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For the Love of Exercise
Whatever your reasons for hating to exercise, if you skip time with your personal trainer, you’re missing out on one of the best things you can do for your mental and physical well-being. If you want to enjoy being active but don’t know how to get there, here are a few suggestions. Read >> -
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There are plenty of bad excuses to skip your workout, but there are also some that are completely valid. Don’t feel guilty the next time you have to skip exercise if you have one of these excuses. Read >> -
Work the Lats
Starting under your arms and extending all the way to your glutes, the lats work to stabilize your back, core, and shoulders, helping you do things like breath, move your upper body, bring your arms to your sides, lift your body weight up, arch your spine, maintain proper posture, and bend to the side. Here are six exercises to circuit through as you build and strengthen these important muscles. Read >>
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For the Love of Exercise
Exercise haters listen up. Here’s how you can start loving your workouts.
Is exercise a dreaded chore for you? Do you find yourself making all kinds of excuses to avoid your workout?
Maybe it’s because you don’t like getting hot and sweaty, you feel like you have other, more important things to do, you feel self-conscious at the gym, or exercise is painful to you. Whatever your reasons for hating to exercise, if you skip time with your personal trainer, you’re missing out on one of the best things you can do for your mental and physical well-being. If you want to enjoy being active but don’t know how to get there, here are a few suggestions.
Experiment
Many people claim to hate exercise, but they’ve only tried a few different types of workouts at certain times of day. You may hate running because it hurts your knees, you may hate swimming because you don’t like wearing a swimsuit, or you may hate to exercise in the morning. That’s fine! There are dozens of types of exercises and 24 hours in the day to choose from.
Each day, try a new type of workout until you find two or three that you enjoy. Experiment by exercising at different times of day. Work with your trainer to develop a workout routine you can look forward to and then go get it!
Track Progress
You may dislike exercise because you feel like it’s pointless. You aren’t seeing big changes, so you want to give up. That can all change if you just track what you’re doing.
Use an app or pen and notebook to start tracking your workouts, weight loss, strength gains, energy level, and moods. As you see with your own eyes the difference exercise is making in your life, you’ll be more motivated to stick with it.
Set Worthy Goals
If the only reason you’re working out is to lose weight, you may become disheartened. Weight loss is a popular goal, but may not be enough to motivate you to get out of bed an hour early to workout. When stress management or improved energy is your goal, you’ll be more likely to exercise.
Ease Up
It’s hard to like exercise when it makes you feel sore and tired. Solve this problem by easing up a bit on your workouts. You may have been able to bench press 200 pounds or run a mile five years ago, but now you’re out of shape. Jumping back into exercise too quickly can lead to muscle soreness and fatigue. Go easy on your body by starting out slowly and gradually increasing the duration and intensity of your workouts.
Make It Fun
There are lots of ways to make your workouts more enjoyable. Exercise with a friend. Listen to your favorite music. Take your workout outdoors. Exercise while watching television. Get competitive on a team. Or take a group class. Whatever it takes to make exercise enjoyable, do it!
Schedule It
Not many people choose exercise over social events, favorite TV shows, or family time. If your workout sessions aren’t scheduled on the calendar, it’s easy for all kinds of other commitments to take priority. You may not enjoy exercise, but when it’s a normal part of your everyday routine, you’re more likely to stick with it, experience its benefits, and learn to enjoy it. So find an open slot in your daily routine and put exercise there permanently.
Shorten Workouts
You may have trouble mustering up the strength, motivation, or time to workout for 30 minutes a day, and that’s okay. You can add up your 150 minutes of moderate activity each week in small increments. A 5-minute walk up the stairs, a 10-minute walk on your lunch break, and 15 minutes of bodyweight exercises while you’re watching a movie all add up to your recommended daily amount.
