REGULAR EXERCISE

[solomona]

I'm trying to help my friend stick to her resolution to exercise regularly. Can you pass along some tips that will help her stick to it?

[KarateGeorge]

Designating given times as "exercise time" and setting realistic goals really helped me stick to it when I first started back up in my exercise routines. Sure its good to have major goals, such as being able to run 5 miles or losing 50 pounds or whatever someone may have, but set up shorter term goals as well, such as "By the end of this week I'm going to have pushed myself an extra quarter mile on my jogging distance."

The other important things are to find exercise routines they enjoy doing. Sure, running is good cardio, but if they hate running, there are tons of other great ways to get good cardio exercise, such as swimming, bike riding, raquetball, etc. Also, having someone to work out with or at the least to hold them accountable and make sure they're working out is a valuable tool to help stick to an exercise routine.

If they can stick to it for a while, before they know it, it will become habit and they won't need help sticking to it anymore, it will eventually just become part of what they do.

[Kuma]

Definitely arrange time for it, it helps tremendously. I get off of work at 7am, right when my gym opens, so I go directly from work to there. For other workouts, as soon as I wake up during the afternoon, I'll warm up and do my workout. Schedules work best, as well as being consistent and sticking to your goals.

[Jay]

Regular is difficult

She needs to sort out the rest of her time so she can not come up with an excuses not to do it.

On the other hand I need to do this as well

[WireFrame]

She has to enjoy it. Otherwise she either won't keep it up or she'll make herself miserable. All comes down to the choice of activities.

[sperki]

I agree with WireFrame; there are a lot of exercises out there, if she doesn't enjoy what she's currently doing - find something else! The other component that helps me exercise regularly is making it a group / social activity. And that's where you come in If I've scheduled a meeting with somebody to run (or lift, or whatever else) then I feel obligated to be there at the assigned time; no skipping the workout.

[mr_obvious]

Heh....taking that a step further -- setup a "lazy jar." Anytime she punks out of a workout, she's gotta put $1,000 in the kitty. Unless she's a multi-millionaire, you can bet she'll be there!!!

[solomona]

thanks for your guidelines...........

[Lupin1]

I know this is a really old topic started by someone who's no long active, but if you want your friend to excercise more, wouldn't the obvious solution be to do it with them? The buddy system is the best motivation out there. If your friend's counting on you for a workout session, you're MUCH more likely to be there. Plus it's more fun, so there's more internal motivation to be there.

[bushido_man96]

She has to enjoy it. Otherwise she either won't keep it up or she'll make herself miserable. All comes down to the choice of activities.

Agreed. If it isn't fun, its harder to stick with.

I know this is a really old topic started by someone who's no long active, but if you want your friend to excercise more, wouldn't the obvious solution be to do it with them? The buddy system is the best motivation out there. If your friend's counting on you for a workout session, you're MUCH more likely to be there. Plus it's more fun, so there's more internal motivation to be there.

Also agree. I lift by myself most of the time, and its hard to really push myself without a spotter.

Another way to help increase the likelyhood of sticking with a workout routine is to work it into the regular schedule, and make sure the scheduled workout time is part of the day. That way, its just part of the day.