Top 5 Ways to Enjoy Exercise
I always say that the very best way to exercise is to do something you love and guest author Holly McCarthy in the article below is very much in agreement.
You never have a prima ballerina complaining about dancing or a baseball fanatic complaining about playing a game in the park.
What will you find to love this year? If you don’t think there’s anything, you haven’t tried enough activities!
But if you still insist there’s nothing that will get you going, Holly has 4 more ways to encourage you to exercise …
Top 5 Ways to Enjoy Your Exercise
Exercise! Now all of us know its benefits and how we must make it a part of our daily lives so that we may be fit and healthy. Most of us start a fitness program with great enthusiasm but find it difficult to stick to the program when we get bored or when the results come too slowly. It is quite a challenge to beat exercise boredom. But that should be no excuse to quit your workout. Check out these tips to make your exercise program more enjoyable.
- Do physical activities that you enjoy doing. Nothing can be more fun than doing something that you love doing. You like dancing? Then maybe your exercise routine should be all about dance – some salsa, jazz or, ballroom dancing would be a lot of fun and at the same time give you a perfect workout. Don’t like dancing? Then, how about bicycling, swimming, or maybe even a game of football or basket ball? That should do the trick. Exercise does not have to be about boring gym equipment alone?
- Join a friend or a group of friends in their routine. Wise was he who said ‘the more, the merrier’. Unless you are one of those loners that like no company, working out all alone can be very boring. Join a group and make exercise more fun. A group can keep you more committed to your routine and it will also cheer you up when you are down. Friendly competition and challenges can keep you greatly motivated. Also, a few laughs with friends while working out can make exercise something to look forward to.
- Have a nice mix of activities. However much you like what you are doing, there is a chance that it will get monotonous when you do it everyday. So have a nice variety of activities so that when you are bored with one activity, you could try another one. I love dancing, power walking, bicycling, and high energy aerobics. But I get very bored when I stick to just one of these. If its dance for Monday and Wednesday, I try bicycling on a Tuesday and Thursday and aerobics on Sunday. Believe-you-me, this is a great way to beat the drudgery that goes with exercise.
- Take your routine outdoors. Yes, I agree, gym routines, swimming in an indoor pool and aerobics in a studio are fun and effective but make sure you do not miss out on the pleasures of working out outside too. Jogging through the local park, a walk along the beach, ice skating in winter can all make exercise more exciting. And if it is done in the morning, you get to take in the cool fresh air too – an added advantage!
- Take a break occasionally. If in spite of the above tips you find your exercise is getting boring, just take a break. I know you have to be consistent with your exercise. But a break from routine once in a while will do no harm. In fact, it will make you return to your routine with more gusto. While taking that break, you could do some stretches and lunges as you clean your windows, rake your garden or run up and down the stairs at home. That way you will not feel very guilty about your break.
Now, if exercising could be made fun and enjoyable, who wouldn’t want to go for that healthy and chic body that comes with it?
This post was contributed by Holly McCarthy, who writes on the subject of geriatric nursing certificates She invites your feedback at hollymccarthy12 at gmail dot com
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.
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.
Forming the Fitness Habit
21 days to Form a Habit?
They say that it takes at least 21 days of consistent action to form a new habit. So, if you want to make fitness a habit in your life, you’ve got to be committed for at least that period of time before the habit becomes just “what you do”.
Many people know about the 21 day theory, but did you also know that if you fail to carry out your habit at any point within those 21 days you have to go right back to the beginning? You can’t just start counting where you left off.
Knowing that fact may be just enough to keep you going through a rough patch and avoid sabotaging your efforts in the early days.
Also, don’t rely on the 21 day rule. You may find that it takes you a bit longer than 21 days to make a fitness program part of your life (21 days is just the average) so you may want to focus on your new habit for 30 days to avoid sabotaging yourself in that doubtful period between 21 and 30 days.
30 Day Fitness Experiment
Any new fitness habit is a good case for a 30 Day trial which personal development writer Steve Pavlina recommends. He likes to try out many new things for length of time and then decide whether they are worth continuing with. (His current 30 day experiment is eating a totally raw food diet).
It’s a helpful concept because it means you can safely give up any habit which does not suit you without feeling like a failure – it was simply the end of the experiment and you decided to try something else instead.
