Change
your perspective
Shift
your thinking from couch potato mentality to thinking
like an athlete. This may sound like a big challenge, but it’s not as big a
leap as you think. Essex, Massachusetts mom April Bowling, 33, stopped using
her busy life as an excuse not to exercise. After the birth of her children
(now ages 5 and 3), Bowling started viewing exercise as a way to set a strong
example for her kids.
“At first
I looked at it as time away from them, but I realized kids do what they see you
doing,” she says. “Now both kids are very physically active.”
Bowling
started thinking about her workouts at odd hours as a blessing rather than a
sacrifice. She also found inspiration in others—looking outward for extra
motivation. “Take inspiration from everyone you meet—even people who can’t be
physically active,” she says. “It reinforces why I’m lucky.” Whether you need
to hang an “I’m lucky” sticky note on the mirror, or you can see the power of
health in your children’s eyes, committing to a fitness routine begins in your
head.
Set a
goal
There’s
nothing more motivating — sometimes even scary — than that first 5K looming in
bold letters on the calendar. Register early and commit to an exercise program
that will get you in shape by race day.
“Set
realistic goals that include clear milestones, and as you progress toward your
goal, you’ll find a ripple effect occurs and things fall into place in your
work, home life and health,” says Stacy Fowler, a Denver-based personal trainer
and life coach.
The goal
doesn’t even have to be an organized race. Maybe it’s a mission to fit into that bikini by the annual beach vacation or that
old pair of jeans buried in your closet. Whatever it is is, define it, write it
down and revisit it daily.
Make sure
it’s realistic and you can actually adapt your life around meeting the goal, says Philip
Haberstro, executive director of the National Association for Health and Fitness
in Buffalo, N.Y. Otherwise you’re setting yourself up for failure. Bowling
started with a mini triathlon in 2006 (250 yard swim, 10 mile bike ride and 3.5
mile run). This year she completed Ironman Wisconsin (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile
bike ride and 26.2 mile run).
Schedule
a regular workout time
Some of
the most committed exercisers do it every day before the sun comes up or late
at night when the kids are in bed. Sit down with your weekly schedule and try
to build in an hour each day to be good to your body.
Tamira
Cole, 24, a graduate student in Clarksville,Tenn., was motivated to exercise
regularly by the energy boost it brought to her day. “It’s easy to stay in bed.
But you have to set an alarm and take the extra initiative,” she says. “Then
you’ll find you have more energy and can be more efficient throughout the day.”
If you
convince yourself you’ll fit in a workout some time after that last meeting,
once the kids go down for a nap or when your spouse arrives home on time,
failure is certain. Chances are a last-minute invitation will come along;
weather will foil a bike ride; or the kids won’t nap. Write your workout on
your calendar, set up daycare, and rearrange things around this one hour as if
were any other important appointment you have to keep. Or use technology like
daily e-mail reminders, workout journaling websites or iPhone applications to
keep you on task, says Haberstro.
Think fun
and variety
By nature,
humans need change and variety to stay motivated. We also need to
have fun — even while we’re working hard. Do both!
Whether
it’s a toning and sculpting class that changes choreography every week or a
trail run that changes scenery every season, design your exercise routine
around a variety of exercise methods. Make sure you include
activities you truly enjoy and look forward to doing. Think movement that's
more like recreation and makes you forget you're working out — like dancing, hula hooping or playing sports with family and friends.
Listen to
your inner voice when choosing the best workout for you, says Fowler. Cole
found a hip-hop class that satisfied her passion for dance. “I had more energy
from dancing than I did from running,” she says.
Workout
variety also challenges your body in unique ways, which may introduce you to
new muscle groups you didn’t even know you had. Consider disciplines that give
you more bang for your buck, suggests Haberstro. Ta’i
chi and yoga,
for example, serve dual purposes as mental therapy and physical activity. Or
try a workout DVD to help you shake up your routine.)
Reach out
to others for support
In
America, some tend to have trouble asking for help, says Bowling. Yet in order
to stick to a fitness program, we need buy-in and encouragement from other
people.
“Exercising
is built into our family life," Bowling adds. “We view it as a necessity.
Sometimes it takes the place of watching TV together.”
For others,
it’s finding a friend with a shared zest for running, and planning scheduled
workouts together. It’s easy to hit the snooze button when it’s just you, but
much harder to leave a friend waiting at the track.
