The biggest fitness mistake people make when trying to get in shape, according to an ex-Navy fitness leader and bodybuilder

• Austen Alexander is an ex-Navy fitness leader and bodybuilder.
• The biggest mistake people make when trying to get fit is overwhelming themselves, he said. 
• Taking things one day at a time is "a lot more processable," Alexander said.

When resolving to get fit or lose weight, it's understandable to want to read and digest as much information as you possibly can before starting.

But this can be an mistake, according to a former US Navy fitness leader and bodybuilder who has been working out consistently for over a decade.

Austen Alexander, 31, who was in the US Navy for seven years, competed in a bodybuilding show, and now runs his own fitness business, told Insider that going online and reading too many conflicting pieces of advice can leave you feeling overwhelmed.

That can then make getting active or eating healthily seem daunting and ultimately put people off making positive lifestyle changes.

Instead, people should get their information from one trusted source and start with small, simple steps, such as trying to eat more vegetables or protein, or hitting 8,000 steps a day.

"The second part is, when you actually start implementing those things, don't worry about six months down the line, don't worry about three months down the line, only worry about what you need to do that day," Alexander told Insider.

Taking things one day at a time is "a lot more processable," Alexander said.

Alexander joined the Navy to escape his small home town

Alexander grew up in the small town of Florence, Alabama, where he said very few people left or traveled. "Not a lot of people aspired to something greater," he said.

After graduating high school, Alexander found himself cutting grass and making pizza, but still depending on his parents. He realized it wasn't the life he wanted to live.

"I went to the Navy office and said, 'Get me out of here, sign me up, let me join the Navy,'" Alexander said.

While preparing for his training, Alexander decided to get fit for the first time. "I dropped a lot of weight and started to feel better," he said. "It was the first time I was actually pursuing something that took some discipline, and it just gave me such a good feeling."

He mostly worked on improving his push-ups, pull-ups, swimming, and running.

Being in the military doesn't mean you're fit

Alexander ended up working in naval security and went to Bahrain for two years between 2014 and 2016, before joining a strike fighter squadron attached to an aircraft carrier based around Asia.

While in the Navy, Alexander was shocked by how unfit the majority of sailors appeared to be.

"Everyone thinks guys in the military are fit and crazy strong, but not everybody is like that," Alexander said. 

In recent years, physical requirements and standards in the US Navy have been lowered in a bid to boost recruitment and retention. In one change that came into play in early 2023, sailors who previously failed a physical assessment would be given a clean slate so they could remain in service, Navy Times reported.

Previously, if sailors failed two fitness tests — which assess push-ups, sit-ups, running, and body fat — within three years, they were forced to leave the US Navy.

Wanting to help his colleagues, Alexander started encouraging them to join him for runs and workouts, appealing to their competitive natures.

Before long there was a group of 500-600 sailors all running and working out together in Bahrain, he said. 

This led to Alexander qualifying as a certified command fitness leader in the Navy, meaning that helping people get and stay fit became part of his job.

"I just loved it, it was the greatest feeling ever and so fulfilling for me to help people and see their progress," Alexander said.

Alexander left the Navy to focus on his YouTube channel

While in his final job in 2018, working at Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach, California, Alexander competed in a bodybuilding show.

At the same time, he started creating fitness videos designed to help people, say, increase their pull-ups, and uploaded them to YouTube.

Alexander's online presence grew and, when his active service ended in 2020, he decided not to reenlist so he could pursue content creation and working in fitness outside the Navy. He now has 1.28 million subscribers on YouTube.

"I tell people all the time that joining the Navy is the best thing I've ever done," Alexander said. "And getting out is the second best thing."