Posts
Ask Dr. J—How can I stay Motivated?
Question:
Dear Dr. J, Every time I start an exercise program, eventually it fades out of
my life and I stop doing it altogether. Can you give me some ideas on how to
avoid this? Is it bad to start again, stop again, start again, stop again,
etc.?
Answer: Sticking with your exercise program
regularly and consistently is your best bet for overall health. While there's
no specific danger in starting and stopping over and over again, it's important
to set personal goals and identify what motivates you to exercise. Even if
there's been a long lapse in your sessions, you should do your best to get back
to regular exercise as soon as you can.
The first thing you need to do is find out what motivates
you. For some, it's disease prevention. For example if a close family member
has been affected by heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, osteoporosis, or
cancer, that may be what motivates you to stay healthy and avoid the same path.
Regular exercise reduces your risk of developing these and other diseases and
will help you maintain a healthy body weight.
For others, living longer could be a motivator. Research has
shown that exercise may extend the years of your life. It can greatly enhance
your quality of living, too, by making regular day-to-day physical activities
such as climbing stairs, carrying groceries, and vacuuming easier.
Now, the most important thing is getting started and
sticking to it. How one starts an exercise program usually will dictate whether
you stick with it. If you have started programs in the past only to quit a
month later, pay careful attention to setting realistic goals. For example,
don't try to run a marathon or lose 10 pounds in a month. Begin slowly and try
a number of different exercises.
You also can try my favorite technique of
all………VISUALIZATION! Picture yourself enjoying your workout and then feeling
great when you've finished. Then, picture the body you want. Go ahead…….tell me
this does not motivate you to keep it up.
If boredom is hindering your routine, try doing new
exercises, pick a new sport, or recruit an exercise partner. The key is finding
something you like and sticking with it.
Something else I like to do is distract myself during
exercise. This works especially well for cardio activities. Distractions, such
as reading, listening to music, or watching television while you work out, can
also help keep you motivated. Try exercising at a different time of day, or
break up a workout schedule to include aerobic exercise in the morning and
strength training at night.
Overall, it's important to not get discouraged if you miss a
week or two of exercise. It's never too late to get started again. When your
program gets derailed, try to figure out what went wrong and learn from your
mistakes. Best of luck and keep training hard and smart!
