The Fitness Starter Kit Series Book 2

The Fitness Starter Kit is a guide tailored for those new to weightlifting, providing them with the essential framework to achieve their body goals. The crucial nature of the initial six months of weightlifting is highlighted, emphasizing the importance of having the right direction to prevent common mistakes such as unnecessary purchases, incorrect exercises, and potential injuries.

The insights and strategies offered in the book are based on the expertise of Fitness Coach Theimus Roberson and backed by scientific studies. These guidelines promise to be beneficial for both newcomers and those wanting to revitalize their current routines. As an added feature, readers will receive 18 weightlifting tips focused on enhancing the chest and back, complemented by a detailed workout template and guidebook section.

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Excerpt from The Fitness Starter Kit © Copyright 2023 Theimus Roberson

Introduction

Most people judge how fit they are based on how good they look in a bathing suit or a tank top. Being genuinely fit is more grounded than that.

“Am I comfortable in my body?” Comfortable in your body. Forget about how you look for a second and focus on how you feel in your body. These simple questions will help spark a grounded conversation with yourself that will lead you to definitive answers:

Can you breathe easily?

Can you walk, run, and do everyday activities without any issues? Are your bones strong?

Does your skin look and feel healthy? Can you eat and digest food easily?

Keep asking yourself these sorts of grounded questions until you have a clear picture of how comfortable you feel being in your skin. Comfort is relative but straightforward. The same goes for fitness. The central premise of being physically fit is to enhance our most fundamental experiences. The simple things that we forget about and take for granted.

Having a six-pack, bulging arms, and an excellent shape are all great. Don’t get me wrong, though. It cannot be the only reason why we choose to be physically fit. At a certain point, you will achieve the body you want if you are consistent enough. I know you will. But unless you have a definitive, grounded goal, it will never be enough. It’s human nature to want more, be more, do more, and compare ourselves to others regardless of what level we reach. Without going too metaphysical, I’ll just say that our body is us. It is also separate from us. That just means we have to keep our sense of self-worth and value separated from our physicality.

I understand that’s easier said than done. I get it. Validation from others matters to us so much that we have modeled modern society around it. Social media, advertisements, politics, and unrealistic beauty standards indirectly cause us to internalize a deep sense of unworthiness. We continuously need something new to fill these invisible gaps in our lives. But the truth is there is no deficit in our lives.

We have everything we need already. We just have to stop and think about what we truly want.

A great body is the side effect of someone who is definitive about what they want out of fitness because goals are individualized. And when the things we do reflect who we are and who we want to be, we naturally nurture them. We respect them. We change our patterns and our habits so that we can align our mental picture with our physical reality.

Are you comfortable with your body? Are you aligning your physical reality with your mental picture? Or are you allowing someone else to align it for you?

Like I said earlier, society has a funny way of suggesting to us who we should look like and who we should be. So, I want you to think about your body and ask yourself if you like what you see. If you don’t, why? Try to keep this simple. If the answer is attached to anyone or anything other than yourself, reevaluate. The motivating force for change and growth should always be internal if you want it to last. Change because you want to see yourself in a better position.

Things change constantly. The human body is the best example of that. Every organ in our body requires a certain amount of maintenance to function correctly. In a broader sense, all our decisions, goals, plans, and relationships rely on how well we maintain our health. It’s impossible to direct our energy toward anything meaningful while sick.

Being human is a lifelong road trip trying to find balance. I think the cheat code to getting closer to that balanced state starts with the tangible, physical aspects of our health. Mental, emotional, and spiritual health are invisible, and they operate on a different pattern of understanding.

However, we can control what we eat, how often we move, how much we exercise, the amount of water we drink, and the quality of sleep we get each night. Tangible things are achievable things. They empower us, give us confidence, and make the other aspects of our health much less scary to confront. Becoming physically healthy is an excellent gateway to becoming healthier overall.

In this book, I’m hoping to accomplish a few things. The goal is to give you a few tools to help you overcome the mental roadblocks blocking you from committing to your fitness goals.

Then, we’re going to declutter your mindset about fitness. It’s a straightforward system. There aren’t a thousand things we have to do to start our fitness journey. The minimum requirements are commitment and patience.

After that, we will discuss strength training basics that will create a proper foundation for you for the rest of your journey. Along with that, we’ll be uncovering the only things you’ll need to supplement your fitness goals.

Understanding the Benefits of Resistance Training

The benefits of exercise go beyond the physical. Exercise is the foundation of our mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health. Here are a few advantages that come with the simple act of picking a weight up and dropping it back down:

Makes us smarter—The mind-body connection has been researched for years. It takes only six months of strength training to boost our brainpower. Specifically, the brain’s cognitive functioning abilities are improved. Cognitive functioning is one of the most important skills we have. It

that memory bank whenever we choose to. In a nutshell, it’s our memory and our perspective. Strength training enhances how we experience the world.

