You are probably aware of the importance of exercise. Perhaps you have tried exercising before but haven’t really gotten into the habit because of so many distractions.
If you think exercise is a drudgery, you will invariably hate doing it. You may try exercising for one, two or at most three weeks, but eventually you slack off and avoid it altogether.
Not to worry. Almost everybody gets into the same mindset as you. But the good news is, many have also overcome this problem and are now living healthy lives because, they are addicted to exercise.
You too can be on the same boat if you will follow the tips discussed in this article.
1. Have the right mental approach to exercise
Before you start anything, it is good to have a complete rundown on what it is, what it is going to give you and what it will require of you.
Let’s put in exercise as the ‘it’ that you want to do. That means you need to know what exercise means, what it can do to you, and what you need to do. When you have clearly set all of these things in your mind, you will never have a problem of sustaining your interest in exercising.
2. Enjoy the exercise
The worst enemy that a person can encounter in doing a project is loss of interest. When you lose interest in a project, you might be able to finish it, but it won’t be accomplished in an excellent manner.
So, in order to keep your interest in your exercise routine, you must enjoy doing it. It will do you no good to engage in difficult exercise routines if you don’t enjoy doing them. You might be able to fool yourself that you are enjoying it but eventually, you will lose interest because your body will tell you that it is not enjoying the thing.
The trick is to pick the exercise routines that you are interested in, and that are not so difficult for you to perform at your current condition. In time, you will be able to develop strength and stamina to tackle more complex and difficult routines. That is the time you need to change your pace in order to sustain your interest.
3. Enroll in a club
There is a proverb that says: ‘the more, the merrier’. It is easier to sustain your interest in your exercise routines if you see other people doing it as well. This is the value of getting a membership in a gym like Planet Fitness or Fitness First.
Joining a gym creates a positive peer pressure which will induce you to continue. Additionally, you will be acquainted with people who are more or less the same situation as you are. Perhaps some of them maybe a little more advanced.
All these types of people exercising in one place will have a positive effect on you. In short, you will be encouraged to continue in your physical fitness trek in a gym, than if you will do it all alone in the solitary confines of your home.
4. Start small and slow
If you want to sustain your exercise program, you need to start small and slow. It will defeat your long-term goal if you will start with a bang. Usually a big bang fizzles out immediately after it starts. You don’t want to start big, get discouraged, and finally give up completely.
So, the better way is to pick exercise routines that are easy to perform and do not require a long time to complete. In this way, you will have a sense of accomplishment in just a short time. This will egg you on to continue exercising, which is what your original intent is.
5. Treat yourself after each exercise
The carrot principle also works with regards to exercise. If you practice treating yourself after each workout, you will always look forward to performing it. The treat should not really be expensive, but just enough incentive for you to continue doing the exercises.
It is not really fooling yourself, but just rewarding yourself for being able to sustain your interest in the activity.
6. Track your progress
You will be greatly encouraged to continue on if you know that you are making progress. Just seeing that a small amount of weight was lost, or a small amount of muscle is beginning to appear, and so forth, will be enough to prick your interest.
So, before you start exercising, take stock of your present physical condition, record it in a notebook, and track your progress as you go on. You can also have someone do the tracking for you. Another person doing the tracking will be an additional impetus for you to continue.