The first hints of summer are in the air along with the lure of the outdoors. But maybe after a long winter of hibernating inside you don’t feel ready for it.

May 2, 2024Penn State Health News

You aren’t alone. Only 24% of adults in the U.S. met the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans for aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The complex, high-energy world of burpees, hydration systems and interval training might seem inaccessible to the beginner. How do you even start to get in shape?

Breianna Hummer-Bair, a clinical exercise physiologist at Penn State College of Medicine, says your road to physical fitness needn’t be so intimidating. You don’t need pricey equipment or hours and hours of difficult workouts that turn you into a pile of sore muscle and sweat.

Do I even need a gym?

“No, not necessarily,” Hummer-Bair said.

In fact, if you’re just getting started with trying to get fit, you couldn’t have picked a better time of year. Let the outdoors be your gym.

That doesn’t mean reps of curls with boulders or chin ups on tree branches. Nor do you have to join the sweat-soaked runners you might see streaking past on a warm day.

“In general, just being outside is a good thing,” she said. If you have children, go outside and play with them. Take the dog for a walk, or just take your stroll sans pooch.

“We don’t necessarily count them as exercise, all those small things that we do where we’re not necessarily going to a gym and setting aside an hour of time,” she said. “All those little activities add up and count as exercise and physical activity, just not in the way we all typically think about exercise.”

What if you’re just set on joining a gym? What kinds of things should you look for?

“You want to find a place where you’re comfortable,” Hummer-Bair said. “You want to find a place with good cleanliness protocols that you can follow so you don’t get sick and can continue to exercise. But you also need to find a place that has a variety of options for you.”

Don’t lock yourself in, Hummer-Bair said. For example, don’t join a gym that specializes only in yoga if you aren’t sold on the idea of yoga yet. “If you’re just starting you might not know what you’re interested in,” she said.

Look for options with cardiovascular equipment ― treadmills, stair-steppers, elliptical machines and stationary bicycles ― and choices for the kinds of available resistance training you might try, both free-weights and machine.

Some gyms offer classes. You might like the group atmosphere and it could open you up to exercises you never tried before.

Don’t be afraid to try a gym and leave to find another one if you don’t like it. “A lot of times we give up and say, ‘Oh, I’m just not a gym person,’” she said. “Well that’s not necessarily true. Perhaps you just haven’t found the right gym.”

What kinds of questions should you ask the staff?

“I would ask if there are trained fitness professionals there,” Hummer-Bair said. Ask about credentials. Some gym staff members are fitness fanatics. Maybe they’ve obtained a certificate online. Nothing wrong with that ― their experience can come in handy.

Others, like Hummer-Bair, have obtained college degrees in exercise and can draw from a deep well of knowledge to keep you safe and help you achieve the goals you’re looking for using proven, scientific methods. A degree in exercise physiology or kinesiology can definitely be an asset to a newbie. That doesn’t mean you should avoid a gym where the staff has those same kinds of credentials. Instead, you’ll find some staff members have specialized training in specific types of workouts, and those can be helpful, as well, Hummer-Bair said.

Ask about the cleanliness rules. Does the staff regularly clean the machines? Do they require members to wipe down their equipment after they use it?

What kinds of clothing and apparel do you need?

“You don’t need to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe,” Hummer-Bair said.

Start with a comfortable pair of stretchy pants or shorts and a top that will keep you cool. “You want to be comfortable and be able to move,” she said.

Body image is a major reason some people avoid the gym and skip working out altogether. “You want to be covered as much as you need to be so that you’re comfortable,” Hummer-Bair said. “You don’t need clothes that are too loose or too tight so that you feel self-conscious. If you’re not comfortable you’re not going to be able to do the exercises in a way that they’re supposed to be done, safely.”

You’ll need the right kind of footwear for the activity you’ll be doing, and there are tons of options. Here again, Hummer-Bair suggests trial and error. Find a footwear retailer that can work with you on what works best for you based on your activity and physiological needs.

OK, you’ve got your stretchy pants and your sneakers and you found your gym. What are we doing to get fit?

“It doesn’t have to be a lot, especially if you’re just starting out,” Hummer-Bair said. You don’t have to transform yourself into a gym rat ― one of the people you see spending two or three hours straining over weights or sprinting on treadmills.

Starting out slow is key, she said. If you go too fast right out of the gate, you wind up with sore muscles, at best. At worst, you might seriously injure yourself.

