February 7th, 2008 in Lifestyle

Five Ways to Pick up the Exercise Habit Again

Even people who consistently stick to an effective health and fitness routine can sometimes fall out of the exercise habit from time to time. Getting back on track can be challenging unless ways are found to rebuild a strong desire to start exercising again.

Here are 5 ways to give yourself the mental kick in the pants that you need to stop procrastinating, get up off the couch, and get back into the habit.

Use it as an excuse to get “me” time. If you lead a life of chaos where it seems like every moment of your time is consumed with work, family, school, or household obligations, use a consistent exercise routine as an excuse to spend some much needed quality time all by yourself. Block off a part of your day where you are utterly unavailable, and tell everyone in your circle of influence to leave you alone during that time. Spend at least 30 minutes working up a good sweat every day, and during that time give absolutely no consideration to anyone or anything other than your own needs and desires.
Put away your “fat” clothes. It’s a lot easier to put off exercising whenever we can hide our fat rolls underneath clothes that make us feel like we’re not as out of shape as we really are. Take all of the clothes that allow you to hide your extra pounds and put them in a box. Tape the box up and put it in your garage or your attic, and force yourself to wear clothes that don’t hide the lumps.
Make yourself an irresistible offer. The idea of giving yourself a reward for losing weight is nothing new. However, most people choose lame rewards like a nice dinner, or a night on the town. If you want to crank up your motivation to get in shape, don’t offer yourself something that only lasts for a few hours. Promise yourself an entire weekend of frivolity, a shopping spree, or maybe even a new “toy” like a flat-screen TV, or a new dining room set. Make your reward something that you are actually willing to work for.
Turn it into a social experience. Misery loves company, as they say, so why not get rid of your own misery with a partner who is in the same boat? You have a friend, a neighbor, a co-worker, or a family member who also needs to lose weight, so grab a partner and make a solemn pact to force each other to stick to it. If you’re single, use this as an excuse to find a mate. Don’t “hide” your extra pounds when filling out an online dating profile. Put it out there for all to see that you want to drop 20 or 30 pounds. It’s guaranteed that other people are in your same situation.
Take a good look in the mirror. When all else fails, get naked and stand in front of a full-length mirror. Take a good look from the front, turn to the side, and even turn around and look back over your shoulder at your backside. If you need to lose even 10 pounds, the mirror will be more than happy to show them to you. At least once or twice a week stand naked in front of the mirror until you start to like how your body looks from every angle.

Aaron M. Potts

Aaron Potts is a personal development blogger and self improvement enthusiast who owns the Today is that Day blog. Aaron is also the owner of the Personal Development Partners website, a social networking site dedicated to the concept of people partnering up for success!

