Hi all,
I thought I would share this recent article I wrote. I really liked writing this one. Hope you enjoy.
Making Fitness Stick
They’re called the New Year’s Resolutioners. Each January millions of them join gyms, purchase exercise equipment for their homes, shop for the latest popular fitness gadgets, and promise themselves that this year they will stick to regular exercise. While a few are quite successful, most don’t make it to February. Making fitness a habit that sticks can seem very difficult. If you have ever been a New Year’s Resolutioner I have good news. It doesn’t have to be so difficult. Using the three E’s can simplify things and help you stick to your fitness commitment.
The first E is enjoyment. Exercise should not be something that you dread. One of the best things about exercise is that it comes in so many forms that there is always something new to try. Personally I dislike using treadmills. I have discovered that I enjoy getting cardiovascular exercise through hiking or on snowshoes.
Cardiovascular exercise is especially flexible. Even when using machines in a gym it can be done by doing intervals, switching from one machine to another, short fast workouts or long slow workouts. Cardiovascular exercise can be done outside by walking, jogging, biking, kayaking, trail running, cross country skiing, swimming, and even doing yard work. Many sports such as basketball, volleyball and tennis also provide cardiovascular exercise. Classes such as aerobics are offered at most gyms, and if group exercise isn’t your thing there are countless aerobic videos that can be done right at home.
Even resistance training is has a diversity of methods you can try. The exercises that can be done in the gym with free weights, machines and body weight are countless. Sets and reps can be arranged in many different ways and workouts can be done in a fast moving circuit or in a slower fashion with rest periods. Flexibility/strength training methods such as yoga and pilates can add even more variety.
The second E stands for education. Being well educated about physical fitness will help you to have much more effective, successful and safe workouts. Understanding how to exercise safely can prevent you from having painful injuries that will keep you away from the gym. Your workouts will also bring you to your goal much sooner if you understand the best way to exercise for your goals. Having an understanding of which exercises work which muscle groups, how heavy the weight you lift should be, how often you should work out, how long your cardiovascular exercise should be and so on are vital details for your success. Working with a fitness professional will go a long way in educating you in the best way for your workouts to be productive. Reading from reliable sources and talking with experienced exercisers about how they reached their goals can also help.
The final E is for easy. This doesn’t mean that workouts should be easy. There should be ease when it comes to having fitness as part of your lifestyle. A common problem in rural Maine is that gyms are sparse. Driving a long distance to and from the gym can be a deterrent. Be sure to look around. Small fitness centers are beginning to pop up. A friend may be willing to let you use their fitness equipment in their home. Better yet, purchasing a few small items to workout with in your own home will save you a great deal of travel time.
Ease in exercise also means not making your workouts more difficult than they need to be. Always remember that more is not necessarily better and that quality is more important than quantity. Too often gym goers toil away for hours on the treadmill or exercise after exercise in the weight room. This is not necessary. Simplifying and using effective methods of exercise can get you in and out of the gym much faster.
By remembering the three E’s you can make exercise a permanent part of your life. Enjoy exercise, educate yourself, and make it easy to exercise. So go ahead and make a promise to yourself that you will exercise regularly and stick with it using the three E’s.
Making Fitness Stick
Moderators: Boss Man, cassiegose
I could add to that by saying the 4th E is Exploration.
Some people never realise when they start, how vast this physical chasm is.
You think when you start, you get some weights workout to try, you get a Cardio workout to try, and you just get a little more crud out of your diet, and it becomes simple. Yeah sounds easy, when you get used to the new start, after 2-3 weeks.
Fact is, you then only touch the tip of the Iceberg.
This fitness chasm is vast. The amount of weights workouts, exercises, reps, sets, set breaks, etc etc, different Cardio workouts, different diets, which work which don't, and of course your genetics, body type, composition etc etc.
You open a can of worms, and the more you discover about yourself, the more daunting it feels, when there's so much you could know and experience, and it can make you feel overwhelmed, or even ignorant, like getting past the first month was easy, so hay keep doing that, and the you you really wanted, will happen in next to no time, but then reality often strikes, and tells you life isn't that simple.
