5 WAYS TO GET EXCITED FOR EXERCISE

When was the last time you moved, got sweaty and breathless and had a blast? 

Moving is natural. And, healthy movement is one of the best things that you can do for your mind, your body and your spirit. 

Many of us aren’t as active as we’d like to be for lots of reasons. A valuable lesson I’ve learned from being a fit pro for over 30 years is that no one exercise fits all people. No one style of motivation works for all people. We’re all different and those differences are cause for celebration, right?

If you’ve lost your enthusiasm for being active, how can you rekindle the simple joy of movement?

Try asking yourself the following questions:

1. Childhood memory: What is one of your earliest and favorite childhood memories of being active and having fun? Take a moment to pause. Looking back, what is an activity you remember doing that you absolutely loved doing and never wanted to stop?

2. Favorite structured sport or game: What individual or team sport or game, like tag for example, did you love to do, and why? What aspect of the activity did you like? How did it make you feel about yourself? How did others react to you when you did it? Please be specific. 

3. Hated structured sport of game: If you can’t think of anything you loved, what did you hate to do and why? Even if you had a sport you loved, this is also a good question to ask yourself. What about the activity caused you not to like it? Again, be specific. Was it the people? The expectations? How you felt about yourself? What exactly about the experience was not pleasant?

4. Teen years: What physical activities make you happy and why?

5. TODAY: Reflecting on what you’ve noticed about your past experiences, what type of movement activities do you think that you would most enjoy now? Are you more of a group person or are you a loner? Do you like the social part of being active or do you enjoy competition? Does acquiring a skill give you satisfaction or do you simply like to be active without the pressure of a particular goal? Is being outside appealing or do you prefer indoor activities?

You’ve now gained some insight into what it is you enjoy doing that involves physical activity. Now, try bringing in some part of this into your life, if only in a small way. 

For example, if you realize you loved riding your bike as a kid but you don’t have time now to ride, can you get an indoor bike and position it in front of an open window and cycle a few minutes each week? 

Baby steps are key if you haven’t been doing a lot of activity. 

I learned this the hard way when I was restoring my health after a diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome. I literally could not walk more than 10 minutes without feeling tired and if I pushed myself, I got sick again. So, I walked daily in 10 minute sessions. 

Slowly I increased. Rather than walking for longer periods of time, I did multiple small sessions—3 10-minute daily walks. 

Over time, I could increase the time and soon, I even started running again. The journey of 10,000 miles begins with a single step. Keep reminding yourself of that and take one step at a time.

Please share with me in the comments what you’ve learned about yourself from this self-exploration!