When it comes to exercise, your brain will lie to you. “Its too late”, “it’s too cold”, “I’m too tired” are just some of the things our brains will try to convince us of when it comes time to workout, all these excuses should be considered lies unless proven otherwise. “What’s the big deal” your brain will argue “Its only 1 workout”.  It may not seem like a big deal to miss 1 workout, but 1 soon turns to 2 and the next thing you know your back to couch potato status with a dusty pair of running shoes in the closet. Ok, maybe if running is your thing and there’s a category 4 hurricane going on out side or it’s your 25th wedding anniversary you can skip the workout that day, otherwise just get at it. You will feel so much better afterwards.

This is one of many things I realized that helped me go from 2 chins to 1 and feel so much better by just doing a one hour workout every second day.  Most people give up after a few months of starting a   regular exercise routine, myself included but by learning first hand what pitfalls to watch out for and how to get through them, I have been able to stay on a regular routine for the past 10 years and what I’ve learned can help you do the same.

Know what your in for.  The first thing you have to ask yourself is are you ready to commit 60 minutes every second day FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE to staying healthy?  A  popular misconception is you only have to exercise long enough to loose weight then you can stop and go back to what you were doing before, but most people that do this soon put the weight back on and start feeling the same as before.  To succeed you have to be mentally prepared to keep it up year after year.  This may sound hard but if you can make it through the first year it starts to become a regular part of your life’s busy schedule and requires a lot less motivation to keep up.

What do you have to do? I recommend any cardio workout, that can be anything that gets your heart rate up to a point just before you are not so out of breath you can’t speak and keeps it there for 60 minutes.  It’s important to know that if you exert yourself too much you will not be able to maintain it for more than about 5 minutes no matter how tough you are.   If your doing it right and exercising at room temperature your t-shirt should be wet from sweat by the end of the 60 minutes.    I found that any activity I’ve chosen that does this has resulted in weight loss on all parts of my body, including my chin.

See your Doctor. Ok this is nothing you haven’t heard before but it’s important enough to stress again.  Get a complete physical done and if that’s not possible at least see your doctor for a regular visit and let him/her know that you are planning to start working out and follow any advise or warnings you are given.

Starting out  When you first start out try a 10 minute workout every second day, then add 5 minutes every 2 weeks until you get to 60 minutes every other day.

Ok, you are now mentally ready and committed to a regular workout and your doctor has given you the all clear. “What do I do and what will it cost?”  I recommend you keep it simple and try to exercise from home by jogging, using an elliptical machine, or even an exercise bike with the moving handles.  By exercising at home there is no added driving time to cut into your busy schedule.  The 60 minute workout will take you 60 minutes and you can do it any time of the day or night.  More than a few times over the years I’ve finished my home workout after midnight.

Choosing your exercise

• Jogging-  Jogging from your house is probably the cheapest and easiest thing to do but can be hard to get started (see “mentally surviving the workout “below).  The cost of a pair of running shoes is all that’s involved and there is the mental stimulus of changing scenery.  Jogging at night I find to be very peaceful and if there’s a coffee shop mid run stop and take a break.  The negative things about running are the incredible pounding your joints take, so if you are starting off on the heavy side, have foot, knee or ankle problems jogging may not be right for you.  Also on the downside you have weather, traffic, and sometimes unsafe neighborhoods.  I have ran in all types of weather, and it is possible.  In winter always wear a hat and gloves as these 2 extremities always seem to get cold.  Wear something reflective and when crossing the road always check for traffic especially if your wearing earphones.  I used to jog in a rough neighborhood with the belief that most gang members are lousy shots and few are willing to chase someone running.  If you decide to run in a bad area or at night never stop to engage in a conversation with anyone, if someone talks to you just smile and keep going, carry one piece of ID, enough money for a coffee, your keys, and maybe a cell phone.
• Elliptical machine or exercise bike -After an ankle injury a few years ago I can no longer take the pounding from jogging so the elliptical is what I use to work out now and I highly recommend it.  Look for a machine that has smooth even tension. You can pay up into the thousands for an elliptical machine or exercise bike but if your under 200 pounds, I recommend   spending no more than $200.00 for either at a reputable department  store.  If you find it’s not right for you most stores will allow you to return it. (The elliptical I use in the photo above cost $169.00).  If your confident buying used there are deals to be had for as little as $40.00 or less at garage sales.  Avoid buying used in the month of January when everyone is buying up exercise equipment for their New Years resolution (if you have used exercise equipment to sell January will get you the biggest buck).
• Treadmill – I’m not a big fan of the treadmill but they do work. You will find that you have to run on the treadmill to get your heart rate up enough so you will need to spend a lot of money for one that will take the pounding.
• Weights– Weights won’t get your heart rate up and are used more to build up muscle. I would wait until you’ve got through doing one year of cardio.  If after a year you feel you could devote more time to working out and want to advance, weights are a great idea.
• Joining a club -Having the use of some of the better exercise equipment and more variety, access to a personal trainer, and a variety of fitness classes make joining a club quite  appealing.  There is also the social aspect where you can meet and make friends.  On the downside clubs can be expensive, if your busy, the time needed to travel to and from the club can turn a quick 60 minute workout into most of your evening.  Even the variety of exercise equipment will become boring after a while and if it’s busy you may have to wait for a particular piece of equipment to become available.
• That new revolutionary “Seen on TV”  exercise machine – We have all seen the commercials for the machine that exercises every muscle in your body in half the time.  Don’t waste your money, most are just gimmicks and although they will get your heart rate up, the novelty well wear off quickly and they will become just as boring as any other exercise method.  There are no short cuts, you have to put in the time.
• Sports, exercise classes, and other physical activity Great!! This is the best way.  When ever possible substitute your workout for anything that is fun, gets your heart up and keeps your mind busy.  Most of these rarely happen every 2nd day so you still need something as a backup.

