Holiday Exercising

This is a wonderful time of year, filled with family, friends, traditions and goodies.  Maintaining your exercise program is probably the last thing on your mind.  How many times have you excused yourself from your routine by saying something like:   “I’m too busy right now.  I’ll start again when ________ (fill in the blank) is over”.   That might seem to make sense, but at this time of year, perhaps even more than usual, you need to maximize your energy levels and minimize stress.  Every time you are tempted to blow off your exercise routine, remind yourself that it is equally as important as everything else on your agenda.  It’s not selfish – it’s necessary!  This is not just about your fitness level; it's about your sanity.  Here are some tips to help you fit in exercise now:

• Keep moving!  Forget the “rules” – there is no right, wrong or best way.  Just do whatever you can to squeeze in some activity.  Park your car at the farthest end of the parking lot and walk into the store.  Bring your carriage back into the store instead of depositing it in the carriage corral in the parking lot.  Take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator.   You’ve heard all these ideas before, but they are always worth repeating. 

• Shorten your routine.  Give yourself permission not to work so hard.  If you usually take a class, but don’t have time for the whole thing go anyway and just stay as long as you can.  Even a 15-minute effort is better than no effort at all.  You’ll feel better afterwards. 

• Make it a family affair.  When gathering with friends and family encourage them to participate in activities.  Take a walk to look at holiday decorations.  Build a snowman.  Take the kids sledding.  Walk the dog.  Clear away the last of the snow.   You get the idea - there's always something you can do.

• Use the buddy system.  There is nothing more motivating than a workout partner.  Knowing someone else is counting on you is far more likely to get you going that just doing it by yourself.  Make a plan with a friend and stick to it.  Remind yourself that it is as important for them as it is for you.  It is better to shorten your routine (see above) than not to show up at all.  

• Don’t let travelling get you down.  If you are stuck during an airport layover, take a walk around the airport.  On my last trip through the Minneapolis airport I discovered a fabulous art exhibit which I never would have seen if I had not taken a walk around the airport.  If the airport is small, walk around outside.  If you are staying away from home, ask your host to help you find a gym or a park or a fitness center nearby.  Invite them to come with you.  Or maybe you (and they!) might welcome a brief break.  

• Be prepared.  A little preparation can go a long way.  Exercise bands are a great tool.  They are inexpensive, lightweight, easily packable and provide lots of stretching and strength training exercises that are easy to do wherever you are.  If you have access to a computer, there are a myriad of tips and tricks available.  Also great videos on You-Tube and other web sites to help guide you.

There are so many goodies to enjoy and holidays are exactly the types of special occasions that these treats are meant for.  So go ahead and sample the ones you like best.  If you can maintain some level of activity you won’t have to feel guilty or deny yourself.  And then when the holidays are over, it will be that much easier to slip back into your regular routine. 

Happy Holidays to all.  Enjoy!

WARM-UP BASICS – PREPARING YOUR BODY FOR ANY ACTIVITY

An adequate warm-up should be an essential component of any physical activity.  This includes daily chores as well as any exercise you do.  Personally, I am a big fan of relatively long warm-ups (15-20 minutes or more) – especially for those of us who are older or who have not exercised for a while.  Although this is recommended as preparation for physical activity at any time of year, it is especially true at this time of year when it is cold outside and maintaining motivation can be difficult.  Today was a perfect example.  This morning when I left my house for my usual walk/jog the frozen fog and absence of sun made it feel really cold and inhospitable.  But I was dressed appropriately so I just kept moving, gradually increasing speed and intensity.  After about 20 minutes I noticed that I was feeling much more comfortable despite the fact that the ambient temperature had barely budged.  Once I felt more comfortable I was actually able to enjoy the beauty of the stark environment and frost-laden trees.  Warming up made a big difference in my attitude as well as my enjoyment of my workout.

