When you read the word exercise what was the first thing that came to your mind? Were they ‘I don’t have time,’ ‘I have to make meals for my kids,’ ‘I don’t like going to the gym,’ etc. I can just keep listing the excuses and the same thing goes through my mind too. But we have to understand that it is not that we don’t have time but the fact that we don’t know how to manage it well.
If we have something really important in our lives like going to a movie, playing video games, a doctor’s appointment or even a spa appointment we find a way to fit it in our lives right?
I am sure you are thinking “These are fun or necessary things to do Amita. Unlike staying on track with my food or exercise.”
I can understand that it is not as compelling as the other things. But it is a very important thing for self-care. After all, we are in charge of what goes on our calendar right? Having said that, it is a lack of planning and prioritize.
Now there are two aspects to getting started:
- Do what you like:
You don’t have to go to the gym just cause everyone is. There are different forms of physical activity[Zumba,yoga,pilates,aerobics,dance,etc.]; so find what you like and what you see yourself suiting your body and your schedule on a longer run.
2. Start slow:
Today you did a 1-hour workout at the gym and your body is so sore that you start having second thoughts whether you should even try going the next day. Understand that you need to be physically active for life to make sure you are at the top of your health. Hence it is important to start with 10 minutes first then stimulate yourself to work out a little longer every time.
When you chose to start working out you need to understand four important things. The first being that every time you should start working out little more than what you did last time. Once you start the body automatically starts adapting to the changes. Now once you start adapting to the changes allow your body to recover well which means to get fitter you also need to pay heed to what you eat before and after your workouts. Last but not least make sure your workouts are regular even if its 10-15 minutes initially. It is not about how many hours you work out but how efficiently you do it.
Week 1& 2- Chose your exercise and begin with basics and understand how much your body is able to take. Once in the first week, your body has adjusted, start by increasing the time [run, walk, yoga] or intensity/reps [gym].
Week 3 & 4- Increase the load[gym], hold in a particular asana longer [yoga], start increasing distance in the same time that you were following in the first 2 weeks[walk/run].
Week 5-8 – Maintain all that you have learnt in the first 4 weeks and start seeing the change. Don’t increase the time but work out more in the particular time set.
Week 9- Start bringing variations in your workout. For example, on the first day of the week do exercises for the lower body then rest the next day. After that do running /cycling/swimming, play some sports [badminton, tennis, etc], Rest, then upper body workouts and then have a stretching day.
On a different note, don’t feel guilty if you miss a workout on one particular day. What you can do here is take a 15-minutes brisk walk after dinner or do basic stretches at home. There are many ways to make this work, one of the important things being meal planning. If you have gone through our article on meal planning Tactics to manage your meal planning you will have surely gotten a better idea.
The key to success here: Start slow, avoid feeling guilty, prioritize things [Most important to least important] and most of all love your body.
Let us know how and what you began with!