Strength training increases both long and short-term memory and lengthens our attention span. In an age of information overload, the ability to focus is profoundly valuable. I am not implying that you’ll become a genius from lifting weights. You’ll still have to read, study, and put in the time to master whatever skill you’re acquiring. I am saying, however, that resistance training gives you a more significant edge over anyone who doesn’t take advantage of the knowledge that our brains are muscles.

Burns fat—Each group lost the same amount of weight (22 pounds), but the group that participated in the strength training programming lost 6 more pounds of fat than the other two groups. The lifters’ weight loss was mostly pure fat while the two other groups loss fat and muscle. Research shows that for every pound nonlifters lose, 25 percent is from muscle! That’s not good for your aesthetic. No one looks at you and says, “You look 165 pounds today!” No.

That would be odd. They say, “You’re in great shape!”

Muscle contributes significantly to the shape of your body. Losing weight with cardio or dieting just makes you smaller. It does not tighten the surrounding skin, improve your shape, or burn fat even as you rest. Weight training helps you protect and build muscle at the same time as you burn fat. Not only will you be chopping down an old layer of yourself, but you’ll emerge as a brand-new you.

Enhances the shape of your body—As you’ve probably assumed by now, how much you weigh doesn’t matter nearly as much as your total body fat percentage. Losing weight is an incredible feat, no matter how you manage to achieve it. It takes a tremendous amount of persistence, consistency, and dedication. Some of us have to start at this point before we can begin training. That being said, if you are capable of doing both, definitely train and diet.

Strength training will enhance the shape of your body faster when you combine it with healthier eating habits. One pound of fat takes up approximately 20 percent more space than one pound of muscle. Muscle is more dense (heavier) and also more compact.

According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the average person who doesn’t strength train gains about 3 pounds of fat every ten years. And that’s a good decade.

Defeats depression and calms anxiety—Scientists have done numerous studies conclusively discovering that exercise is even more effective than Prozac. Yes, squats and chin-ups are more effective than the leading antidepressant. Regularly lifting weights significantly reduces symptoms of major depression and anxiety.

People don’t necessarily want to take prescription drugs. They want more dopamine. Dopamine is the chemical that regulates our emotional responses. It is colloquially known as the

“feel-good” hormone. Anything that brings us joy, we want to have it. When we are depressed, we’ll do almost anything to have a sense of joy around us again. We don’t have to always look

outside ourselves, though. Our physiology grants us a few ways to boost our endorphins naturally. It may not be the same as drugs, but it’s the method with the fewest negative consequences.

Fights insomnia—Technology dominates our lives, and we don’t move around as often as we used to. The freedom technology grants creates excess energy that typically goes toward scrolling the internet or sitting in front of a screen all day. The problem with that is our bodies are still the same as they were thousands of years ago. Technology continues to outpace evolution. Our bodies still need us to move. We still have to burn energy to feel like we can rest. This buildup is one of the reasons why insomnia is prevalent in today’s world. There are so many potential outlets for expending energy that aren’t physical, and many people don’t make the connection between moving around a lot and falling asleep.

A study from The Journal of Physiotherapy determined that middle-aged participants who performed three total-body workouts a week for four months experienced a 23 percent improvement in their sleep quality. That means they experienced deeper, uninterrupted sleep throughout the night.

Increases productivity and eliminates procrastination —Exercise has consistently been linked to productivity. United Kingdom researchers found that workers were 15 percent more productive because they made time to exercise compared to days where they skipped their workouts.

This has to do with the mind-body connection once again. More movement triggers the brain into believing that what you’re doing is essential. Important activities facilitate a heightened sense of awareness, creativity, and productivity to achieve the desired result. A body at rest typically means nothing exciting is happening. Our brain is less likely to send out the signals that boost our energy in those cases.

Increases length and quality of life and reduces your risk of cancer—Consistent resistance training has been linked to a lower risk of death from heart disease, cancer, and other natural causes. Compared to other high-income countries, Americans have a shorter life expectancy. A Harvard study sought to determine the reasoning behind the decreased mortality rates. The study determined that one key to bridging the gap and living a longer, healthier life is exercise. On average, a fifty year old, nonsmoking man with a healthy diet who exercises regularly would live seven to fifteen yearslonger than his counterpart who does not exercise! Being strong in middle age can lead to a lifespan of up to eighty-five years old without developing a chronic disease.

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