A good warm-up not only prepares your body for exercise, both mentally and physically, but also may help you avoid injury.   The purpose of the warm-up is to increase the body’s core temperature. An effective warm-up also should increase both your heart rate and your respiratory rate. This improves blood flow, which in turn facilitates the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the working muscles. All this helps to prepare the muscles and tendons for more strenuous activity.  This will then enable your muscles to move more easily and efficiently.  Then whatever activity you do after your warm-up should feel easier.  Many people feel a bit stiff and uncomfortable when they first get going.  If you ease into your activity with a brisk warm-up, you will probably notice that stiffness passes.  You will find the activity - whatever it is - flows much more smoothly and probably feels easier if you take the time to get your body ready. 

So what is an effective warm-up?  No matter what form it takes, you should start easily and build up to more energetic components.  Personally, I believe in warming up the entire body with light aerobic exercise regardless of the activity planned.  This means getting arms and legs moving and then gradually increasing the work load on the muscles.  Start by working large muscles first then move to smaller muscles.   The muscles in your legs are large so start there.  Simply marching in place will get your legs moving.  If you are preparing to shovel snow, try walking up and down your driveway a few times first.  If the snow is deep, take it slow.  Get out to the street and walk a bit in the tire treads.  Even if your street has not been plowed there is almost always someone who has already driven through and created tire tracks.  If you are planning to vacuum or do some other form of housework, march around your house a few times, changing direction if you go in circles. 

Work into more complex moves as the warm-up progresses.  Such moves might include stepping side to side or kicking front and back.  Music is a great motivational resource.  Get an MP3 player and listen to your favorite tunes.  Gradually, add arm movements starting small.  Pushing/pulling movements in various directions (to the front, side and overhead) or bicep curls without weights are good choices.  As your heart rate increases and you start to feel more energetic, begin to make the movements larger and more expansive.  Swing your arms around in big circles.  Now you might want to incorporate squats and lunges which will continue to work the large muscles of your legs.  Some of you who have taken my Pilates classes will recognize this method of warming up.  Hopefully you will agree that it is effective.

Warming up is not just terminology.  It should actually make you feel warm.  So keep the movements going for as long as you need to begin to feel warm.  Don’t forget to drink water.  Housework and yard work are strenuous.  Stay hydrated.  Drinking frequently will also help fuel your muscles. 

Now for some specific tips for avoiding injury during everyday activities.

The following tip is courtesy of Dr. Thomas Keller, from Racine, Wisconsin.

“The housekeeping motion that gets most people with back problems into trouble is vacuuming. This is because of the twisting movement that is automatic when you work the vacuum with one hand only.

Activities that employ the same motions as vacuuming (for example, raking) will affect the back in similar ways. So any motion that causes the spine to twist will tend to exacerbate symptoms.

In the case of vacuuming, if you can retrain yourself to use both hands, you can avoid most of the twisting motion in both upper and lower back. Mind you, this will not prevent problems in persons with existing conditions, but it will minimize aggravation of symptoms.”

Similar tips can help you with chores like shoveling – whether it’s snow or dirt:

1)      To begin stand with good posture, shoulders over hips, weight distributed evenly over both feet and from the front of your feet (toes) to the back of your feet (heels).  Position the shovel directly in front of you with the shovel's blade level – that is, parallel to the ground or if the ground is not level, parallel to your hips or waist.

2)      If you need to provide some leverage (for digging something heavy like dirt or wet snow), step forward with one foot and anchor the back foot for stability before placing the front foot on the shovel.

3)      Lean your weight forward onto the shovel. Let the weight of your body sink the shovel into the ground. Leveraging the dirt or snow in this way will help you avoid muscle strain associated with digging or shoveling. 

4)      Bend at the knees and hips before lifting.  Use the large muscles of your legs to lift – not your back.  Try to keep your back flat and straight from shoulders to hips.

5)      Don’t overload the shovel.  Lift small amounts to avoid strain. 

6)      Instead of throwing the snow or dirt, walk with the shovel to the point where you want to deposit its contents.  Then simply tilt the shovel forward and release the contents.

