How Can You Make Sure You Do Your Exercise And Keep It Up? The secret with exercise, more than what type or how much, is that you actually do it.
It makes not one dot of a difference how much you know about exercise if you don't actually do it.
Let me tell you some of the barriers that people make for themselves when it comes to exercise.
I'll start tomorrow / next week / when I have more time.
Let me tell you a secret.
You'll never have more time.
As life goes on, most of us only ever get busier.
And for those other people (!) who don't do exercise, they get weaker and less energetic which just makes starting exercise even more unappealing.
So you won't have more time next whatever.
The time to start is today or...
tomorrow morning.
That means the day after today, not manyana.
Which brings me to the next barrier.
When should you exercise.
Most people say they will exercise "tomorrow" or even "today" without making a time.
Then what happens is all day long the exercise is hanging over your head.
"I'll just watch this show...
I'll just hang out the washing...
I'll just eat dinner...
Oh, I'm too tired now, I'll do it tomorrow.
" And then you berate yourself for failing...
again.
Stupid exercise! Here's a better idea that actually works.
Make a time to do your exercise and choose one that will work.
Ideally, choose one that will work every day.
The best time of day is first thing in the morning.
That way, all day you can think to yourself, "Yep.
I've done my exercise for the day!" and feel really good about it.
In fact, research shows that exercise done first thing in the morning helps in a lot of other ways too.
It boosts your metabolic rate for the whole day which increases your alertness and mood.
It puts a spring in your step.
It dispels depression best of all exercise.
I recommend you do your exercise before breakfast.
Maybe not as soon as you wake up - drink a glass of water and chill for a few minutes to fully wake up first - but definitely before you eat anything.
(But be sensible if your blood sugar is poorly regulated - you don't want to have a hypo and fall on your head.
) What If I Fall Off The Wagon? Firstly, congratulate yourself! You couldn't have fallen off the wagon if you weren't on it to start with and that is an important first step.
Then...
just get back on.
There is no need to be upset with yourself or punish yourself in any way.
Consider if maybe there is a better time of day that you can do your exercise but other than that, just get back to it once you realise you have stopped.
How Often Should You Exercise? Think of an animal in wild.
How many days off from exercise does it have? None right? Well you could do that too, but I recommend you take a day off - say, Sunday - and commit to doing 5 days.
So Monday to Friday you are committed to exercise every day without fail.
Saturday, it's good to exercise but if you don't, it's OK.
And Sunday, just take it off.
Of course, doing something active with your family on that day is probably a great idea.
What do you think? Does four minutes a day Monday to Friday sound like something you can do? Remember why you are doing the exercise in the first place: so you can live a happy healthy life and be here for your family.
Of course you can do 4 minutes a day.
Honestly, if you can't find 4 minutes a day to invest in your health, you might as well go shoot yourself now and save everyone a lot of trouble.
What If You Want To Do More Exercise? Go for it! But don't get too carried away with a big commitment to an exercise program you can't keep up.
Commit to your 4 minutes a day and then do more as you do more.
Later you may want to commit to 8, 12 or even 16 minutes a day.
You might want to go and join a yoga class or do weights at the gym.
That's all fine.
But just keep your 4 minutes a day commitment forever.
This will keep you doing a meaningful amount of exercise and keep exercise as a regular part of your life.