Beginner’s guide to getting fit

Looking to get fit and fabulous but don’t know where to start? Our beginner’s guide to getting fit could be just what you need

Do get prepared. Look the business, mean business! Do get excited by all the wonderful fitness apparel that’s crying out for you to enjoy and don’t be afraid of Lycra. Do become besties with the elasticated fabulousness but don’t be tempted to go too small. You want the support of Lycra to help keep the wobbles at bay, but go too small and you’ll be bulging in areas you never knew existed. A camel toe is never a pretty sight but in Lycra it’s even worse. #lycralicence

Speaking of kit. Don’t skimp when it comes to trainers. Do try and get to a specialist shop if you plan on getting into running. Don’t go at peak times as running with an audience is never recommended for a newbie and do go prepared. A sports bra is essential. (Not just a sports bra – there are shop windows in Amsterdam for that kind of thing.) Then once they tell you about your gait (and all that foot stuff that no one really gets) then they advise you on which shoes to go for. Do pray they’re the lovely neon ones with the cool stripes and don’t throw a strop when they tell you it’s the beige ones with the tiniest splash of yellow.

Once you have your kit, next you need to enlist help. Not personal trainers but friends. You need allies – first whittle them down by location. They need to be close. Don’t pick your BFF who’s backpacking across Europe. Don’t choose a friend who’ll tempt you to sack off the gym and lead you to all sorts of naughtiness. Do find someone who will motivate you at a level that’s fun and energising. Don’t recruit a Sergeant Major who’ll shout and scream at you when you’ve skipped a run due to a train being late. Sorry Sergeant Majors of the world, we need the perfect gym buddy. #thinkjanefonda

Being a keep-fit newbie can be very exciting but don’t get carried away and go hell for leather in week one! Do be realistic about what’s achievable and more importantly sustainable. If you want to shift from newbie status you have to be able to keep this up beyond the first week. Do aim for 2-3 sessions a week and do try to mix it up. Do find out what you enjoy. Working out should be fun so find something that gets your exercise mojo flowing.

Last but not least: as a beginner, you need to reward yourself for your amazing efforts. Do set yourself short-term, realistic goals. Don’t try and run a marathon by week two. Perhaps set yourself a goal of running 26.2 miles (that is how far a marathon is FYI – yikes!) throughout the first month. Then when you smash your goal do give yourself a treat. Not chocolate, crisps, doughnuts, battenburg, iced buns (never write when you’re hungry!). Reward yourself with a bit of pampering: do book a facial or a manicure. Don’t book a pedicure as your feet will be cream-crackered from all that running.