Starting to exercise isn’t most people’s problem. It’s maintaining it! For exercise to be beneficial we need to be doing it week in week out, year in year out. So what’s the art to becoming a regular exerciser? How can you turn your fits and spurts into a routine? And what do you need to do to be inspired?
One of the main problems that I’ve identified is what I call the context for the exercise. In other words, why are you doing it? Are you doing it because a) you should, b) you have to, c) to make up for overeating yesterday, d) to lose weight?
None of these are actually good reasons and all of them are based on a negative context. They are all coming from “I’m not good enough”, “I’m not ok”, even “I need to be punished”.
Context is very powerful as it is the basis of our motivation. Inspired motivation is always far more successful than “should” or “have to” motivation. Should or have to motivation often requires the input of someone external to us to keep us going, like a boot camp personal trainer, which isn’t a problem usually, until we stop using the personal trainer!
Inspired motivation comes from within and is usually based on joy or love. Examples are “I do it because I love it”, “I love how exercise makes me feel”. “I love feeling strong”.
You’ve got to find something that’s true for you. If you say “I do it because I love it” but you don’t really then that isn’t going to help you. It may take 5 years before you love it. In the meantime we’re working on our context and doing it anyway. A lot like meditation really.
Actually, the body loves to move; it loves to dance and run and breathe and leap!
It’s our minds that don’t love it.
So the art in maintaining regular exercise is to listen to your body, get out and move and gently bring your mind round to it, so they are both on the same page!
Brenda Rogers is a nutritionist, naturopath and life coach who can help you achieve your health goals. Contact Brenda vai 02 9659 7181.
