Congratulations for starting exercise! Now you have to stand being a beginner.
Well done! In Greece we say that ” The start is the half of everything”. So you are already 50% towards your goal!
You have already come this far, so you shouldn’t let feelings of uncomfortableness distract you from your path. It’s only natural for you to feel awkward, and maybe silly sometimes, since this is something new to you. Hang in there, it will pass soon.
15. Focus on the immediate benefits you get from each exercise session, rather than obsessing about your bigger losing weight, looking better, etc goals.
Now set your big goals (e.g., losing weight, looking better) aside. Instead, focus on the benefits you will get from exercise are feeling good both physically and mentally after each session. This is the best motivator when you feel low and don’t want to get up from the couch.
16. Not feeling like exercising today? Just start.
Didn’t I jest say that in Greece we say that ” The start is the half of everything”? Exactly! So just get up and do the first minute of your exercise. You will probably end up continuing your session to the end.
17. Playing mind tricks and promising yourself you’ll do it tomorrow, if only you don’t do it today?
Deep inside you know you are lying; You know you will never make up for that missed workout; You know these are all empty promises; Then why do you fall for it?
Just start. Just do the first minute.
18. Keep up the fun in exercise: Add variety to your home workouts by using furniture, paper plates, or your sofa…as your exercise gear.
Exercise gear does not have to be limited to dumbbells.Exercise can be creative…
What if you used a backpack instead of dumbbells?
Or, plastic plates to do..sliding workouts?
Keep coming up with new equipment, and who knows, you may not even have to leave the couch to exercise…What if you could work out from your sofa?
19. Keep up the fun in exercise: Experiment with different levels of intensity. Why not try tabata?
Want to get a challenge? Then try doing tabata!
Tabata is a very effective way of internal training. Pick 4 exercises. Do 8 rounds of each exercise, doing as many repetitions as you can.
Each round consists of 20 sec of exercise and 10 sec of rest. That should take you exactly 16 min. See some 3-min tabata examples here and here.
Rounds 1-8: Exercise 1 (e.g., squats)
Rounds 2-16: Exercise 2 (e.g., push-ups)
Rounds 17-24: Exercise 3 (e.g., planks)
Rounds 25-32: Exercise 4 (e.g., lunges)
20. Skipping exercise? Have a plan B.
Life is unpredictable. There will be times when you cannot do your planned workout. Skipping exercise will lower your momentum though, and this is not something what you want to allow, right? You have put in so much effort to increase your momentum, you cannot just let it decrease for no reason.
What if you had a back-up plan?
Even having just 1 exercise in your back-up plan will help you sustain your exercise habit and keep your momentum. Ha, just one exercise can get you faaaar!
“It does not matter how slow you go, as long as you do not stop”. – Confucius
21. Work out when traveling.
What happens to your workouts when you travel? Hmmm, I don’t hear an answer coming from your part… Well, time to change that.
Traveling is not an excuse to not get the additional energy that comes from a work out!
Traveling is also not an excuse to let your momentum decrease by not doing exercise.
22. Remind yourself what happens when you stop. Remember that piano lessons you had as a kid? What happened to them?
I am sure you don’t want to have the same thing happening to your recently achieved flat belly if you stop. What if you never stop exercising again, and just keep building on the great foundation you are forming right now? How awesome will you become? How strong? How lean? How healthy? How energized?
However, you haven’t stopped! You are well on your way! Sounds like a good time to update your family and friends on your progress?
E. Optimize and get more with less.
Wow, by now you are an exerciser! Strip away all the activities that eat your resources without providing value, and explore new ways to add activity in your life!
23. Increase your movement throughout the day with incidental exercise.
Have you tried incidental exercise? Incidental exercise refers to exercise that you can just do:
- Taking the stairs instead of the elevator.
- Parking more far away when you go to the super-market.
- Biking to the post office.
Plus, incidental exercise can be fun: Playing with your kids more often is a great way to burn calories and fill up with joy!
24. Deal with new fears that pop up.
Exercising is a journey. Several fears may come up during this process.
- Am I losing enough weight?
- Do I look like a fool when I do this exercise?
- Is this exercise safe?
Review them carefully using this checklist to see if they are valid or not. Healthy fears serve to protect you, while unhealthy ones will only serve to hold you back!
25. Is your exercise process simple enough?
Here is when minimalism gets handy. Is your exercise process simple enough? Are there too many hidden cost activities?
Are you sure there is nothing else to eliminate?
Maybe it’s time to get comfortable working out in your jeans so that you don’t have to change into athletic gear each and every time you want to do some exercise?
26. Exercise is just plain fun; Why not use it to fight against boredom?
Working out to fight boredom is one of my favorite ways to exercise. Recently, I had to wait for 2 hours for my skydiving session and I used exercise as a way to have fun and constructively use my time.