The Exercise Discipline

Welcome to today's issue of The Daily Dose of Motivational Medicine. The e-zine of Motivateme: Breaking the Procrastination Habit. http://www.motivateme.info. We would like to thank you in advance for forwarding this issue onto family, friends and any other interested readers.  Please note all back issues of this newsletter are available from - http://www.motivateme.info/ezine-archive/

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Given that "Exercise" "Getting Fit" and "Losing Weight" are always high on everyone's New Year's Revelations I thought I would dedicate today's edition to the exercise discipline.

 

As you may have realised by now, you don't get very far without is...discipline that is. Discipline that says I will get up when the alarm goes off, get ready, eat breakfast and go to work. Oh and put some clothes on before leaving the house...always a good discipline to have, after all we don't want to scare the neighbours!!

 

And so it is with exercise, we need discipline that says I will go for a walk tonight, I will go to the gym, I will meet my personal trainer, I will go even though I may feel tired, or that I have too much to do. There are some things that are always important - but rarely urgent, and exercise is one of them.

 

So a few questions for you:

 

Do you exercise?

What kind(s) of exercise do you currently do?

How often do you exercise?

Where do you exercise?

Do you exercise with anyone (personal trainer, partner, friend)?

At what intensity do you exercise? - a brief stroll will not do much - believe me I know.

Do you like your current shape - or is there room for improvement? OK I do know that round is a shape, are you happy being "round"?

Are there any kinds of sports or activities that you would like to try that you haven't done yet? Why not? What is stopping you from trying some of them? - The usual ones are - money, fear of embarrassment, don't know where to go, no-one to exercise with....get over it, get on with it...you will find the money to do what you want to do, and it is only scary the first few times!!

 

Do you have an exercise plan? An exercise plan is vital - we have been told many times that we can't "spot reduce" - quite simply, your body will reduce fat from where it wants, and not from where you need it to go from. (Tried it - didn't work). Nor should you work on a few areas - why? Because you'd look silly that's why...mind you it doesn't stop the guys at the gym doing just that...great chest, arms and back - minor point they've neglected the sticks that are trying to hold them upright.

 

So, you need an exercise plan that works all the major muscle groups....arms (biceps and triceps), Shoulders, Back (upper and lower), Chest, Abdominals, Legs - Front and Back of Thighs and Calves....plus the cardiovascular system - you know - heart, lungs etc etc....

 

So a brisk walk might be OK to get the heart pumping and the legs and butt looking reasonable, but it's not enough on it's own...carrying some weights with you as you go, might do a bit more, but unless you are into swinging them around as you walk, then you are only going to be making minor changes to your shape...

 

But there is another vital organ that we need to exercise properly for it to function at its best, and that is the skin. Yep the biggest organ of the body and we treat it badly. And one of the simplest ways we can treat it properly is to hydrate it. As in drink - water. Nope, coffee, tea, juice or alcohol does not count. Drinking adequate amounts of water will flush the skin of impurities and make you glow, this is done predominantly by sweating, but you also need to bathe occassionally otherwise the sweat will stay on the skin and make people shy away from you as they recoil in horror from the dirt, dust and pimples....ok i know you know that. But you get my point. We seem ok with cleaning the outside, but we fail to clean it from the inside. We feed ourselves inferior foods and fuels and expect our skin and our bodies to look fantastic. We also fail to give ourselves enough sleep and relaxation, making us look as tired as we feel...but more of that another day.

 

Combining your exercise plan with an adequate food and fuel plan is vital if you want your body to change shape. There are many "experts" out there who can help you - but the biggest thing you can do for yourself is to find a plan that works for you and to stick to it, come hell or high water. Persistance is the key, and a dogged determination that you want a better, healthier you.

 

As we said yesterday - starting your new years revolutions from a negative perspective never works - so you are not out to lose weight or get fit...you are out to - look better, feel healthier, fit into those sexy size 12 jeans you've had stuck in the back of your cupboard for the last 10 years, reduce the chances of having a heart attack - or whatever your real reasons are...the more "real" reasons you have, the more likely you are to achieve your goals.

 

And once you have your real reasons you will find that you have the discipline that moves you forward...through rain, shine, dust storms or whatever mother nature throws at us today.

 

And for those people who tell me that they don't like to exercise or "go to the gym" - tuff - we all do some things that we don't like to do when we start...I HATE going to the dentist, doesn't stop me from going though. So make it easy - stick your gym gear in the car and stop off on the way home. That way there aren't any excuses - you can't get home and pretend you forgot....this is one habit I would seriously recommend you create in your life. Your body will love you for it.

 

--------------------------------------------------------

No Spamming or List Sharing - We do not share, nor give out, our subscription list to third parties.
All contents Copyright (c) 2006 Motivateme.info except where indicated otherwise. All rights reserved worldwide.