I've decided, in my 50th year on the planet, to do something about getting fitter. I'm fit enough to do my manual labouring type job but not as fit as I'd like to be. I work in food manufacturing, which has been better for the wallet than the waistline! I'm not really one for going to the gym and I have trouble sticking with things like exercise routines. So this morning I downloaded a coaching app and started with a beginner's workout. It turned out to be a good place to start. I wasn't absolutely stuffed by the end of it but I definitely felt like I'd done some exercise! I'm posting about this to keep myself accountable. Hopefully I'll be less likely to slack off!
To stick with it long term, try and focus on forming a positive habit around exercise. That means you should be enjoying it as much as possible each time. And that means you should take it easy on yourself! Go slow and light to start with, otherwise you'll feel too exhausted/sore and won't want to come back to it. Try listening to some music or a podcast/audiobook while you're exercising. Pick the days ahead of time you're going to exercise, and schedule it in. Reward yourself afterwards with a treat. Try gamifying it with Strava and sharing with friends if that motivates you. Do whatever is necessary to make the exercise an enjoyable part of your routine. The rest will fall into place once the habit is formed. Good luck!
That's pretty sound advice. I asked myself before I started why I never persevere with an exercise regimen in the past, and I think I did what a lot of people do: start out with big goals or wanting to burn fat fast or whatever, and basically overdo it in the beginning and get disgruntled with it. I'm determined to just take baby steps this time to keep it doable.
make sure you do exercise that you enjoy doing. Whether that's in the moment or afterwards. And by enjoy I mean more than a sense of feeling satisfied because you managed to exercise.
unless you feel injured or sick, on low motivation days the no.1 focus is getting to your place of exercise and starting your warmup. Tell yourself that if you still feel shit after completing your warmup, you'll go home. More often than not you'll be fine after you warm up, or you'll be psyched even if you still feel a bit tired. Using this method I've never gone home but I have definitely cut sessions off early and I always leave that possibility open otherwise the mental hack wouldn't work!