Six Steps to Exercising Regularly

The key is finding ways to make exercise less of a chore and more of a choice, says James Annesi, Ph.D., exercise psychologist and director of wellness for the Metro Atlanta YMCA. Try these simple strategies


Step One: Make it fun! If you don't love exercise, try to bring things you do love into the exercise experience. Watch TV, listen to music, or chat with a friend during your workout. By taking the focus off your effort and placing it on the more entertaining, social aspects of the activity, you'll be more likely to stick with it.

Step Two: Make it convenient. If you want exercise to become a habit, make it fit easily into your schedule. New research shows that a few short exercise sessions a day are as valuable as one extended session. If finding a 30-minute block of time seems too difficult, work in three 10-minute stints over the course of the day. "It's easier to spare the time for any given workout that way," says Annesi. And if you have to miss one, you'll still have had some exercise during the day.

Step Three: Be realistic. Expect at least a couple of weeks to go by before you start to notice any changes in your body. Start slowly and carefully, pick an exercise "dosage" you can manage without pain, boredom or injury, and relish the changes you see occurring over time. At first, the changes may seem subtle, but Annesi's research shows that even very small amounts of exercise over a few days or weeks can reduce stress, depression and fatigue, increase energy and boost body image.

Step Four: Set reasonable goal. Instead of focusing on one large goal, set smaller incremental goals - you'll feel a sense of achievement more frequently. Establish goals that are more process-oriented than results-oriented. For example, completing three 20-minute walks per week is a quickly rewarding, observable goal; a long-term result, such as losing 30 pounds, may seem too distant to offer much immediate inspiration.

Step Five: Be flexible. With work and family life tugging at you, it's easy to get bumped from your exercise routine. Don't toss up your hands as if all progress has been lost when this happens, cautions Annesi. Anticipate some unexpected interruptions will crop up (such as increased business travel or child-care responsibilities), and simply bend your routine to compensate. For example, if you normally schedule three weekly workouts and events get in the way, try the more flexible schedule of 12 times per month. That way, if you have a hectic week or two, you still have two weeks to meet your overall goal.

Step Six: Find the right activity Experiment. Try different activities to see which you like best. Some of us prefer competitive sports such as tennis and golf, others like more solitary activities such as running or swimming, and others prefer the social atmosphere of an aerobics or spinning class. As you explore, ask yourself three simple questions: Do I look forward to this? Do I enjoy doing it? Do I feel good afterward? If you honestly answer yes to all three questions, it's an activity you'll probably keep doing.