The new year is already into its third month, and if you haven't yet
lost weight, stopped smoking, eaten more vegetables, exercised
regularly, or started to fulfill any other New Year's resolutions by
now, chances are it's not going to happen.
Unless. Unless you can get over that mental hump that stops you from
exercising — the most common resolution at the beginning of the year as
people seek to lose weight and get in shape.
How to do it? I’ve come up with 10 ways to ensure you exercise, and
while not all of them will work for everyone, at least one of these
should spur you to get back on the path to exercising if you've fallen
off.
1. Apps
There are enough health and fitness
apps in the Apple Store that you could spend a year going through them. One of my favorites, which I discovered at
MedicalInsurance.net, is
My Fitness Pal.
It helps keep track of what you eat and how much you exercise. I mostly
use it to track my meals, and I sync it with the Fitbit app to track
how much I exercise. There are plenty of other apps to track diet and
exercise, and I'd recommend using free ones at first, such as a free
pedometer, to see if you like it.
2. Pedometer
This is a fun way to measure how many steps you take in a day, and I
like to track my progress after a walk or gym workout. I use a
Fitbit pedometer,
which keeps track of how many steps, miles, and stairs I've walked. It
also tracks calories burned, which is an incentive to exercise, although
too often the Fitbit and My Fitness Pal apps disagree on how many
calories I've burned when they sync. From $60 to $100, the Fitbit can
either be clipped to a pocket or worn around the wrist.
3. Get a Nudge
It could be a friend urging you on, a spouse encouraging you to go to
the gym, or a strong conscience helping to ensure you exercise. An
alarm reminder that you set up on your smartphone to tell you that it's
time to get moving may be enough incentive. If those nudges don't work,
another interesting option is a text message from
Coach Alba,
an adaptive technology that sends users text messages when they have
"crucial moments," says Vince Han, founder and CEO of Coach Alba.
Targeted at people who have chronic weight loss problems, the $5
monthly service learns from users' texts when they're most likely to
overeat, such as when watching TV or when stressed. It responds with
alternatives, such as brushing their teeth or reminding them it's time
for a workout. While mostly used to avoid temptations such as late-night
snacking, Coach Alba could be used as a nudge to get exercising when
food cravings hit.
4. Find Internal Motivation
External motivations such as a goal of losing 10 pounds or running a
marathon can be great, but failing to meet them or even meeting them may
not help you continue exercising after they've been met or you've given
up. Internal motivations will last longer and are more likely to
encourage you to exercise, says Ryan Hurst, program director at
Gold Medal Bodies.
Instead of trying to impress other people with an external
motivation, an internal motivation could be to become strong and healthy
so that you can be there for your children and family as you age, Hurst
suggests.
5. Schedule It
If a nudge from a friend or app isn't enough, schedule exercise like you would a meeting or doctor's appointment, recommends
Kimberly Fowler,
the author of a book on yoga. You don't miss a meeting with the boss,
forget to pick your kid up at school, or miss dental appointments, so
scheduling exercise should make it easier to achieve. Also tell your
social networks so that, like the nudges suggestion above, other people
will see it on your schedule and encourage you to do it.
6. Find Activities You Enjoy
Going to the gym day after day for the same workout probably won't encourage you to exercise enough, so
find an exercise you enjoy, says
Charla McMillian,
a certified strength and conditioning specialist. It could be dancing,
jumping, biking, swimming, or playing in the back yard with your
children.
7. Determine Immediate Rewards
The long-term rewards of exercise are what too many people focus on —
such as the vague phrase "get healthy" — and are less likely to get
people motivated to exercise daily than immediate rewards such as
improving their daily quality of life, says
Michelle Segar,
a healthy living motivation researcher at the University of Michigan.
These can include reduced stress, being in a better mood, and feeling
stronger. If you feel good after exercising, that's a good incentive to
keep doing it.
8. Recruit Friends
Get a friend to join you, giving both of you motivation. "Working out
is more fun with other people, and you're more likely to stick with
working out if you're accountable to another person," says Chris Mosier,
a certified personal trainer in New York City.
9. Exercise in the Morning
This is a way to get it out of the way so that it's not something you
dread doing later or find the excuse to put off if you've had a rough
day at work, Mosier says.
10. Prepare the Night Before
Set your workout clothes out the night before and leave them where
you'll see them in the morning, Mosier says. That way, they'll be
staring you in the face when you get up, and it will be easier to get
dressed and get started.
If you can't get back to exercising yet, remember that it's only March and it's not too late to
start fulfilling your resolutions. Let us know which work best for you.
source: wisebread.com
