You’ve probably seen fitness influencers online trying to sell pre-workout supplements, courses and training plans in an attempt to convince us that if we buy these things and follow their routines, we’ll be just like them: extremely jacked. 

However, social media’s all-encompassing nature makes it difficult to remember that what a lot of people post is simply a presentation of a moment in time, and not necessarily reflective of reality. It’s also important to note that many fitness influencers train for a living.

The majority of Americans do not live this way; therefore, attempting to follow the lifestyle of someone who works out for a living is likely not going to be possible or sustainable for a typical person with a traditional work and school schedule. 

So, here are some general tips for the average person when it comes to fitness. 

Oftentimes, we see a mentality of no pain, no gain in gym culture in an attempt to get people to work harder. However, according to Heather Hedrick Fink, a sports nutritionist, following a highly regimented and strict diet and training plan is not necessary for general fitness and can lead to injury or could be an indicator of mental health concern. 

Unless you are a highly trained athlete with very specific goals, your main focus should not be on strict adherence to a very challenging routine, rather a better idea might be working to create healthy lifestyle habits inside and outside of the gym.

Some suggestions for this are getting adequate sleep, following a healthy diet plan such as the MyPlate recommendations, ensuring healthy social connections and doing physical activity that you love. Remembering to take care of each aspect of health (mental, physical, social, emotional, intellectual) is especially important since research shows that health is interconnected. 

Furthermore, if you are trying to establish and maintain baseline fitness, the American Council on Exercise states that type of training doesn’t matter as much as actually doing the training and sticking with it. For this reason, you should pick some activities that you actually like. 

There’s a saying somewhere that says “It’s not the destination, but the journey that really matters.” Apply this to fitness and if you hate working out, you’re going to be miserable and probably going to quit. Something that’s healthier in the long run is finding some activities that you love and don’t feel like work when you’re doing them.

If you find yourself consistently happier after you’re done with whatever physical activity you were doing, this is a great indicator that it’s a good fit. Make sure you are enjoying the process for fitness, otherwise you are likely to burn out and quit, which is undesirable. 

Some  physical activities besides gym workouts that are easily available in the Tucson area are climbing, biking, swimming and hiking. Other people may love things like yoga, pilates or group fitness classes offered by the Student Recreation Center. Finding an activity you can do with a buddy is a bonus because you can hold each other accountable and it’s always more fun that way. In the end, fitness should be something that enhances your life, not an additional stress. Social media can make it seem that extreme routines are the only solution, but the goal of fitness should be about feeling good and making simple, sustainable habits that help make life more fun in the long run. 

Kirsten Thomas is an American Council on Exercise certified personal trainer.

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Kirsten Thomas is a student at the University of Arizona. She loves personal finance and rock climbing.