Exercise - Do you find it hard to get started? And if you start, do you find it hard to keep consistent?
This happens to everyone, some people more than others.
It can often be a result of
Overwhelm – too many options, choices, other things to get done and you don’t know how to incorporate it in amongst everything else. You can’t prioritise
Lack of knowledge or confidence – you don’t know how or where to start, what is the right type, intensity, frequency for you
Fear of injury – you might have had an injury in the past and are nervous about starting again for fear of re-aggravation or experiencing a new injury
Self-consciousness – you don’t want to be in a public place, gym, fitness facility, sporting environment as you don’t want other people to see you – what if you are doing the wrong thing?
Distraction – other things just keep getting in the way. You plan time, but family, children, work keep getting in the way, things you can’t just say no to
Fatigue/Exhaustion – during Menopause you can be plain old tired. Not sleeping well, lacking energy, in pain, sore joints – these all contribute to general fatigue
Sometimes these things can be true barriers, things that really are out of our control.
Sometimes they can be things that we do need to attend to but can have some level of control if we proactively time manage and also prioritise.
Sometimes they can just be excuses – we have all been there and we know when we are making an excuse.
With 2 and 3 sometimes behavioural change strategies can work – tricks that you can use to help change your behaviour around your thoughts and decisions around exercise.
Let’s focus on a couple of them here:
Habit stacking – this is a technique where you stack a new habit on an old one. In terms of exercise, some good examples could be: do some calf raises while you are cleaning your teeth, do 10 squats while you wait for the kettle to boil, do a lap around the washing line every time you hang out 10 items, walk while you listen to a lecture/meeting/podcast instead of sitting.
The great thing about habit stacking is it adds no more time to your day. You need to do the first habit anyway as part of your day, so why not stack something active on top of it? This is the start to increasing your incidental activity and progress towards an exercise plan.
Goal setting – I know, I know – new year new you – you must have some goals! Goals can be great, but they can also be awful implemented in the wrong way. I love behaviour-based goals over outcome-based goals ie: I will move more during my day rather than I will lose 10cm off my waist in 60 days, I will eat more green vegetables rather than I will lose 5kg in 60 days. Progress based goals are also great – they focus on where you are NOW and to work from there, NOT where you want to be in 3 months ie: you improve your walking day by day by just doing more than you did the day before – there is no actual objective number assigned just as long as you do more and more each day – it could be 10 steps, it could be 1000 steps – it’s up to you. This gives you control and a sense of mastery as you are much less likely to fail and you can see achievements and progress IMMEDIATELY. Make it even more achievable by doing it 3 times a week ie: you walk 3 times a week and each time you do, you walk further OR a weekly based goal ie: you do more steps this week, than last week. The control is yours and it is flexible, simple and therefore easier to stick to – you can do this with any exercise type. If you are just starting out, only focus on one goal at a time. Or you can have an exercise goal and a health goal ie: increase steps and drink more water – both easy and simple and can be progress based.
Book it in your diary – would you likely miss a medical appointment? Or a dentist appointment? Probably not. Exercise and moving your body is like a medical appointment. In fact, it likely will stop you from having to attend some of those medical appointments later in life. Treat it with the respect it deserves and treat yourself with the respect you deserve. If you wouldn’t miss a medical appointment, don’t miss your chosen exercise or activity. Also, further to this, sign up to something that is scheduled and pay up front. Better still, do it with a friend. This increases your accountability to the activity, friend and yourself. You need to make yourself accountable to yourself for your health.
Generally, aim for something 6 x weekly 30 mins per session or 3 x weekly 60 mins per session. You want to get your heart rate up a little, so you feel like you are working a bit. If you are just starting, go even less and work up. Even as little as 15 minutes a day has been shown to improve cardiovascular fitness and reduce risk factors.
We will focus on these and a lot of other behavioural change strategies in the Midi Moves Program starting on February 3rd!!
Don’t forget Exercise Physiologists are masters of Behavioural Change when it comes to movement.