Start Your Mid-year Resolution and Get Active!!!

Have you started the New Year with the resolution to lose weight or improve your fitness level? Were you all gung ho about exercising and now the enthusiasm has deflated? If you answered yes, you are not alone! Many people stop exercising when the routine gets too boring or the results come too slowly. Here are five tips to get you off your seat and onto your feet:

The idea is to place your goal where you can see it every day. This keeps it fresh in your mind, so you think about them often. It’s easy to get caught up with day to day activities and lose sight of your goals. Keep your goals simple and realistic so you don’t get frustrated and give up easily. Set weekly goals to start off. This can then progress to more challenging long term goals.

The benefits of exercising with others are pretty clear – companionship, support, motivation and safety. It’s so easy to put off exercising when we do it on our own but when you’ve made an ‘exercise date’ with your friend, you are less likely to put it off.

If you’ve ever found it difficult to track your progress and see the results, a pedometer or heart rate monitor may be just the thing you need. You can set your heart rate monitor to beep when you fall below your target, urging you to pick up your pace. A pedometer keeps a record of the number of steps you take in a day or the distance you have achieved. This will push you to reach your target distance or steps in each routine. You can then set more challenging targets as you progress to keep you on top of your game.

We all know how hard it is to fit exercise into our busy schedule. The best way to maximise your limited exercise time is to monitor your heart rate. When you exercise by time or feel, you cannot tell if your heart rate is in the right zone, enough to generate cardiovascular and weight loss benefits. Monitoring your heart rate enables you to set your pace without wasting time at the wrong level that defeats the purpose of your exercise.

Positive reinforcement is one of the best ways to keep yourself motivated. Not everyone has what it takes to successfully stay on track, so it’s important for you to realise that you deserve a reward for all the hard work you’ve put in! Giving yourself a reward for reaching your exercise goals will also give you an extra incentive to stick to your long term exercise plan.