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this question arose from a discussion with a friend of mine.

So it all started with the following:

"Look mate, if you want to get very strong you got to start lifting weights! That's the first step to it"

The question is about the "That's the first step to it"-part. Is this correct? And if so what does it exactly mean? Does it mean something like "First step towards a strong body"? Or is it more like "First necessary step"?

I suggested that we could just say "That's the first step.". But the discussion unfolded and now we wonder about whether the "step to it" would also be correct or not.

We started to talk about a bunch of alternatives but we could not agree which of them are really correct and which aren't and what they would actually mean if they were correct. They might even all be correct but vary in meaning. So could you please help us out to end this discussion and annotate which one of the following are correct and how they should be understood?:

  • "...you got to start lifting weights! That's the first step."
  • "...you got to start lifting weights! That's the first step to it."
  • "...you got to start lifting weights! That's the first step towards it."
  • "...you got to start lifting weights! That's the first step to your goal."
  • "...you got to start lifting weights! That's the first step towards your goal."
  • "...you got to start lifting weights! That's the first step to achieve your goal.
  • "...you got to start lifting weights! That's the first step to achieving your goal.

And as a final thing: could you please also tell which one would be the most 'normal' way a native-speaker would say this.

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  • I read it as "the first step in the process". But all of your examples are perfectly natural, including "first step to it".
    – Andrew
    Nov 1, 2016 at 13:25
  • "That's the first step to it" is perfectly "correct". They're all just fine. There is no "correct" way of speaking, but there is an "incorrect" way; for instance "That's the first step before it" or something like that. You seem to understand the language, and you're doing just fine—so stop worrying!
    – P. E. Dant Reinstate Monica
    Nov 1, 2016 at 20:19
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    Your examples are all good, and they are arranged from most colloquial to most formal. In the context of an informal conversation in the gym, use the short ones. If you were writing a motivational book, use the longer expressions.
    – John Feltz
    Dec 2, 2016 at 13:29
  • All of them sound correct to me, except "first step to achieve your goal". I would rather say "first step to achieving your goal" which you have included.
    – tamayura
    May 9, 2017 at 18:09
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    In your examples, "you got to" is not considered formal English. More formal English would be "you have got to" or, the most formall, "you have to". Many native speakers are taught not to say "you got to", but it is commonly heard.
    – whiskeychief
    Apr 12, 2019 at 10:07

2 Answers 2

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All of these are correct and mean the same thing (one must start lifting weights to become strong):

"...you got to start lifting weights! That's the first step."
"...you got to start lifting weights! That's the first step to it."
"...you got to start lifting weights! That's the first step to your goal."
"...you got to start lifting weights! That's the first step towards your goal."
"...you got to start lifting weights! That's the first step to achieve your goal.
"...you got to start lifting weights! That's the first step to achieving your goal.

This one sounds a little awkward (but I think it's still technically correct):

"...you got to start lifting weights! That's the first step towards it."

A native speaker might chose one of these two:

"...you got to start lifting weights! That's the first step."

"...you got to start lifting weights! That's the first step to it."

(The ones with "goal" in them would probably be avoided, as it is implied and rather redundant).

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The first step to doing something. The first step to a stronger body. The first step to it.

Lifting weights is the first step to it.

This is very simple.

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