Here is a link to a more detailed description of this process that includes photos: 

http://backandneck.about.com/od/activitiesofdailyliving/ss/shovelingbackst.htm

Remember – an important goal of the exercise you do in general, and Pilates in particular, should be to help strengthen you for the daily activities of your life.   When we speak of “mind/body awareness” we mean paying attention to how your body works and doing what you need to do to keep it working optimally.  Taking a little extra time to prepare your body and position yourself properly can make activities more comfortable, help you last a bit longer and be pain-free when doing the chores you need to do. 

Inspiration

Now that winter is once again upon us, it is often a much more attractive choice to enjoy the warmth of home instead of going to that exercise class. Here are some things to think about when you’re deciding whether to get up or stay put:


• Inspiration. Who do you admire when it comes to exercise and health? Think of that person and what they're doing to stay healthy right now. If they can do it, you can do it. Remember also that you always feel better after you complete your workout.

• Try the “15-minute plan”. Tell yourself you will commit just 15 minutes. Set a timer if you need to or set an alarm on your watch or cell phone (preferably on vibrate!). At the end of 15 minutes, give yourself permission to switch to something else. Interestingly, you will most likely find that you’re not feeling so bad after all and may even want to continue for longer than the scheduled 15 minutes. By the way, this method works for lots of other things, too. Like housework! Try it.

• Don’t try to master everything at once. Rather than telling yourself that you need to learn it all in one day or one session, give yourself permission to break it down into a series of learning steps. Take time to master one step at a time. Then move on to the next.

• Set and remember your goals. What are your goals? Do you want to lose weight? Improve your stamina? Increase your ability to perform everyday tasks - like carrying in those groceries or reaching upper/lower shelves or climbing a hill or getting up easily from a seated or reclining position? In my opinion, the single most important factor in achieving your exercise goals is consistency. You have to make that commitment and stick with it. If you exercise regularly, you’ll be able to do more and more each time. If you’re tempted to skip your workout, try instead opting for a shorter or less intense version (see above). Every little bit helps and something is better than nothing. When you’re trying to establish good habits, just maintaining that consistency is beneficial.

• And speaking of goals . . . How about setting some specific goals. Then you have a way to measure your progress. Remember – it is never too late to improve!

• Don’t give up because you think you are not making progress. Improvements are often subtle. One of the goals of exercise is to build body awareness. Try noticing during the day any improvements in strength and endurance that you have gained. Do your clothes fit better? Do you have more energy? Are you sleeping better at night?

So, before you skip your workout, try these little mantras to get yourself moving:

• I'll feel good about myself if I finish my workout

• I'll just warm up and, if I want to stop, I can

• This workout will give me more energy for the rest of my day or help me to sleep better tonight

• If I finish this workout, I relax and do something I’ve been wanting to do

Further Inspiration - Preparation

Once you've decided to exercise, make it as easy as possible to follow through. That means having what you need and getting it all ready in advance. Find a space where you can keep all your gear so that you don’t have to waste time looking for things. This can be as simple as a couple of those covered plastic bins that can be stacked in an out of the way but convenient corner. Organize them in any way that will make it easy for you to find what you need when you need it.

For example, put summer things in one bin, winter in another, outdoor accessories in another like hats, gloves, heavy socks. Then remember to put everything back in the bin when you are finished for the day. That way you will always know where everything is.

I try to keep all of my workout clothes and accessories in the same place every day. That way I don’t have to think when I get up – just jump in my clothes and get out there. It is not always possible, but it is helpful if you can have some gear that’s exclusively for your workouts. If you don’t need it for other purposes, you can just leave it in your stash place when you’re not using it. Bottom line is find ways you can be ready for your workout well before it happens.

