How to Start an Exercise Routine

Starting an exercise routine can be extremely difficult and maintaining it is even more difficult. People exercise only when they feel like it and are rarely ever consistent. The reason for this is usually because you have too much expectation for yourself and what you’re going to do while you’re exercising. You think you have to do all these exercises or do it for an hour. But it’s just mentally not motivating and will tire you out before you even get started.

1. Develop a habit to exercise daily for just 10 minutes doing something relatively easy. This can be taking a frisk walk to the park/beach, playing a sport lightly such as tennis or volleyball, or playing Wii fit. The reason for this is because you won’t feel pressured or psych yourself out before you even get started. By starting a good habit it’ll help you develop a system in which later on you’ll automatically wake up and decide to exercise today without having to think about it or force yourself to.

2. Do it first thing in the morning. This is extremely important when developing a habit or starting a change in your routine. It’s been studied that we only have a certain amount of willpower each day and for people nowadays it’s very little. This means you should put all your willpower the first thing you do in the morning which isn’t automatic. By changing or developing good habits one step at a time you will have a much higher probability of achieving your goals than to make a big change.

3. Sleep earlier every night until you can sleep before 12am. If you are currently sleeping at 2 or 3 am every night then cut back and sleep 15 minutes earlier each time. This won’t feel like much and very easy to achieve versus trying to sleep at 11 pm when you’re currently sleeping at 3 am. Just cut back 15 minutes a night and eventually you’ll be able to sleep before the clock hits 12am. This is crucial because each hour you sleep before 12 am is equal to 2 hours you sleep after 12 am. Thus, you get more rest in less time and will feel much more rested the next day. Also, the earlier you sleep the more energetic you feel the next day as you wake up and sleep according to the cycle of the sun.

4. Always eat a great breakfast. This is a no brainer as breakfast is considered the most important meal of the day. While you should never skip lunch or dinner, but if you had to choose whether to eat only breakfast or dinner it’d be wiser to take the breakfast. It will make or break your day. Eat a nutritious breakfast with complete protein, complex carbs, and healthy fats. Refer to my article on How to Lose Weight Intelligently to see the list of complete protein, complex carbs, and healthy fats.

5. Change your routine every 30 days. As with everything, you need variety and an exercise routine is no exception. By changing every 30 days you won’t go bored out of your mind and you’ll be challenging your body to a height. Your exercise should be fun and challenging. People who do the same routine day in and day out for years tend to get bored and quit as they don’t see results. So, if you want to continue to make progress you must constantly change your routine every once in a while such as 30 days.