I need to exercise, you need to exercise, we all need to exercise!
Sometimes, I have a struggle with myself when it comes to keeping my body moving.
It tends to happen when I am working on too many exciting things.
This can appear to leave my time short for exercise and fitness.
The problem is, once I quit moving my body, my endorphins stop as well and life can begin to get a little depressing.
When this happens, I get very little done.
“Just getting out in the fresh air every day, for even as little as 30 minutes is beneficial!”
Here are 10 tips you can start using today that will keep your body moving.
1- Time is Relative
No matter how busy you might think you are, it is important to make the time! Maybe you tell yourself that you don’t have time, but it is truly a matter of setting priorities.
Have you ever noticed the mysterious way that the more time you spend exercising, the more time there seems to be in the day?
Its funny how that works!
One reason is because exercising creates more energy, and time seems to stretch when our energy is high.
Endorphins have something to do with it as well. Movement, over time releases endorphins and endorphins create a feeling of well being, even euphoria for some people.
The truth is, the more you keep your body moving, the more active you become, and the more time there seems to be!
2- Find something you love to do!
You need to do something you enjoy, because if its not fun, you will find a way to put it off.
It doesn’t really matter what it is as long as you enjoy doing it.
If you love to do Yoga or go for walks, that is what will work best for you.
This combination works great for me and I truly enjoy it, plus pleasure is highly addictive, so it is a part of the day that I look forward to!
There is nothing like getting out and getting a little fresh air and moving your body.
You might love weights and strength training.
Maybe you would prefer to use a stationary bike or other fitness equipment.
Some of us do better with a schedule of going to the gym.
Whatever it is that you enjoy, make it part of your routine!
If you enjoy it, and it keeps you active, then it’s very good for you.
3- Try pairing an exercise you don’t love with something you do love!
If you have a history of quitting your fitness routine, maybe you just don’t love to dance or swim or use weights.
Try pairing that routine you don’t love with some of the things you do love!
For example, pair dancing with romance. Who doesn’t love going out dancing with a romantic partner?
Pair swimming with boating or the beach. Maybe a public pool is not your cup of tea. Maybe you prefer a pool over the beach!
Instead of simply going for a walk, make a list of places, streets, shopping areas or parks in your neighborhood. Decide to be excited about exploring them.
You can add to the fun by joining a local group or inviting a friend, neighbor or family member!
I like walking in my neighborhood where I can wave at the mail lady and chat for a minute with my neighbors. This makes me feel connected. Plus, it’s a big dose of healthy, in more ways than one!
The main thing is to experiment and find what is right for you.
Some of us may like the competitiveness and teamwork involved in sports. If that is your favorite way to keep your body moving, then join a basketball team or perhaps a volleyball team. If there isn’t anything like this available, start one!
Pairing can be the perfect ticket for you if you love to be social. It won’t even feel like exercise if you enjoy it.
4- Clarify the benefits you want to achieve.
Do you want to lose weight, de-stress, build strength, improve your game, rebuild your knees?
Write your objectives down and use them to build enthusiasm!
We all have areas of our body we would like to improve.
Take an inventory of what you know you can actually achieve and write it down.
Add exercises or activities that you enjoy and that would improve the areas on your list.
Make a plan!
Being clear about your ‘why’ is a way to stay on track, measure your progress, and feel some gratification as you go.
Image via Pixabay
5- It’s important, so schedule it!
Exercise is like any other activity on our schedule. If we don’t write it down, it may not happen.
Schedule it into your day, week and month. If it’s on the calendar and the choice is either do it or cancel it, you will be much more likely to do it.
Set objectives, such as what, how long and how often.
The point is, you are making a firm commitment to keep your body moving by making it important enough to schedule.
Is it important? It must be important to you or you wouldn’t be reading this!
Take it to the next level and do something about it.
6- Get more done in less time.
There is an endless list of fitness techniques, some of which have already been mentioned. One popular one that is gaining some interest is called HIIT. It stands for High Intensity Interval Training.
It involves a warm up period, and then you perform several repetitions of high intensity exercises, separated by medium intensity, and then complete with a cool down period.
The idea is that you start out slowly and build up to intense bursts of effort.
You do this about 10 times and you have a really good workout.
You can find more information on this here.
Or, try this.
Two minutes walking, two minutes jogging and then run as fast and hard as you can for one minute. Repeat this five times.
If you get bored with that, then you can switch to a bicycle and do one minute pedaling slowly, one minute pedaling moderately and then peddle your heart out for another minute. Do this about 10-15 times.
You can vary it any way you want.
7- Know the reasons why you are moving that body
The unfortunate truth of the matter is, if you don’t keep your body moving on a regular basis, than the odds are that you will eventually develop some form of illness.
Exercise helps to prevent heart disease, diabetes, cancer, depression, osteoporosis and arthritis (just to name a few).
Exercise has also been found to make you smarter (proven), leaner and healthier.
Plus, exercise gives you energy! We all could use more of that!
Make it a priority to stay updated on all the ways exercise helps you stay healthy.
8- Get the kids involved in shaking their booty!
Studies show that children perform better academically if they get regular exercise. Not just a little bit, but significantly!
Make it a part of regular life to keep your body moving with the kids.
Fitness helps kids (and adults) both emotionally and physically. It helps to keep the brain flexible and learning ability high.
Fresh air and exercise has never been the wrong thing to do with kids (or by yourself)!
9- Make it a social project!
Invite active people into your social circle. Always be on the lookout for friends and associates that seem to always be doing something active. Ask if you can join them, or invite them to join you in doing some of the things you enjoy.
There are lots of people out there who keep their bodies moving.
The secret is to spend time with the people who are doing what you want to do, and learn from them.
You don’t have to limit yourself due to being in a social group that is idle.
Staying active is as much about who you hang with as it is about what you do.
10- Seek out opportunities to move your body.
The more you move, the better you feel.
Always be on the lookout for ways to keep your body moving.
- If you need to get to the grocery store, you have 3 choices; walk, ride your bike or drive.
- Park as far away from your destination as is both safe, and fits your schedule.
- Race your kids or your spouse or your date to the playground, fly a kite, try roller skating or hike in a new area.
- Got stairs? Don’t try to carry everything at once, make several trips and get a workout from it.
- Need a break from your desk? Stand up, stretch and do a few lunges.
- Try to plank for 30 seconds a few times a day
Getting into the habit of keeping your body moving is just that, a habit.
The only question left is this: How badly do you want it?
So there you have it.
10 Ways to Keep Your Body Moving!
- Make the time
- Find something you love to do
- Pair up things you don’t love with things you enjoy
- Be clear about what you want to achieve
- Schedule your workouts
- Get more benefits spending less time
- Do some research and know the benefits
- Keep your kids moving as well
- Make it social
- Be on the lookout for opportunities to move your body more!
Share your ideas and success stories in the comments!
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