- Faithful Fitness: God, Weight Loss, and Exercise
- Garlic Sweet Potato Mash
- Why My eBook Hasn’t Been Popular
- One Weird Thing that Helps Me Enjoy Exercise More
- How Does Guilt Fit into Weirdly Faithful Fitness?
- Are there Good Foods and Bad Foods?
- The Freedom of Constraint
- Call Me Weird, But…I LOVE the Paleo Lifestyle!
- Do This When You Feel Ridiculously Underqualified
- Laughter is the best…Fitness?
- Motivations for The Coming Week
- Ask the Experts for Fitness Advice: YOU!
- I Am a Person Who
- How my Son’s Life-Threatening Condition Gave Me Freedom
- Do You Need Exercise Accountability?
- How Losing the Guilt Breaks the Cycle
- My Family Hates Exercise
- Grace for the Now
- How Workouts Can Lead to Fat Gain
- Your Expert Advice: Fitness
- Don’t Forget de’ FEET!
- Four Steps to Tell Your Support Peeps What You Need
- A Day in the Life of Maintaining a 100 lb Weight Loss
- Three Girls and a Dog
- The Red Zone: How to Enjoy the Holidays and Stay Fit
- How to Avoid Burn Out and Find Fitness Success
Today I’m turning to you, the experts, to share your advice with our readers.
What is your best tip or words of advice for getting started and staying motivated to exercise?
If you aren’t regularly exercising now, share what WAS motivating for you at a time that you were, or a tip or idea you’ve read that inspires you. Everyone is invited to share something.
If you have a website or blog, you are welcome to include a link. (It can be fitness related or not, as long as it’s not spam.) Next week I’ll write a post compiling the top words of advice. No ideas are too small or too unusual — after all, this is WEIRDLY faithful fitness! If it has helped you, it will surely help someone else.
Some ideas to consider:
- What motivates you to exercise when you don’t feel like it?
- How do you get started if you don’t like any type of exercise or feel overwhelmed?
- How do you get re-started after a slump?
- How do you overcome health issues?
- What works for you to schedule fitness into your busy calendar?
Share your tips in the comments below. (Although I will try to read comments across various social media, those often get lost in the shuffle. Comments left on the blog are more likely to be read.) I can’t wait to read your great advice!
- Faithful Fitness: God, Weight Loss, and Exercise
- Why My eBook Hasn’t Been Popular
- One Weird Thing that Helps Me Enjoy Exercise More
- How Does Guilt Fit into Weirdly Faithful Fitness?
- Are there Good Foods and Bad Foods?
- The Freedom of Constraint
- Call Me Weird, But…I LOVE the Paleo Lifestyle!
- Do This When You Feel Ridiculously Underqualified
- Laughter is the best…Fitness?
- Motivations for The Coming Week
- Ask the Experts for Fitness Advice: YOU!
- I Am a Person Who
- How my Son’s Life-Threatening Condition Gave Me Freedom
- Do You Need Exercise Accountability?
- How Losing the Guilt Breaks the Cycle
- My Family Hates Exercise
- Garlic Sweet Potato Mash
- Grace for the Now
- How Workouts Can Lead to Fat Gain
- Your Expert Advice: Fitness
- Don’t Forget de’ FEET!
- Four Steps to Tell Your Support Peeps What You Need
- A Day in the Life of Maintaining a 100 lb Weight Loss
- Three Girls and a Dog
- The Red Zone: How to Enjoy the Holidays and Stay Fit
- How to Avoid Burn Out and Find Fitness Success
I love walking. I have some health issues that make it really difficult but when I DO walk, it feels great. I love to walk with praise music in my ears, my camera in my hand (you never know when you’re going to find something beautiful!), and I’m going to get back to my old thing I used to do of doing prayer walks around the neighborhood!
I like being told I’m an expert! 🙂
That’s right, Shelby, you ARE an expert, expecially about yourself and what works for you! But what has worked for you will surely help and inspire someone else, so I appreciate your taking the time to share. Thank you!
