Fitness Motivation: Leave Room For More
Fitness Motivation image by ggvic
Although motivation is at its highest when you introduce a new fitness program, you need to fight the urge to get over-enthusiastic when you begin a new workout routine or sport.
I know that sounds a bit counterproductive but there is method in my madness.
If you go all out to reach your limits and do too much too soon:-
- you will feel the negative effects first – over-tired aching muscles and potentially injury
- you are going to find long and frequent workouts and training sessions more difficult to slot into your life when you weren’t doing so much before
- you are more likely to drop out within the first few weeks as it all becomes too much for you
Give yourself a chance to get used to your new fitness regime and make your new exercise a habit before you push yourself too far. Feel the benefits and then expand your reach and you are more likely to make it a long-term activity.
So do the beginners program even if you think you are moderately fit. Do two sessions a week rather than three. And let yourself want to do more rather than less.
Stair Climbing – an Easy Way to Exercise?
Photo by twenty_questions
Anyone who has ever climbed to the top of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris or the Statue of Liberty in New York will tell you that stair climbing is not an easy exercise but you have to admit it’s something that you can easily fit into your everyday life.
Stairs are everywhere and you may as well make use of them.
In fact, keen exercisers in cities as far apart as Boston and San Francisco are starting to use skyscraper stair-climbs as their workout of choice – a 15 minute stair climb offers the same workout as 30 minutes running on flat ground and with less impact.
Even those of us without access to a nearby skyscraper can benefit from the stairs at the office, in the home or at the shopping mall. Every flight you climb counts – a Harvard University study found that men who climbed an average of at least 8 flights a day had a 33% lower mortality rate than men who were sedentary. And research in Northern Ireland has also shown that walking upstairs for just 6 minutes a day will make you 10 to 15 percent fitter.
Climbing stairs will firm your butt, your legs and your stomach – one reason why stair climbing machines at the gym are becoming more popular and why they are taking off as home exercise equipment. Just look at the range of stair climbers and steppers
But even if you don’t have a gym membership or space for a stair climber at home, you can integrate stair climbing into your day. Just remember when you see a sign for the elevator to look for the stairs instead and get firm and fit without taking up your precious free time.
And if you are looking for a new home don’t look at stairs as a disadvantage – that top floor appartment may be just what you need 
No Time to Get Fit?
I read in the local newspaper yesterday that the US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice gets up at 4am to go to the gym.
No wonder she looks so good at 53.
It’s not that she is any different to anyone else. As she says
“Like everybody, I get up some mornings and think “I can’t do it” and then I think “Sure you can, because you won’t feel alert if you don’t”"
Although you might think being featured regularly in the media might give you the motivation to stay in shape, (and I’m sure that would work well for me – vanity prevails) the same can’t be said of some stars who get in and out of shape with alarming regularity. Don’t they care when a million people see their flab over breakfast? I sure would.
If you know getting up at 4am is not an option, yet you’re so busy it’s the only time you can see free in your schedule, why not take a look at my Fitness in No time program because 10 minutes, three times a week and a simple home routine is all you really need to get in shape.
Maybe Condoleezza should try it for those days when matters of State get in the way?
Fitness Motivation: Everything Changes
If there’s one thing you need to remember where fitness is concerned…
Nothing Stays the Same
If you are fit today, it means zilch if you do nothing but lie in bed for 4 weeks – you’ll be as unfit as a lifelong couch potato.
And if you are unfit today, you can make great strides in the same 4 weeks and change your fitness level beyond recognition.
The only thing is, if you don’t start a fitness routine you’ll never get there. And if you don’t keep up a fitness routine, you’ll never stay at the level of fitness you achieve.
And just to make things more complex, you can’t even stay the same by sticking to one workout routine every day or every week – you have to challenge yourself in new ways and push yourself to stay at your peak.
So what this boils down to is that
- you had better find a range of activities you enjoy doing – that make working out fun
- view any routine you start as getting fit for life, not just for the summer
- find activities you can do all year round or at least activities which you can do to cover all parts of the year
- if you don’t like working out, just the feeling it gives you, get hooked on that feeling so that you feel motivated to keep up whatever you start
Running (Again)!
I told you with the (slightly) warmer weather I’d end up running again (see Sporadic Running).
I can feel my knees and ankles protesting already – but it IS for a good cause.
Last year’s running spurt was caused by entering the 5k all ladies Race for Life in aid of Cancer Research encouraged by a few friends. And the same friends have persuaded me it’s a good idea this year too. As my Dad died of cancer in October last year, it will be especially poignant.
Thing is – I haven’t run since last year’s race – so I’ll be starting my training plan from the beginning again with the cool running couch to 5k plan – I only have the 8 weeks so I’d better get to it.
Anyone care to join me? Actually Race for Life takes place all round the UK at around the same time so it’s something to aim for if you live here in the next 2 months (and if you live elsewhere there will be tons of events no doubt too).
