You want to get fitter and make your wellbeing a priority, but who has the time between home, work, social events, and other commitments? Even when there is a spare hour that could be used to better your wellness, fatigue takes over fitness and convenient food takes over healthy food, but are you, maybe, making a few excuses?
If you start small, plan your fitness development, and make it fun, you can make the lifestyle changes you want. Let’s start with how you, well, start. Life-revamping big changes may seem appealing, but these aren’t sustainable and you’ll burn out quickly. You can’t go from a non-existent fitness regime to working out more hours than Jessica Ennis. Making small changes can snowball into bigger things – all you need is patience.
Next week, go for a 10 minute walk or a 5 minute run, do 10 squats followed by 10 push-ups, drink a litre of water instead of fizzy drinks, and eat one salad. That’s it – that’s all you’re allowed to do. Starting off with a big workout will leave you feeling sore, resistant to trying again, needing to rest for too long or even risking injury. Likewise, eating incredibly healthy for five days will build up your sugar cravings, and make you think you’re allowed to be naughty because you’ve done so well all week. Start small, and allow the snowball to grow.
Once you’ve got started, plan a fitness regime that’s going to work for you. If you hate running, don’t start marathon training! If weight lifting is boring, then don’t lift weights! If you move in a way that you enjoy, or find a fun activity, you’ll see the benefits much quicker. Exercise will become something you want to do instead of something you force yourself to do because it’s good for you. Maybe it’s a dance class, yoga, hiking, canoeing, martial arts, cycling, football, or tennis. Maybe you’d like to go for a jog now and again, but would prefer to mix it up with other activities so you don’t get bored. Whatever it is, find something that you enjoy, and you’re halfway there.
Start Small and Have Fun: How to Build a Fitness Lifestyle
