How To Actually Get Fit

Actionable Tips to Claim Your Power & Create Momentum for Magical Baddies & Sensitive Souls

Hi! WELCOME. I know you want the best for yourself. I know you strive to care for yourself on a deep level.

…but maybe there are certain things that you just can’t seem to find a groove with. Like a fitness routine that makes you feel good, and that you feel good about. Like, really, ecstatically good about.

And I know maybe fitness and the stereotypes and ideas around getting strong/fit/etc can be a huge turn off, or just seem daunting and scary.

I got you!

Welcome back to Strength Magick, where I talk fitness, personal cultivation, magick, film, art, the Tarot, and more. I’m Cara, and once upon a time, fitness changed my life. 

Growing up, I did not think of myself as “athletic” in any way. By the end of college, I was smoking and drinking regularly, and was pretty numb to my body.  After finding myself in a sobering personal rock bottom in my early 20s, I recognized that I needed to learn to truly wield my power, so I could protect and honor myself.

I like to lift weird things like kegs.

Training introduced me to that power. 

You have power too, and maybe you want to deepen your experience of it. Deeply interior emotional, psychological work is great and often necessary, but there is no substitute for the nurturing grace of physical training, and the latter can ground you through the often-challenging processes of the former.

If you know you want better for yourself, if you want to experience more vitality, more energy, and more confidence, guess what, you can!

“But I’ve tried! I just can’t seem to stick with it.”

I get it, I’ve been there. In this article we will dive into specific ways to start a simple routine, explore some actionable strategies on how to build momentum, and learn how to make your training effective.

1. Start ASAP, Create Momentum

Momentum is your best bud. We can harness our momentum through small, simple actions.

If you stand up literally right now and do a 10 second plank or 10 bodyweight squats, congrats, you will have instantly harnessed positive momentum for your physical health. That’s right, that’s how simple it is.

Negative momentum is just the rhythm of the habits you’re currently dominated by. If those habits are not making you the healthiest version of yourself, they’re “negative” in my eyes. The rhythm of our daily lives has momentum, and you want that momentum to be the kind that is energizing the things you love to experience.

Momentum is always at work. It’s a matter of directing it.

By starting as soon as realistically possible, you chart a new course. Once you start that new course, every action you take to contribute to it will build more positive momentum, and then one day, you’ll be a person who is just constantly fueled by their own power (it feels awesome, by the way).

I’m being a bit dramatic to make a point when I say “do it right now,” but it’s because there’s a lot of potency in just deciding spontaneously to shift gears. If you can’t start literally right now (fair!), set a timer on your phone to go off at the first available opportunity (It may seem counter intuitive, but light exercise before bed can also feel great). 

Start today (or as soon as you can). Put it in your schedule.

Takeaway: Start as soon as you can to create positive momentum.

2. Keep It Simple (and Repeatable)

There’s something in exercise lingo called “minimum effective dose,” meaning, you want to do what will create adaptation (change) but not so much that you can’t move for a week. When people get inspired to get fit, sometimes they throw themselves into the deep end, and overdo it, rendering it nigh impossible to train the following day. Avoid this.

Make a routine that seems so simple it almost doesn’t feel like you’re doing that much. That’s good. 2-3 movements will suffice. Heck, even one movement is “enough.”

To create your training strategy overall, pick 6-12 basic movements. Squat, lunge, hip hinge. Pull, press (I break this down further in this article). Sit ups, planks. There’s infinite more variation of course, but building proficiency at movement patterns like the squat, hip hinge, row, and press will help you build a solid foundation relatively quickly. Divvy up the movements across three workouts, so you’re doing around 3-4 moves per workout (or less).

Repeat those three workouts for 2-3 months or until you feel excited and ready to add in more difficulty. 

Do something every day, most days (I like 3 days on, 1 day off, 2 days on, 1 day off, or always training M/T/W/T/F and taking S/S off; because my weekends tend to be active anyway. I believe my first routine was the former strategy).

Make your workouts really, really simple. NerdFitness is a great resource for free, beginner friendly bodyweight workouts (That I personally used to get started, a decade + later I’m a nationally ranked strongwoman, fitness pro, and all around capable bad bitch.) See also the sample workouts at the end of this post and in the linked article.

Takeaway: Less is more. Keep your workouts simple and repeatable.

Look to your symbols: Sarah Connor was one of my first strength/fitness inspirations.

3. Get Connected

While it is certainly possible to accomplish much on one’s lonesome, connection & community are aces up your sleeve. I helped myself create positive momentum through my connections on the NerdFitness forums back in the day. Now, I benefit from being part of a wonderful CrossFit community at my gym.

Abandon any notion you have that you must solo-lone-wolf-white-knuckle yourself through this. We go farther together.

Whether you join an online program run by a remote coach, an in-person fitness class or lifting club, or weekly online classes, find some way to give yourself external support and encouragement in your process. It makes a world of difference, and it makes the decision to train and actually make it part of your life that much easier.

You don’t have to tell everyone what your goals are, or broadcast what you’re doing. Some find that helpful, some don’t. Be curious about which it is. I like to fly under the radar when I'm embarking on something new, and then when I am in a solid flow (about 3-4 weeks in), that’s when I'll usually share. Having a dedicated support or accountability person (coach, etc), can be tremendous, but it’s not critical. Just remember that it’s not a reflection of your “willpower” if you have a hard time sticking to it by yourself. We’re social beings, and group activity is incredibly motivating.