A few other demons to banish -

I've dealt with most of these in previous posts, but it never hurts to repeat them:

It’s Too Hard. Anticipation is often worse than the actual event. Remind yourself that if anything really feels bad, you can always stop! We are often our own most demanding task masters. No one but you is monitoring your performance. You don’t have to live up to anyone else’s expectations. Just do what you can.

Fear of Failure. As Albert Einstein once said, “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” Revisit item (1) above. No one can be expected to do everything perfectly every time. Some skills are easier to master than others. Take your time. There’s no hurray.

Perfectionism. When you do finally master new skills, the need to repeat this success can create anxiety. Everyone has good days and bad days. Some things will be easier on some days than others. Listen to your body and go with the flow. Again – just do what you can.

Time Management. Schedule your exercise time into your life. There is always room even in the busiest life. It may mean getting up a bit earlier in the morning, or substituting exercise time for some other leisure activity (like watching TV or updating your Facebook page). Once again – commitment is important. Make exercise a priority. Work your other activities around your exercise program. Break it up if you need to (example: 10 minutes in the morning, 10 minutes at lunch time, 10 minutes in the evening). Look at your weekly and see where you can realistically fit in exercise time. Then schedule it and stick to it!

Check back through some of my other blog posts on staying motivated. Finally, as you take back your power over procrastination, be aware that occasionally you will backslide. That’s okay. It happens to everyone and is not a signal that you should give up. There are days when the best laid plans simply do not work out. Accept setbacks and start again. Every day is a new opportunity. You can do it!!

Overcoming Fears About Pilates

Are you afraid to try Pilates?  Maybe you tried it once and found it daunting.  Or maybe you've seen videos and everyone looks so fit that you think it can't possibly be something you could do.  There are many misconceptions about who can benefit from Pilates.  Personally, I think everyone can benefit from some level of Pilates - whether you are young, older, fit or have not exercised for years.  Below are some of the most common objections and suggestions for overcoming them:

• Myth # 1 - You have to be in good shape to take a Pilates class.

The truth is that Pilates practioners come in all shapes and sizes.  They are male and female and in many age groups.  A good instructor will explain modifications for any moves that seem daunting.  There is an appropriate level for every body.  I tell all participants in my classes to just do what they can.  Try each move but don't compare yourself to others in the class.  Challenging yourself is good, but you don't want to overdo - especially when you are just starting.   If you stick with it you will see improvement.

• Myth # 2 - I'm too old to start Pilates.

Pilates can be especially beneficial to older adults who need to improve balance, strength and flexibility.  These are exactly the traits emphasized by Pilates exercises.  Pilates is designed to help you deal with all the daily challenges of life - such as reaching for items or carrying groceries or avoiding falls. 

• Myth # 3 - Pilates is just a series of crunches and sit-ups.

Pilates does focus on what we call the "core" which includes abdominal and back muscles.  The reason is that strengthening and toning these muscles provides stability and freedom of motion throughout the body. The core muscles support the entire body.  This is one of the reasons that Pilates has been so successful for people who have back pain. Pilates does not stop at abdominal work, though.  It is based on the principal that all body parts must work together in a very balanced way, not just the abs..

The Pilates method is also a practice of mind/body fitness. Developing a body that works as a harmonious whole requires much more than a calisthenic or spot reduction approach to fitness. The Pilates principles - control, centering, concentration, breath, flow, and precision all support an integrative mind/body experience through Pilates exercise.

These are just a few reasons why it is worth it to try Pilates.  If you have other concerns or objections, please feel free to pose them.  We will address more of them in future posts.

Choosing Shoes

Now that spring is here, many of you have begun to get outdoors again. This may be a good time to evaluate the shoes you are using for exercising. If you're wearing the same shoes you wore last Spring, they may be more worn out than you think, even if they look OK.

In my last blog post I mentioned that I belong to an organization of fitness professionals called IDEA. This organization provides periodic handouts for instructors to pass on to participants. There is a link below to a handout you can download with some good pointers for choosing the right shoes. Hope you find it helpful.