Consider
joining a social networking site or online community with fitness trainers and
nutrition experts — and support from other people trying to lose weight and
maintain healthy eating and exercise routines. People who get this kind of
online support are proven to lose three times more weight than people going it
alone.
Lobbying
your workplace to offer on-site fitness, yoga or Pilates classes will also
support your mission for a healthy lifestyle, Haberstro points out.
So start
thinking of yourself as an athlete, and not a spectator. Set a goal, enlist a
friend, mark it on your calendar and have some fun. You’ll be setting yourself
up for a lifetime of better health, more happiness, and more energy for
everything else in your life.
Even if you already have a routine and know which machines to use and how, pay for a personal trainer. Since most of them charge you if you cancel last minute, you’ll be less inclined to recline on the sofa watching Wife Swap instead of hitting the gym like you'd planned. Sure, times are tough for most of us financially. But that means you should be cutting back on unnecessary costs—and your health doesn’t fit the bill.
Rise to the Occasion
Literally. Get up an hour earlier three days a week and work out first thing in the morning, before work. If you plan to go after work, it's a lot easier to tell yourself you had an especially exhausting day and throw in the towel.
Have a "Lazy Day" Backup Plan
Invest in the basics for a quick at-home workout: an exercise mat and two 5-pound free weights. That way, when you really don't feel like making the trip to the gym, you'll have the resources to spend 30 minutes flexing your muscles at home. Even if you do fewer crunches, lunges, and bicep curls at home, it's better than skipping out on your workout altogether
Keep a Log
Hang up a calendar in an obvious spot that is devoted solely to tracking your workouts. Every day you don't work out, mark it with a giant red "X." If you skip two or three days in a row you'll be faced with all of those giant "X"s--a visual reminder that it's time to get your butt in gear.
Bribe Yourself
It's always easier to get through something you don't want to do when you have something to look forward to after. On weekends, plan something fun post-workout. Tell yourself you'll stop for a pedicure on the way home from the gym, or plan a girls' night out for that evening. That way, the gym will be just a stop on the way to something else you're actually looking forward to.
Dress the Part
You know how when you get new shirt or dress, you're in a better mood to go out on a Saturday night? Well, the same can apply to working out. Putting on the same sweats and sports bra day after day can get old fast and become just another reason not to motivate. So once a month, treat yourself to a new piece of fitness fashion. Before you know it, you'll be in such great shape, you'll find yourself in the dressing room trying on those itty bitty Spandex shorts you swore you'd never be caught dead in. Because damn, you look good in them.
Buddy Up
You've no doubt heard it before: Having a friend to work out makes you more apt to stick to your fitness plan. So do it. And for extra motivation, make a pact: Each one of you sets up an "I'm lazy" jar. Then, whenever someone bails, she has to put $5 in her jar. When her jar gets up to $20 (four missed workouts), she has to buy you a gift with the dough. And vice versa.
Keep Your iPod Fresh
There's nothing worse than going through an hour-long workout in silence. Except maybe suffering through bad music that the gym blasts over their speakers. Or the same old music that you've had on rotation on your iPod for weeks. So create a high-energy playlist of stuff you like on your iPod--and remember to change it up every week to stay motivated.
Steer Clear of the Scale
Fitness experts will tell you not to weigh yourself regularly--when you build muscle, your poundage may go up before it goes down, which can be frustrating and motivation killing. If you know that, then you probably already tossed your own scale out the window. Yet there it is, the mother of all scales, mocking you in the locker room at the gym. This one, you can't get rid of. So just treat it like a cheesecake: If you must indulge, do it only once in a great while. Like, once every eight weeks
Shake Things Up
Most gyms offer group classes in everything from yoga, to spinning, to hip-hop to African dance. Tell yourself you'll try one new thing every week, to break up your normal routine. Yeah, you may end up hating belly dancing, but by the time you're at home saying, "I hated that belly dancing class," you'll have 60 minutes of cardio under your belt.
Chart Your Progress
Weight
loss is serious business. Treat it that way. Weigh yourself every morning--a
study in the Annals of Behavior Medicine shows that people who do daily
weigh-ins are more successful losers--and write the number down. If you're even
vaguely computer savvy, it's a snap to create a chart with a fever line that
shows the pounds dropping away over time. When you get discouraged--say, you
haven't lost a pound in a week--seeing your long-term progress will boost your
motivation.
