Tell your friends, family and coworkers about your new exercising routine.
Why should you go around blabbing to everyone that you are about to embark upon a new exercising regime? For one simple reason: psychologically, they will be holding you accountable. How embarrassing it would be, after informing everyone about your new exercise plan, to go back and tell them you are no longer doing it.
Make exercising as fun as possible.
If you’re going to exercise, my philosophy is to get into something that is fun and exciting. If you plan on spending anywhere from two to six hours working out each week, you might as well pick something that you enjoy. By doing so, you’ll not only get much more out of it, but you’ll also look forward to exercising again. If running is not your forte, then don’t do it. Find something more pleasurable, such as swimming or biking. If you also find it hard to work out by yourself, then don’t do it. Join an aerobics or “spinning” class. This can increase the fun and at the same time provide more motivation (nobody likes to “quit” in front of others).
Reward yourself for your exercise regimen.
This is something that most people, even veteran exercisers, often forget. It’s important to reward yourself with your exercise regimen. For example, if you are getting into exercising for the first time in years, make a commitment that you will buy yourself a new pair of jeans in two months (presuming you stick with your exercise routine). Also, every now and then, go out for ice cream with a friend after working out — you deserve it. By rewarding yourself in these ways, you condition yourself to associate exercising with enjoyment. This is exactly what you want, as it makes it increasingly difficult to break the “addiction” of working out.
If you answered yes to either one of these, I’ve got good news for you. There are a number of ways to reclaim that spirit of zest and vitality in exercising that you may have once possessed. To help stimulate renewed vigor in your workout regimen, I offer the following suggestions.
Make a list of all the benefits of exercising.
That’s right, the first thing to do when making a decision to embark upon a new exercise regime (other than first consulting with your physician) is to create a list of all the benefits that exercising will provide. Why? Simply put, to provide you with the spark and motivation needed to not only get started, but to stick with it. Just a few of the benefits you may come up with include:
1. I will feel lighter and more energetic
2. I will have increased self-confidence
3. I will sleep better
4. I will reduce my stress levels
5. I will be helping my heart and blood flow
6. I will have greater clarity of mind
7. I will be improving my muscle tone
8. I will be aiding my digestion
9. I will be able to enjoy the outdoors
10. I will be enhancing and encouraging other healthy habits in my life
There is no reason why you should not come up with 20 to 30 benefits once you begin your list. In fact, you should set a goal to come up with 50. If you begin to struggle for ideas, call your friends and family and ask them for input. Once you have an extensive list of benefits, I can assure you the motivation will be more than sufficiently entrenched in you to begin working out. And on those days that you feel like shrugging off exercise, that’s when you’ll need to pull out the list for extra motivation.
Set your exercising goals.
Once you’ve compiled your list of benefits, it’s time to set your goals. The reason for doing this is to establish a clear and defined purpose as to why you are exercising. Also, by setting goals, you will hold yourself accountable. Hence, if you happen to think about skipping for just one day, your goals may be the only item that prevents you from doing so. Your goals should include some of the following:
• How many days a week you will exercise
• How long you will exercise for (30 minutes, one hour, etc.)
• What types of exercise will you engage in (swimming, aerobics, walking, etc.)
• How many pounds you would like to lose, and by what date(s)
• Any races or marathons you would like to eventually participate in
Create a detailed schedule and plan of exercising.
After setting your goals, it’s time to fill in the details. At what hours of the day will you exercise? On what days will you exercise? On what days will you engage in particular kinds of exercise? One of the advantages of having a detailed plan is that it helps you get into a routine. This is important because as we all know, habits can often be difficult to break — whether good or bad. And hopefully, in this case, you will find it almost impossible to break the habit of exercising.