Fitness Weight Loss Tip : Split Routines
Photo by exfordy
If you’re looking to lose a few pounds and help things along with exercise, try working out twice a day rather than once.
With split routines
- you increase the calories you can burn without tiring yourself out in one long mega-session – you can work out for longer in total each day and put more effort into your routines
- you keep your metabolism firing on all cylinders giving it a big boost twice during the day
- you keep your goals central in your mind – and hopefully yourself on the straight and narrow
- you won’t have much time left for sitting around pigging out in front of the TV!
If you try this be sure and vary your activities each session and each day so that you reduce the risk of strain and injury on any one part of your body.
Split routines are used most often in weight training to mean working different muscle groups each day and avoid overtaxing any one part of the body, but if you are up for it here is a suggested a.m. p.m split routine incorporating both cardio and strength training.
Easy Fitness Motivation Tip
I have found this fitness motivation tip to be easy but also very effective for my clients (and it works for me every time too!)
If you’re trying to start a daily fitness habit then the best thing you can do if buy a large paper calendar and a big thick black marker pen and pin it up on your wall where you will be able to see it often.
Then every day you do your workout (or other good habit – whatever you’re trying to achieve) take your marker pen and put a big cross through the day.
After a row of crosses you are not going to want to leave a gap.
Aim for 30 crosses in a row – miss one and you have to start right back at the beginning.
If at all possible put your calendar up where co-workers or family will see it. They’ll ask about it and that will help spur you on too!
Walk (or Run) Away from Stress
If you’re feeling under pressure then its easy to say you don’t have time for exercise but even a brief walk or run in the fresh air will help clear your head and mean you get more done overall.
A slightly longer exercise session where you put in a bit of effort releases endorphins – those feel-good brain chemicals that make you feel wonderful and is an even better stress-reliever.
Any exercise with a rhythmic pace such as running, walking or swimming can be quite meditative in itself – especially if you do it alone and let your thoughts go wherever they want. If your thoughts are in turmoil however, calm yourself by focusing on your movements and your breathing.
Far from tiring you out or being a time-killer, exercise can mentally and spiritually rejuvenate you so much, you definitely don’t want to miss out.
And a crisis point, the very time when we tend to shun exercise the most – is the time when we most need it.
Nike+ Ipod – great for fitness motivation
My niece just came back from a long weekend in New York with a great gizmo for running – a nike + ipod sport kit
Apparently these have been around for a while and the whole thing has just passed me by. (Well, I AM in a non-running phase just now)
For once the technology seems pretty easy to master even for those of use still working out how to record something on the VCR long after everyone else has moved onto Tivo or Sky+
Anyway this kit my neice bought has a sensor to fit in your Nike+ shoes and then a receiver to plug into your ipod nano (has to be a nano) and away you go running.
Actually though my niece has these anyway, you don’t really need the expensive shoes just something to fasten the to them that you can buy for next to nothing (see here for a shoe pouch
Once you get going, your ipod nano tracks your running time, distance, pace and calories burned and at the end of your workout you can transfer your workout data to itunes and nikeplus.com to and see your progress in full color and graphic detail. You can get voice alerts during your workout too where the music neatly fades in and out around the alert.
Online you can set challenges, goals and resolutions to keep you motivated.
But the best thing is downloading upbeat music to keep you going – there are special selections at itunes and my niece has a great victory song she uses every time. As she says “I ran 7 miles yesterday because of my ipod – I never did that before”.
Definitely worth checking out if you are a runner. You can buy the Ipod Nike+ kit at Amazon
Make Fitness a Lifetime Goal
Photo by Thowra_uk
A lot of people start all guns blazing on a fitness program, put in a lot of hard work, get pretty fit and then give up until the next time they get the desire to do something about their condition.
I have done something similar myself with running (though I usually do at least something to keep fit all year round).
It’s such a waste of effort to let fitness go once you have achieved it.
I’ve just been thinking why so many of us do this and the answer keeps coming back to me that we try and get fit with activities we just don’t like enough.
And I’ve also come to the conclusion that there’s no point even starting something if we KNOW we’re not going to keep it up for more than a brief period.
Now, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try new stuff – after all you don’t know whether you’ll absolutely fall in love with circuit training or yoga or horse riding until you’ve got over the initial few weeks training – the awkward stage.
I just mean that if you know yourself well enough to be pretty certain you’ll never visit the gym regularly for the rest of your life BEFORE you sign up for membership, you are just kidding yourself when you hand over your hard earned-cash.
You see paying for something never made you fit – only doing it on a regular basis does that.
Try activities that you will look forward to doing, that you’d like to learn, that you think you could enjoy forever given half a chance.
Try loads of different things until you find something you will stick at – simply for the pure pleasure of doing it.
Even if you’re not that enthusiastic about an activity to begin with, give everything a fair chance and you’re more likely to uncover the pursuits that will keep you fit and having fun for the rest of your life.
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