With any new fitness habit or program this makes sense because by the time you get to 30 days you
a) will probably be seeing some results (good or bad)
b) have given it a fair shot
c) are seeing whether the “experiment” will slip easily into your lifestyle.
One Small Fitness Habit at a Time
My other plea is for you to not take on too much and set yourself up for failure. Try a tiny habit at first. Self-discipline is like a muscle that has to be exercised.
Give yourself an easy load to start with – say 10 minutes of exercise a day rather than an all out gym routine 5 times a week. If you have the discipline to manage 10 minutes a day you will probably find that you feel so good you will want to do more. But if you fail at the much harder goal it makes it so much more difficult to try again in the future and your self-esteem will take a bashing it can do without.
Do what you know you will succeed with and build on that.
Fitness Tip 4 : Every Workout Counts
Creating a great body takes a lot of self discipline. If you have the attitude that it doesn’t matter if you can’t be bothered to do your scheduled workout one day, you’ll quickly find that another time a day becomes a week and a week a month.
You see, you’re either disciplined and determined or you’re not.
Every missed workout feeds your self image with the idea that you’re someone who can’t stick to a simple program, even a program that will benefit you so much.
On the other hand, every time you keep to your workout schedule your self image and esteem gets a boost – you are someone who can be relied on.
Sticking to your program helps reinforce all those good feelings you get from working out. It becomes a positive cycle of reinforcement leading to more discipline and more of the results you are seeking from exercise – all of which will continue to keep you motivated for the long haul.
Muscle movement by muscle movement, step by step, workout by workout you will be reaching your goals.
So try not to miss even one workout unless you have no choice whatsoever. It’s those “Can’t be bothered” “Too busy” “Don’t have time” excuses which will eat up your motivation and self-esteem not the “I had to take my sick child to hospital so I couldn’t get to the gym” type real reasons for missing a session.
For all this to make any difference at all you actually have to have a fitness program to follow (see Fitness Tip 1 : Have a Plan) – otherwise you’re just drifting and then it really doesn’t matter whether you turn up or not.
Fitness Motivation : 6 Simple Steps to the Point of No Return
It’s too easy to give up a new exercise program when you don’t seem to be getting results but please don’t let unrealistic expectations about changing your shape and fitness level within a few days get the better of you.
Results CAN be truly remarkable within a few weeks – but you have to be a little patient with yourself if you are trying to reach that next level in your fitness goals or even to go from a complete standing start to super lean and fit.
A shiny new exercise program or workout routine IS often the best way to jump start your achievement. You just have to give it time to work its magic.
I have seen people have results within a week and I have seen others have a wait a month for similar results. Some of that has to do with the effort put into a fitness program or with the choice of program but in some cases it’s just that our bodies are all different and so is their response to any particular exercise regime.
The guy lifting mega weights at the gym is not you. And you probably haven’t been into a dozen sports since the age of 6 like the girl at the pool. You have your own body, preferences and capabilities so work with them and avoid comparing notes with anyone else.
The important thing is to get to your individual point of no return – the point where you start to see your hard work IS worth it and you decide that you want your new level of fitness to become part of your life. You need to reach that place well before the point where you decide to jack it all in and give up on your new program.
To increase your chance of success give yourself time…
- Have no expectations for 1 to 2 months – just decide to do the program no matter what and then review it
- Have an open mind – just see the program as a 30-day or 60 day experiment in looking and feeling good. Be curious about the results
- Schedule your sessions so they fit into your day – if possible complete them first thing in the morning before your life has a chance to get in the way
- Don’t be resentful about the time and effort – look at your fitness sessions as giving your body a treat and spending time focusing on you
- Choose an exercise program that fits into your lifestyle rather than one which you will continually struggle with. If it helps join a health club or gym near your office or home – whichever will be most convenient or work out at home if that suits you better
- if you doubt your ability to stick with the program get a personal trainer or partner to keep you accountable
Those who have reached the other side of this “motivation divide” and know how it feels and could tell you that the effort is SO worth it. In fact, you have probably heard quite a lot from them already. The problem is you don’t really “get it” until you experience it for yourself. So make sure you give yourself enough of a chance to find out how good being fit and getting in shape feels.
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