Disguise your exercise in the form of daily activity

Having an exercise schedule for let say 4 times a week, might not be an interesting idea for those who have not been accustomed to workouts. For this kind of people, a good idea is to disguise your exercise as a form of daily activity. One example of what I had been doing lately is, I parked my car at a place which requires me to walk around 20 minutes to my office. Another way is, maybe you can disguise your exercise as your daily walking routine with your dog.

Find an exercise that you don't think as an exercise

In my younger days, I used to practice various kind of martial arts. Although I am not active in those martial arts anymore, I still practice my karate kata at home. One thing I realize is, when I do the so-called weight loss exercises such as jogging or walking, 30 minutes is already a burden to me. But when I do my karate kata, I can do it for a full hour without feeling burdened. When thought carefully, I had never ever considered martial art as a form of exercise. I do it because I merely enjoy it, so if you want to have consistency in your exercise, find one that you really enjoy and can treat as not an exercise.

Workout in groups

Do you know one advantage of exercising in the gym. Yes, one of it is, you will have your instructor there. The other important advantage is, in the gym there are lots of people. You might even have established friendship with some of the people there. Working out in groups for most people will be more enjoyable than working out alone. So, if you think that it is difficult to maintain motivation alone, find friends and workout in groups.

Blend exercise with music or other interesting activities

If you could not find any form of exercises that you truly enjoy, and still have to stick to certain exercises that you are not enjoying for the sake of weight loss, then by blending the exercise with something interesting might make it a bit easier. I know walking is a very good form of exercise, but I am not very fond of walking, so to make walking more interesting, I plugged in my mp3 player when performing my scheduled walks. The 30 minutes session will certainly be easier with my mp3 player plugged in my ears. There are other things you can do other than music, such as if you are walking on your treadmill, you can read your favorite magazine.

Exercise in your home

If your problem in exercising consistently is because of the park and gym is too far away, or simply walking alone in your neighborhood is not safe enough, then you can work out in your home. There are lots of aerobic workouts DVD nowadays. Or if you have some additional budget to buy a treadmill, then you can have a daily walks on your treadmills.

Start slowly, emphasis on consistency and not intensity

Exercises will show its benefit when you exercise consistently and not severely. We should start slowly but with extra emphasis on consistency. Too many people tried to do too much at the early stage, and abandoned their workouts far before they are able to reap any benefits. It is okay if you start the whole first week with only a 10 minutes of stretching. The important thing is consistency. Gradually as you become accustomed to exercise and able to discipline yourself, then you can increase the intensity of your workout little by little.