body. Many of these body changes are due to reduced bloating and water retention. This is due to physical activity and generally better hydration.
Improved Metabolism
This one is more of an internal change but when you are within these 2-6 weeks, you will have increased your muscle mass. With more muscle comes more calories needed to keep that muscle.
So therefore, your metabolism will need to be higher , thus burning more calories at rest. More lean muscle means more caloric burn!
2-6 Months
This is the time that the most drop off occurs. I’ve seen it so many times. Right around that 45-90 day mark is when clients will most likely fall off their routine.
Change is slow to start and doesn’t have many visible differences until we reach the end of this section. So many might gloss over the improvements in mood, sleep, energy and strictly focus on the mirror or scale.
During this 2-6 month change is when the big changes start to show themselves!
Significant Muscle growth
If you have been consistently working out for 6 months, you’ll no doubt see the change in the body itself. Muscle size and definition will be noticeable. With the increase in muscle strength you’ll also be able to do more intense workouts, leading to more changes.
Enhanced Flexibility and Range of motion
By now you should feel more flexible in various joints. You should be reaching over your head better, more flexible in your hamstrings, and more likely to perform daily activities easier.
Bending, squatting and reaching are key indicators that your fitness has improved and that exercise has done what it needs. Flexibility is ongoing and with improved range of motion, you’ll be better fit to do more of life's demands.
Weight loss and Fat Reduction
This is the time you’ve been waiting for. After 6 months of consistent strength training your body will start to reshape itself. You might notice how your waist is smaller and your legs and glutes are bigger. The body is reshaping itself and losing fat in the undesired spots.
You will look leaner in different spots especially if you’ve been working specific areas more often. Think about those who squat and deadlift often - their hips and legs will show this!
The scale may or may not be different at this point. With more muscle gain and re-shaping might come a stabilization of weight.
Better sleep and recovery
By now it should be easier for you to fall asleep as well as have a more restful, deep sleep. The body has adjusted to the new energy demands from exercise and now is in a cycle that supports good sleep habits.
You should also notice that your body adapts to workouts much better. No longer are you sore for 4 days after a leg workout. Instead, your body is able to recover in a day or two and keep you moving forward.
This inherently will allow for more work to be done by the body, speeding up the next set of goals significantly!
6+ Months
6 months and on - this is when these habits of exercise have solidified themselves. 6 months of this habit is a significant amount of time to both find success and find yourself a new hobby.
This section is 6 months to life. For better or worse, your body starts to stabilize itself to a new normal after this 6 month mark. Not to say you can’t see a ton of changes over years that follow, it just might not be as drastic as it was at the start.
Maintenance of muscle mass and Fat loss
Like stated above, at this point your body has adapted to the initial new stimulus of exercise. From here on out, it’s all about maintaining a healthy weight that continues to be stable through the years to come. It’s normal for those who don’t focus on exercise to gain a ton of weight over years. Exercise helps to stabilize this weight gain or loss!
At this point it will also be easier for your body to adapt to exercise, which enables you to do harder things.
I always find it funny when clients of 5-8 years will tell me, “why isn’t this getting an easier”?
It’s because of this fact - your body CAN do more and still WANTS to be challenged, forcing adaptation. So although your weights are probably double what they used to be, it’s still hard!
Enhanced Bone Density
With time and strength training, your bones will get stronger. It’s also my pleasure to hear someone tell me that after 2 years of strength work, they began to reverse the impact of osteoporosis.
This is particularly important for perimenopausal and menopausal women as bone density get’s impacted negatively through these body and hormone changes.
Improved mental health and stress management
Exercise is a long term mood stabilizer. Those who workout deal with their emotional stresses better than those who don’t. This can mean taking on new challenges that you otherwise would have never attempted. It can mean dealing with anxiety in a more positive way. Exercise can be a natural mood booster for the long-term.
I find it funny that those who have had exercise as a habit for 5+ years probably don’t realize how much better they feel solely because of exercise. If only we could take a quick trip to that pre-exercise time and understand just how much stress and anxiety weighed on them.
Also, when you do hard things you create a resilience that is hard to replicate naturally. Think about the last time you did 1000M Row for time, or did a tough workout. You had to push past those doubts in the head telling you to just stop. This carries over to your everyday life, making you a harder person to bring down.
Lower risk of chronic disease
For those looking at fitness for the long road , chronic disease gets improved across the board. You have reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and hypertension. IF you are concerned about any of these factors then you need to do fitness for the long-term.
A quick fix of 3 months won’t get you here - these benefits happen from that 6 month mark and on. (I’d say they improve even more over time, the longer you are consistently exercising).
Also with this said, your immune system will improve and be better at fighting stuff off. There is a reason many of the clients at the gym don’t get sick often. Their bodies are stronger and again, it’s because of exercise.
Ultimately if you want to be harder to kill, you need to strength train and be consistent over a long period of time.
To infinity and beyond!
Exercise is not a temporary thing. Exercise done in short stints of time will not give you access to some of the great benefits you receive after that 6 month mark.
I would say that the benefits compound the longer you are focused on health.
And that’s just it - exercise and health should become a habit for your life. Something that you need in your life, something that gives you its rewards on a daily basis.
So many clients here at FFM simply don’t act, look, or medically get defined at their current age. Client’s routinely tell me that they have the heart of someone 20 years younger than them.
So I want to leave you with this: JUST GET STARTED!
I would say that Day 1 is much harder than day 300. Your future self will thank you so much if you just stick with it, trust the process and keep working on being a better you.
Getting through the first 6 months of exercise can seem daunting and can seem like a long time when you have a goal of losing weight. The scale might not move as fast as you may want.
However by focusing on the changes that are EXPECTED you set yourself up for success. You know what will happen and you should know that the promise of dropping 20 lbs in a month is simply not possible (and if it is, I’m sure you’ll gain it back within 1 year).
So get started, celebrate the wins you have through your first few months and then become the role model. Become the person who trains 3x a week and has completely changed their trajectory for life outcome.
It’s the only life and body we get, 6 months is but a small drop in the bucket.
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