Start and stick with it: Making changes to incorporate exercise might be easier than you think
- Feb 21, 2008 - comment
So you know you should exercise. You know you would feel better if you did. And you know you could even live longer.
But today you don’t really feel like it. And tomorrow — well tomorrow is packed.
The weekend, too — you’ve got a day trip planned and company coming over. Maybe next week.
You’re not alone in your plight.
Sixty-three percent of Americans believe that exercising would make them healthier, leaner and less stressed — but they don’t do it, according to a study by the National Center for Health Statistics.
Most know that exercise lowers cholesterol and decreases the risk of heart disease. And a study has shown that regular aerobic exercise (three hours a week) increases brain volume in older adults, which means better concentration and memory, according to the February 2007 issue of FITNESS magazine.
That’s all great and wonderful. But how do you make it happen today?
Here are some tips from experts on how to make time for exercise, get started and stick with it:
- Check with your doctor first.
Make sure you are healthy enough to begin an exercise program.
- Log off.
That means TV, computers, PDAs.
“Take off all of your electronic leashes … at least once a day, Monday through Friday … and on weekends,” FITNESS recommends. “Use the hours that you’re disconnected to do something healthy, like taking a walk rather than watching TV. When you hop back on the computer to shop or answer e-mail, give yourself a limit.”
- Make a deal with your spouse that you get one hour per day to yourself, provided you use it for exercise — and reciprocate the favor.
“Since it’s for your health, it’s a contract they can’t refuse. And that will allow you to exercise guilt-free while acting as a role model for your children,” Darren Steeves, a trainer in Canada, said in Men’s Health magazine.
- Find a good place to exercise and then get moving.
For instance, if you’re walking and your neighborhood is too hilly or curvy, then find a nearby high school with a track or go to the mall before it opens, suggests wikiHow.com. Many free and/or outdoor options like this are available if going to the gym isn’t appealing to you.
- Start slow.
“If you haven’t been exercising at all, it’s fine to start out walking a few laps and increase over time,” said Joelle Akridge, director of recreation ministries at Shades Mountain Baptist Church, Vestavia Hills.
If you overdo it at the beginning, then “you will be sore and tired and less likely to continue,” Akridge said.
“Many people say, ‘I’m getting in shape!,’ and they go out and run a few laps and feel good, so they run a few more,” she said. “Then they can’t walk the next day because their legs are so sore, so they never go back out.”
Also decide ahead of time how long you will exercise, wikiHow suggests. “Choose a length of time you know you can make. Do not worry about how short that period is. Just keep moving until you reach it. 2–5 minutes each day is a good start (for walking, for instance). That time will increase from week to week.”
And using a book on tape or music makes the time go by faster and encourages you to do a little more, the site notes.
- Schedule exercise into your day — and don’t let it get moved.
“Think of exercise as something you do without question, like brushing your teeth or going to work,” personal trainer Vicki Pierson suggested on PrimusWeb.com.
Put it on a calendar and keep a log of your daily progress as well, she said.
- Sneak exercise into your day.
Take the stairs instead of the elevator, go for a walk on your lunch break, do housework at a fast pace or rake leaves, suggests familydoctor.org.
- Try a social physical activity.
“Often when people make plans to go out with friends and family, they think of going out to eat,” says ScaleBackAlabama.com. “Instead of selecting a restaurant, think of something you can do that will include physical activity.”
The site suggests riding bikes, playing tennis, bowling, hiking and walking as possibilities.
This article is reprinted from the February 7, 2008, issue of The Alabama Baptist, the newspaper of the Alabama Baptist State Convention.