Women’s health centre

10 easy ways to make exercise a habit

Let's face it, it’s not all that difficult to start a fitness routine. After all, most of us have done it more than once.

The trouble is sticking to it. All too often, our initial enthusiasm wanes, we get distracted by other things going on in our lives, or we don’t think we’re seeing results quickly enough. At that point we often give up.

Yet many people who do manage to stick with it would no sooner give up their regular workout than go without brushing their teeth. What’s their secret?

A recent study by researcher Dr Diane Klein shed some light on the subject. Long-term exercisers, who had been working out for an average of 13 years, were asked to rank what motivated them to keep up their fitness regimes.

Their answers might surprise you. The main attraction for them was feeling good and being healthy. Here are the study results in order of what motivated them most.

• Fitness
• Feelings of well-being
• Energy
• Enjoyment of the exercise
• Making exercise a priority
• Sleeping better
• Feeling alert
• Being relaxed
• Weight management
• Appearance

So, how can you become one of the fitness faithful?

Here are 10 tips for making fitness a habit in your life from Klein, along with long-term fitness buff Roy Stevens and his wife, Wanda, who is transforming her hit-and-miss exercise schedule into an almost-daily habit.

1. Do a variety of activities you enjoy. And remember, there’s no rule that says you have to go to a gym or buy equipment.

Do a variety of activities, such as walking, running, tennis, cycling or aerobics classes, as this will ensure you can exercise regardless of the weather or time of day.

2. Commit to another person. Wanda is a housewife from Texas. She says it’s easier to exercise with someone else. “The social aspect of exercise is important for me.”

“I'll let myself off, but if I've agreed to walk with a friend after dinner, I won't let them down", she says. Wanda exercises with her husband Roy every morning, and if he is away she takes the dog for a walk.

3. Make exercise a priority. "It has to be a non-negotiable," says Roy, a management consultant. He began exercising 20 years ago to keep down his weight. He’s kept up the exercise habit even when he was working 70 hours a week as a restaurant owner.

Another advantage in making exercise non-negotiable is that friends and family learn that it’s part of your identity. This means they give up saying things like, "Why don't you take it easy today?"

4. Exercise first thing in the morning. With two pre-school children, Wanda couldn’t find time to exercise except on a hit-and-miss basis. Any number of things could sabotage her good intentions to walk or go to a Pilates class after dinner. But all her excuses vanished once she started getting up before the children so she could exercise.