A thousand mile journey always starts with a small step in the right direction. Physical training is hard work, takes time, effort and usually is something we prefer to put off. Like most things that are beneficial to us it takes discipline and effort. The great thing about health, eating right and fitness is if you do it right it becomes a "habit" like brushing your teeth or taking a shower. Your body asks for it, to eat right and to do a training session.

My advice, start by doing something small, be realistic and work to a principle of small incremental steps and let healthy habits become part of daily routines.

Moving gently often and regularly is much better than going crazy and being so stiff or worse, injured to continue training the following day. Do not listen to the fitness industry hype of "no pain no gain" and all the supplements that sell you the idea of a quick fix.  

The answer to your physical health and fitness has been there since man started throwing rocks. Eat right, rest well, be consistent, move often until it starts to feel uncomfortable. Yes that is right it is no more complicated than that.

So where should you start?

"The major emphasis of this period is establishing a base level of conditioning to increase the athletes tolerance for more intense training.  Conditioning activities begin at relatively low intensities and high volumes: long slow distance running or swimming; low intensity plyometrics, and high repetition resistance training with light to moderate resistances." Periodization: Essentials of Strength Training & Conditioning, Human Kinetics & NSCA

You need to ask yourself, "What am I training for?  What is my motivation?"

I can give you six strong motivating factors;

1. decrease your chances of dying from a horrendous debiltitating disease
2. reduce stress, anxiety, depression and increase self confidence
3. spend more active time on this planet with your kids and loved ones
4. have the strength, the physical confidence and endurance to help yourself and others if the shit ever hits the fan!
5. develop a wider social network
6. be the best version of you

General health, fitness, well being, life longevity, sport specific training or to look better in a bikini. Your motivation can be specific or all of these things. What is important is that it helps you take that step or continue your steps in the right direction.

The principle of base level fitness.

Strength, speed, power, endurance, flexibility and agility. Fuelling the body with essential nutrition.  Creating a base level of general fitness is a great starting point for all levels. With a good base level you can participate in most activities and then advance your training to sport specific movement.

So what does a base level fitness training look like?

Variety of movements, force of movement, repetition of movements and length of time for each movement.  The important thing to remember is variety.

If you just do static bicep curls everyday all day you will get bigger biceps but does that mean having bigger biceps will help you pick a heavy shopping bag up from the floor?  No, your body needs multiple groups of muscles to work together by stretching and contracting to enable functional action.  

We need a good base physicality so our body works easily and gracefully during action through time and space.  How we achieve this is through a variety of exercises that stresses our body in different ways so it will adapt and grow.