This post contains some tips & thoughts on the exercise portion of fitness that I've picked up in my own life. These points focus on our nature as human beings with bodies and minds, and what I've found to be helpful notes on working on fitness as humans, with all the limitations and benefits that entails. This is geared towards newcomers and those that don't already have effective workout programs they have yielded gains from.
Disclaimer - I have no official fitness qualifications or training. I only have my own experience, and my own track record of being a fit person who loves fitness and has set out & achieved many of their own fitness goals. In the twelve odd years of my fitness journey, from cross country to calisthenics & yoga, I've run a marathon, held a hand stand for 60 seconds, & held a full planche for 15 seconds - I'm working on flexibility with the goal of being able to do the front splits next. With that out of the way, here are a few tips & observations that have helped me in the formative stage of my own fitness adventure.
1. Habits
The most important thing by far in establishing a fitness routine. Trust your body to become comfortable & even expect / rely on exercise at predictable times. The most difficult part about starting a workout plan is the part where your body is not yet used to what you're putting it through. It gets easier and looks forward to exercise when it's an established part of your routine.
A fitness regime works best when you're working out consistently at specific times in the day, and furthermore when those workouts are intense and comprehensive - allowing for getting your heart rate up and engaging in sustained time "in the zone" of the workout. The goal should be to get in the habit of doing intense workouts of reasonable length (longer isn't necessarily better if the intensity isn't there) at predictable times so that your body learns and can work with you toward your goals.
2. Listen to your body
If you're fortunate enough to have flexibility in your daily schedule (and optionally access to workout equipment), you'll be able to ride the momentum of your body's energy. If you find that you're feeling active and energized, harness that to work out right then if you can. Even better - is this a time you'll be able to work out regularly? If so, that's an easy indication that this is a good time to work out on a regular basis (i.e. a good time to get in the habit of working out).
On the flipside, if you're feeling extremely tired, you're unlikely to have a great workout. You'll feel sluggish and uncomfortable, and your intensity likely won't be that high. In this scenario, consider what's best to do - might you have more energy in an hour? If so, can you work out then? Rather than call off a workout, think of it as a calendar appointment you're just moving to a specific time in the future. Factor in whether it's a time you can build a habit around.
Caveat - if you're still at the stage of setting up habits that you have not yet settled into yet, you probably want to push through that tired feeling and do the workout anyway. Even if it's a shorter or less intense one, you're telling your body that we're going to be working out at this time whether it likes it or not. Over time it should get more on board with the idea and you'll feel better.
3. Look for openings
You might have a window between activities in the day. An hour and a half between lunch and a social engagement? Two hours after work before dinner? Twenty minutes between a phone call ending and needing to head out the door? Any of these durations of time could be a window for some amount of exercise.
One technique when for when you have things to do and can perform some form of exercise between them (e.g. push-ups or squats) is to weave exercise into what you're doing. Got some laundry to fold and then some vacuuming to do? Do a few minutes of each and then sets of an available exercise in between.
This has to come with a couple warnings - bits of exercise spread out like this is not as effective as an extended workout where you can get to a high level of intensity and push muscles to failure (or extensive cardio, deep stretching for flexibility, etc.). Furthermore, if the work or errands you're doing in between requires significant mental energy - this level of focus takes time to get in and out of. Distracting from a state of focused work with bits of exercise will hurt and slow down your effectiveness in those tasks. This technique is best used when you're squeezed for time for a proper workout, just getting into the habit of frequent exercise, and have mindless tasks to complete that you'd like to make more interesting by inserting a bit of a workout into.
4. Think of missing workouts the right way
If you have a big deadline tomorrow and you're going to be up all night working, sure - this might be one of the times it makes sense to miss a workout. But for most of us, this is not normal or something we'll experience on most days. If you have solid habits in place this isn't much of a concern, but if we're building a (potentially still fragile) self-image as someone who reliably works out, we want to take care with these.
We'd be lying if we denied that it sometimes makes sense to skip a workout - the mistake comes when we give this case too much light or attention. If we don't acknowledge this, it'll feel like a tragedy unnecessarily when you inevitably do miss a workout one day. The challenge comes limiting these to the times where it's actually the right or best thing to do. Skipping exercise should be the exeption in a small minority of cases (and when it does happen if possible, it's best to try to make it up sometime soon).
Rememeber this and only relent in giving up a workout when you've got a good reason that holds up to scrutiny. Factor in the last time you skipped a workout - was it recently? Picture a stern imaginary perosnal trainer asking you about your situation - would they let you off the hook? You're only cheating yourself by lying here.
5. Treat fitness as a lifestyle
The failure of many fitness plans and diets comes from thinking of them as merely a means to an end. A challenge that's bounded by time - like a class you can take and be done with - through which you can get to a final destination. And then once you're at that destination, thinking you've "made it" and you can finally cease all of that hard work.
It's more effective to think of fitness as a constant journey, always having a new goal or challenge to work towards and overcome. This way of thinking - of fitness as a way of being - is much more effective and sustainable. Beyond the scope of this post, but of greater importance to overall fitness, are the topics of eating and sleeping well. Your lifestyle should factor all of these in to make a comprehensive & complete picture of a fit & healthy life.
Important to this perception is to enjoy it! Look for joy in your fitness activity. The time I most look forward to every day nowadays is my calisthenics training. If you've gotten into a pattern of working out and dread your approaching exercise time, you might be best served by looking for a different activity. If weight training isn't your thing, there's a world of alternatives out there - consider running, climbing, biking, yoga, dance, swimming, etc.
And that's that! Those are just a few of the things I've learned about human nature as it applies to fitness.