{"id":8196,"date":"2011-12-07T23:04:38","date_gmt":"2011-12-08T07:04:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/?p=8196"},"modified":"2013-09-13T14:42:08","modified_gmt":"2013-09-13T22:42:08","slug":"how-to-make-exercise-a-great-part-of-your-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/how-to-make-exercise-a-great-part-of-your-life\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Make Exercise a Great Part of Your Life"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div><h1><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Screen-shot-2011-12-07-at-1.59.12-PM.png\"><\/a><\/h1>\n<h1><span style=\"font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal;\">Are you exercising enough?<\/span><\/h1>\n<p>For most people, the answer to that question is \u201cno\u201d \u2013 especially at this time of year, during the holidays. Exercise might not feel like your top priority right now. But keeping active is crucial for good physical and mental health.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Even if you don\u2019t need to lose weight, exercise is important.<\/strong> It will give you a greater sense of vitality: you\u2019ll feel better in your body. You\u2019ll see this in physical effects like greater flexibility, and mental ones like greater wellbeing. There is even evidence to suggest that depression is reduced dramatically by exercise.<\/p>\n<p>There are two key types of exercise that you can do:<!--more--><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Strength-training<\/li>\n<li>Cardiovascular<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>When you do <strong>strength-training<\/strong>, your weight will be redistributed \u2013 giving you a more desirable shape. This happens through building muscles (and losing fat in other areas). For instance, if you\u2019re a man, you will be able to broaden your shoulders by chest and shoulder exercises.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cardiovascular exercise<\/strong> (like jogging or cycling) lowers cholesterol, reduces blood pressure, and improves your mood. It also helps you to lose fat, which reduces the size of your fat cells \u2013 helping your newly-defined muscles to show.<\/p>\n<h2>How You Can Find Time to Exercise<\/h2>\n<p>Exercise represents something that\u2019s <em>important<\/em> but not necessarily <em>urgent<\/em>. If you don\u2019t exercise, it won\u2019t normally cause problems right away \u2013 but over time, it can lead to serious illness.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s essential to <em>force<\/em> important-but-not-urgent items into your schedule. That might mean you exercise:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>First thing in the morning<\/li>\n<li>Immediately when you get home<\/li>\n<li>During your lunch hour or another scheduled break<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Build exercise into the rhythm of your life until it becomes a habit.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>About three weeks ago, I took a cruise from Boston to Halifax to Maine. Along with a friend, I went to the gym every single day. Despite eating very rich meals (and even partaking in a chocolate buffet!) I came back without having gained a single pound, because I\u2019d kept up my exercise routine.<\/p>\n<h2>Use Your Body<\/h2>\n<p>Instead of thinking about \u201cexercise\u201d, think of how you can \u201cuse your body\u201d. You could:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Take the stairs instead of the elevator<\/li>\n<li>Park at the far end of the car park<\/li>\n<li>Do some yoga before work<\/li>\n<li>Take a five-minute walk to clear your mind<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&#8230; anything that keeps you active.<\/p>\n<p><strong>If you can, work on your goal as part of a community, perhaps alongside colleagues. <\/strong>Many offices will have a weight-loss challenges and regular weigh-ins together. They may even have a personal trainer come in a couple of days a week and run exercise classes at work.<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t wait until the New Year to start being more active. Begin today.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>Bio: Barry Demp is a business and personal coach in Michigan. He writes about professional and personal development on his website \u2013 click here to read his <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dempcoaching.com\/4-healthy-eating-tips-for-holidays\/\">Four Simple Tips for Healthy Eating During the Holidays<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Don&#8217;t Forget To sign up for the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/no-spam-guarantee\/\">PTB NEWSLETTER!<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Related Reading:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/4-steps-to-sticking-to-your-workout-plan\/\">4 Steps to Sticking to Your Workout Plan<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/how-to-take-charge-of-your-unhealthy-eating-habits\/\">How to Take Charge of Your Unhealthy Eating Plan<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Are you exercising enough?<\/p>\n<p>For most people, the answer to that question is \u201cno\u201d \u2013 especially at this time of year, during the holidays. Exercise might not feel like your top priority right now. But keeping active is crucial for good physical and mental health. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/how-to-make-exercise-a-great-part-of-your-life\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12163,"featured_media":8197,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[40,24,6],"tags":[4648,85,62,255,1545,536,489,66,1775,4629],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How To Make Exercise a Great Part of Your Life  - Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Even if you don\u2019t need to lose weight, exercise is important. 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There is even evidence to suggest that depression is reduced dramatically by exercise.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/how-to-make-exercise-a-great-part-of-your-life\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pickthebrain\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-12-08T07:04:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-09-13T22:42:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Screen-shot-2011-12-07-at-1.59.12-PM.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"453\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@pickthebrain\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@pickthebrain\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Erin Falconer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/how-to-make-exercise-a-great-part-of-your-life\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Screen-shot-2011-12-07-at-1.59.12-PM.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Screen-shot-2011-12-07-at-1.59.12-PM.png\",\"width\":\"453\",\"height\":\"300\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/how-to-make-exercise-a-great-part-of-your-life\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/how-to-make-exercise-a-great-part-of-your-life\/\",\"name\":\"How To Make Exercise a Great Part of Your Life - Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/how-to-make-exercise-a-great-part-of-your-life\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-12-08T07:04:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-09-13T22:42:08+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2da8ae162c097bdb749ab098472b4cc5\"},\"description\":\"Even if you don\u2019t need to lose weight, exercise is important. 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