becoming a fitter, healthier YOU: a guide to getting started

the beginner's guide to a fitter, healthier YOU

How do I begin to live a fitter, healthier life?

This is a common question for folks who want to find a way to incorporate health and fitness through the outdoors into their daily lives. The following list of links highlights some posts from the archives to help get you started.

getting started: a four-part series

• Part 1: Defining Fitness. What do we mean by “being fit,” and what does it mean to you?
• Part 2: Discovering your Options. This post looks at your interests and personality to help you find the right workout that will keep you motivated.
• Part 3: Understanding the Investment. This post helps you determine your resources and how to prioritize.
• Part 4: Developing a Plan. The action plan.
• Part 5: Resolutions, Goals & Intentions: Making Changes that Stick. Resolutions don't need to be limited to January first.

building a solid foundation

A solid foundation is vital to creating a sustainable routine.

• How Strong is Your Foundation?
• How to Build a Solid Foundation

resources for when things feel tough

• motivation missing? 5 steps to help you track it down
• Building a Solid Foundation
• Finding your Tribe
• Excuses
• Perfecting the Art of Failing
• Adding Variety to Your Workouts

working out with your more experienced friends

• Introducing Friends to the Outdoors. This post is directed to those folks who are passionate about their sports and want to introduce it to their less-experienced friends. A what to do and not to.
• The Beginner’s Responsibility. This post is to help the less-experienced friends have a great time learning something new.

additional resources

• Learning to Like Something You Want to Like, But Don’t. This post was generated after a reader asked me what I thought about learning to like a sport you really wanted to like, but didn’t.
• Finding a Climbing Mentor. Anne Hughes answers a reader’s question that surfaced from my interview with her on how to find the right mentor for rock climbing.
• Barefoot Running. There's a lot of talk these days on barefoot running. (Is it a trend or here to stay?) This is a post on my take and experience.
• Injury as a Training Opportunity. Anne Hughes shares her wisdom with us on seeing an injury in a positive light.
• Inspiring Interviews: A Compilation. I've begun a series of posts interviewing late-blooming athletes. People like you, who began later in life. Go read a few. Or all. They're truly inspiring.

welcome

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Comments

[Jay]

I have recently discovered some stats that are pertinent to the subject of this post. The CDC tells us the national childhood obesity rate has nearly tripled in the past 30 years. Over the same time, health spending in America has followed the same trend. In 1965, health spending in America, as a % of GDP, was 5%. In 2010 it was 18%. It steadily rose in the intervening years. If the rising trend in obesity is not halted and reversed, it will continue to consume an increasing % of GDP as the years go by. It is my view that the rising trend of obesity in this country will not be halted and reversed until there is a MASSIVE education campaign that teaches people, children and adults alike, about nutrition and the need to lead a physically active lifestyle, in order to live a healthy life.