This is a guest post by Winston Cole a teacher, engineer and web publisher with several sites including a cruise vacation planning website.
Let’s face it most people don’t want to exercise because they see exercise as being a chore. Their lives are already busy enough and they just don’t have the time to exercise. There are plenty of clever excuses that people make, to convince themselves that they really don’t have the time to exercise. However, most of the time, these excuses are just conveniences that people use, to make themselves feel better for not exercising.
Eliminate excuses and start now
Common excuses that people use to justify their reasons for not exercising include, “I don’t have the time to exerciseâ€, “I’m too oldâ€, “I’ll start next yearâ€, as well as many more.
Most people will have spare hours in their day, set a period of time that is reserved for exercising. It doesn’t have to be long. Half an hour is plenty of time for beginners. As far as age is concerned, there is nothing stopping you from taking 30 minute walks each day or even joining up a yoga class, which people of any age can participate in.
The ‘New Years’ excuse, is just delaying the inevitable so that it never arrives. When the New Year arrives, a massive increase in gym attendance is followed by a massive decrease in gym attendance, usually within the first month. You have to start exercising now, not tomorrow, not next week or next year but now, if you want to get fit. With that in mind, below are various methods that can help to make working out more enjoyable.
You don’t have to exercise alone
When people imagine themselves exercising, they see themselves working out alone, bored out of their minds. Although with time, exercising on your own will become engaging, when you first start out you will probably find it hard to motivate yourself or have fun, when working out.
This is where your friends come in, you probably have a good time whenever you’re with your friends (otherwise they wouldn’t be your friends). So why not join a gym with your friends or start exercising with them? Even better, if you have friends who regularly exercises, then start working out with them.
Exercise will no longer seem like a chore, because you’ll be having a good time, which will provide you with more than enough motivation to keep things going. If you are at a similar level of fitness as your friends, you can even motivate one another by competing with each other, after all what are friends for?
Take part in sporting activities
A lot of the time you can get a healthy amount of exercise in, without even exercising. If you enjoy watching sports, then a great way for you to get fitter is to participate in them with your friends. Sports such as soccer are great team games which can improve fitness. Tennis is a great game to build up reflexes and endurance. You should aim to participate in some sort of sporting activity that you enjoy, perhaps once or twice a week to begin with.
You could also take part in other activities, everyone has different interests but walking, jogging, swimming and climbing are all great activities. If you watch sports on TV regularly, then there is nothing stopping you and your friends from participating in these sports, after all you should know all about them if you’re interested in them. Who knows, you might even discover talent that you never knew you had before.
Sometimes it’s the little things that count
Okay, so for whatever reason, you haven’t yet signed up to a gym or got round to creating a workout schedule. However this doesn’t mean that your hopes of getting fitter are over, there are still plenty of small things that you can do.
Do you usually drive to work? Instead why not start walking to work? If this isn’t possible, then park a little further away from wherever you work and walk the extra distance. Do you usually take elevators or lifts? Instead, start walking or even jogging up flights of stairs, this is great for increasing leg strength. When you’re at home, watching TV and don’t know what to do when the adverts are on, why not complete a mini workout? 5 minutes of push-ups, sit-ups and squats is all it takes, if you’re watching a program that has three 5 minute breaks, that’s a very good 15 minute workout right there. There are plenty of little things that you can do throughout the day to get fitter, you’re only limited by your creativity.
The most important thing is to have fun
Exercise doesn’t have to be a chore or extra work. There are plenty of ways to get in healthy amounts of exercise, without even having a specific workout routine. The most important thing when exercising, especially for beginners, is to have fun. If you are not having fun, then change things. For example, workout with a group of your friends and take part in sporting activities that you enjoy. Challenge your minds creativity and your body’s physical abilities. Create an exercise routine that is unique to you and is something that you actually enjoy doing.
About the Author
Winston Cole is a teacher, engineer and web publisher with several sites including a cruise vacation planning website. He is an enthusiastic sportsman, who enjoys cycling, swimming and tennis. In his spare time Winston does engage on various self-improvement activities
Traveling also is another favorite pastime of his. Winston has traveled around the world’s most fascinating places in America, Europe and Africa. His passion for life and learning attracts him to the history, food, and music of other cultures. He says “This is good because I love being with people; I don’t know a stranger! “