Don't be put off though. This whole thing is an exploration. An exploration of yourself. You don't have to look upon lifestyle changes as a mountain, you can't climb, or an impossible dream, but an exploration of yourself. The only limits?
How far you want to go.
Take me for example. I never planned to get massive so I didn't do a lot of research on things like Prohormones and A.A.S. I just picked things up here and there, but I wouldn't say I'm knowledgeable about such things, but I chose to put limits on what I felt I needed to learn, and because I have been doing what I wanted to physically, I don't feel pressure to expand knowledge or experiences, so as to achieve more and more.
I am own boss of physical destiny, I can explore myself whenever I chose, without feeling like I have to cramb head full of facts, until brain fatigues, or try the latest thing or technique.
Exploration of self, is one of the best things about all this. You start on a journey, and go where you feel you want to. Learn what you want, try new things, see what works and what doesn't. You have a lot of physical freedom to explore your own body, through exercise, diet, and edcuation, unless you're someone who is less than able bodied, but even someone like that with imposed limitations, can still explore within their own boundaries.
It's a great thing to be able to learn about yourself, Explore yourself, and share some of that with others. You pass on what you know, like your Forefathers of centuries past did, with their lessons in the art of living, even if it was just basics like how to hunt and make a fire.
Exploration of self is a great thing. You can open your mind to so many things, you never knew about you own unique body. How it works, and how you can make it better and keep it better.
So the fact remains, it's your healthy exploration, but however you do it, don't stop exploring. It's your body, so take control.
Some people never realise when they start, how vast this physical chasm is.
You think when you start, you get some weights workout to try, you get a Cardio workout to try, and you just get a little more crud out of your diet, and it becomes simple. Yeah sounds easy, when you get used to the new start, after 2-3 weeks.
Fact is, you then only touch the tip of the Iceberg.
This fitness chasm is vast. The amount of weights workouts, exercises, reps, sets, set breaks, etc etc, different Cardio workouts, different diets, which work which don't, and of course your genetics, body type, composition etc etc.
You open a can of worms, and the more you discover about yourself, the more daunting it feels, when there's so much you could know and experience, and it can make you feel overwhelmed, or even ignorant, like getting past the first month was easy, so hay keep doing that, and the you you really wanted, will happen in next to no time, but then reality often strikes, and tells you life isn't that simple.
Don't be put off though. This whole thing is an exploration. An exploration of yourself. You don't have to look upon lifestyle changes as a mountain, you can't climb, or an impossible dream, but an exploration of yourself. The only limits?
How far you want to go.
Take me for example. I never planned to get massive so I didn't do a lot of research on things like Prohormones and A.A.S. I just picked things up here and there, but I wouldn't say I'm knowledgeable about such things, but I chose to put limits on what I felt I needed to learn, and because I have been doing what I wanted to physically, I don't feel pressure to expand knowledge or experiences, so as to achieve more and more.
I am own boss of physical destiny, I can explore myself whenever I chose, without feeling like I have to cramb head full of facts, until brain fatigues, or try the latest thing or technique.
Exploration of self, is one of the best things about all this. You start on a journey, and go where you feel you want to. Learn what you want, try new things, see what works and what doesn't. You have a lot of physical freedom to explore your own body, through exercise, diet, and edcuation, unless you're someone who is less than able bodied, but even someone like that with imposed limitations, can still explore within their own boundaries.
It's a great thing to be able to learn about yourself, Explore yourself, and share some of that with others. You pass on what you know, like your Forefathers of centuries past did, with their lessons in the art of living, even if it was just basics like how to hunt and make a fire.
Exploration of self is a great thing. You can open your mind to so many things, you never knew about you own unique body. How it works, and how you can make it better and keep it better.
So the fact remains, it's your healthy exploration, but however you do it, don't stop exploring. It's your body, so take control.