The hardest part of exercising is always the very beginning. So many people are fed up with living a sedentary lifestyle, but if you really want to start a fitness program, as much as it can benefit your health, you've got to ensure that you are doing the following so you are starting in the right ways.

Assess Your Fitness Level

You may already have an idea of your baseline fitness. But there are a few things that you need to record. These include the following:

How many push-ups you can do at once. 

• Your BMI. 

• Your pulse rate before and after walking 1 mile. 

• How far you can reach forward sitting on the floor with your legs in front.

A lot of understanding the best ways to focus your fitness is about assessing your baseline. This is where personal trainers at gyms such as Fitness 19 could do a lot to help you fine-tune those goals.

Design the Right Fitness Program

A lot of people don't exercise with the right approach. You need to think about your end result, as this doesn't just help you motivate yourself, but gives you something tangible as a final product. As you design your fitness program you must bear the following in mind:

• Your fitness goals. Do you want to lift X amount of weight or are you preparing for a marathon? When you have clear goals, you will be able to gauge your progress more effectively. 

• Create a routine that works with your life. You need at least 180 minutes of steady state cardio per week or 75 minutes of vigorous activity every week. You may also want to incorporate weightlifting, and it’s suggested that exercising every muscle group two to three times per week is vital. But you need to make sure it fits in with your life.

Start Low and Slow

Nobody wants to hear that they’ve got to take it easy. If you are starting out, you've got to be cautious and progress as slowly as possible. If you are trying to lift a lot of weight and you haven't lifted that weight before, you need to build up to it. You have to listen to your body but you've also got to build in recovery time. Recovery is important, but a lot of people don't know how to recover properly. These can be very useful:

• Warming up before exercising. This ensures that your muscles are ready for the pressure. 

• Cooling down properly. If you want to avoid as much soreness and physical pain the next day as possible, you need to cool down with stretches and ensure that you are gradually winding down.

Don't Neglect Your Diet

Your diet will make up 80% of your overall results, therefore, having a healthy diet is going to do a lot for your ability to recover, but also ensure that you are filling your body with the nutrients and goodness that will help it to recover. When we are starting out we've got to have the right attitude as well. The hardest part is always the beginning.