Exercising – How You Can Make It A Daily Habit?

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Exercise…  Nothing freaks people out than that word when it comes to incorporating it into our daily lives. But before that, I want to ask you a question: Do you know why majority of teenagers are not fat even when they eat so much and do not exercise than we the adults do?

 

It’s because, in youth, our metabolism is at it’s peak, and fat burning rate, that is conversion of food to energy is more rapid. However, as we grow older, our metabolism slows down. To maintain that same rate of fat burning efficiency we had in our teenage years, we need a physical activity. When there is an absence of a physical activity, most of the foods we eat are stored as fat and few are converted to energy. The case is worse; when we live a very sedentary lifestyle such as when we do office work that require us to sit in one place for several hours daily. And because of this very problem, we naturally become comfortable not doing any exercise. Consequently, overtime, we add weight, until we suddenly become conscious that we are fat.

For some people, they complain that they are fat and are not willing to do those little sacrifices it takes to get back to a normal shape. Yet for some others, who because of peers, family relationships, career, obsession for looks, and concern for optimal health, they do whatever it takes to get rid of this weight problem irrespective of how busy they may be.

If you are among the latter, here is the secret to cultivate a habit of regular exercise.

When you decide to start an exercise program, it would be tough for you to keep it regular, and as a result, you will be finding it difficult to maintain your weight, so I created a system that would force you to do exercises and accomplish your goals every day.

Here is how the system works.

• It takes about 30 days to form a habit, so my plan was based on a 30 day period.

• I dedicated my 30 minutes workout days to be majorly on Sunday, Wednesdays and Saturday.

• Make a pact with your spouse or friend that each day that you fail to do a 30 minutes workout on the assigned days, you would pay her N1000 for failing to do that exercise.

• For your spouse or friend, they would pay you N500 when they skip theirs within the agreed 30 days.

• Make it official and put it down in paper and invite a witness (A family friend) to sign.

• No one is to remind each other on the days of the workout till the end of that day when the payment for the offense is due.

So when you fail and have to part with some money, no one would advise you to improve. Whether you feel like doing an exercise or not, you would ensure that you force yourself to engage in one before the end of that day.

No one loves throwing money away. 

 

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Within a period of 30 days, you would start feeling comfortable doing this exercise and it will start having positive and beautiful effects on you. When you climb the scale, and notice that the weight has started dropping off. There is a difference in your weight each week you visit the scale, without being reminded, and because you are seeing positive results, you would gladly do your workouts till the end of that 30 days agreement and beyond when it becomes a habit.

Though from time to time, such as when you need to travel, you might have to miss exercising, but try to do some little activity that will help your heart to pump faster. So, If you are the very busy type, you can try this system. It’s a simple, yet powerful motivational system that helps you stick to your goals.

However, if you’re terribly busy and can’t seem to find time for regular exercises, here are few suggestions to help you become physically active.

• Remember that being active does not necessarily mean you have to exercise. Make a list of those things you enjoy that keeps you physically active and engage them.
• Go for a walk with friends during lunch time, take a walk with your family or take your kids to the park and play with them instead of sitting and watching them play.
• During official hours when you visit offices that have lifts or escalators, use the staircase instead. Park your car further away and walk to the office.
• Try fun activities that are physically demanding, try swimming, play football, golf, tennis or even riding a bicycle.
• Engage in group activity or volunteer work in the church or mosque. Are there duties that require members to volunteer their time and effort, could you find time to join to benefit yourself physically?

When you find time to do these things, overtime it adds up and benefit your health optimally. A sedentary lifestyle without a supporting physical activity can ruin your health, make you grow fat and become overweight. When you use a reward system, Like I have suggested above, you will find out that exercising after all is the most interesting physical activity, and by engaging in it and making it a habit or regular activity, you can add an extra 15 to 30 years to your lifespan.