Another tip that is not mentioned in the article is arch supports. If you spend alot of time on your feet, you might find these helpful.  Your feet are the base and support for your whole skeleton. With each step you take your arch flexes and stretches to accommodate the rolling motion of heel to toe. Adding an arch support to a shoe will roll the foot up into the correct position. As a result, unnecessary pressure will be lifted off your ankles, knees, hips, and lower back.  It is surprising what a difference an arch support can make.  I have used them for many years.  I especially like a particular type of arch supports made by a company called Spenco (no, I do not receive anything from them for this endorsement!)  These are made of neoprene so they are soft and flexible.  They are a bit pricey, but they are extremely durable and worth the cost. 

Here is the link to the IDEA handout.  If you have your own tips on shoes that have worked for you, please feel free to share them by posting a comment.  When your feet feel good, your attitude towards exercising is likely to improve along with your performance and enjoyment.
Choosing Shoes

Pilates: Aid for Low-Back Pain

In previous blog posts I have mentioned my membership in a fitness professional organization called IDEA. This organization provides a number of articles designed to be handed out to exercise participants for educational purposes. Below are some excerpts from a couple of recent articles advocating Pilates as a helpful tool for relieving low-back pain. 


Eighty percent of Americans experience back pain at one time or another (Luo et al. 2004). The discomfort can range from mild to severe or debilitating. Men and women are equally affected (Luo et al. 2004), and the pain can be caused by sedentary living, aging or overuse (e.g., repetitive motion during a sport).

If you have experienced back pain at one time or another, you may have been told to strengthen your abdominal muscles to help address the problem. While traditional crunches strengthen the outer layers of the abdominal musculature, they bypass the deep support structures of your back. This can place too much stress on the lumbar spine and may even worsen your back pain, depending on what your original physical problem was. By training the deep stabilizers of the lumbar spine, pain can be alleviated and you’ll be able to return to everyday activities sooner. It is helpful to remember that the goal of practicing Pilates, or any exercise regimen, is to help you perform regular life activities with as much ease and comfort as possible. The stronger you become, the easier these activities become.

Pain occurs when muscles become imbalanced or dysfunctional, thereby losing their effectiveness as stabilizers. When this occurs, the core muscles cannot support the vertebrae in the spine during everyday movements. Other, more superficial muscles must take over and try to do their work. Since these large muscles cannot stabilize the small, independent joints of the spine, this often results in compressive forces on the spinal disks.

Pilates can help. The major focus of Pilates is to strengthen the deep stabilizers of the spine and can be beneficial if you are recovering from low-back injuries or experiencing low-back pain.

Pilates, created by Joseph Pilates, suits most people in the process of recovering from injury and rebuilding their bodies. The foundational approach focuses on core strength, precision and control of movement.

• Pilates Develops Body Awareness. You need this awareness in order to recruit and strengthen the deep stabilizing muscles. Body awareness also helps you to to recognize tension in areas where you might not have realized it existed. Learning to release tension can go a long way towards eliminating pain.

• Pilates Promotes Effective Breathing Patterns. Effective breathing patterns alleviate stress, which can be a major source of back pain. Conscious breathing provides inner focus, allowing you to become more aware of your body and enable recruitment of deep stabilizing muscles. Breathing also can help to release tension.

• Pilates Builds Core Strength. You learn to engage the deep pelvic floor providing support for the lower back.

• Pilates Addresses Joint Functionality. In many cases, back pain results from either too much or too little mobility of the various joints that affect the back and pelvis. For example, if the hip joints do not move in a biomechanically efficient way, the more mobile lumbar spine will compensate for the loss of motion. Pilates addresses such issues by looking at the functionality of individual joints and how they can work together with adjacent joints to provide natural, pain-free movement patterns within normal ranges of motion.

