As of this writing, I’ve logged 180 workout days out of 365 days, and there were days when I exercised twice in a day.
I sound like I’m bragging, and it’s up to your interpretation. But just so you know, exercising comes easy for me because I’ve always been sporty. I played volleyball from grade school until high school. And in the university, I walked around the campus going from one building to another.
Luxury or a necessity?
While exercising a few weeks before writing this post, I contemplated on this question: “Is working out a luxury?”
I asked D the same question, and he said: “For some, like the driver you talked with, the one who works from 9AM to 2AM, it is a luxury.”
Everybody knows how important exercising is, but not everybody does it. Some people already have physically demanding jobs that can be considered as exercise, like construction workers or those who work in wet markets carrying and pushing heavy crates. For others, like the driver mentioned, exercising is a luxury, for some, exercising is a need but they don’t need it now.
And this post is for those who belong in the second group: The ones who don’t think they need to exercise now.
6 Steps to Make Exercising a Habit
Find your motivation
Find your why-and this is something I’ve written about multiple times in this site. My paternal grandfather died from a heart attack at age 42. My dad had a cardiac arrest when he was 40 years old (if I’m not mistaken). Heart disease and diabetes run in the family genes – and that’s my why. I don’t want to grow old and suffer from these diseases. Having epilepsy is enough, please and thank you.
Think of a good motivation for you. It can be anything from looking good in a swim suit for the summer to looking amazing at age 75. The first motivation is not bad, but it may not be enough to make you continue working out after you’ve achieved your goal. Staying healthy is a lifestyle, and it doesn’t stop even after summer.
Start small
You can start your exercise journey by getting a gym membership and a personal trainer or you can start with fitness trainers on YouTube. What’s important is you have someone to guide you (even if it’s just a recorded coaching-for-everyone in YouTube).
I started working out with these YouTube channels: BexLife, Sarah Fit, and Blogilates. These days there are tons of fitness channels you can choose from!
Have a plan
Make working out easier for you by having your workout planned ahead. If you have a personal trainer, you don’t need to worry about this.
If you’re doing it on your own, at home, plan your week’s workout routine (i.e. which muscle to target, which videos to do, which apps to follow) ahead. When you have a plan, you don’t to start your workout session by browsing for possible workout videos. All you need to do is to follow your plan.
Have an accountability buddy
I didn’t have one when I was starting, and I’m sure if I go back to my early exercising days, I would be more motivated because I have an accountability buddy.
Choose a fun workout
Doing workouts you don’t enjoy will make you skip it. You don’t have to run if you don’t enjoy it. Do whatever is fun for you, it can be doing yoga, Zumba, bodyweight exercises, or weight lifting.
Learn to love it
Working out can be a chore. But if you don’t exercise and don’t work a physically demanding job, think of what can happen if you don’t exercise. A quick Google search showed that inactivity can lead to heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.
You’re not exercising for today, you’re exercising for your future. Today, without exercise, you feel good, and the next thing you know, you’re growing old and you feel pain in every joint, can’t do much because of your heart condition, and maybe you’re even injecting insulin on yourself daily.
