START SMART

Choose the proven path to fitness. DOWNLOAD THE PLAN

When it comes to motivation, your brain is a mysterious creature. One minute you’re pumped, full of enthusiasm. A few weeks later the excuses start to creep in, and before you know it you haven’t been to the gym all week. SMART START is a beginners plan for fitness that is based on scientific research. Follow this simple approach to guarantee that your first steps to fitness are not your last.

THREE SECRETS TO SUCCESS

YOUR PERFECT SCHEDULE

SIX WEEK GUIDE

If you are really serious about taking your fitness to the next level, try to follow this recommended guide for the first six weeks.

  1. WEEK ONE

    1x 20 min cardio workout, 1x 20 min strength workout and 1x 10 min core/flexibility workout Download PDF

  2. WEEK TWO

    2x 20 min cardio workouts, 1x 30 min strength workout and 1x 20 min core/flexibility workout Download PDF

  3. WEEK THREE

    2x 30 min cardio workouts, 1x 30 min and 1x 20 min strength workout and 1x 30 min core/flexibility workout Download PDF

  4. Week Four

    2x 30 min and 1x 20 min cardio workouts, 1x 60 min strength workout and 1x 30 min core/flexibility workout Download PDF

  5. WEEK FIVE

    2x 50 min and 1x 20 min cardio workouts, 1x 60 min and 1x 20 min strength workout and 1x 60 min core/flexibility workout Download PDF

  6. WEEK SIX

    2x 60 min and 1x 30 min cardio workouts, 1x 60 min and 1x 30 min strength workout and 1x 60 min core/flexibility workout Download PDF

AFTER SIX WEEKS

Well done for making through your first weeks. To really lock in your healthy new habit, the next 12 weeks is just as critical to success. Each week from now should include 3 x 60 minute cardio workouts, 2 x 60 minute strength workouts and 1 x 60 minute session of core/flexibility work. If you want to find out about cardio, strength, core and flexibility workout options you can discover more here.

GET TOGETHER

People who work out in a group are far more likely to stick at exercise than those who go it alone.

Get Fit Together, a study conducted by Dr. Jinger Gottschall from the Pennsylvania State University, followed 25 sedentary adults through a 30-week program of group fitness classes.

The 30 weeks started with an initial six week period encouraging the exercisers to “dip their toes” into fitness before building up to a six-day-a-week exercise schedule. The gradual introduction meant that instead of feeling sore from overworking unfit muscles and giving up, the group actually enjoyed their path into exercise.

The results were awesome – so good that participants delayed the onset of cardio vascular disease by an average of 3.6 years. Over the 30 week study, 20 out of 25 study participants never missed a workout – a compliance rate of 98.8 per cent – almost unheard of in exercise studies. This commitment is proof that, when it comes to exercise, you shouldn’t go it alone – combining a steady start with the support of others works wonders.

HEALTHY EATING IS JUST AS IMPORTANT

SCIENTIFICALLY-BACKED NUTRITION ADVICE