I used to have a shirt that said, ?I?m in no shape to exercise?. Does this mentality seem to fit you? If not you, I can tell you that it certainly is the mindset of many of my company?s clients.
With the over abundance of ?all or nothing? exercising programs and the myriad of programs, equipment and options available it can be a bit overwhelming to choose when, where and how to exercise. Even so, for many people, the biggest challenge of all is to come up with a big enough ?Why?? for consistently exercising.
Challenge
I?ve heard all the excuses. I?ll admit I have used them myself. It?s easy to say I have no time, it seems no one has time anymore. No doubt, we all have busy lifestyles these days. Many people tell me they are intimidated going into the gym. I understand this, I have felt that way myself in the past. It?s not fun to go to a gym full of young, fit people who are clearly there to pick up on each other.
I used to go to a step class where many of the women wore makeup and did their hair before class because the male instructor was nice looking (married, too, but that didn?t seem to bother these women). I was there to workout and get in shape, I felt out of place.
Do you find exercise boring? Many people do, especially when they don?t see immediate results. I also hear ?I?ve tried it before but it didn?t work.? That could be for many reasons. You may have been overexercising (yes, there is such a thing!), if you were looking for weight loss, you may have been eating too much or too little which will not prove effective.
Exercise takes work and commitment. No wonder why so many people are still looking for a quick fix. I don?t need to tell you that you aren?t going to find one ? not on TV, not in a pill, and not even with a diet. The simple truth is you need to exercise consistently and feed your body and your spirit using the all the steps in this report.
Solution
Exercise is a crucial piece of eating guilt-free. It will help you through the first five steps covered in this report. Exercise increases metabolism, reduces stress, lowers the intensity of negative feelings, helps to maintain blood sugar, and increases self-esteem. You probably already know all this. But how do you get yourself going?
When it comes to exercising perhaps Nike?s advertising team said it best, ?Just Do It!? To get motivated and keep your commitment to exercise, you need to find a good reason to do it. I can tell you that losing 20 pounds or fitting into a size 6 is not a reason that will keep you going. What else is important to you? Some reasons my clients have had in the past include being a more available and emotionally stable mother, being a loving spouse, living long enough to see grandchildren, and more energy and focus in business. Really think about this and share your reasons with someone else.
But once you?ve motivated yourself to actually doing it, the next step is to determine where and how to exercise. This is actually pretty easy. First, forget everything you have heard about the ?best? type of exercise, the best time of day, and the best place to workout. The best exercise is the one you enjoy and will actually do, the best time is when you can and when works best for your body, and the best place is what is most convenient for you!
Don?t fall into the ?all-or-nothing? trap. You don?t need to go run at an all-out pace for an hour. In fact, the American College of Sports Medicine makes two recommendations. The first is a minimum of 20 minutes of aerobic activity three times a week at an intensity of 60 to 90% of your maximum heart rate. I can just imagine your eyes glazing over right now.
Don?t worry, the second recommendation is much better: Accumulate a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate activity most days of the week. This includes walking, gardening, housecleaning and many other active daily tasks. You can even get exercise benefits by dividing a workout into 10 minute bouts, 3 times a day! That should help with that time excuse!
This article has been excerpted from the special report, ?6 Simple Steps to Guilt-Free Eating? available for download at www.healthieroutcomes.com.
