The word exercise has been a common theme in all our lives since birth. I’m sure most of you have at least heard the term “Tummy Time” and most of us were made aware of how important it was for our newborns. Literally, as soon as the umbilical stump falls off it’s right into our first experience with exercising! Barely time to recover from the trauma of birth and we’re on the hamster wheel. It’s no wonder we go through periods of contempt, disengagement, and utter distain for this word and all that’s associated with it. For most of us it’s been a conditioning for 20,30, 40 and 50 years. Take a minute and think about that. The only other thing that I can associate with having that type of longevity in my life is a job. Even then most of us started our first job in our early teens so exercise even has that beat!
With exercise, you’re going to think about it, hear about it, see people doing it and be constantly reminded that it exists. It’s there, as it always has been so what are you going to do about it?
1. Embrace that it’s a necessary part of your life and find a way to make it work for you
2. Continue to resist and ignore it, yet still constantly think that you should be doing it.
The hardest part of anything new is just getting started and the second hardest part of anything in general is maintaining it. My advice to anyone struggling with exercise or starting any healthy lifestyle change is to take inventory of what you know to be true about yourself. What has worked for you in the past? What hasn’t worked? What do you like to do? What do you not like doing? What can you maintain realistically? What are your triggers? What motivates you? What are your real goals? Then write it all down and create a plan. If you know the hardest part for you is getting to the gym, then create an action step that makes that easier. Maybe changing right into your gym clothes after work creates a mindset that will create a positive next step. If snacking is a pitfall for you maybe consider keeping a set of weights in your kitchen to encourage better food choices. If accountability is a key to success for you, try mentioning your planned workout to someone, posting on social media, or writing it down somewhere visible so it’s likely someone will ask you about it.
These days everything is built around convenience, including working out. There are gyms open 24/7, free workouts on YouTube and with certain memberships you have access to workout videos like on Amazon Prime. There are also workouts for every level and interest like dance classes or kickboxing. There are even meet up groups for singles that hike together! Identifying what you like to do may be far more challenging then finding a place to do it! Signing up for a single yoga class may either ignite your inner yoga flame or eliminate it from your lengthy list of “must try”.
Lastly, and most importantly, take it slow. There’s no need to go all in on your first workout. Ease into it, do half of what you intended on doing. There’s nothing worse than creating the time, finding the motivation, and then injuring yourself or being too sore to do anything else for days. After all, we have our whole entire life to EXERCISE!