six ways to squeeze exercise into your day

OK it's the new year and I've heard the gyms have been pretty busy around here over the last few weeks.

Many, if not most people make a resolution to exercise or to exercise more. It's a great intention, but by end of February, many people have slacked off their exercise resolutions.

I have been one of those people many times. But now, I have developed some ways to squeeze regular exercise into my day, about 5 days per week or more. I have maintained this for four years now. Here is how I do it:

longhorndave

1. Do it first thing On weekdays, I get up 30 minutes earlier than I have to, just to exercise.
2. Work out pajamas I wear my sports bra, t-shirt and running pants to bed on those nights.
3. Set up the night before I leave my shoes and socks together right in my bathroom, where I make my first stop after getting out of bed.
4. Leave nothing to chance If I am doing Yoga, I try to leave the mat set up where I will use it, otherwise, if I am running, I set my iPod near my shoes.
5. Schedule it If the early morning just won't work for you, decide what time, every day, you will put aside for exercise. Maybe it's right before lunch or dinner. Great. Just block that 30 minute as if it were a very important meeting that's a matter of life of death (it is).
6. Maintain it I used to get so bored with my running routine. I began changing my route and even running a bit more so I could see more of the 'hood. Recently, with winter, I began doing cardio yoga. I have also found many other 30 minute exercise routines on cable, so when I get bored with this one, I will find another with which to alternate.

By setting things up the night before, you will awaken already 90% ready to exercise. If you can make this part of your daily routine, it will become an internalized part of you.

Speaking of that, something kind of cool happened to me when I suddenly realized I was an exerciser. Not a lazy person or someone who had just jumped on the bandwagon, like I always considered myself. But a real life exerciser.

mikebaird

It happened shortly after I started trying to run. I would run for 2 minutes, then power walk for 5, until I had worked up enough running minutes to make it on a whole stretch of a running path (about 7 minutes). I got out there with all these runners, and realized they thought I was one of them! They actually thought I was a runner, too! And I was.