Habit!
When exercise becomes a habit, it becomes part of your daily life and when you don’t do it, you feel kind of guilty.
Do you enjoy mundane tasks like brushing your teeth, or washing your car?
I’d say your answer is no, but how do you feel when you’ve completed those chores?
A clean fresh mouth and a clean comfortable car, are pretty enjoyable, yeah?!
And if you didn’t do these two things, I’d say you’d also feel a little guilty.
Exercising can also be seen as a chore, even when you are well aware of all the health benefits that you will get from being more active.
You might struggle to find motivation, and trust me we’ve all been there.
It can be a little tough to get going, you might be too busy, with a hundred other things that you would prefer to do rather than get all hot and sweaty and exercise.
But, this is where having some positive foresight comes into play.
If exercising becomes habitual for you (which it will after around 21 days), you will recognise that the hard work leaves you feeling great and you’ll be super pleased with yourself that you’ve done it.
So, to make exercise more habitual, set some S.M.A.R.T goals for yourself:
For example, I want to walk for 20 minutes every day.
For example, I want to be able to complete 10 full-body weight squats.
For example, I want to improve my flexibility and mobility to reduce pain in my lower back.
For example, I want to reduce my blood sugar levels by being more active.
For example, I want to lose five to 10 kilograms in six months.
So, next time you know you should exercise but really can’t be bothered, get over that hurdle and stop making excuses, and like Nike says “Just do it!”
Do this and you will certainly feel a sense of accomplishment when you’ve finished the workout.
Keep this ritual of regular exercise up, and within a short period of time (around three weeks), you might even start actually enjoying exercise and you will even feel guilty if you don’t get moving every day.
So don’t forget, it’s the motivation that will get you started and the habit that will keep you going.
Good Luck!