Exercise - Who Wants it?

Of course we know everyone should exercise, but who wants to? I know lots of you probably enjoy exercising, but not me! Whenever I remember to exercise I always think of at least 10 other things I need to do and put off the exercising. Here are some tips I think we can use to help us exercise more often.

1. What kind of exercise do you like to do? Do you like to walk, run, sit, use a machine, swim, workout on the floor, watch a video, etc? Think about when you have exercised in the past and what you stuck with the most. Did you do a video only twice but took walks for a month and then gave it up? Chances are, the type of exercise you enjoy is the type that you will stick with. I like to walk and run. I don't stick with videos. The people on there get on my nerves after about 15 times of watching. I don't mind swimming but when you live 1/2 hour away from a pool it just isn't a reasonable choice. In the summer when our above ground pool is open it's a great choice for me. I get to spend some fun time with my kids while I'm exercising too.

2. Where do you prefer to exercise? In your home, a gym, at a friend's house, etc? Some of us don't like to leave the comforts of our home and others won't exercise unless they leave the house. If you know you won't exercise at home and need to get a membership somewhere, then that will work for you. It's even better if you can agree to meet a friend at the gym or meet at their house. Then you're both accountable to get there and aren't tempted to put off exercising for another day. I'm the home body type. I love to be home and know I would never use a membership to somewhere when I have to leave my house.

3. What time are you most likely to be able to exercise? It's best if you can make exercise a natural part of your day so you can develop a habit of it. If you can fit it into one of the time blocks of your day like before lunch, after work, when you're waiting for someone in your family, while dinner is in the oven, before breakfast, etc. You'll be more likely to stick with it if you know to expect it at a certain time each day.

4. Do you need variety in your exercise? Some people can run 6 miles a day and never tire of doing that each day. Others do a video 2 days a week and then swim the other 3 days of the week. And still others need to do something different each day. I recently went to walk at a local recreation center. They have a nice indoor walking track and I walked it one time and ran most of the way the next time. I thought I ran about a mile and a 1/2 because I thought for sure it was 1/4 mile around the track. Much to my chagrin, I found out later that it was only 1/10 of a mile around the track! Now THAT can get monotonous. So while I enjoy walking or running outside or in my home, walking around a 1/10 mile track over and over again is just too much boredom for me. My mini trampoline was looking really good at this point. At least I could watch TV while I was doing it.

Have you ever tried exercising with a preschooler? (Especially a boy?!) Well, it's a lot of fun. We added on to our house and now we have a good amount of space to run around. So as often as I remember and have the time to exercise I have what I call "running time" with my 5 year old son. I set the kitchen timer for 8-10 minutes and he is my "leader". He guides me all over the house and I try to keep up with him. This gets me going and keeps both of us in shape (like he needs to get in shape!). Then I usually jump on my mini-trampoline after that and finish up my work out.

To start and keep up an exercise program I think you need to answer the above questions for yourself so that you get started and stay consistent. If you don't enjoy it, it doesn't fit in with your day, and is in the wrong place, you won't keep doing it. Consistent exercise is the goal in my book. Find your niche and go out and have fun!