Easing into Exercise

Usually, one of the hardest part of accomplishing something is starting it. If you are a runner, you know that sometimes the hardest part of the run is putting on your shoes. Once you get started, things get a lot easier. Thankfully, there are ways for us to get around this. Understanding why it is difficult to get started, and doing things to get around this can be the key in creating a consistent change.

Make Games

One of the best ways that we can help ourselves be active is to create small games and challenges. For example, it can help to hold things away from us. If you are looking forward to something, make that your reward for exercising. Having the ability to create and follow through with these challenges can help us to get moving. And once we get started, it is generally easier for us to follow through. Focusing on the goal or the reward will help us to start without having to think as much about starting. Inertia is the enemy. Additionally, it can be productive to tie rewards to how well you do on your exercise. For example, you can create tiers of rewards for different distances or reps. Finally, the best way to do this is with a schedule. Having rewards for exercising 7 days in a row, or for a full month will help you to stay consistent. Knowing that you can’t miss a day will motivate you to exercise when it is difficult. It makes it easier each time, as you do not want to lose the progress that you have made just to take an afternoon off.

Start slow

Trying to jump into an intense exercise regimen can backfire. You can get burned out or get injured. Sometimes, you can even end up unmotivated to exercise for a few days after an intense session. In this case, your feeling of accomplishment is your enemy. The best thing to do is to start small. Working a small bit of exercise into your day will help you to ramp things up. It is easier to go and start a small workout than a large one. And once you get started, you will be more able to push yourself and go further. As you start to do this, you can slowly increase the level of intensity and time commitment. Your goal should be at least half an hour of sustained exercise every single day.