Somewhere in the back of a drawer I have a
bunch of gym membership cards. They’ve all expired, but in truth most of them
look brand new, since they rarely saw any use. You know the drill – you decide
to get up and do something, so you sign up for a year. Then after a month of
actively going to the gym, something comes up, and you miss a session. And next
thing you know, you haven’t been in a month and couldn’t be bothered to go
back. Life happens.
Of course, many folks are more dedicated,
but some just don’t take well to the gym for whatever reason. Fortunately there
are many options out there, from very intense training programmes to much more
relaxed yet still active pursuits.
Out of the public eye
For some, the last thing they want is to be
seen exercising, usually because they do not feel comfortable with their
appearance. There are personal trainers who will come out to your home to train
you, or you can look into spending money on one of a dizzying array of DVD
exercise programmes. If you have the motivation to stick to a programme on a
DVD day in and day out, you are stronger than I am.
Of course, you can also exercise in ways
that will not require the donning of dayglo lycra attire (did that go out of
fashion in the 80s or is it back again?). Just take the stairs at work, park in
a slightly more remote part of the parking lot at the supermarket (which saves
30 minutes looking for a parking spot close by) or take the dog out for a walk
(there is a reason dogs tend to look like their owners)
Every little bit helps.
Group motivation
One of the biggest motivators when it comes
to sticking to an exercise programme is getting a couple of other folks
involved. After all, getting up early in the morning to go for a run is a lot
easier when you know your running partner will be breaking down your front door
if you decide to kill the alarm clock and ditch them.
Better yet, have a standing appointment to
take part in a sporting activity as the member of a team, whether corporate or
otherwise. The motivation of having upwards of 10 people angry at you when you
decide to wimp out on exercise can certainly bring about some serious
motivation.
The same concept applies to hiring a
personal trainer. No one wants to make their personal trainer angry (the
thought of extra tough punishment training sessions are just too scary) so it
makes for great motivation. The fact that a constantly tailored exercise
programme is likely to give you better results faster is also plenty motivation.
Find your own speed
We are well past the phase where group
fitness classes meant just one thing – high impact aerobics. From the more
‘gentle’ (yet still exceedingly effective) options like yoga and Pilates to
high energy and high intensity programmes like CrossFit, there is an exercise
programme out there to suit your personality.
Get out on the water
We live on an island, so use that to your
advantage. You can find exercise wherever you’d like to, whether in a high
adrenaline sport like kiteboarding or a seemingly much more relaxed activity
like kayaking or stand up paddle boarding. Just because you are out on the
water having fun does not mean you are not busy getting an awesome workout.
Just push the tempo a little bit every now and then, and before you know it
you’ll be ripped (well, maybe not quite, but you get the picture)
Invest
It is often said that money is the root of
all evil, but it does make a very effective motivator. People tend to be more
motivated to stick to a sport or exercise programme if they have invested
(heavily) in it. So although a free form of exercise like jogging may seem a
good and cheap solution, for some the fact that it is free makes it too easy to
give up.
From experience, everyone can say where
their prior attempts at getting or staying fit has fallen through. With a
little bit of introspection, followed by finding an approach to exercise that
addresses that failing, this year might be different.