Pledging to exercise regularly is a common New Year’s resolution and, sadly, the one most commonly abandoned. However, research finds several factors can motivate us to stick to our exercise promise.
10 Tips to Keep Your Exercise Promise
1) A big factor in exercise adherence is confidence in our ability to exercise. Exercise “drop-outs” often view themselves as incompetent and uncoordinated, and perceive the activity as being too difficult for them. Therefore, it’s crucial to pick activities that are easy and enjoyable. Start slow and easy; leave major challenging activities for the future.
2) Eat healthfully. A nutritious diet properly fuels the body and the brain and makes us feel more energetic, thereby making us want to be more physical.
3) Have a positive outlook. Exercise should be enjoyable; pick activities you’ll look forward to doing: Killing yourself on the elliptical machine won’t encourage you to return regularly. The mind can be a powerful ally as you strive to succeed at your New Year’s resolution. Decide to exercise because you’re a wonderful person – not because you want to become one. You are exercising because it makes you feel good and you’re worth the effort (not because you’re fat and need to lose 25 pounds).
4) Be patient. Reaching your exercise goal may take months, perhaps even a year from the start of the program. You need to know and accept this to avoid discouragement and frustration.
5) Get professional help from a certified fitness professional, if you have no knowledge about exercise physiology. Be sure your exercise program is effective in helping you reach your goals. If you don’t see (or feel) results, you’ll likely quit exercising.
6) Support and encouragement from family or friends is significantly associated with exercise adherence. If you can’t get your significant other (or a close friend or relative) to support or exercise with you, consider small-group training like boot camps or join a club like a running or cycling club.
7) Easy access. Make exercise convenient: Join a facility nearby or do an activity in your home or immediate neighbourhood. Consider brisk walking or weight training at home with simple weights or improvised ones.
8) Set sensible, realistic goals. We often quit our exercise program when it fails to meet our expectations. You can’t become an Olympic athlete or lose 25 pounds in one month. Incidentally, it’s important to actually set specific goals – like weight loss, stress relief or increasing flexibility – so you can make suitable plans and a sensible timeline to achieve them.
9) Quit bad habits. Smokers and heavy drinkers are less likely to stick to exercising.
10) Learn to love yourself as you are right now! Those with low self-worth and/or poor body image are less likely to stick to an exercise routine.
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Eve Lees has been active in the health & fitness industry since 1979. Currently, she is a Freelance Health Writer for several publication and speaks to business and private groups on various health topics.