Lose Weight, Gain Energy: How To Enjoy Exercise

a guest post by Greg Mumm, Fitness Trainer

(www.livelywomen.com) — Too often women assume they aren’t supposed to enjoy exercise (wrong), or that only other’s—namely health nuts–enjoy exercise (wrong). Exercise is a powerful tool in shedding pounds and feeling better, but you won’t do it if you don’t like it. In fact you shouldn’t do it if you don’t like it — life is short.

Can you image what it would be like to enjoy exercise?

Well, there’s more to exercise than the exercises! Exercises are the "hard" side of the getting-in-shape coin, but there’s also a "soft" side to that same coin. Too often the focus is on how long you should work out, or how many ab crunches you should do. While this is obviously important, ab crunches won’t do you any good if you don’t like them, so let’s focus on the soft side of life today. Here are three brief "soft" tips to get you started in a successful exercise regimen: Variety, People, and Goals

VARIETY

First, include variety in everything you do. Sometimes people tell me that exercise is boring. They have flashbacks from gym class, or they hear health nuts brag about the painful hours they worked out yesterday. Create your own reality, rejecting those parts you hate. If you don’t like exercising in mid-morning, change, and try late afternoon. Change every week if you want. If you don’t like exercising alone, change, and find a partner. If you’re not excited about exercise, change, and listen to music while you exercise. Be creative. Get help from an expert. Include variety in every aspect of the exercise.

PEOPLE

Second, find people to help. Don’t workout alone if you’re not happy or not getting the desired results. Get a partner. Call a buddy who likes to exercise. Seek expert advice. Find people who are willing and able to help and keep them close to you.

GOALS

Third, set goals. Ask anyone who has achieved anything significant and they’ll tell you goals played a part in their success. But, exercise?! You better believe it—goals are a powerful tool for your health. Invest some time in setting your exercise goals. Write them down, don’t just think about them. Use feelings when you write, this isn’t a science experiment, really mean it. How will you look? Why? What will others think? Post it in a public place to create a little positive pressure.

With variety, people, and goals, you can enjoy exercise, too.

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Greg Mumm is a certified personal trainer who’s spent a lifetime collecting knowledge that can help you lose weight and gain energy by enjoying exercise. He’s the author of the e-book Lose Weight, Gain Energy: How To Enjoy Exercise.

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