But here is where it gets exciting ― you have tons of options. You can bike, hike, run, play frisbee, skip rope, swim or dance. You can do it at home, in the park, on a mountain top, at a friend’s house or at the gym. In an online community, in a class or by yourself.

“There are so many opportunities,” Hummer-Bair said.

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No matter whether you spend £100 or £400, as one 2023 piece of research details, the act of cycling has the rather impressive power to lower the risk of mortality from any cause. Plus, this type of aerobic activity also decreases your risk of cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes, while bettering your overall well-being. And it has the power to do all the above without putting little to no pressure on your joints. Which is pretty great, right? So it makes sense that there are up to 10,000 searches for ‘affordable exercise bikes’ each month. 

“Fitness saved me,” says Quinton, a professional Twitch streamer and player on CBC competition series, Canada’s Ultimate Challenge, “my love for gaming kept me inside. I’d fuel myself with large amounts of junk food; cookies, pastries, chips, soda.” Quinton was feeling defeated by his couch potato lifestyle. One day after high school, he attempted one of his first workouts. “I felt lightheaded, went to the changeroom, blacked out, hit my face on the corner of a bench on the way down and woke up covered in blood. After that day, I refused to ever be like that again.” 

It’s hard to imagine that the buff, confident man we see on TV today was once a chubby, insecure teen, “My health journey began and I started to learn how to be healthy and be proud of my body. It’s changed my life and I can’t imagine a life where it’s not a part of my day-to-day.”

Competition show players say exercise is their secret to good physical and mental health

In Canada’s Ultimate Challenge, Quinton and 19 other diverse and fit Canadians travel the country to compete in 16 awe-inspiring challenges that test their physical, mental and teamwork capabilities. 

Like Quinton, many of the players participating in the show also had stories of how fitness played an integral role in helping them overcome life’s hurdles. 

Angel was a competitive boxer until she became trapped in a cycle of addiction. “Even when I was deep in the struggle and felt completely worthless and defeated, I was able to hang on by reminding myself of the things that I missed in my life, what I wanted to get back, and envisioning the person that I could be,” she says, “strong, healthy, powerful, and living a life that could set a positive example for others.” 

“When I came out and had to leave the home I grew up in and then was diagnosed with cancer, I felt like my entire world was crumbling,” remembers Paul, now a transit worker from Vancouver. “The only steady thing I had in my life was focussing on my health and fitness. I honestly believe the drive and determination I learned through my fitness journey is what got me through that very dark period.” 

“Building a consistent fitness routine allowed me to build confidence in my body, changed how I saw myself and helped me recover from my eating disorders and body dysmorphia,” says Jac, a tiny but mighty wellness coach from Vancouver who lives with depression. “Working out consistently got me out of bed, gave me a routine, increased my energy levels and helped me with my brain fog.”

The benefits of exercise are well documented; it reduces the risk of depression, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and many cancers. And yet, fewer than one in four Canadians meet the current guidelines for physical activity. 

Exercise can make you happy too

“It’s often the best part of my day and whether it’s just a quick lift or a spin class or a 90-minute yoga session, giving yourself that time, setting it aside to focus on you and your health is so mentally and emotionally beneficial,” says Paul, “the dopamine and serotonin that comes with exercising is something that I honestly don’t know if I could live without.”  

“I feel much more alert, clear-headed, and happy when I exercise,” agrees Angel, “I am also more inclined to make better food choices, as the nutrients that fuel my workouts cannot come from fast food.”

And, they say, the benefits of exercise are a lifelong investment. “I don’t struggle carrying groceries or chasing my dogs around. I’m not huffing and puffing walking up the stairs,” says Jac, “it’s about living a long, healthy life where you’re able to move functionally without pain or discomfort.”

Players give advice on how to make fitness a part of your life

The hardest part is often getting started. 

“Just do it,” says Angel, “don’t wait for the ‘right time’ to start because there isn’t one.” “Motivation often comes with action,” agrees Jac, “to set myself up for success, I make a plan, I lay out my gym clothes for the morning and play some tunes and hype myself up!”

Whether it’s walking, running, swimming, dancing, rock climbing or yoga find something you enjoy doing and stick with it. “Start slow and work your way up. Change comes from small daily choices over a long period of time!” says Quinton.

Create realistic goals recommends Jac, “Fitness is not all or nothing, it’s about finding a balance and living a life that is enjoyable, sustainable and doesn’t feel restrictive.”

According to Paul, the rest should be easy. “The daily practice of setting aside time to focus on yourself physically and mentally is self-love that is essential to success in life, love, health and happiness.”