Beating the dropout odds
The Surgeon General’s Report on Physical Activity and Health summarizes a few main points:
1.Regular physical activity offers substantial improvements in health and
2.If you exercise regularly, you’ll reduce your risk of heart attack, cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, osteoporosis and even the common cold.
3.Regular exercise, regardless of the intensity, can help you control stress, sleep problems and depression.
The benefits of exercise and activity are AMAZING! And yet, only 22 percent of Americans engage in exercise for 20 minutes a day. And even among indi- viduals who begin exercise programs, the dropout rate is about 50 percent.
So, how do you beat these odds? The answer appears to be in how your start and maintain your exercise program as well as how you create a habit of exercise.
Why are you starting an exercise program? For most individuals, it is to lose weight and look better, which are great reasons. However, since changes in your body shape and size can be gradual, and won’t happen overnight, it is important to focus on other benefits so that you will remain motivated.
Thrive on the energy that exercise gives you. Watch your health risks scores go down. Pay attention to how much easier everyday activity is. Notice how much better you are sleeping. These kind of additional benefits will continue to keep you motivated if you make them just as important to you as weight loss.
Additionally, try not to view exercise as punishment. Look at it as an invest- ment in your health. If you don’t feel motivated to workout one day, think of something that is appealing to you that is active, and change your workout. Try not to let your workout become routine or mundane, and always remem- ber that some exercise is better than none at all. So, if you feel you are not motivated to continue, stop your workout early, or skip a day. It just might be the thing you need to get you excited about your next workout.
Possibly the most important thing is to keep progressing your exercise program slowly. Big increases in time or intensity can set you up for injury, and cause you to drop out. Unless you are a
Finally, try to anticipate lapses. If you are traveling, or your schedule is becoming busier, and you are fearful you may get off track, try planning ahead. For example, book a hotel that has a workout facility or change up
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