Takeaway: Arm yourself with community or some kind of positive social feedback; we go farther together.

4. Write A Schedule

Have a notebook or paper where you track your weekly workouts. At the start of the week, write by hand the days and roughly what you’re going to do (legs circuit, upper body, pull focus, full body etc). 

Schedule your workout time in your digital calendar, yes, but writing it on paper before the week starts just helps your mind concretize that this is happening, making you less likely to ditch or avoid/forget at the last second.

This is one of those “so stupid that it works” things. It doesn’t seem like much, but I find it incredibly helpful for keeping time and space for myself to nurture my fitness. 

The act of writing it down in advance is like casting a spell. I can’t tell you exactly how it works, it just does. 

Takeaway: Write it down.

5. Track Your Wins/Training Log

Along similar lines, write down what you do more specifically in the workout: 3 x 15 squats @ 15 lbs, 1 mile walk/jog in 15 minutes, 1 hour dance practice, etc. This is immensely helpful for creating positive momentum, and helping you celebrate your achievements and build confidence in your process. 

Over the long haul, it will also feel great to look back on how much you’ve developed. 

Your training log becomes a totem of personal power and a reminder of the beauty and importance of your process.

Takeaway: Track your progress to nurture momentum and celebrate your wins (every workout is a win!)

Real life badass and strongwoman, Katie Sandwina!

6. Work The Clock

Timers are your friend. By using time constraints, you make training manageable, and effective. Some of my favorites are:

• AMRAP: As many rounds or reps as possible in a given time frame. You could do anything from 10 to 20 minutes. You build on fitness by increasing the rounds or reps you accomplish each time you do the workout.

• For Time: Perform a set number of rounds and a set number of reps, done as fast as you can. You build on your fitness over time by doing the same workout faster. Try 5 rounds of 4 movements for time! Example:

  5 Rounds For Time:

  • Air Squat or Goblet squat x 12 reps

  • Push Up (Classic or elevated or from the knees) x 8 reps

  • Reverse Lunge x 16 reps (8/leg)

  • Tuck Up x 12 reps

• General Time Constraint: Give yourself 15 to 20 minutes to perform 1-2 movements done at the maximum weight or reps you can do, with ample rest (average 2 minutes) between sets. This is great for building strength. Again, see linked article for more on building a strength specific workout.

You can also combine these frameworks, and do workout that is 10-20 minutes dedicated to strength, with ample rest time in between sets, followed by a conditioning portion of 10-20 minutes that has little rest.

What’s helpful too is you can track your progress by simply noting how many more rounds you got in the AMRAP, or how fast you did the For Time  workout.

Experiment and see which is more fun for you - if the answer is “Neither, I hate clocks”, no worries! You can always ditch the timing element and just focus on performing the movements the best you can. 

Takeaway: Put time containers on your training to make it more mentally manageable, and more effective by keeping it slightly intense.

I love me some traditional “meathead” work. Photo Carolyn Schaumburg, 2022.

A Super Simple Workout

The longer piece here about how to build a workout regimen here may be helpful if you particularly feel drawn to weight training. It also has an entire program you can follow that’s very beginner friendly. 

Here’s another sample workout that doesn’t require any weights or a gym!

This is to give you an example of how simply you can start things out:

Set a timer for 5 minutes.

• Perform 10 bodyweight squats. 

• Perform a 20 second elbow plank or elevated plank against a desk or something sturdy about waist height. 

• Perform 20 overhead claps (hold your arms out at shoulder height, raise overhead together, then back down to shoulder height).

• Rest 30 seconds, then repeat. Repeat this sequence until the 5 minutes is up.

You can progress by decreasing the rest time until you aren’t taking any rest and you are working continuously for 5 minutes. You could change the movements to rows, sit ups, presses, marching in place for 20 steps, or whatever movements you want.

The point of this workout is to show you how simple it and non-time consuming it can be. If you’re starting or restarting from scratch, making your training this digestible can be massively helpful. You can add in more movements, increase the time cap, add weight, and increase the difficulty gradually through many means.

Stay The Course, Find Your Path

Starting a fitness routine can be a vulnerable, challenging thing. It’s also one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself. It was for me. 

Some folks, really, really hate gym training. Maybe your training takes you outdoors, and you lean towards more skill specific training like dance or martial arts, etc. Even if that’s the case, 2-3 times a week of 30-45 minutes of overall fitness training will make a massive difference in your capacity, and I invite you to get curious about what it would feel like to tend specifically to qualities like strength and endurance, on top of your expressive/skill movement training. 

In my next article, I’ll talk about interior elements of training you can build relationship with to make training more exciting, more fun, and more effective.

I hope this is helpful, drop a comment if you have any questions about anything covered, or any fitness questions you might have.

Don’t hesitate to reach out to me directly here or through my Instagram if you have questions that aren’t answered here, or if you’re interested in doing a fitness program consult or a Tarot session to assess your physical and life queries. I love helping people get stronger, and I am with you on the path.

May the gods bless you with stamina, inspiration, and vitality on your quest to call forth your power.

Cara

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I am Cara Claymore, film actor & director, writer-artist, Tarot reader, and creative wellness-mentor.

I help people level up and uncover their power with Strength Magick fitness coaching (1:1 NYC, and Remote) and through personal development consultation with the Tarot. Reach out here or on Instagram.