{"id":279,"date":"2008-01-09T06:03:25","date_gmt":"2008-01-09T10:03:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/how-to-make-exercise-last\/"},"modified":"2013-08-15T13:58:21","modified_gmt":"2013-08-15T21:58:21","slug":"how-to-make-exercise-last","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/how-to-make-exercise-last\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Make Exercise Last"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It\u2019s time to buy a new calendar and start another year. That also means it\u2019s New Year\u2019s Resolution time, as the gyms flood with eager people trying to shed the holiday pounds and make up for their inactivity in 2007. Unfortunately, most of these people will barely make it through January before sliding back into the couch.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve decided to start exercising more regularly this year, congratulations. You\u2019ve made a choice that will give you more energy, add years to your life and get you ready for going to the beach in the summer. The only problem is how can you ensure that this commitment to exercise lasts?<\/p>\n

For the past two years I\u2019ve been exercising 5-6 days per week with few exceptions. But this wasn\u2019t always the case. It took me four tries to start exercising out of nothing, with the first three sliding back into old habits after a month or two of concentrated effort. Making the switch between willing myself to work out and having it happen automatically wasn\u2019t easy, but I\u2019d like to share some of my experiences with you.<\/p>\n

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Exercise is a Habit<\/h2>\n

The first step to ensuring a commitment to exercise lasts is recognizing it as a habit. Exercise just like the foods you eat, clothes you wear and how you wake up each morning are all programmed into your subconscious. If you aren\u2019t exercising without effort it is because going to the gym isn\u2019t habitual.<\/p>\n

The best method I\u2019ve encountered to make something into a habit is the 30-Day Trial method popularized by Steve Pavlina<\/a>. The basic idea is that you exercise every day, for the next thirty days. After this month-long conditioning period, exercise should be a habit.<\/p>\n

Enjoying Exercise<\/h2>\n

Unfortunately, if sticking to exercise for a month were the only answer to keeping the exercise commitment, there wouldn\u2019t be any resolutions broken in February. Other factors influence whether your habits stick and one of the most important is how much you enjoy exercising.<\/p>\n

If you hate going to the gym, you aren\u2019t going to go without a lot of force. If you are in this situation, you have two options:<\/p>\n

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  1. Enjoy your chosen form of exercise more.<\/li>\n
  2. Pick a different form of exercise you enjoy more.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Oddly enough accomplishing these two aims isn\u2019t that difficult. Except most people get so caught up in having enough \u201cwillpower\u201d that they neglect to structure their workout in a way that they actually enjoy it. I enjoy going to the gym, listening to music and trying to increase the amount I can lift or distance I can run. This enjoyment wasn\u2019t immediate, but from a slow process of structuring exercise to work for me.<\/p>\n

    Find the Time<\/h2>\n

    The next major killer of exercise commitments is a lack of time. I hear this excuse all the time from people who claim to be to busy to head to the gym. As someone who is running a business part-time, attending school full-time, running a Toastmasters club and writing a book, I still manage to squeeze in my 40-60 minutes each day.<\/p>\n

    The problem usually isn\u2019t time. Feeling to busy to go to the gym is usually a consequence of either:<\/p>\n

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    1. Not enjoying exercising enough.<\/li>\n
    2. Not having exercise conditioned strongly as a habit.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      The best way to make sure that busyness doesn\u2019t end your resolution is to ensure time doesn\u2019t become an excuse. Here are some ways you can make sure time doesn\u2019t become a stumbling block on the road to fitness:<\/p>\n