Woman is fighting for a push-upPhoto: Fizkes (Shutterstock)

An exercise habit has one way of building momentum: when you’re doing something, it’s easy to add something else. But if you are a complete beginner, sometimes the things other people do may not even seem possible for you. But that’s not true: everyone has to start somewhere.

Believe it or not, experienced athletes have a problem similar to beginners: everyone wants to be further than they are now. Even people who run ridiculously fast are often baffled that they can’t run any faster. When you start out all you have to do is train as much as you can – maybe you can’t run at all, but you can run – and build from there. Here are some suggestions to get you started.

When you can’t squat

Many “simple” body weight programs ask you to squat without adding weight. But if that’s more than you can do, try one of these:

  • Sit in a chair and get up again.
  • Lean your back against a wall and slide down until you are in a sitting position (this is called a wall squat).
  • Hold on to a countertop or the back of a chair while you crouch.

For all of these, it’s okay to crouch as low as possible. even if that is not quite parallel. You can work on getting lower over time.

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Illustration for article titled How To Follow A Workout Even If You Are A Complete Beginner

When you can’t do pushups

Pushups are another step you’ll find in simple beginner workouts, but not everyone can do a push-up on day one.

Pushups get easier the higher your hands are and harder the higher your feet are. For the easiest beginner version, place your hands against a wall at shoulder height. Lean against the wall and push back into a standing position.

Once these get easy, choose a lower surface like a table or countertop. Then go to a chair and so on. This advance is well better than doing pushups on your kneesBecause no matter what level you are at, practice keeping your entire body straight in a plank position.

Illustration for article titled How To Follow A Workout Even If You Are A Complete Beginner

When you’re not ready to take on weights

Dumbbells come in all sizes – and luckily for beginners, the smallest are also the cheapest. If your gym doesn’t have dumbbells that are small enough, any sporting goods store likely has a pound or two of dumbbells that you can pick up and put in your gym bag.

But if you’re not even ready for dumbbells, that’s fine. A half-liter water bottle weighs about a pound. The same goes for a can of soup. Larger water bottles, wine bottles, and milk jugs can add some weight to your weight. We have done the calculations for you here. You can also hold books, roller skates, or tote bags with literally anything. (Two bottles of water in a grocery bag? That weighs two pounds.)

Do you need to start easier? It’s okay to do weight training with literally nothing. Make your hands into fists and go through the motions. If you follow a video that does a million repetitions of bicep curls or tricep extensions, your arms will get tired, even when they’re empty. Just head over to the water bottles as soon as you are ready.

Illustration for article titled How To Follow A Workout Even If You Are A Complete Beginner

When you are not ready to follow a video

With these replacements, you can feel ready to follow along with beginner training videos. But what if you can’t handle exactly what is on the screen?

Remember, your goal should be to get a workout at your current fitness level, rather than a certain number of reps that you could theoretically do if you were in better shape. If the video calls for 30 seconds of pushups and you just can’t do that many, do as many as you can and rest for the rest of the time.

It’s okay to jump from video to video until you find something at your level, but watch out for one that is fun but just out of your reach. Do it anyway, change it up or rest as needed, bookmark it and come back to it next week. Chances are, you can keep up a little better – and if you get back to the same workout week after week, you’ll eventually master it. Consistency brings momentum.

Illustration for article titled How To Follow A Workout Even If You Are A Complete Beginner

When you are not ready to do some bike training

For example, let’s say you want to train from a peloton-like bike instructor. You have your bike, you can pedal, but pretty quickly you are out of breath and have the feeling that you can’t go any further.

These workouts are easy to customize: all you have to do is listen to the teacher’s voice and facial expression, and ignore certain numbers. It doesn’t matter if she asks you for a “20” or a “50”. If the instructor looks and speaks like she is on an easy bike ride, set your resistance so that you are on an easy bike ride. If she looks like she’s going to work hard but not die, adjust your resistance so that you work hard but not die.

When you’re not ready to run

Go. That’s it, that’s the strategy. Go across the room, go down the block, go a mile. Go slow Eventually you will find yourself going further or faster. You may reach a point where you want to get started. Maybe you just enjoy your walks.

When you can’t decide where to start

Literally start anywhere. There is no wrong answer. You may start running, but it turns out that you hate to run. Well, you are already moving your body a few times a week so you can swap walking for something else.

Or maybe you start doing pushups every day, but after a while your wrists start to hurt. You can To resolve this issue and continue your pushups, selectOr, you can look back on how far you’ve come, congratulate yourself, and choose another thing to try for the next chapter of your fitness journey. After all, you’ve already started. So why not go ahead?