Man we have all been there, 4 months into the year and those New Year resolutions that motivated us so intensely are starting to wither away. You have been in the gym religiously every week and sticking to that eating plan to the last gram, but now life is starting to catch up. Work is getting busy, the days are getting shorter, the kids have extra murals, blah blah blah, oh man the excuses we will look for!
First things first, let me just take a few moments to explain to you my views of exercise and how to keep yourself motivated and enjoying a healthy lifestyle. The key word here is “LIFESTYLE”, making exercise a part of your everyday life is the key to success in keeping focused and motivated throughout the year. Now you may ask, well that’s great but how do make exercise a major part of my life? Well here’s your answer…. HABIT! Yes habit, by turning exercise into a habitual part of your daily and weekly routine will be the first major steps to achieving your healthy lifestyle!
Ok so now’s the fun part, the 10 key steps to creating exercise into a habitual act:
- Do a variety of activities you enjoy: and remember, there’s no rule that says you have to go to a gym or buy equipment.
- Having a variety of activities like: weight lifting, walking, running, tennis, cycling, aerobics classes, this will ensure that you can do something regardless of weather or time of day.
- Commit to another person: the social aspect of exercise is important.
- By incorporating partner based exercises into your workouts: this will provide you with a sense of comradery and discourage you from not exercising as it will affect the other person’s ability to workout.
- Make exercise a priority: it has to be a non-negotiable. By ensuring that exercise is a priority in your day, it will hinder you from falling in to the “Na I’m not keen” mind set.
- Exercise first thing in the morning or, exercise on your way home from work: by making exercise a part of your commute, it will limit the chances of distraction that can occur from being comfortable at home.
- Exercise even when you’re “too tired”: chances are, you’ll feel better after exercising.
- Log your activity: write down the things that are important to you. It could be how much time you exercise each day, how many steps you walked, how far you ran or cycled, what you weighed, and compare against the log.
- Be aware of all the positive indicators of progress: it’s great when your clothes fit better and you can lift heavier weights or work out longer without getting exhausted.
- Reward yourself: experts say that making behaviour changes is hard, and rewards can motivate a person. So decide on a goal and a reward, and work toward it. You might buy yourself a video you’ve wanted after you stick to your fitness plan for one month, or buy new walking shoes when you achieve 5,000 steps a day. Do whatever works for you.
So how long does it take for a habit to set in? +- 66 days, so if you think about it, its really not that long away…
Yes I know you all are thinking, man, I clicked on this assuming to find the next best exercise fad and all I got were a few lifestyle changes. But the key here is to understand applying this to your everyday life will help you achieve those goals you have always dreamed of!
Hope you guys keep well
Until next time… Shane
