How To Start Up and Stick To An Exercise Program

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Sep 10
2018

How To Start Up and Stick To An Exercise Program

The benefits of exercising are universal. They apply to everyone and they work every time. It seems that we would rather feel comfortable in our current state than accept a new routine. The way to break out of this state is to know where we are in control of our lives and that we have the power to change something.

Implementing exercise into your life is one way to take control of the change you are needing. Here are some helpful suggestions on how to start up and stick to an exercise program.

How To Start Up and Stick To An Exercise Program

Your Fitness Beginning

Always check with your doctor before you even think about starting a new exercise program. We were all young once, but life changes and we age. Therefore it is wise to check with health professionals before beginning a new program of any sort.

Start Slow and With Comfort

One of the biggest challenges comes when people start out with great intensity. They get sore or are in a lot of pain. These feelings are one of the first things that will discourage most from continuing, so start slow and add slow. This will allow you to enjoy the journey.

Use The Buddy System

This is one of the primary building blocks of a successful fitness program. You have to find a friend or two who have interests that are similar to yours. If you don’t feel like it, they will or vice versa. Having more than one person causing you to exercise is a good thing. We often feel more compelled to stick with it if we are letting someone else down if we don’t.

[Related article: How To Stay Motivated During Physical Therapy]

Be Consistent

Establish a routine for your exercise. This should be as consistent as possible with respect to the days and time of day. Once you establish some consistency in your behavior patterns, they can turn into habits and a routine for improvement is not too bad with respect to habits you want to develop.

Be Forgiving

If for some legitimate reason, you are unable to make a workout, or have too many commitments at a certain time of year, build forgiveness into your regimen. If you build forgiveness, then you are that much more likely to stay involved.

Otherwise, if you are a die-hard and miss your routine, it will be way too easy to tell yourself that you didn’t make it and it is okay to quit. Whereas, if you acknowledge busy times and allow forgiveness for missing, you will be able to get back at it and forgive yourself for letting go for a bit.

More Ideas: How To Start Up and Stick To An Exercise Program

Set Goals

You have probably heard this before where someone has told you to write down your goals. Goals that are written down have higher rates of being achieved than goals that are not. Even if you talk about goals, they often are achieved because you told others about your goals. This means that you set them, but didn’t necessarily write them down.

[Related article: How To Set Your Physical Therapy Goals]

Celebrate

If you set goals and you make it, give yourself a reward of some sort. Not all rewards need to be big, but reward yourself for reaching your goals. Just make sure that your reward does not sabotage the progress you have made. These rewards feel good and add to the sense of accomplishment.

Review and Renew

In order to avoid getting stale or complacent give yourself permission to change it up a bit and to try new and/or different things. This permission keeps you going and causes you to try stuff you may never have tried before.

Take Measurements

Create your personal before-and-after ad. Weigh yourself and use a tape measure to measure the neck, chest, hips, and thighs at the beginning of your exercise program. Write down the measurements. After 60 days of regular exercise, retake the same measurements and compare the results. This is an excellent way to track your progress.

Consistent exercise is an integral part of a healthy lifestyle. Getting into a regular routine is not always easy. However, applying these tips will help you start up and stick to an exercise program.

Once you get started, it will be easier and easier to keep moving. If a past or current illness or injury is holding you back from starting up and sticking to an exercise program, we can help. The physical therapy team at Above & Beyond Physical Therapy can help you with ways to safely start your exercise program. To get started, contact us today.

Locations

Queen Creek Location
21321 E. Ocotillo Rd., Suite 122
Queen Creek, AZ 85142
Ph: 480.987.1870
F: 480.987.9289

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3201 W. Peoria Ave., Suite D800
Phoenix, AZ 85029
Ph: 602.866.2231
F: 602.866.2261

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