Exercise

This article is shamelessly copied this from Mark Scisson at Mark's Daily Apple. His blog is a very good one and one worth following. I wanted to write about exercise and finding the motivation for each of us to get out there and do something. Mark's words ring true; read on!

"There's a lot of advice about exercise floating around out there. Everyone knows they need to work out, yet most of us don't. The big problem is motivation.

Let's face it, WE just don't feel like it.

– We know we need to.
– Once we get going, we usually like it (or at least, it's not a totally miserable experience).
– We always feel better afterwards.
– We sleep better that night.
– We feel really confident and light-hearted for the rest of the day.
– We love that good soreness the next morning.
And yet…we still refuse to exercise habitually.

If you aren't going to exercise, you aren't going to exercise – end of story. If you really want to get fit this year, or simply fitter, there's one surefire way to do it: stop thinking about it and don't wait until you feel like it. Nike is right: just do it.

A lot of exercise advice focuses on convincing you that you need to work out. But please, you're smart – you already know that much. And you know exercise is good for you.

Instead of swearing you'll exercise or promising to stick to a workout regimen, commit to health the easy way: just commit to putting on your sneakers. Really and truly, that is 90% of the battle. Don't think about working out; only think about putting on your shoes. Do that, and it's instantly easier to start the workout. Even if you only do 10 minutes, at least you did something! So commit to shoes.

Don't overestimate yourself. People set hugely unrealistic goals. We think we could all look like Cindy Crawford if we felt like it. We work out a few times, nothing happens, and…we're back to lifestyle circa 2006. If you're not really habituated to working out, it is harder than you think. That's okay. It's actually healthy to accept that. Set smaller, more realistic goals. And we mean small. 10 sit-ups a day. 5 push-ups. A jog to the end of the block and back. A walk to the store. Get used to simply moving every day – and do this for at least a few weeks before you try anything new.

It's kind of annoying to start slow and small, because we naturally want big results and we naturally overestimate our abilities and commitment. Hey, holding too much stock in our capabilities is a huge blessing for the most part – it's actually built into our DNA! But be aware of this tendency. You really do need to be gentle and patient with yourself. You really do need to go slow. And you really will get better results if you start small.”

All from Mark Scisson – www.marksdailyapple.com

Keep working at change; you can do it.
Dr. B