How fast can you improve your fitness?
We’d all love to get fit fast, but is it possible or even sensible?
Fitness isn’t something that develops overnight, but if you’re impatient to look and feel your best, you may be wondering if it’s just how quickly you can increase your fitness and get in shape? Is it possible to get fit in just a few weeks?
The answer is yes, kind of.
The thing is, we often think of fitness in definitive terms: either we are fit, or we’re not. But actually, it’s not all that black and white. Fitness as a goal is hugely variable, after all – one person’s idea of “in shape” is not the same as another’s. So, when considering whether you can get fit fast, the first step is to determine what being fit means to you.
If by fit you mean ready to run a marathon, then no you won’t go from running newbie to Mo Farah in a month. Sorry. But if fitness to you means improving your stamina, strength and body composition, then we have good news:
it is absolutely possible to see positive changes within a few weeks.
Let’s be clear, though, fitness should be for the long-term, and you’ll see the best results if you stick with a consistent regime over a number of months. Quick-fix weight loss programmes might be tempting, but they’ll almost certainly be impossible to maintain in the long-run. Similarly, going hell-for-leather lifting weights puts you at greater risk of injury than building up slowly.
Remember, too, that when it comes to aesthetics, diet is at least as important as exercise. Getting your nutrition right in order to create an energy deficit is crucial if you’re going to see visible changes in your body over a short period of time.
But fitness is actually more about how you feel than how you look, and while you shouldn’t expect to have a bulging six pack in six weeks, you can expect to have higher energy levels, better sleep and improved mood. Plus, you’ll almost certainly be able to walk or run for longer, and lift more weight without effort. And that’s pretty cool.
So, try not to see fitness simply as a target to be hit. Instead, think of it as a state of being, a way of life which gives back as much as you put in.
How to improve your fitness fast
Commitment and consistency are essential when it comes to increasing fitness. And if time is of the essence then it becomes even more important, because you’ll have less in the way of wiggle room.
The first step is to assess your goals, and plan a workout schedule accordingly. This is where working with a good PT is so handy – they will be able to construct a personalised programme designed to get you where you want to be, without injury, burnout or boredom.
Your weekly workout breakdown will depend on your exact fitness objective, and whether your primary focus is weight loss, increased strength or improved overall health. But assuming you want to achieve a well-rounded balance of all three in a month – and that’s totally doable – you will want to factor in roughly four to five training session times per week. That leaves you two rest days, and these are crucially important as they allow your body to recover and perform at its best in your next session.
Do you need a gym to get fit fast?
It’s possible to see swift improvements to your fitness using at-home workouts, but most people, especially those with a reasonable base level of fitness, will find it easier and more rewarding if they have access to a gym or training studio with a wide range of quality equipment, like Ellie’s Gym.
That’s not to say you need to be a workout expert to see swift results – although with our guide to gym jargon you’ll be clued up to the eyeballs straight off the start line. But a dedicated training space does mean you can access different types of workout to develop your fitness in a range of areas, from endurance to power.
Strength training, also known as resistance or weight training, is your friend when you want to get fit fast. By lifting weights and building muscle mass you’ll increase strength and also give your metabolism a boost, meaning you’ll burn more calories over the course of a day.
High intensity interval training, or HIIT, will also help you see speedy results. By shocking your body with short bursts of all-out effort, followed by rest periods, you can build some serious fitness in a relatively short space of time. A 2006 study* showed that HIIT can improve endurance capacity and performance in as little as two weeks, while a study from 2014** also showed that HIIT can improve cardiovascular fitness by 8% in around six weeks.
So, if you’re hoping to fast-track your fitness, Ellie’s Gym is the place you need to be. Book a block of 10 private sessions with an expert PT, and you could be whizzing towards your fitness goals faster than you ever thought possible.
*Burgomaster KA, Heigenhauser GJ, Gibala MJ (2006) Effect of short-term sprint interval training on human skeletal muscle carbohydrate metabolism during exercise and time-trial performance.
**Gist NH, Fedewa MV, Dishman RK, Cureton KJ (2014) Sprint interval training effects on aerobic capacity: a systematic review and meta-analysis.