This Wednesday: Tips...to stick to a schedule of regular exercise.

Every Wednesday is Tip Day.
This Wednesday: Tips...to stick to a schedule of regular exercise.

Exercise helps make you happy. People who exercise are healthier, more energetic, think more clearly, sleep better, and have delayed onset of dementia. They also get relief from anxiety and mild depression, comparable to medication and therapy.

But even when you acknowledge the tremendous benefits, if you’re not already exercising regularly, it can be hard to adopt the habit. I managed to change myself from a natural sloth to an enthusiastic exerciser by using all these tricks:

Always exercise on Monday. This sets the psychological pattern for the week.

Never skip exercising for two days in a row. You can skip a day, but the next day, you must exercise no matter how inconvenient.

DON’T link exercise to weight loss as a way to motivate yourself. Although it’s quite true that people who exercise regularly are far more likely to keep weight off, you’ll find yourself justifying missing your run by turning down two Saltines. And if you don’t lose weight easily (who does?), you’re likely to give up exercise as futile.

Give yourself credit for the smallest effort. My father always said that all he had to do was put on his running shoes and close the door behind him.

Think about context. I thought I hated weight-training, but in fact, I hated the weight-training area of my gym. Do you try to run in the mornings, but recoil from going out in the cold? Do you hate the loud music in your gym? Is your work-out so exhausting that you can’t face the rest of your day? Re-think your choices.

You must exercise frequently. If you think you’re staying in shape by joining games of pick-up basketball, you should be playing four or five times a week. Twice a month isn’t enough.

If you don’t have time both to exercise and take a shower, find exercise (weight-training, yoga, walking) where in many cases you don’t need to shower afterward.

Look for affordable ways to make exercising more pleasant or satisfying. Could you upgrade to a nicer gym? Buy yourself a new iPod? Work with a trainer? Get a pedometer? (they’re only $25). Exercise is a high life priority, so this is the place to spend some money if that helps.

Think of exercise as part of your essential preparation for times you want to be in especially fine form—whether in performance (to be sharp for an important presentation) or appearance (to look good for a wedding) or mood (to deal with a stressful situation). Studies show that exercise does help.

Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good, i.e., don’t decide it’s only worth exercising if you can run five miles or bike for an hour. I have a friend who never exercises unless she’s training for a marathon.

Beware of magical thinking:
 Having a gym membership doesn’t mean that you go to the gym, and owning a yoga mat doesn’t mean you practice yoga.
 Just because you were in shape in high school or college doesn’t mean you’re in shape now.
 Saying that you don’t have time to exercise doesn’t make it true.

Comments

[AmiNTT]

What you have said is all true and is generally easy to follow - and just as easy to fall out of. In January, I sustained a foot injury that prevented me from attending by twice-a-week badminton, my twice-a-week kung fu sessions, and from generally walking (I walk everywhere). I felt *terrible*.

I started doing sit ups and push ups at home to keep active through late January, February, March and early April, which made me feel better and gave me a good sense of accomplishment, as I competed with myself.

I'm back to walking and at badminton now, and I feel great.

[kris]

What you have said is absolutely true.. if i miss my exercises am never fresh for the entire day...
when exercising if you think about a problem 90% of the time you would get a solution...

[Ariah Fine]

That's some great stuff. I really like your blogs left column. Thanks for your writing.

I bike to and from work (at least I try), that's my exercise.

[Oldude59]

Happiness is my passion and the marketing edge my firm is using to establish itself. Our focus is on those individuals that are suffering from chemical dependencies and behavioral health issues.

What I found most interesting in your blog is it common sense approach to what Dr Csikszentmihalyi calls "flow". This is not the place to go into a difinition but simply to say - it relates to the mastering of resilience. For people that suffer dependencies resilience is of ultimate importance.

I'll be checking in from time to time - thanks for the good words.

[michael callen]

The ChangeThis Manifesto titled "Barriers to Health and Fitness" (http://www.changethis.com/15.BarriersToHealth) is a straightforward methodology for getting exercise in your daily routine.

[joe]

cool. thanks so much. i was tipped off to your site by a friend. love the site.

i started getting in shape as part of getting life insurance policy. but, it has become so much more. so many of your tips i've found personally true.

