No matter the time of year, we often find ourselves short
on time and facing other demands that compete with our desire
to be physically active. But in the winter, the cold, short
days compound the problem, making us even less interested
in exerting a little energy in the interests of good health.
Instead, we'd rather snuggle up with a good book in front
of a cozy fire. So how can we stay motivated to move our
bodies? It's time to take a trip back in time.
Finding Your Inner Kid
Think back to the days when moving your body was something
you did just for fun. Careening down the road on your bike,
hair flying behind you, a smile on your face. Running through
a field, pulling a kite, trying to get it into the air. Wildly
dancing along with your best friend when your favorite tune
came on the radio. It makes us feel good just to think about
it.
How do we find that joy in moving our bodies again? Here's
a clue: Focus on the fun - not how many calories we'll burn,
how long we have to do it, or whether we're working our hamstrings
vs. our triceps. Look for ways to enhance the enjoyment we
get from physical activities.
For many of us, a little understanding of human nature can
help. People are social animals. Therefore, it stands to reason
that doing something with people we enjoy can change the whole
character of the process -- even a process such as work!
Tip #1: Don't try to go it alone.
Pair up with a friend to take walks, snowshoe through the
woods, go to the gym. Take an active winter vacation with
several of your girlfriends. Try downhill or cross-country
skiing. Or travel to a warmer clime, to spend your week snorkeling,
biking, skating, hiking, or the like. Sign up for physical
activity classes, where you'll be a part of a group. (Look
for facilities that have a caring and accepting environment
for women of all ages.) A personal trainer can also help -
just find one you like and who is accepting of you and realistic
about goals (See Update article "The
Pros of Personal Training")
Another insight into human nature has to do with our predilection
for choices. You've heard the old adage: Variety is the spice
of life.
Tip #2: Add spice to your routine
by finding different physical activities to entertain yourself
with. Mall-walking in inclement weather certainly holds appeal
for the shoppers among us. Gives us all that time to check
out store windows, so we can use our shopping time more wisely!
If you haven't tried snowshoeing, put it on your 'to-do' list.
New technology has made snowshoes easy to put on and maneuver.
The best thing about them: If you know how to walk, you can
be an expert! There's no learning curve to slow you down.
Take up indoor tennis, or even try your hand (and feet) at
some self-defense courses that will move your body as well
as provide you some important self-protection skills.
Whose Body Is This Anyway?
After the fun comes the benefits. There's no getting around
it: Physical activity is good for us! But do we really grasp
why it is good for us?
Ask many of the women who come to Green Mountain at Fox
Run to name the primary benefit of physical activity, and
burning calories ranks right up there at the top. But picture
this: It's early on a cold, dark morning and you're lying
there thinking it's time to get up and take a walk or go to
the gym like you planned. But your bed is warm and snuggly,
and the thought of getting out of it isn't too inviting. If
your reason to get out is primarily to burn some calories,
then you've probably got at best a 50-50 chance of actually
following through with your plan.
Consider another scenario. What if you think the primary
benefit of physical activity is how good you're going to feel
after you do it? Actually going for the walk, or taking advantage
of the gym membership you paid for, can leave you feeling
invigorated with greater energy, a sense of accomplishment
and a more positive outlook. It can tremendously improve your
whole day!
Tip #3:Get
in touch with how good regular physical activity feels! Let
the other, sometimes less motivating benefits such as burning
calories or future health serve as bonuses, not the reason
for doing it today.
Okay, Okay…So Physical Activity Does
Help Us Manage Our Weight
At Green Mountain, we try to get our participants to focus
on fitness, not weight management. Why? Because if we're focused
on health and fitness, we're more likely to be engaged in
behaviors that will bring our bodies to a healthy weight that's
right for us. If we're focused on weight, we're more easily
led astray by quick weight loss schemes or other efforts that
end up sabotaging, instead of supporting, us.
But back to our topic. While we encourage them not to focus
on it, we do recognize that successful weight management remains
a primary goal of many women who come to us. With that in
mind, it's worthwhile to review the results of a recent study
that looked at the physical activity habits of women aged
35-50 years.
The study showed that active women, who participated in
daily activity, had more muscle and, subsequently, a higher
metabolic rate than sedentary women. And face it, that means
they not only burn more calories when they're moving their
bodies than the women who are sitting around, but they also
burn more calories when they're sitting around! So while that
thought may not always get us out of bed in the morning, it
certainly can add a little incentive to make plans to get
moving.
Tip #4: Remember that physically
active people aren't just those who carve out 30 minutes or
more a day to devote to a specific exercise. We can break
that 30 minutes up into three 10-minute sessions and still
reap the benefits.
So instead of sitting and talking at your next client or co-worker
meeting, why not suggest that you walk and talk instead? You'll
likely find this a very welcome suggestion, one that helps
your colleague as well as yourself.
As Always, Be Realistic!
Setting goals we can measure can help us achieve them. But
remember it's critical that they are realistic goals. If you
set out to increase the number of steps you take in a day,
get a pedometer to know how many you currently take (see FitBriefing
Moving for Life). Then
set your goal based on that number, not on a number that someone
else says you should be reaching. While we may want to eventually
meet a recommended goal, we want to set up smaller goals along
the way.
Tip #5: It's the small step theory:
Small steps are much easier to take than long leaps. By breaking
our goals into smaller, more easily achieved steps,…well…we'll
more easily achieve them!
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