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Unhealthy Lifestyle, Part 2: Failure to Exercise

In 2016, the Mayo Clinic released a study that found that less than 3 percent of Americans lead a healthy lifestyle. One of the key factors in a healthy lifestyle is working out vigorously for at least 30 minutes a day five times a week or a total of 150 minutes weekly.

In Part 1 of this series, we looked at poor food choices and how those can sabotage your goal of a healthy lifestyle. In this blog, we will look at a failure to exercise and how to start or increase exercising in order to improve your overall health.

Evaluate what Motivates You

If you are motivated by guilt, regret or fear, you are not as likely to see lasting lifestyle changes. Instead of looking at how a failure to exercise will hurt you, consider how exercising will benefit you instead. Just of few of these reasons include:

  • Overall improved health
  • Overall better mood
  • Higher energy levels
  • Reduced risk of many diseases
  • Deeper sleep and
  • Several more.

Set Small but Specific Goals

If you are too general, you won’t know if you have met your exercise goal. For example, instead of saying, “I want to exercise more,” say, “I will walk for at least 15 minutes a day five times a week.” You can then know if you have reached your goals. Don’t set too many goals as you might become overwhelmed. You won’t be able to focus on the most important goals, which lessens your chances of reaching them.

 

Reward Yourself as You Meet Your Goals

All of us respond well to rewards, no matter what those are. Give yourself a reward after 1,000 minutes of exercise or after four straight weeks of exercising five days a week. You don’t need to connect the reward to weight loss or specific fitness goals. Make the reward some extra time for yourself and do not tie it to food.

 

Enjoy the Process

Changing your thoughts and habits takes time. You have developed a certain lifestyle over years and even decades of time, and you won’t change that lifestyle overnight. Give yourself grace as you go through the process. If you slip up one day and don’t exercise, simply start in the next day. Pay attention to what triggered the possible relapse. Look for ways to eliminate the triggers. You will eventually find yourself in the habit of regularly exercising and looking forward to it.

 

Find a Great Gym to Join

At a local women’s gym, such as Flow Fitness Boutique, you can connect with like-minded individuals who have the same goals as you. Here, we focus on overall improved health and don’t measure progress by a number on the scale. This will help you stay accountable as you will meet others who can keep you on track. We offer a wide variety of engaging and trendy fitness classes for every fitness level, such as Tabata, Flow Pump, 30-Minute Cardio Blast, and many more. You are sure to find one that will fit into your schedule.

 

 

 

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