Fitness: Today’s Missing Ingredient
Friday, March 23rd, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed
Unfortunately, modern conveniences tend to minimize the amount of activity that we get as a society. Many of us drive everywhere, we have food delivered and we spend alot of time watching television or playing on our computers. None of these activites require much physical movement. We don’t even have to get up and walk to the television anymore in order to change the channel.
If we are not careful, our fitness will decline and so will our health. With obesity constantly rising, it’s more important than ever to incorporate some kind of fitness program into our lifestyle. A complete fitness program includes nutrition, exercise and similar healthy habits.
The easiest way to start or improve our fitness program is to make small changes to our everyday lifestyle. Starting small will make fitness and exercise easier to include in our lives and will not require significant sacrifice and motivation. Small fitness improvements made today, that become a regular part of our lives, can have significant life long health benefits.
Motivation, Motivation, Motivation
Even if we start by taking baby steps towards improving our fitness, we still need motivation to accomplish our new goals. Motivation is needed to get started and to maintain our new habits and lifestyle. There are many ways to motivate yourself, so pick whichever method works best for you. Here are a few fitness and exercise motivation strategies:
- focus on getting into shape for beach season, and wearing your old favorite bathing suit;
- if you have a special occasion, (ie., wedding, birthday, reunion, etc) use that as a motivating deadline for getting into shape;
- find a partner with similar goals and create a support system;
- reward yourself with your dream vacation, give yourself something to look forward to;
- think of activites that you really want to accomplish, that require increased fitness;
- create fitness goals with deadlines, both short-term and long-term; and
- focus on your goals at least 3 times a day and visualize yourself as the new you, etc.
These are just a few suggestions, but really think about the benefits that you want to obtain from your fitness program and why they are important to you. The more emotionally attached you are to your fitness goals and benefits, the more likely you are to accomplish them. Unfortunately, few people are motivated by the mere fact that a fitness program will enable them to live a longer and healthly life. Everyone is motivated by different factors, only you can decide what will work for you.
Starting a fitness program can be as easy as walking 30 minutes, three times a week. If you do not walk now, this small change can really improve your overall fitness. You can accomlish this by walking every morning, walking after dinner, walking to and from the bus station instead of driving, taking the stairs if you are only going up or down 3-5 floors, going inside instead of using the drive through, etc. When you begin to focus on fitness and exercise, you will find small ways everyday to include exercise in your everyday activites.
Seek Advice
If you are ready to begin your fitness program but are not sure what types of activity will be most beneficial, get advice from a professional. You can consult with your doctor, a fitness trainer at your gym, or review fitness guides and information on the internet.
You should always speak with your doctor before starting any new fitness program. Have a complete physical examination and let your doctor know what you are trying to accomplish. Depending upon your current fitness level, he may offer some guidelines that you should follow.
Pick a fitness program that is right for you and get started as soon as possible. Remember, it only takes 21 days to begin a new habit. Once fitness becomes a priority and a habit in your life, exercising and eating right will start to become second nature. Just do it!
The more often you exercise the easier it will be to get to the gym. The most important part is getting started.
To Your Health.
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