How to Maintain Your Exercise Regime Long-Term
A collaborative post today but I wanted to offer my insight and motivation. As some of you know I have been going on a journey and it’s a year and a day since I wrote “The truth about my weight“, my goal was to lose 3 stone 7lbs but in a healthy and maintainable way.
I can tell you that I am on my way there, I have lost 1 stone 7lbs and have 2 stone to go. Remember I am doing this for a long-lasting life change so I need to enjoy the odd dessert and not feel guilty as well as committing to exercise. I’m sure I am not the only one who is fed up of quick-fix diets that go completely wrong because you lose the initial weight and then it comes piling back on.
Perhaps you want to join me on my journey…
Have you decided that you want to try and exercise more? Want to make it a regular thing in your life? If this is true for you, you will want to try and find ways to maintain your new routine and benefit from exercising as long-term as possible.
The trouble is that life can happen, and this means that your exercise plans fall by the way-side despite your good intentions.
The good news is that there are plenty of ways to try and maintain your exercise plans, and here are some of them.
Start small
Many people are tempted to go full whack into their exercise regime whilst they are fresh-faced. However, this is the worst thing that you can do. It is a much better idea to start as small as possible; this means that you can pace yourself, learn more about how your body will react to the exercise of your choice and stop yourself from burning out altogether.
Have them on your schedule
Some people may think it is better to exercise “when you feel like it”, but ask yourself, when are you going to feel like it? It is a much better idea to schedule in your exercise time. Not only will this allow you to plan it around your life, but it also means you have it set in stone, so you have to do it!
The image on the left is August 2020. The image on the right was taken in July 2021.
Have fun with it
When you make exercise fun and social, you are much more likely to want to stick to it. So, find a way to make it both of these things. One great approach that you can take is to invite your friends or family members to team up and make it a game. You can do this by treating everyone to GBU gel blasters, water pistols, or frisbees which they can then use during a game, by throwing your own dance party, by running challenges against your friends, and… well you get the idea.
I go Geocaching with the family and it gets us walking miles without realising it because it is so much fun. If you haven’t heard of it, there’s an app that shows all the Goecaches around you as pins and you need to find what is hidden and sign the log inside the container. It is like a world wide treasure hunt but we have found some amazing locations and learnt a lot since joining four years ago.
Celebrate
Even the smallest of victories is something that you should celebrate when you are trying to stick with exercise for the good of your health. Managed 5k running? Have you exercised every other day for two weeks? Whatever your aim is, make sure that you find a way to celebrate it. Not only will it feel great, but it will give you the motivation to keep going and to work towards your next reward.
I am on week 5 of the couch to 5k programme and have suprised myself for getting this far. I have one more run and I know it’s going to be one of the most challenging runs I do in the programme, I am certainly going to be celebrating once I complete it in the next few days.
Rest
Even the very best athletes and sportspeople have to rest when their body needs it, which means you also need to. Pencil in rest days and make sure that you take them. Your body will thank you for it, and the rest will help you feel ready to face the next day when you need to exercise.
Want to make sure that your exercise habits stick? If you do, then why not try out some of these top tips? They will help you to find a way to make exercise a part of your everyday routine and life and then, in turn, allow you to feel the benefits of being active in your physical and mental wellbeing.
I hope this inspires you to think of long-term health and I will keep you updated with my weight loss journey.
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