I like DVDs I can do at home as soon as I get out of bed. That means 5am on weekdays and around 7:30am on Saturdays. I take Sundays off. I’ve had gym memberships and tried afternoon or evening workouts in the past and those have failed miserably for me. Honestly, I’m kind of lazy. I don’t want to have to leave my house and drive anywhere to work out and I know as soon as I get off work I am doing nothing else besides making dinner and cleaning up the kitchen. I will never run because first of all, I hate running with a passion, if you see me running you better run too because that means the stabber man is coming. Secondly, I have chronic foot issues that are exacerbated by running and walking. I have done quite a few different DVD programs to keep things fresh, Tae Bo, Turbo Jam, and PiYo are the most recent. I had Hip Hop Abs but Shaun T annoyed me too much, lol. When my stamina increases again or boredom starts to set in I have my sights set on Turbo Fire because it is more intense and I LOVE Chalene Johnson. So I guess my “secret” is find something you will actually do at a time you will actually do it. Switch it up to keep it fresh and DON’T accept excuses from yourself. My fitness date with myself is non-negotiable and the most important thing on my calendar. I have missed 2 workouts in 13 weeks, one because I couldn’t breathe (chest congestion) and one because I was out of town and didn’t wake up in time to go to the workout room, but I did, however, walk quite a bit that day sightseeing. Thought process is also very important. Working out is not a chore to just get through, it is a date with the me I want to be.
LOL about running! I am the opposite about working out at home. I have tried it off and on many times and for me there are just too many distractions at home, both internal and external. Just goes to show it really is good to try a variety of options and see what works for YOU! Good for you for your excellent commitment to fitness. Thanks for sharing!
Q. How do you get re-started after a slump?
* Start Where You Are!
* Use What You Have!
* Do What You Can!
If we polled across all ages and athletic abilities my guess is that we would find that most of us would have the desire to be more active.
It can seem very overwhelming and almost impossible to re-start after a slump!
* It’s Cold Out…
* I’m Out of Shape…
* I don’t have a training buddy…
The list can go on.
In the time it takes to think of a reason why NOT to start, we could have put on our shoes and headed out of the door!
The Magic Solution is to M O V E !!!
Tiny movement can produce amazing results!
The Highest Mountains have been climbed one step at a time!!!
Start small. Whether you are an avid athlete or just beginning to explore your fitness opportunities, you can re-start after your slump by locating your “Exercise Shoes”, finding your “Fitness Jacket” and getting yourself outside under the sun.
(If you don’t have a training jacket and shoes, no problem, “Use What You Have!”)
Just find a way to head out! Walk around your neighborhood!
Make it a goal to notice your surroundings… to listen to your foot strike and deliberately breathe deeply.
The movement IS the “Medicine”!
Starting makes it easier to get to the gym the next time!
Getting to the gym might lead to meeting a work out buddy!
Meeting a workout buddy might lead to more frequent workouts!
And so on…
…and so on…
…and so on!!!
What NOT to do: Do NOT wait until you:
* Lose Weight
* Get in Shape
* Buy Special Equipment
Start NOW! Today! You may meet someone that you “Touch, Move or Inspire!”
You never know what goodness waits!
So head out into the world, be open to possibility and trust that you are one step closer to reaching your fitness goals and dreams!
~Carla L. Thompson, EnduranceGIRL and Multi-sport Enthusiast!
Thank you, Carla. There’s nothing I can add to that. Beautiful!!!
Thank YOU for the opportunity to share! If someone is stuck in a very specific way and would like my thoughts, please reply here and I’ll do my best to share my support and encouragement!
~Carla L. Thompson, EnduranceGIRL!
My advice for everyone that’s getting back into exercising. If you live in an apartment take the stairs either going up or down. If you drive to work, park your car the furthest from the building. These steps will help you get back into the swing of exercising. Plus, take a friend it makes it a blast.
Excellent advice! I have friends that I work out with and it makes a huge difference knowing a friend will be meeting me. Plus having a friend to talk to makes the time go so much faster. I used to think I only liked solitary exercise but I’m really changing my thinking.
I agree with Moi. Choose what you like, and don’t worry about what everyone else thinks you should do. For example, I cannot stand the gym. It’s indoors, it’s intimidating, it’s downright boring. The only reason I am a member of one is so I can take classes, which I love! I love the music, the interaction, and the support. I really like being outdoors, so some days my choice is to take a walk or work in the garden. I also believe it is important to start where you are at. That might mean parking further away than usual from the store so your walk to the door is longer. Or walking the circumference of the store with your shopping cart once you are inside. That can be quite a distance, and if you’re a shopper, well, then it’s just that much more fun. Or standing up during TV commercials and doing a few squats or dance moves. Whatever works, right? Something is better than nothing, and more is even better. (That’s not my quote, but it’s a good one!)