-just get out of the door.
-commitment to yourself.
-feel better
-gadgets / spending on what's important. i got a heart rate monitor that has a foot pod for speed and distance.
-joined a triathlon club with a friend. healthy happy workout partners. lifestyle change.
-finished 2 sprint triathlons this year. ran first 10k in my life.

[William]

HEY! Great post. The most imporant aspect for me and why I have stuck with it(1.5 yrs) and lost some weight this time is giving the training some meaning i.e. goals.

For me, the goals were several running races, two marathons, a triathlon this spring, Mountain Bike races and the list goes on.

Also, meeting with a group to train adds a social aspect as well as accountability.

Without these key factors, most people will never stick with a meaninless training plan.

[Constance Reader]

"Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good."

I think that that is the greatest advice imparted by your post. Sometimes it is difficult to stay motivated when you realize that no, *not* everybody can run a marathon or ride a century or bench twice their own weight, especially if you become involved in exercise groups or clubs. And there's nothing wrong with that.

I have not joined any cycling groups, as much as I love riding, because there is such a prevalent attitude of "if you're not training for a century, you're a wannabe and unwelcome". But I would add that that includes exercising during difficult weather conditions. I'm in central Texas and I don't care how lame it makes me look, I DO NOT RIDE when the temperature hits 95. I don't need to court heat stroke to enjoy my ride or be proud of myself.

[Soren]

My absolute best advice to someone who wants to work out on a regular basis: Set up a fixed appointment with a friend to met you at the gym to train with you.
Telling yourself that you deserve to sleep in today instead of going to the gym is so much more difficult when you have to call your friend and cancel your appointment!

[Lance]

This is a great post on positive exercise tips and it has inspired me to keep at biking to work as often as it's not pouring down outside. After a few short months I noticed I really was much happier. On the days that I made the 45 minute ride to work, I felt charged and talkative, carrying on with co-workers and psyched to collaborate.

[Konstantin Rabinovich]

"playing four or times a week"

shouldnt it be four or three/five times a week?

other than that, awesome post. del.icio.us'd it.

[Mike]

I've tried several workout routines, and found that I could never stick to one. I even worked at a gym for a time and only worked out twice there. I simply get bored and never want to go back.

But, I've starting doing something that I find worthwhile. In the morning, right after I wake up, I grab my weights and do as much work as I can in five minutes. In that time I can get my heart running fast, get my muscles sore, and wake myself up. On the other days I do lower body work with leg lifts and the like.

The different in my awareness at work has been substantial, and my muscles are indeed getting larger. It's only a start, I know, but after ten years of trying I've finally found something I can stick to.

[Byrd]

Also it helps to try to remeber not to beat yourself up to bad when your out there trying yourself to excercise. Sometimes you may think you should be "getting into it more," if that is happening to you as it happens to me and EVERYONE, it helps to slow down and not push yourself to just work through whatever ELSE is on you mind...believe it or not, you can only really do one thing at a time, so its hard to run or ride or whatever when your mind is really set on working on something else.

Great post and true...so true.

[thatgirl]

Just last night, in the throes of a depression, a friend talked to me about exercise. "I don't give myself a chance to not do it--I don't let myself go home from work, I go straight from the office, and I feel great afterwards." How ironic that today I stumbled across this page. Thank you for posting this and everyone who has commented has been very inspirational!

[Alexander Kjerulf]

Excellent list of tips.

I'm a fitness trainer in my spare time, and I would add one more to the list:
Find a type of exercies you genuinely enjoy. There are so many different kinds out there, that there *has* to be something for you.

[Robert Speirs]

Churchill said, "The only exercise I ever get is carrying the coffin at the funerals of my friends who were lifelong devotees of physical training."

[Dani]

"Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good"

This is something I struggle with whenever I try to make exercise a habit. I'm always looking for the perfect exercise for toning my butt or my abs. I'm always worried that walking isn't enough. Perhaps if I followed your other tip about not tying exercise to weight loss, then I wouldn't be so hard on myself.

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[David Taylor]

Hi! I'm glad I've found this post again. I read it when you originally posted and one thing has stuck in my mind since. I'm just about to post my own tips for motivation and wanted to link back to this. It was the 'your father always used to say' quote that I wanted to mention but I've totally built it up to something else in my head over the year! Something like 'putting your sunning shoes on and closing the door behind you is 90 percent of the mental effort required'! Oh well, it's been working for me! Thanks for the tip!

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