Any exercise is better than no exercise, Sports medicine experts usually claim that a person needs to exercise for some minimum period of time, usually a half-hour a day, three or four days a week. But this puts a lot of people off, and they end up not exercising at all. Do you feel like taking a five-minute walk this afternoon? Or maybe a bike rides around the block tomorrow? These activities are small but definite steps toward losing weight. And who knows? You may feel more ambitious further down the line.
Actually people enjoy exercising more when they engage in more than one activity, a variety of exercises gives your body a better all-around workout and stretches your easily bored mind. Sometimes a simple stretch is all you need. At other times, you want to go for the burn in an aerobics dance class. Another day you may decide to lift weights or go for a long bike ride. The key to keeping up a regular program of exercise is to choose activities that you like. If you can’t swim, don’t jump into the pool. If the only thing about jogging that you like is stopping, hang up your running shoes. And if you enjoy an activity, don’t ruin it by overdoing it. Know your limits.
During the exercising, you could latch onto a high-powered pal, the energetic exercise buddies will give your a wakeup call every morning for your daily hike, if you’re a person who likes keeping pace with someone else, find a companion and go for it, or you can join a gym or health club for the discipline it offers you, then make it a social occasion if you are simply incapable of exercising by yourself. Certainly, before you join a club, shop around. Consider cleanliness, convenience, types and quality of equipment, types of classes, qualifications of the instructors and, last but not least, price. Rather than commit to a long contract, try to arrange a short-term trial run of a month or two to see if it works for you.
Psychologists say it takes about 12 weeks for a person to form a new habit. In the initial stages of undertaking an exercise program, you may find yourself gritting your teeth and forcing yourself to “just do it”, as the commercial puts it. Keep at it and be patient. Force of habit will eventually take over, after which you will struggle less and enjoy your activity more.
Instituting a regular program of exercise is a difficult discipline. Lapses are perfectly normal. Don’t beat yourself up if you skipped a day,or even a week. Just pick yourself up and start fresh today.
