How to start working out when you are out of shape

You can’t map a route if you don’t know your starting point. So let’s get real: How out of shape are you, really? Can you walk up a flight of stairs without wheezing? Do you avoid bending over to tie your shoes because your back might seize up? Write it down. Not to shame yourself—this is your baseline. The day I finally admitted I couldn’t do a single push-up without collapsing was the day I stopped making excuses. I scribbled it in a notebook: "Day 1: 0 push-ups. 10-minute walk leaves me winded." Ugly? Yes. Liberating? Absolutely. Because now you’ve got something to measure against. Next week, you’ll look back and laugh at how far you’ve come. But first, you’ve got to own where you are.

Here’s the hard part: the first workout. Your brain will throw every excuse at you—"I’ll do it tomorrow," "I’m too tired," "I don’t even know what to do." So we’re going to outsmart it. Tell yourself this: "I’ll just move for five minutes." That’s it. No pressure to go longer, no expectation of intensity. Five minutes is nothing. You can do anything for five minutes. Put on your shoes. Walk around the block. Do three squats while brushing your teeth. The magic? Once you start, you’ll almost always keep going. I used this trick to drag myself to the gym for a month straight. On day 28, I realized I’d accidentally worked out for 20 minutes without even noticing. Your body wants to move—you just have to trick your brain into letting it.

Most people fail because they try to go from zero to hero overnight. They watch a YouTube video of some jacked influencer doing burpees and think, "I’ll try that!" Spoiler: you’ll hate it, quit, and feel worse than before. Instead, pick something so easy it feels like cheating. Walking. Stretching. A 10-minute YouTube video labeled "absolute beginner." Last year, I committed to one minute of jumping jacks every morning. One minute. I could’ve done more, but I didn’t. Why? Because the goal wasn’t to burn calories—it was to build the habit. After a week, I added 30 seconds. Then another. Now I look forward to my morning sweat sessions. Start stupidly small. Your future self will thank you.

You wouldn’t skip a doctor’s appointment because you "didn’t feel like it." So why treat your workouts any differently? Your health is on the line here. Pick a time—morning, lunch break, right after work—and block it in your calendar. No negotiations. This is non-negotiable. I learned this the hard way after months of "I’ll work out later" turning into "I’ll work out never." Now, my workouts are appointments. If something comes up, I reschedule it—just like I would a meeting. Pro tip: Schedule it for the same time every day. Your brain thrives on routine. After two weeks, it’ll feel weirder to skip it than to do it.

Here’s where most people mess up: they rely on how they feel to measure progress. And let’s be honest—when you’re out of shape, you’ll feel like garbage most days. That’s why you need cold, hard data. Not to obsess over, but to prove to yourself that you’re actually getting somewhere. It could be as simple as: "Week 1: Walked 5 minutes. Week 2: Walked 7 minutes." Or: "Day 1: 0 push-ups. Day 7: 1 push-up." I keep a note in my phone with my daily wins. Some days, it’s just "Showed up." Other days, it’s "Did 3 more squats than yesterday." The key? Celebrate the tiny wins. They add up to massive changes. One day, you’ll look back and realize you’re doing things you never thought possible.

You will skip a workout. You will eat a whole pizza and feel guilty. You will wake up one morning and want to quit. Here’s the thing: that doesn’t make you a failure. It makes you human. The difference between people who get in shape and people who stay out of shape isn’t perfection—it’s what they do after they mess up. My rule? If I skip a day, I don’t let it turn into two. I just start again the next day. No guilt, no shame. Just: "Okay, today I show up." Last month, I missed a week because of the flu. When I got back to the gym, I didn’t try to make up for lost time. I just did my normal workout. And you know what? I still got stronger. Progress isn’t linear. It’s messy. Embrace the mess.

Motivation fades. Discipline keeps you going. But discipline is hard to maintain if you don’t have a real reason to keep going. Not "I want to lose weight"—that’s too vague. Dig deeper. What does being in shape actually give you? For me, it was about being able to play with my niece without getting winded. For a friend, it was about not feeling self-conscious on vacation. For another, it was about proving to herself that she could stick to something hard. Your "why" should make you emotional. Write it down. Put it somewhere you’ll see it every day. On the days when you don’t want to move, your "why" will be the thing that gets you off the couch.

Willpower is overrated. If you’re relying on it to get you to work out, you’re setting yourself up to fail. Instead, set up your environment so that working out is the easiest option. Lay out your workout clothes the night before. Keep dumbbells in your living room. Delete social media apps that waste your time. I started sleeping in my workout clothes so I had zero excuses in the morning. Sounds ridiculous, but it worked. The less friction between you and your workout, the more likely you are to do it. Your future self is lazy. Make it easy for them.

There’s a point where pushing harder doesn’t work—it just leads to burnout or injury. If you’ve been consistent for a month and still feel stuck, or if you’re avoiding workouts because you’re scared of getting hurt, it’s time to get help. That could mean hiring a trainer for one session, joining a beginner-friendly class, or even just asking a fit friend for advice. I resisted this for years because I thought I should be able to figure it out on my own. Then I hired a trainer for a single session. She fixed my squat form in 10 minutes. Ten minutes! That’s all it took to avoid months of potential knee pain. Asking for help isn’t weakness—it’s the smartest thing you can do.