Keeping up with the program, once you have started
So you’ve started exercising and want to take it to the next level. Try these motivational tools
We always hear about what actors use for motivation — how they prepare themselves for roles — but what about exercisers? What motivates them?
“It’s not just about looking good. It’s not that at all,” said Cathleen Finan, 49. “It’s more about feeling good about yourself and doing something good for yourself because you have so much energy. It’s really the total package.”
Get in shape. Lose weight. Look better. All are good incentives, and each can jump-start an exercise program.
But then how do you sustain it? “When you first get involved in an exercise program it’s
the physical aspect that motivates,” said Sheila Samson- Powers, certified personal trainer. “But what ultimately motivates are the intrinsic benefits: I sleep better. I can think more clearly. My headaches are gone. My joints aren’t stiff. Those are the kinds of things that will eventually keep you motivated.”
Selecting the right tools of motivation to exercise can separate the fit from the couch potato, so don’t waste a minute.
Find out what works
Group exercise. Exercising with others, whether in organized classes or not, can help.
One way to ensure your friends are on the same workout page is to give Phonevite a try. Phonevite uses your mobile phone to send a prerecorded voice message to up to 25 people simultaneously. Your message is played upon pickup (Or left on voicemail or answering machine if there is no answer).
Sending messages like “Yoga at 7 a. m.” or “Bike tomorrow from Erie Basin Marina at 10 a.m.” not only saves time, it personalizes your plans.
For more information on this free service, visit www.phonevite.com .
Exercise logs. Not only do exercise journals give you a visual incentive (think of those shiny stars on the attendance chart from third grade), they allow you to capture that good feeling you always have after exercise.
Write it down and let that high motivate you the next time. For additional stimulation, estimate the number of calories burned and include that, too! Mentalists may track their day-to-day thoughts through a log. After all, there’s something about exercise that leads the mind to great thinking.
Mirror checks. They leave little for the imagination — or do they? Not only may you see your pouchy stomach, but you may also visualize the slim you. Bonus points if you set a number- oriented goal. For example, 25 inches (as in waist) or 35 inches (as in hips) or two times (around Delaware Park).
Which one are you?
Select the profile that best describes you. Knowing your weakness is half the workout battle.
• Delusional exerciser: Almost everyone overestimates their fitness, according to a survey by the government agency Sport England. Determine your true fitness quotient by visiting the U. S. Army’s www.hooah4health.com . Try the fitness test and match your sit-up prowess against the clock. Then see if you measure up mentally by taking “Spiritual Resilience Test.”
• Intermittent Exerciser: We’re not talking interval training here, but those who take extended breaks from the gym. Research has shown that it takes 12 weeks to turn recreational activity into habit. That’s why so many introductory memberships are three months long. That’s also why they should make it difficult for you to freeze your membership.
• Procrastinating Exerciser: An energy-sapping and time-robbing activity if ever there was one, procrastination can be practiced as an art form. Here is what to do, according to fitness and health Web site www.sparkpeople.com , to change your procrastinating ways:
1. When in doubt, act.
2. Erase your to-do list every day or week and start over. Running lists end up with items that stick around too long.
3. Hang around action-oriented people, so you can pick up on some of their spirit.
4. Filter down and simplify: Do something this minute that you’ve been putting off.
Suggested schedule
The American College of Sports Medicine issued the new 3-2-1 exercise plan suggesting three days of cardio, two days of strength training, one day of stretching and one day of rest. In addition, it included guidelines regarding exercise frequency and duration:
For Health: Thirty minutes of exercise daily five to seven times a week (the recommended frequency for all).
Fitness: Sixty minutes daily.
Weight loss: Ninety minutes daily.
“The main thing that motivates is the activity you’re participating in,” said Samson-Powers. “Is it a class? Is it a piece of equipment that’s new and you love it. There are people who only go to a certain instructor. Maybe it’s the music they pick.
“We all get addicted to the endorphins that are released when we exercise,” she added. “Exercise addicts get crabby when they don’t work out.”
The right approach
Personal trainer Dan Mitchell of Soap Box gym emphasizes basic physical exercises to stimulate the mind into action.
“Current research clearly indicates that mild to moderate physical exercise will boost the internal chemistry which allows a person to overcome inhibitions, be more creative and productive, and communicate better immediately,” he said.
Last July, Finan started working out with Mitchell at his downtown gym. Her primary motivation? Avoiding injury during her normal daily activities through strength training. Exercise would not only help Finan’s tennis game, but power workdays at her Elmwood Avenue boutique Cosefini.
“I’m a busy woman. I always have something to do, someone to call or a budget to balance,” said Finan. “I love exercise, but it’s common knowledge it’s not that easy to do without some motivation.
“I’m pretty energetic, and I think I can do more than I can. But I needed to know how to exercise correctly because my life was changing,” Finan added. “I’m not 20 anymore, and I want to exercise within the parameters of my age and abilities.”
To help Finan and others exercise with a purpose, Mitchell put together a workout DVD called “Your Health in Motion.” It highlights seven basic exercises in three levels of difficulty using: Thera-bands, free weights and your body’s weight.
“By doing these exercises on a regular basis, a person will not only get the short term immediate effects of greater creativity levels, but also the long-term benefits of increased flexibility, coordination, cardiovascular strengthening and significant muscles especially in the legs, backside and core.”
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