I've said it before & I'll say it again "We all know we are ‘supposed' to exercise – we all know how important it is."

As well it's agreed - exercise affects all aspects of our lives.

We all know exercise will help us to live longer, healthier lives, hopefully long into our golden years, so that we can enjoy watching our children & their children grow old. We all know exercise will help us have fun vital, quality lives so that we won't have to be dependent on others to look after us as we age. All in all - we want it all!

Yet the question is: "What are we willing to do to help us get it?" Exercise takes some effort – unfortunately just ‘thinking' about it doesn't count.

What will it take to get you to turn ‘thinking' about exercise into ‘actually doing it'?

For each of us it's different. For some people knowing the facts about how important regular exercise is to our overall health will motivate them to get out & exercise regularly. Where as for others simply knowing the facts isn't enough – it takes much more to work past their busy schedules, possible pain issues or low energy.

Obviously there are things we don't like about exercising or we'd do it more often wouldn't we? It's amazing how so many people can find time to go for coffee or watch their favorite TV show – but to find time to exercise well…..

What is it that we ‘don't like' about exercise?

• It takes time – extra time we don't seem to have a lot of.
• We have to coordinate our schedule with the schedule of a class or gym.
• It's no fun sweating & feeling exhausted.
• We have to change clothes – workout & then change & get beautiful all over again – talk about exhausting!
• Membership fees can be expensive – especially when we don't end up going.

Well here are a few tips that might help you with the above challenges:

• Yes, it takes time to exercise but remember to think in ‘chunks' – for example 10min +10min + 10min = 30 mins (sometimes finding a whole 30 mins to commit to exercise is hard).
• Coordinating your schedule with a class can be frustrating – so why not set your own schedule & go when you want? Just get out & go for a walk (adding walking poles will make it more of a workout – if you're afraid you're not getting enough).
• About having to get changed - If you do your workout first thing in the morning – you only have to get beautiful once!
• As far as feeling exhausted & getting sweaty well the "no pain – no gain" mantra of the 80's & 90's has been found to false. For the average person fitness is about "total use" - you want to use as much of your body as possible & there doesn't have to be any abuse at all!
• Fees are particularly expensive if you don't use your membership. If you do sign-up to go to a gym – be sure their schedule or classes will work with yours. Then commit yourself to a specific time or class (a specific time is easier to make a habit than inconsistent hit & miss times).

No matter what, it's still going to take ‘you' to decide to ‘do it' rather than just ‘think about it'…. I hope some of these points help you to get going & make exercise a regular & important part of your life ...