• Whole Body Approach. One of the most compelling benefits of Pilates is that it focuses on the entire body and not just the injured area. Often, damage results from faulty muscular firing patterns caused by poor posture, habitual movements or compensations for an earlier injury. Low-back pain, for instance, may stem from misalignment elsewhere in the kinetic chain. As a result, failure to address the whole spine, rather than just the area of concern, may yield little or no relief. No matter how much emphasis is placed on rehabilitating the lumbar region, it will continue to compensate if another area of the body is weak or out of alignment.

Sample Pilates Exercises for Low-Back Pain

Following these basic Pilates stability exercises will help recruit the deep core muscles, stabilize the entire spine and help decrease or prevent back pain. For assistance in learning Pilates, seek the guidance of a qualified Pilates instructor or personal trainer.

Note: These exercises should be performed only with prior permission from a healthcare professional.

1)   Breast Stroke Prep: Targets Upper Back

Starting Position:   Lie on stomach on mat, legs together, front of hips flat on mat. Hands are by shoulders, with elbows and nose on mat.

Exercise:

1. Inhale: stabilize shoulder blades on back and contract abdominals by pulling your belly button in towards your spine. Shoulders should be down away from your ears.

2. Exhale: raise upper body off mat, keeping lower ribs and elbows in contact with mat; keep head in line with back. This does not have to be a large movement. Start by lifting the chin a couple of inches off the mat making sure to retain proper form.

3. Inhale: hold position.

4. Exhale: return to starting.

Complete 5–8 repetitions.


2)  Ab Prep: Targets Abs
Starting Position:  Lie on back on mat, feet on mat, hip distance apart. Spine is in neutral position, neither arched nor flattened.

Exercise:

1. Inhale:  nod head slightly to tuck chin.

2. Exhale:  curl upper body off mat without pressing low back into mat; raise arms slightly off mat during curl. Think of lifting your shoulders rather than your head. Keep your head as an extension of your spine.

3. Inhale:  hold position.

4. Exhale:  return to starting position.

Complete 5–8 repetitions.


3)  Cat Stretch: Lengthens Spinal Muscles

Starting Position:  Kneel with equal weight on hands and knees, knees slightly apart. Hands are directly under shoulders, and knees are directly under hips. Spine is in neutral position, neither arched nor flattened.

Exercise:   To prepare, inhale.

1. Exhale: starting from tailbone, round the spine, allowing head to bend toward mat.

2. Inhale: hold position and tighten abdominal muscles.

3. Exhale: starting from tailbone, return spine to starting position; bring head up last, but keep eyes looking down.

Complete 3–5 repetitions.


4)  Hip Rolls (also known as Bridge): Targets Abs, Glutes & Backs of Thighs

Starting Position: Lie on back on mat, feet hip distance apart. Pelvis is in neutral position, neither arched nor flattened.

Exercise:  To prepare, inhale.

Exhale: Starting from tailbone, slowly peel spine off mat until hips are lifted and weight is resting between shoulder blades and also evenly on both feet. 
Inhale: hold position and tighten abdominal muscles.

Exhale: Starting from top of spine, slowly return to mat, lowering to starting position.

Complete 5–8 repetitions.

By addressing the entire musculoskeletal system, Pilates makes the whole body more efficient, helping to decrease the incidence of re-injury.  And, of course, for more information about Pilates - try taking a class!

This handout is a service of IDEA, the leading international membership association in the health and fitness industry, www.ideafit.com.

The primary author of this article is Moira Merrithew, IDEA expert and executive director of education for STOTT PILATES®.

References

Luo, X., et al. 2004. Estimates and patterns of direct health care expenditures among individuals with back pain in the United States. Spine, 29, 79–86.

Richardson, C., Hodges, P., & Hides, J. 2004. Therapeutic Exercise for Lumbopelvic Stabilization (2nd ed.) Philadelphia: Churchill Livingstone.
IDEA Fitness Journal, Volume 7, Number 1, January 2010

IDEA Fitness Journal, Volume 6, Number 9, September 2009

Staying Motivated

Starting – or at least planning - an exercise program is easy. Sticking with it can be challenging. Life has a way of intruding upon the best laid plans. And once even a few days have passed without exercising it can become harder and harder to get back on track. So here are a few tips to help you get back into it and perhaps even avoid the next derailment.


