Beginning Exercise – The Secret to Getting Started

Have you been procrastinating on beginning exercise?

I know I sure have. I’ve signed up and canceled more classes than I’ve attended.

Maybe you don’t want to exercise, either.

But, of course, we both know we have to exercise. Whether we exercise intentionally or through an active lifestyle, we’re not meant to live as motionless blobs.

But I think I’ve stumbled on the secret to getting started: We’ve just gotta show up.

It’s so easy to procrastinate on working out. There’s always some reason to put it off just one more hour or one more day.

Then pretty soon it’s Friday, and we’re looking at the weekend. Let’s just wait till Monday and get a fresh start, right?

But wait – it’s almost the end of the year. January 1 is when we’ll REALLY feel motivated. Why not just start then and do it right?

Wrong.

Here’s the big hairy truth, and we both know it: We need to exercise, and we need to do it now. We’ve put it off long enough.

We just need to decide three things, and then it’s time to start:

• How we’re going to do it (I chose OpenFit’s XB Pilates 21-Day series, so my daily workout is already chosen for me)
• When we’re going to do it (mine is at 6am every day – before home, work or family needs my time)
• Where we’re going to do it (the guest room, where I store my mat, weights and exercise clothes)

And now we have one simple task: Put on our exercise clothes and just show up. Drive to the gym and go through the door. Queue the device and roll the video. Get outside and head down the walking path.

Put ourselves how, when and where we’ve chosen, then do whatever we can manage to keep going. Even showing up is a giant step forward. Look – we’re not procrastinating anymore!

We don’t need to start with 30 minutes a day. Even 10 minutes is good, as long as it’s consistent and builds strength, stretch, balance or breath.

We’re not only exercising our bodies, but also our self-discipline and our self-respect.

And we’re flooding our brains with neurotransmitters that boost focus, motivation and happiness! Heck yeah – I’ll take some of that, please.

Today I started exercising again with Day 1 of that Pilates series. Nope, I didn’t enjoy it one bit. (FYI, exercise is not fun for people who are overweight and out of shape.) Matter of fact, I was so awkward that barely broke a sweat.

That’s okay. Tomorrow I’ll be stronger. It takes awhile to condition the body.

But inside I feel mighty buff already, not kidding. 🙂

Yay us!