Mentally surviving the workout

Its time for your workout and you are just too tired.  I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to just get started when you feel like this.  Even if you start your workout at a snails pace, in most cases after 5 or 10 minutes your body will begin to wake up and before you know it your energy will return.  Not only that but at the end of the workout you will usually feel like you have more energy then before you started.  It doesn’t seem to matter how many years you have been exercising or what shape your in, there is always going to be times when you feel too tired to start.

Give your body time to adjust to a repetitive exercise. When doing any repetitive exercise like the elliptical or especially something hard to start like jogging, start out as slow as possible to keep your heart rate down to a sustainable level until your body adjusts.  You should not be breathing so hard you can’t talk. If you can do this for 10 to 15 minutes something amazing happens. Its as if your body increases blood flow to the muscles being used and restricts blood flow to the ones that aren’t and the exercise becomes easier.  So don’t give up too soon thinking you can’t do it.  Also because of this be careful after stopping a repetitive exercise, some of muscles used for walking may not work right for a minute or two.

Surviving the boredom- Once your body gets over the initial strain  of starting a repetitive exercise (about 10 minutes) it becomes easier with just a constant moderate discomfort from the physical exertion.  At this point the brain numbing boredom soon begins.  Your brain needs something to  distract it from the exercise and get it to stop thinking about time.  I have seen some people read or watch TV but I find listening to music is the best way to both take your mind off the exercise and give you motivation.

Music – Music is the best way to overcome the boredom  of the workout, classical won’t cut it here, the fastest motivational music you are into at the highest safe volume the better.  I prefer an MP3 player to the radio because you can have all music.  It’s hard to get motivated by news and commercials which is all the radio seems to play when it comes time for your workout.  Work on getting a large quantity of songs to avoid getting sick of the same ones over and over.

Once you have been exercising for more than 10 minutes and one of your favorite songs comes on, this is the time to push yourself to the limit.  Forget everything  I said before about not exerting yourself too much.  Use the motivation from the music and go as fast as you can.  You should be breathing so fast it’s hard to talk.  Try to keep it up until the end of the song then slow  back down to the speed you were doing before, don’t stop.  Everyone’s exercising heart rate is different and you will soon start learning your own personal limits based on how fast your breathing is.

Benefits of Working out

It won’t be long before you start loosing weight and feeling better with more energy and more confidence in yourself.  This healthy feeling from exercise becomes contagious.  I have found since I started working out I’m not as hungry and feel full without eating as much.  When I do eat I tend to make healthier decisions because I want to, not because I should.

If you can get through the first year, Congratulations!  You have made it past the hardest part and will find it so much easier to keep going, so don’t stop.  Not only that, if you’ve ever dreamed of completing a triathlon or climbing a mountain,  you are now closer than you think.  With determination, a longer workout and proper training I have no doubt you can accomplish amazing things.

I know…….I’ve done it.

Dave Lister

listerlogic.com