This episode is all about how to become a regular exerciser. I’ve privately coached many men and women who wanted just that. They wanted to be the one who gets up every day and walks or who is a regular at the gym. They wanted to make time even when work-related social hours popped up and tempted them with cocktails. Our social media followers ask this quite often. So.. here it is. I thought hard about how I would lay out the steps to become a regular exerciser. This is my top five.

This episode is sponsored by the STRONGER program. It’s our newest program and it’s going to launch this fall. Right now we have 27 women in our beta group testing it for us and they’re seeing and feeling results. This is the start of week seven so they have this week and next in the beta program. Then we’ll share results. I can’t wait. If you want to be first in line for the launch of the full program then you want to join our subscribers and I’ll link to how to do that in the show notes.

How to Become a Regular Exerciser: I Did It and You Can Too

#1 I don’t make excuses. 

I grew up in a small town in the middle of the Midwest. I visit frequently. There is no “clean” food to be found. You’ve got to make your own.

I travel frequently. I take food with me, and often a blender. I stop for groceries. I ask about refrigerators in the room. I let my hosts know there are foods that don’t agree with me.

I will get up early before a speech, a travel day, following a golf tournament, or a conference to get fresh air and physical activity.

I was a single mom working two jobs, publishing a book, and training for triathlons. I spend hours upon hours following my son around golf courses, driving to out of state tournaments, and fielding phone calls from over 20 staff members and thousands of club members as a Personal Training director. Then responded to hundreds of students in my university courses. I understand obstacles. You can either look at them as excuses why not now or as reasons why now is absolutely the time.

#2 I take care of my own needs.

I’ll excuse myself early to go to bed because I’m a morning person and I know I can’t do both late and early and function at my best.

I let house guests know I wake early and might be making noise in the kitchen before dawn or out on a run when they get up and they can help themselves.

I respect others’ needs and expect the same.

If it makes someone uncomfortable or they don’t respect my needs I don’t spend a lot of time with someone. 

#3 I know the difference between opportunities and best for me.  

At conferences you can start your day earlier with breakfasts before the conference, do meetings at breaks, stay late after the party and it’s all in the name of connecting with people you love and want to collaborate with, but all of it is simply too much. I choose my priorities so I can keep the down time to recharge between activities. 

When I’m traveling to an Ironman race, there are opportunities to do swims, and rides, and shake out runs and others seemingly doing them all. I know I have to stick to my plan and not be caught up in the “opportunity” to do what others are doing.

I don’t join a lot of groups that ride or run or swim because then I would end up doing someone else’s workout instead of following my own plan. There are times when it’s a fit and there’s a reason to be with others who push you, but most often you need to plan your work (and workouts) and work the plan. A single coach may be better than a group fitness program with 90 classes available to you.

#4 I set goals.

Since I was 31 when I trained for my first marathon I’ve set big goals so that I train with purpose. I don’t train for toned arms or a flat belly. Those are benefits of focus on specific goals. First it was marathons, then short triathlons, then long ones. The difference in mindset is dramatic. “Exercise” is something random without a specific reason or deadline. 

Goals I set revolve around life experiences I want and often around people I want in my community. Become a regular exerciser by keeping yourself on the hook with a goal.

#5 I can relax without exercise.

I don’t rely on it. I don’t stress about it. I do feel better when I exercise regularly, but I also know the value of days off and I take them. That plays right back into the motivation to exercise. If you want to become a regular exerciser, regularly taking a break is key.

So often we get caught up in having to do it daily. The people I know who do this only miss because they’re sick, or they get burnt out and stop seeing results and quit because the attitude is, it doesn’t matter what I do… I don’t see progress. 

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