Getting Started with Exercise
So it’s the new year, and on January 1st you told your partner, kids, and all of social media that you planned on exercising more. It may have included a goal of running a half marathon, losing 5 kilos, or join a gym.
But it’s now been a month, and you started paying $24.95/week for a gym membership you only used once, or bought a $250 pair of running shoes that are still in the box.
Motivation is low, and momentum is non-existent.
How to get started, and where to start?
Goal Setting
This is where goals are useful. I use them frequently with my physiotherapy clients as an aid for motivation and rehab direction. To begin, think about what it is that you want to achieve, this might be to walk 3km non-stop. What is the overall goal? Be very specific, don’t let your future-self wriggle out of achieving it.
Then, think about how you are going to measure your success. It can be useful to think of smaller steps along the way, like miniature goals that help you achieve your end goal. If the goal is to walk for 3km without rest, then your smaller steps or mini goals might include:
· Walking on 3 weekdays near home or work.
· Walking every Sunday morning at the beach
There are always distractions, interruptions and excuses for not achieving goals. A good strategy can be to get ahead of these barriers by trying to identify them early on. So have a think about what might get in the way of your goal, then come up with some solutions. These might include:
Barrier: I often work late and can never predict when this might happen
Solution: Get up early and walk before work to minimise interruptions to the plan
Barrier: It’s too hot/rainy to walk
Solution: Walk at the beach or along a shaded path/walk on a treadmill at a nearby gym
When motivation is low, or you had a stressful week and would much prefer a wine on the couch than an outdoor walk, it can be very important to think about why you’re doing this in the first place? Is it because you want to look good next summer, you want to work off the Christmas ham? Why is this goal so important to you? If you’re struggling for reasons why, then maybe you need to revisit the big goal.
Timeframes! For any goal, it’s important to lock in a due date for completion. Without this, you’ll continue to revisit the goal every January 1st. A timeframe can also help you plan out progress towards the goal. Ensure that you’re realistic with your timeframe, as in, can you actually achieve this in the required time?
Ease it in There
Once you have your goal in mind, most people will go hell for leather, and very commonly will burn out within 2 weeks because they were unrealistic or over committed. If you are starting off from no exercise whatsoever, or you’re generally time poor, then don’t go looking for the ideal amount of time for exercise. Just start with something as little as 5 minutes of walking, a ten minute yoga routine on YouTube, or 3 exercises with some simple equipment at home. Recent research has proven the health and strength building benefits of 5-minute strength programs, so you don’t need an hour at the gym to make it worthwhile. Make it such a piddly amount of exercise that there’s no excuse not to do it. Once you do that, and you’ve been consistent, then you can increase this. Now you’re building MOMENTUM.
Make it Fun
As with any type of activity we fill our lives with, we need to find it enjoyable. If you’re normally enjoying binge-watching The Crown on Netflix, then your activity of choice needs to be more fun, more enjoyable. Useful tips for this can be to ring in a friend so that you have a good catch up when you exercise, or give yourself a treat once you finish it, like a coffee after a morning workout, or improve the setting of the activity. For instance, instead of walking around your neighbourhood, go for a walk along the beach or the river. Try any of these tactics, and you’ll immediately improve the MOTIVATION to exercise, and stick with your plan.
In Summary
Set an exercise goal, outline the steps needed to achieve it, reasons for doing it, and barriers to completing it.
Set a timeframe to achieve the goal.
Start small, even 5 minutes of exercise done regularly can have benefits to your health.
Make it enjoyable by making it social, scenic, or throw some of your favourite music on while you do it.
