How do you start and maintain Healthy Exercise habits?
As an adult, starting and more importantly, maintaining a regular exercise program is challenging- to say the least.
Here’s five tips that I’ve learned which may help you start and stick to an exercise regime.
Choose a form of exercise you don’t hate
It sounds obvious, but don’t pretend you have to fall in love with your new habit. At the same time, if you hate swimming, don’t pretend your feelings will change over time. Choose something you don’t hate and over time you may even enjoy it.
Get some accountability
This is why personal trainers can make a lot of money. If you have an appointment with a PT at 5am tomorrow, you’re more likely to get out of bed and turn up. Especially if they are going to charge you full price regardless. Join a group of people you don’t hate (see above). It will hold you accountable, you’ll be missed if you don’t show up and may be exercise that other area known as ‘mental health’.
Gamify your regime.
There’s a reason the world is addicted to social media. They make a game of it. Find ways to add enjoyment to your exercise. After swimming, my swim buddies and I get a coffee together and chat. In the last millenium I was a personal trainer. as a 20-30 year old, I would tell 50-60 year old me (My current age group) to jog slowly around the oval a couple of times. When they moaned at me, I’d tell them to take a football with them. The football changed everything. They were reminded of their younger self. They’d bounce, kick, handball, baulk around the oval quite happily. You need to work out how to gamify your workout. Listen to music, give yourself points to doing a little more or for being consistent.
Find a way of measuring improvement
We tend to stick at things that we can see ourselves getting better at. The positive reinforcement we get from making progress is addictive. Keep an eye on your unit of measurement. Turning up is great but you’ve got to get better at walking, lifting, riding, or whatever activity you’ve chosen.
Lastly, don’t go too hard too soon!
If you’re in your mid-fifties I have news for you. Your body feels and reacts differently to when you were 20. You’re far more likely to injure yourself if you do significantly more than your body can handle. Then you’re out of action and you’ll talk yourself into believing that exercise is bad for you. Be kind and ptient with yourself.
The goal is not neccessarily to live a long life, but to live a healthy life. Which will probably lead to you living longer anyway.
Take care of yourself
