Finding the Energy to Exercise

Are you finding it hard to find the energy to exercise? The good news is, it's not hard as you think.

Today’s face-paced lifestyle has been specifically designed to save us time and energy. In fact, if we didn’t have to go to work, there would be very little reason for us to leave the home. From doing our grocery shopping and banking online, to ordering in takeaway and speaking to our friends over the phone as we relax on the couch watching TV, life today is somewhat motionless. Sadly, too many of us think of movement as an inconvenience, when we should be thinking of it as an opportunity towards better health and happiness.

For most of us, when it comes to being active, our worst enemy is ourselves. Many of us are familiar with that voice inside our head telling us to chill out on the couch instead using up what little energy we have left on exercise. Ironically, if we just moved more we would have loads more energy, as exercise boosts endorphins and brightens up our mood. To get fit the easy way, follow my guide below.

Get motivated: Setting yourself clear fitness goals is one of the best motivational tricks you can use – goals give you a clear idea of where you want to end up. Make your goals specific and realistic, and write them down so you’re accountable and can track your progress. Reward yourself when you reach your goals. There will come times when simply starting your exercise session will be daunting. Crush those feelings by breaking down your session into to intervals. Take 10 minutes at a time and the momentum will carry you through to the end of your workout. Stay motivated by involving yourself in activities you enjoy.

Get it over and done with: Exercise first thing in the morning, so that life doesn’t get in the way of your exercise plans. You’ll be less likely to cancel if you get your exercise session over and done with. You'll also feel fabulous and and be more productive during the day.

Walk the kids to and from school: This is a great way to promote a healthy lifestyle to your children, as well as spending some quality time with them. If you can’t walk them to school, then try going for a family walk once a week or walking the dog together each night.

Partner up with a friend: Not only are friends great motivators for workouts, training with a friend has also been shown to double pain tolerance, meaning you’re more likely to workout harder.

Your iPod will get you through: Whether you’re listening to music or making your way through the latest e-book, an iPod can help make the time pass quicker.

Utilise your workday: Too many of us spend most of our day sitting in front of computers, commuting in traffic or sitting motionless in meetings. Why not be creative and identify ways to boost your activity levels. Do the office coffee run; talk to a colleague instead of emailing; sit on an exercise ball instead of a chair and go to the toilet on a different floor.

Always choose the active way: Throughout your day-to-day life, always choose the active way. For instance, regularly take the stairs over the lift and work to the printer each time your print something rather than waiting until the end of the day. Wearing comfy footwear instead of high heels will so mean you can walk more, as you won't have to jump in a cab to get 100 metres up the road because your feet are aching.

Keep up the exercise: The more you exercise, the more you’ll find it becomes a normal part of your lifestyle. Motivate yourself by creating new exercise and physical activity habits. Plan exercise into your week and if you can't exercise in the morning, take your workout gear to work with you and stop by the gym in your lunch hour or on the way home.

Stand up for health

Think your 30 minutes of exercise each day is enough to keep you healthy? Think again!

Most of us have heard that for better health we need at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity on most, preferably all days of the week. However, what many of us don't realise is that this is not the only physical activity guideline that we should be following. According to the National Physical Activity Guidelines for Australians, the minimum level of physical activity required for good health includes four steps:

1. Think of movement as an opportunity not as inconvenience
2. Be active every day in as many ways as you can
3. Put together at least 30 minute of moderate-intensity physical activity on most, preferably all, days
4. If you can, also enjoy some regular vigorous exercise for extra health and fitness benefits

What these guidelines attempt to show us is our current sedentary lifestyle isn't good enough for keeping us healthy; for better health, we need to move as often as we can. Now more and more research is telling us the same, with many studies showing us a daily exercise session is not enough to combat the damaging effects that being sedentary for the rest of the day is having on our waistlines, blood pressure, blood cholesterol levels and blood glucose levels.

According to the research, prolonged unbroken periods of immobilised muscle that occurs with extended periods of sitting (such as when we commute, watch television or sit at a desk), reduces the ability of lipoproteins (substances that carry cholesterol in our blood) to efficiently mange healthy blood cholesterol levels. These findings have even been found in people who report exercising for at least 150 minutes each week. (the same 30 minutes of exercise on five days of the week).

An Australian study found a detrimental relationship between television viewing time and waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, fasting blood glucose levels and triglyceride levels, even when the participants were meeting the exercise guidelines. The adverse consequences of prolonged sitting time have also been further verified in findings from a Canadian Fitness Survey that found people who spent the majority of the day sitting had a significantly poorer long-term mortality rate, even if they were deemed to be "physically active".

Before you go getting too depressed about the thought of having to find more time to exercise, there is some good news. Simply standing up more throughout your day can benefit your waistline, body mass index, blood pressure levels, blood cholesterol levels and blood glucose levels, irrespective of the amount of exercise you do. So for optimal health, make sure that on top of your 30-minute daily exercise session, you are also sitting less, moving more and moving often. Think of movement as an opportunity for better health, rather than an inconvenience and choose the active way to do things. You can start now by standing you from your desk and stretching your legs ..... it's that simple!