Learning how to start to exercise requires three simple steps.
Wanna know what they are?
Keep reading to find out and help yourself become the person you want to be.
You know, on a quick side note, I think it’s unbelievable that we can go through nursery, school and even university without anyone teaching us something as fundamental as how to start exercising. Without someone giving us the advice and tools we need to know to stay physically fit and create a body we feel good in.
Crazy! And in my opinion, not fair. Because we then spend a lot of our time punishing ourselves for being unsuccessful at something we were never taught how to be successful in.
Today, we’re going to change this for you.
How to Start to Exercise
Step 1 — Know why you want to exercise.
Why is exercise important to you? What’s your internal motivation to start exercising?
I imagine you keep saying to yourself you need to start exercising more. But have you ever asked yourself why?
Take a minute to consider this and see what comes up. I’d recommend grabbing a notebook or paper (it’s always a good idea to think on paper as it clarifies our thoughts).
Ask yourself — Why do I want to exercise?
Jot down your answer. Then ask yourself the question again—four more times actually! When you get to your 5th answer, this is your true motivation. This answer is what’s truly important to you. It will give you the motivation you need to start exercising. And the reminder you need to keep going when your motivation drops.
For example, you might write:
Why do I want to exercise? I want to lose weight and look good in my clothes.
Why do I want to exercise to lose weight? I want to feel good in my body and about myself.
Why do I want to feel good in my body and about myself? I want to be a confident person.
Why do I want to be a confident person? I want to be the best possible version of myself and be proud of myself at the end of my life.
Wow! Now, that’s a powerful motivator to start exercising, would you agree? Can it get more important than “I want to be the best possible version of me and be proud of who I am at the end of my life”?
What’s great about this step is you end up with five reasons exercise is important to you. So I suggest you put your internal motivators somewhere you’ll see them often.
It’s easy to skip this step, but please don’t. It’ll take you 10 minutes. To get what you want, you have to do the work you sometimes don’t want to do. But I promise you’ll never regret it.
Step 2 — Understand the benefits of exercise for you.
What will exercise give you? How will it make your life better?
Now you know why you want to start to exercise, it’s helpful to learn the other benefits exercise will bring you.
And the benefits are unbelievable!
These are some of the benefits of exercise:
- It enhances your self-image, confidence and esteem.
- It boosts the production of feel-good chemicals called endorphins that give you a natural high. Improving your mood and even pulling you out of a negative thought loop.
- It helps you feel more in control of your emotions and can reduce anxiety and stress.
- It reduces the risk of depression—with studies showing that regular exercise is as beneficial as anti-depressants.
- It improves how you think, learn and remember—with research showing it can increase your mental powers by as much as 30%.
- It increases your energy and helps keep it more consistent throughout the day. Plus your productivity and performance at work.
- It helps you better manage your weight and burn fat by boosting your metabolism and burning extra calories you might have consumed. Plus, the more you exercise, the more your body learns to burn fat rather than store it.
- It increases your strength, muscle tone, and flexibility. To keep you youthful, feeling great and able to do everything you want to do, as you age.
- It improves the quality of your sleep. Giving you more vitality, a clearer head and more stable emotions.
- It boosts your immunity so you’re less likely to get it or sick.
- It reduces your risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and even cancer. And can even help ward off and possibly reverse some cognitive decline.
- It can be an opportunity to improve your social wellbeing. Exercising with someone makes you feel more connected and can even improve your relationships.
Step 3 — Start to exercise in the best and easiest way.
I’m going to share something now that might surprise you.
START SMALL. Super small. So small that no matter what—no matter how you feel, how good or bad your day, or how busy you are—you know you can do some exercise. What do I mean? Start with a goal of no more than 5 minutes a day of exercise.
For example:
- A 5-minute walk around your block.
- 5 minutes of stretching.
- 5 minutes of jumping jacks.
- 5 minutes of squats and push-ups.
- Or, a 5-minute pilates sequence.
Your goal is 5 minutes of exercise—then you’re done.
Once you’ve chosen your 5-minute exercise goal, your last step is deciding when and where you’ll do it. For example, you might say, “I’ll do 5 minutes of jumping jacks every day at 6.30 am in my kitchen.”.
This steps really important, with research showing that 91% of people who planned when and where they’d exercise actually did it.
If you feel like doing more some days, go for it!
But remember more than 5 minutes simply means extra credit. 5 minutes is the goal when you’re starting and that’s what you celebrate.
This sets you up for success by giving you a goal you know you can achieve no matter what. No matter how you feel or how busy you are, you’ll find 5 minutes in your day.
It builds the habit of regular exercise into your life—because consistency is the key to success.
It creates trust and confidence in yourself. You become the type of person who does what they say.
The hardest thing about exercise is getting started, but once you get into a routine of doing something daily for 5 minutes, you eventually build a habit. And from this foundation of a solid daily habit, you can build up your exercise from there.
For example, in addition to your 5 minutes of exercise at home, you might start going to a gym class once a week. You might meet up with a friend once a week to go on a long walk. And eventually, well, maybe you’ll increase your 5 minutes to 30 minutes three days a week.
But no matter where your new habit takes you, never forget your goal is 5 minutes. So, anything else is always extra credit.
So, now you know why starting to exercise is truly important to you. Plus the mental, emotional and physical benefits of exercise. What 5-minute exercise can you do each day? Try it for 30 days and see how great it makes you feel 🙂
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