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Tejvan Pettinger says on February 7th, 2008 at 10:35 am
good article. most important thing is to choose an activity you enjoy doing
Stephen Martile says on February 7th, 2008 at 10:43 am
I love the reward system. I don’t use it directly for exercising but I do give myself rewards for meeting deadlines and achieving specific outcomes or goals.
I use the reward system to throw myself a ‘CONGRATULATION PARTY’, acknowledging a job well done.
Sometimes I even plan these parties ahead of time knowing that I have a deadline to meet. Once I get the work done I know that I’m going to be walking right into my own party!
Happy partying,
Stephen Martile
Personal Development Made Simple
http://www.stephenmartile.com
The Grub Hound says on February 7th, 2008 at 10:49 am
I like the idea of putting away the “fat clothes”…maybe my wife and I will make a deal to go to Hawaii as our reward…I am going to have to do more food reviews of healthy places instead of all the cheese steak places in Philly.
James Cronen says on February 7th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
A couple more that I like:
1. Make exercise a reward. Doing this changes exercise in your mind from punishment to prize. So if you accomplish something at work, treat yourself to a night at the gym. After not too long you associate exercise with reward, and it’s a lot easier to go to the gym on rainy evenings.
2. Along the lines of putting away your fat clothes, feel uncomfortable in the clothes you wear. Wearing that pair of jeans that’s too tight makes you remember that you’re approaching the limits of your acceptable size. The only way to get rid of the discomfort is to drop a few pounds.
I’m down fifteen pounds since this past August. These strategies worked for me, and I didn’t change my diet at all.
Good luck everyone!
Steve says on February 7th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
# Take a good look in the mirror.
Sounds like a recipe for anorexia or a body dismorphia disorder
candice says on February 7th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
Much like budgeting, it also helps to set a goal for exercising.
I never exercised regularly until I signed up for the Aids Marathon program. I set a goal of running a marathon within a year. The program helped by charting incremental gains over a year that helped keep me motivated and the fact that I was raising money for a good cause got me out of bed on many a reluctant early morning.
There’s a bunch of these kinds of programs (team in training, etc) that group you with people in your speed range and keep you on a regular exercise schedule in a way that’s fun and social.
It worked for me. :) I finished the LA marathon in 7 hours.
Ross Goodman says on February 7th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
This came at just the right time for me.
I have just agreed to do some charity events and am just back from my first “training” session, 4 mile walk, with dog, 1 hour.
You may laugh but it is much more than I have done in a long time. And here I am slouched in front of the computer again…..
From now on it’s not training, it’s ME TIME !
Thanks
Ross
http://www.RossGoodman.com/fundraising
Kate says on February 7th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
What about the people who want to exercise because it’s a healthy life choice and not just because they want to look good in their skinny jeans?!
Standing in front of the mirror checking my tush isn’t going to give me motivation unless I’m overweight and care about it. How do I convince myself to improve my mood, my energy levels, and my life-span?
Trent says on February 7th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
I don’t think saying that you want to lose 30lbs in your dating profile is going to help. Talk is cheap. A better strategy is to understand how much more attention you’ll get from the opposite sex (or the same sex, if that’s your thing) when you lose weight.
I think a great motivator for losing weight is to lose a little bit, and then try to meetup with people you haven’t seen in awhile. They will often comment that you look like you’ve lost weight. That is a great motivator.
Brandon says on February 7th, 2008 at 6:01 pm
A motorcycle is a great incentive for any guy, and it promotes healthiness as well, it takes much more energy to ride a bike then driving a car.
John says on February 7th, 2008 at 6:01 pm
Try reffing. Tonnes of sports around North America are short on referees. You get paid, and you have to commit to a schedule – guaranteeing that you will be out there getting great excercise a couple of times a week. Plus, you’re helping our youth have fun and keep fit and safe by participating in sports!
It worked for me!
Fraize says on February 7th, 2008 at 6:09 pm
#3 is a bad idea. Most people who fail to motivate themselves to work out (myself included) tend to bargain their way out of going. Consequently, it is equally easy to give yourself the reward you would have gotten anway.
anon says on February 7th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
and if the last step isn’t working, develop an eating disorder?
len says on February 7th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
Losing weight by burning calories in exercise is, for the vast majority of people, a losing proposition. I’m not against exercise at all, do a lot of it myself, but it’s not an efficient or reliable for primary weight loss.
The only reliable way to lose weight is by nutrition of a daily caloric deficit, coupled with healthy, low glycemic, mostly raw foods. The huge barrier to the nutritional approach is the USA toxic food industry and its Standard American (pathogenic) Diet, SAD, plus wide-spread ignorance about what is and isn’t nutritious. It’s like we’ve forgotten how to live and eat, while being distracted and confused by a Tower of Babbling quacks and scammers, including crutch-y, girl-y articles how to “pick up an exercise habit”, which supposes one has to be tricked or cajoled or forced into this impossibly difficult chore of exercise.
Wanna lose weight? change your nutrition.
Wanna get fit? exercise
John says on February 7th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
The thing that gets me out several times a week is just having an awesome playlist of music. I always look forward to my workout hour where I can zone out to my favorite tunes.
Michael says on February 7th, 2008 at 11:03 pm
Exercise is such a great form of “me” time. For me it gives me a chance to let my brain rest, which does all my work during the day, and let my body takeover. This little 30-60 minute break helps my brain recharge, helps me get my thoughts in order, and helps my body feel great.
Larry H says on February 8th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
The most important thing – once you decide to pick up the exercise habit – is to make it enjoyable. You can force yourself to do repetitious workouts, but there’s no reason to let them become tedious. There is every reason to keep them varied; the idea that you need to pound the Elliptic for 40 minutes is guaranteed to make it a grind. Instead, vary your exercise patterns. Mix it up – speed, agility, weight training, aerobics; sprinting is a great exercise. Don’t stay tied to the gym either.
My feeling is, it’s about the body. The purpose is to get healthier and have more energy, be more vital, etc. Then listen to your body and be creative…
JoLynn Braley says on February 8th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
Getting rid of those “fat clothes” after you’ve gotten is shape is a great way to keep your exercise habits in check….it’s so easy to falter when you know in the back of your mind that you always have something to wear if you hang onto them, I’ve done that before.
Viveca Stone-Berry says on February 9th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
My best of way of keeping with my exercise program is staring at me right now from the comfort of her couch.
She goes by the name of Velvet and she is a 95 lb heart on legs who has been after me for the past hour to go out for our morning walk.
My other motivators are my husband (we just joined a gym together) and my local SPCA where I walk dogs for some 10,000 steps every Wednesday afternoon.
I wish I was GREAT at taking good care of myself but I confess that my love of animals and my best friends bring out the best in me and keep me healthy.
On that note, I gotta go put my walking shoes on.
Fitness Guy says on February 11th, 2008 at 12:48 am
Yes these are right and they all work. If you are truly excited about changing your life and want to make positive change then following these 5 ideas will do it for you.
There is also a post at http://www.dumblittleman.com that tells you what to do to make that change. Thanks for the great post again.
Suzie says on February 11th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
Take a good look in the mirror:
This is a good idea because it forces you to confront yourself and the way you look. You’re either going to be happy about it or not. I recently took it one step further, by taking a picture of myself in my swim suit, both front and side pose. I got the idea from the fitness magazines that regularly post before and after photos of people who have lost weight. I hung one photo on the wall of my bedroom and one in my bathroom. It’s a constant reminder to go to the gym because I want to look better than that this summer.
chuckngayle says on April 15th, 2008 at 1:04 am
Enjoyed your article Aaron,
Seeing is believing,that mirror on the wall does not lie,and yes, not covering up,you get what you see. That does motivate!
To be honest, Ive been working out for
60 yrs, and what works now, is listening
to great music for 2to3hrs. I never leave
home with out my I-pod and the time seems
to fly right by!!!
marc white says on May 7th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
Absolutely, if it is to be…than it is up to me!! If you can get through the first month you will almost assuredly be hooked and always be drawn to the gym to perform even better than your previous workout
personal trainer says on June 26th, 2008 at 1:00 am
These are all great strategies but I would argue that get professional help should be the #1 strategy.
Professional help will cause you and the professional to be accountable for decisions which will cause to be more disciplined as well as many other benefits which a person could not obtain alone.
davesworkout says on July 4th, 2008 at 1:21 am
I find that tracking my food intake and calories helps keep me motivated to exercise. When I know exactly how many calories i have to burn, it sure helps keep me running! my site has a nice calorie counter to help you keep track.
Ro says on January 9th, 2009 at 4:59 am
I really like the tip about giving yourself a reward that you really want to work for. Good job!