Great comments, Chris! I used to think parking further away, etc. — what’s the point? It wasn’t until I got a Body Bugg that I saw those “little” changes actually add up to make a really big difference. I burned more calories on many days with daily activity than through my official workouts. Our bodies really were created to move.
I never liked exercising. In high school I found away to get of gym class for a semester, I got a Dr. to give me a note. I started going to the gym with my husband and I found it could be fun. I enjoyed working out with him and he challenges me. Then I was diagnosed with Stage Zero breast cancer. I stopped going to the gym do to surgery and radiation. What surprised me is I missed it. I was glad when I was able to go back. We changed gyms recently and that has made a difference. New equipment and more things to do. Our son got into working out because he saw his parents doing it. Working out with someone helps me stay motivated.
We could be soul sisters! I always tried to get out of gym class, too! Now I go to boot classes and sometime think, this is my way of finishing. LOL. I’m so sorry to hear of your cancer diagnosis. I hope and pray you have made a full recovery and have an excellent prognosis. God’s peace to you!
Thanks Sara. This is Adriane from Mt. Olive.
I wondered if it was you. You’ll have to add a picture of your pretty face to your profile. 🙂
I put my survivor motorcycle emblem up.
🙂 perfect!
Consistency! Keep a simple record (perhaps on a monthly calender – track activity. I would also suggest aiming for a weekly and monthly goal in number form to be active (goal dependent days to do something active – however that works out for you) 3-5 x weekly = 12-20 x monthly. = your aim for the month. Use stickers, checks or something and keep visible to help keep you on track. A range (3-5) allows flexibility for ideal and practical. For instance, if you ideally aim for 5 x but life happens, you are not out of the game because you missed, your still within range of your goal minimum of 3 or 4 x. Have a plan with “wiggle” room to succeed in increasing activity, health and fitness! Also having the weekly and monthly goals help provide perspective. A week is set in a bigger picture of the month and helps create context that keeps from discouragement. I also agree wholeheartedly with Moi’s statement below! Great advice. Always remember something is better than nothing at times when you are trying to build consistency , habit and routine. Both intensity and consistency are needed, but opt to “just do it” and you will keep moving in the right direction toward fitness/activity as a lifestyle/habit!
I really like what you are saying, Dawn, about having a bigger overall picture. It needs to have a bigger framework but also have some wiggle room within that framework. Real life happens, after all. But, if I plan for 2x per week, realistically, I’ll only go once…better to plan for 5x per week and get in 3-4 times. I circle all my workouts on my calendar so I can see at a glance when they are. And every Sunday evening a plan out all my workouts for the upcoming week.
My advice is to choose what works for you and what you enjoy doing. If
you aren’t a person who enjoys the gym atmosphere – exercise outside or
with a video at home. If you hate Step classes or Spin classes…try
everything and then pick what you enjoy the most. Make it more about
doing something that makes you feel good and less about a diet or
exercise plan. That has really helped me – also, I would say every 6
months or so I switch it all around and try new things, new
routines..keep it fresh and keep yourself motivated!
This is great advice! I especially like what you are saying about switching things up. I’ve tried different activities over the years and I think it helps me mentally and also helps my fitness level to give my body totally different challenges and become fit in a totally different way.
When I decided to get healthy again after my husband’s bout with cancer, I started by purchasing a pedometer and walking 10,000 steps a day. I find that having goals is really important for me–whether it’s walking 10,000 steps a day, entering a race (5k, 10k or 1/2 marathon), or going on a strenuous hike with a friend (and feeling invigorated afterwards instead of dead 😉 ).
I’m sorry to hear of your husband’s struggle with cancer. I hope he is doing okay now? Your family has certainly been through a lot! You are a very strong person! I totally agree with what you are saying about goals. I am a very goal-oriented person and I do so much better when I have a goal in front of me. The last 5-6 years I’ve done triathlons in the summer. I took this summer off. It was good to have a break but I plan to go back to it next summer. I need the motivation.
He’s been cancer-free for 11 years–but the rest of us are still dealing with the after-effects (PTSD-like symptoms in our daughters and a battle with mysterious health problems and weight gain for me).
God bless you Anita. xoxoxo. Have you ever heard of secondary PTSD? I’ve just recently heard of it as something for foster parents who experience it in caring for foster children who have PTSD. You might google it. I totally think my husband and I have both experienced it after caring for foster children. It sounds so similar to what you describe as well.