It improves our fitness and sense of well-being. Exercise helps us maintain a normal appetite. It also gives us energy, helps us sleep, improves our circulation and even lowers our blood pressure. Exercise even improves our mood, strengthens our bones and builds muscle.
What’s not to like?
I think we all know that we should be exercising. We’ve only been hearing it preached, by every health guru around, for decades.
But, knowing and doing are two separate things.
Are you exercising on a regular basis - or do you tend to skip days because it’s raining, or it’s cold, or it’s hot, or you are too busy, or you don’t feel like it?
I have found that you have to make exercise a habit.
When something is a habit, we don’t think about whether we should do it or not – we just do it.
How can you make exercising a habit in your life?
The easiest way to make it a habit is to make yourself accountable to someone else.
Hire a personal trainer, make a firm commitment to meet a friend at the gym or at a walking trail, or get a dog and know you have to walk him every day.
I know many of you have joined a gym, usually in January, but just having a membership doesn’t really hold you accountable.
I have always been intimidated by going to big gym. I don’t really know how to use the equipment properly and I’m afraid of getting hurt. I also feel embarrassed that all of those buff people might notice that I am not like them.
Let me tell you what has worked for me for many years and maybe it will give you some ideas to work for you.
I get out of bed and take my dogs for a walk, every morning. If I don’t, they certainly hold me accountable.
I have also hired Lisa Green as my personal trainer.
What do I like about working with her?
I know that she is a good trainer and well-regarded. She goes to the Cooper Clinic in Dallas once or twice a year for education and various certifications. She takes classes in new forms of exercise, new routines and learns to work with older adults with injuries.
She owns her own personal, fully-equipped gym called iSweat. It is as clean as a whistle. I never have to get on equipment that a large, sweating guy has just gotten off of. We can do the routines she has scheduled without having to wait in line for a piece of equipment or change routines because the equipment is broken.
To get in touch with Lisa, send her a message on Facebook.
I challenge you to figure out how you can make exercise a daily habit in your life. Let me know what you come up with.
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