Exercise for life: how to develop the workout habit.

Do you believe in the benefits of regular exercise but stop short of actually doing it? Have you become an expert at making excuses not to exercise? Maybe you hear yourself saying, for example, "I don't have time to walk (run, play tennis, go to aerobics class...)", "I'm too tired to walk. It's too hot (cold, rainy, foggy, dry...)"; "I don't have a pair of walking shoes (tennis shoes, running shoes...)", "I have a hangnail (blister, sprained thumb, athlete's foot ...)." No matter what your excuses, if you're not in the habit of exercising, you're in the habit of not exercising.

Maybe you're unwilling to step outside your comfort zone and make the changes necessary to facilitate an exercise routine--it's easier to avoid putting forth the effort. Perhaps you haven't found a physical activity that appeals to you. Despite your reasons for procrastinating, there is hope. It's simply a matter of changing your mind.

Discover Your Ideal Activity

Do you have an abundance of energy and enjoy fast-moving sports, or do you prefer activities that require little effort? Do you like to socialize while working out, or would you rather exercise alone? What is your choice of environments? What do you want to achieve through an exercise program: weight loss, cardiovascular benefits, increased endurance, muscle toning, stress reduction? How you have to devote to an exercise program?

It's ludicrous to think that every sports fad that comes everyone. If you don't enjoy heavy sweating, for taking up jogging. Consider, instead, joining aerobics class, or take up walking, bicycling, skating and move at your own pace. If you like more strenuous activity, play tennis, baseball, volleyball, or basketball; take an advanced aerobics class; or jog, hike, skate, swim, walk, or go cycling at an accelerated pace.

If your job requires that you be on call or if you frequently travel on business or work rotating shifts, choose alternate or portable activities. Walking or running, for example, can be done nearly anywhere at any time. Power-walk through an indoor mail in bad weather when you can't play tennis. Work out in the hotel gym or swim laps in the hotel pool while traveling.

Overcome the Obstacles

What has kept you from starting a good-for-you exercise program? Do any of these excuses sound familiar?

* Excuse: I can't afford to buy the proper shoes, attire, or equipment for this sport or activity.

Solutions: 1. Work additional hours to pay for the equipment. 2. Shop at a thrift store or secondhand sports outlet. 3. Borrow sports equipment. 4. Place a want ad in the local newspaper or company bulletin.

* Excuse: I'm too tired to exercise.

Solution: Examine your current habits.

Bad Habit: You work frantically all day without taking a break--you miss lunch, grab a junk food snack, stress out in traffic on the drive home, and are frazzled and exhausted when you walk in the door.

Solution: You need to change your approach to work. Slow down, eat right, and take regular breaks. Take a walk during your lunch hour. Do you have coworkers who seem to get through the workday with greater ease than you do? Watch how they handle things. What is their approach to difficult customers and other daily problems?

* Excuse: I'm too stressed to think about exercising.

Solution: Regular exercise is actually an excellent stress reducer. By disciplining yourself to participate in a physical activity three to five times a week, you'll likely notice less stress throughout the day.

* Excuse: I have trouble sleeping at night and don't have the energy to exercise during the day.

Solution: A regular exercise program will help to regulate your sleep patterns while boosting your energy.

* Excuse: I have children at home.

Solutions: 1. Leave them in day care or with your spouse 30 to 45 minutes longer three times a week while you pursue an exercise program. 2. Trade baby-sitting duties with another parent who wants to exercise. 3. Become involved in something with the children. Take them bicycling, skating, or hiking. Invest in a jogging stroller and take small children with you. Take up tennis and let the older kids play, keep the younger children entertained by chasing balls for you; or pay a teenager to come along and play with the children while you play tennis, run the track, or shoot some baskets.

Find the Time to Exercise

Lack of time is probably the number one excuse for not exercising. We've bought into the myth that time controls us, when in reality we are in control. Each of us has a full 24 hours every day. How we use that time is our choice, and we are free to make new choices at any time. This doesn't mean there aren't consequences related to our decisions. Our responsibility in filling our time, then, is to define our priorities, weigh the consequences, and make good choices.

Evaluate how you're currently using your time and explore what changes can be made. Let's say that while you leave for work by 8:15 a.m. you don't get up until 7:30. Find extra time to exercise by getting up an hour earlier. Perhaps you could work out at a gym on your way to work and shower and dress there.

Write down how you spend your time. How much television do you watch? What sedentary activities do you engage in? Look at your present schedule and determine how you can rearrange it to accommodate an exercise routine.

Stan logged his daily activities and discovered that he could exercise during the time he normally watched the early evening news on television and still catch the news at 10:00 p.m. He broke an old habit and started a new one.

Jill took advantage of flexible hours at work to allow time to start and maintain an exercise program. Without compromising her salary or her position, she started working 10 hours three days a week and five hours two days a week, which left her plenty of time to take long bicycle trips three or four days a week.

How do you normally spend weekends? Sleeping in? Watching television? Visiting with friends? This is time that could be spent in physical activity. Take the family out and fly a kite, play touch football or basketball, or throw a Frisbee.

Accomplish something while exercising. Do gardening. If you don't have a yard and enjoy gardening, participate in a community garden project.

If you detest exercising alone, start a neighborhood walking club, or get together with a friend to play tennis or cycle a couple times a week. High achievers often can't justify taking time away from work. If this is you, combine work with exercise. I meet with a business associate once a week, and we walk three miles in the local back country while discussing business.

List the Benefits of Exercise

You need to realize meaningful benefits in order to convince yourself to develop a new habit. If you're still procrastinating, make a list of the things you will enjoy when you start exercising. Your list might include: looking and feeling better, increased self-esteem, a sense of accomplishment, reduced stress, increased energy, meeting new people, learning something new, and setting a good example for your children. Becoming involved in a sport or activity might open doors you didn't anticipate--a new career as an aerobics instructor, for example, or part-time work repairing bicycles.

When 55-year-old Barbara started walking, she never dreamed it would lead to a new hobby. Now she and her husband travel all over the state to participate in walking competitions.

Exercising Tips

1. Establish a regular time to exercise so it becomes a habit. After three weeks of walking, swimming, or playing handball every morning before breakfast, it should be well established as part of your routine.

2. Set goals to motivate yourself. Plan to play tennis five days instead of four this week. Challenge yourself to ride your bike 25 miles this week instead of 15.

3. Combine your social life and your exercise habit. Join a racquet club or a gym, for example.

When you hear yourself saying "Can we meet at noon tomorrow instead of nine? I'm taking the family mountain bike riding in the morning" or "Yes, I can go shopping with you if you can wait until after my workout," you know you've developed the habit of exercise. Now you're making excuses for exercising instead of for not exercising.