1)    Prioritize.      How important is your health? When you’re tempted to blow off your exercise session on any given day, think about why you exercise in the first place. Do you feel better afterwards? Does it help you to relieve stress? Before eliminating your exercise session think about all of the positive benefits. Then even if you still cannot manage it on a particular day, keep reminding yourself about all those positives. And just get back to it. It’s never too late to start again.
2)    Cut it short.    Even if your usual exercise session is pre-empted by an emergency, there is almost always some alternative that can be worked in. If your usual activity seems daunting, simplify it. Walk for 10 minutes – set an alarm and time yourself. March in place. Do some knee lifts or step touches (step your feet together from side to side). A recent article in the NY Times said that research has confirmed that even standing burns more calories (a lot more!) than sitting. So just stand and wave your arms around for a few minutes. That will probably be enough to motivate you to move a little more.
3)    Buy something new.   Nothing like a new pair of shoes to get you out the door. Spring is coming. How about a pair of shorts with pockets or a new t-shirt. Re-sale and thrift shops are a great resource for workout clothes.

4)    Take it easy.    If you’ve over-worked yourself and you’re hurting, go easy on yourself. Try doing something different. If you usually walk and your shins are hurting, try biking. If your shoulders are hurting, avoid weights and do something aerobic. If you usually walk on pavement, try trails for a softer surface. If you usually walk on hills, opt for a flatter surface. The Mickelson trail offers some good gentle options.

5)    Enlist a friend.     It is always easier to stay motivated when someone else is joining you. This is why classes are so popular. You have the benefit of others doing the same thing with you. It also helps to schedule your workout and make it an automatic part of your day.

6) Keep the beat.     Music is a great motivator. You don’t have to have an expensive I-Pod to enjoy the benefits of the vast audio library now available through the wonders of modern technology. For as little as $30 (or less) you can get an MP3 player and download your favorite music. There are specialty collections that will help you maintain a particular pace while you’re walking. Or if you prefer, you can listen to audio books. As many of you know, I listen to all sorts of radio programs, interviews and magazine articles. There are even university courses you can download. There is nothing like learning something while you’re new hiking! I can almost guarantee you will look forward to your next opportunity.
7)    Wear a pedometer.    You’ll be amazed at how far you walk just going through a normal day. It becomes a motivator to increase that number. It also helps with goal-setting. Think about how satisfying it will be to meet (or exceed!) that daily goal.

8)    Keep a log.   This can be as simple as a calendar in which you make daily notations of your activities. You can make it as detailed (weather; clothing worn; goals; time; distance; route; how you felt; etc.) or as simple as you like. Place a “star” sticker on each day that you meet your goal. As you see the back-to-back accumulation of data you will feel a real sense of accomplishment.

9)    Reward yourself.    Review my previous post about small changes. If you’ve gotten off the exercise bandwagon for longer than you would like, reward yourself with something meaningful when you get back to it.

10)    Make time.    This is time that you give to yourself. While you are busy making time for everyone and everything else in your life remember – you count, too! Look back on any day and you will probably be able to make a list longer than this one of ways in which you've wasted time. Cut one of them out and get moving. When running errands, park in one place and walk to the bank or post office or drug store or library.

11)    Use a DVD.    If you don’t have any, use your computer and google “exercise” or “pilates” or “yoga” or “aerobics” or “dance”. You will find hundreds of web sites which offer free videos and other forms of instruction so you don’t even have to leave your house to get some ideas and try something new.

I’m sure you can think of many more ways to motivate yourself. Please feel free to share them with us by posting a comment on this blog. That way we can all help keep each other motivated. One thing to remember: you almost always feel better after you exercise than before. Remind yourself of this. Then turn your mind off and Just Do It! You’ll be glad you did.