6 Exercise Tips

Spring is here and right now is the time to think about your exercise routine. Our New Year's resolution is a distant memory by now, but I'll wager that it had something to do with exercising more, taking better care of yourself or losing weight. Remember how you started out so good and once you missed a day, you "fell off the wagon"? Well all that is about to change! Read on...



THERE IS NO WAGON

Forget about "the wagon", it doesn't exist! Just because you can't exercise or walk each and every day, doesn't mean that you have to quit completely. As a matter of fact, doing the same exercise everyday will become counterproductive after time. Get rid of the, "I have to exercise for this many minutes this many times a week or I am a failure" mentality. Don't be so hard on yourself and have fun with it. Speaking of fun...

MAKE YOUR WORKOUTS FUN
Walk with a friend, turn on one of those peppy workout shows in the morning and make up your own moves, do something you've never thought of as exercise. Shake things up and don't let yourself get bored. Who says your workout has to be only jogging or limited to riding a bike? Get a jump rope like when you were a kid and jump away. Do an old workout or warm-up routine/drill from a sport you played in high school. Don't overdo it in the beginning and challenge yourself to build up slowly to a harder or longer level. You'll have a much easier time getting motivated if you are doing something you actually enjoy.

LISTEN TO THE COMMERCIALS AND JUST DO IT
Don't worry about doing something perfectly, workouts done imperfectly are still workouts. Who cares if you can Mambo the "right way"? Do it with enthusiasm and get that heart pumping! So what if you have to start out by doing push-ups with your knees bent? This isn't gym class; there are no grades for perfection.

HOLD YOURSELF ACCOUNTABLE
Exercising with a friend is a good way to build in that motivation. You can even get a group of people and when one can't make it, the rest go on without them. You'll always have someone to walk or work out with. If you are more competitive, you might also consider creating a little friendly competition with a friend or relative. See who can lose the most within a certain time frame.


TRY THE LATEST FAD
Why not?!? Take a look around at stores and garage sales for workout items you have never tried. Maybe you'll really like the Perfect Push-Up or the Kettlebell. You won't know till you try. Just remember, none of these things work unless you keep doing them. Which brings me to my next point...

REMEMBER, THERE IS NO MAGIC PILL
No amount of workout equipment or planning will work at all if you don't keep some kind of consistency. Like I mentioned above, you don't have to do the same thing everyday, but doing something as often as you can will only do you good.