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How to Jump-Start Your Exercise Routine
Perhaps it’s a familiar pattern: You start each new year with a goal to exercise more. You know it’s good for you, you know it makes you feel good when you have done it. And yet, somehow, it’s so easy not to. Summoning the motivation can feel impossible and soon we find ourselves sliding back into the same old bad habits.
And yet when you look around, you’ll no doubt see people who seem to absolutely embrace exercise with apparent ease, doing daily what some of us might struggle to achieve in a week.
So what is their secret? The simple truth is, there is none. While it may look easy from the outside, everyone has struggled at some point to get out of the front door to complete that run or make it to the gym. You might think they make it look effortless, while inside they are no doubt fighting their own inner demons or voices that tell them to stop.
So really, all these people have done is find their own way past the obstacles, to embrace successful techniques that motivate and challenge them. And so we have dived into the science to help you to do exactly the same.
Why Exercise?
Working out with friends can be a powerful motivational force
If you need the most basic motivation to exercise then here it is: you will live longer. A huge study reported in the American Medical Association in 2024 found that working out two to four times a week beyond the minimum physical activity recommendations led to a lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease.
Daily exercise has been proven to reduce the risk of heart disease, strengthen your muscles and bones, improve your balance, reduce inflammation in the body, lower your risk of developing diabetes, and improve symptoms of mild to moderate depression as well as other mental health benefits.
So we know that exercise is really important - and perhaps bearing this in mind can help motivate you to get started.
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How to Get Started
There are, unfortunately, plenty of obstacles that can get in the way of working out. These can be physical, social or financial, and naturally everyone is individual, so we can only make general recommendations. But for many people, the biggest hurdle to overcome is simply a lack of motivation to get started. Luckily, there are some science-backed tips and tricks that can really help with this, and get that new exercise routine underway.
Be safe
If you have a health condition, then the first thing you should do is speak to your doctor about the best way to start, and about any precautions you need to be aware of when you do exercise. This might mean making a very gentle start rather than throwing yourself in headfirst. But the former is more likely to result in long term success.
Enjoy yourself
Exercise doesn’t need to be complicated, expensive or involve high tech equipment. You don’t have to join a gym, you don’t have to buy a whole new wardrobe. There is no magic bullet or single exercise that will tick all the boxes to make you fitter. The most important thing is actually the simplest: you need to find the activity or exercise that you enjoy. If you enjoy it, you will be far more likely to stick to it.
Start gradually
If you are starting from a low base, then start gradually, with a light activity. You can then slowly increase the duration and the intensity of your exercise (though you don’t need to do both at the same time!). Your goal should ideally be to complete 30 minutes of exercise a day, five days a week. But you don’t even need to do that all in one go - your 30 minutes could be broken into 10 minute chunks if that is easy to fit into your lifestyle or feels more achievable.
Don’t overdo it
High impact exercises that involve a lot of jumping or explosive movements can be hard on your muscles and joints, particularly when you are starting out. Build up to these things gradually.
Set goals
As human beings, we often need goals to hold ourselves accountable. That could be anything from working towards your first 5k run, or hitting a certain number of classes per month. You might also want to enlist the help of friends. Working out together can be a powerful motivational tool, as well as keeping you accountable.
7 Exercise Excuses: How to Avoid Them and Get Moving
You might have the best intentions, but find yourself slipping back into old habits. You will most certainly not be alone! Here are some of the most common reasons why we don't exercise, and how to overcome them.
1. I don't have time to exercise
Daily exercise doesn't have to be a huge time commitment and it's really important to remember that anything is better than nothing. Try splitting your daily half hour of exercise into three chunks. 10 minutes in the morning, 10 at lunchtime and 10 in the evening.
2. I'm worried about injuring myself
There are simple ways to minimize the risks of injury. Start lower impact, with activities such as walking or swimming, biking or using an elliptical machine at the gym. And always follow the 10 percent rule, which means only ever increasing your activity duration by 10 percent each week.
3. I don't know what to do
Again this is simply about finding something you enjoy, even if that involves trying out a lot of things you don't to find it. It can be anything from running or hiking to dancing or Zumba.
4. I hate exercise
Try to reframe this as simply having not yet found the right exercise for you. Try other activities - even household chores like gardening can count as exercise. Some forms of talk therapy can also help people to better accept uncomfortable feelings during exercise.
5. I can't commit to an exercise routine
Try exercising with a friend, as this can both make the activity itself more enjoyable and also hold you accountable. You are much less likely to skip your workout if you've arranged to meet a friend.
6. I don't have the stamina for exercise
Most people can find a way to safely engage in physical activity, and help build up this stamina. If you haven't exercised in a long time, then start with a light activity and build over time. As your stamina increases, you will be able to exercise for longer, and at higher intensities. But do remember that if you have a health condition, get medical advice before you start on an exercise programme.
7. I don't need to exercise
Exercising is important for everyone, whatever their age or background. It can benefit your health in so many ways, from reducing your risk of chronic health conditions to strengthening your muscles and bones.
What types of exercise should I do?
When you think of exercise, perhaps it is cardio activities that spring to mind. But cardio, or aerobic exercise, is just one of four main types that experts recommend doing. Here is a look at the different types of exercise, and what you can gain from doing each one.
- Balance Exercise: Everything You Need to Know
- Strength Exercise: Everything You Need to Know
- Flexibility Exercise: Everything You Need to Know
- Aerobic Exercise: Everything You Need to Know
How Long Do You Need to Exercise For?
Resistance training, or working with weights, is not just about looks. Its an important part of a healthy exercise routine.
Government guidelines recommend that people spend 150 minutes a week doing moderate-intensity exercise. For higher intensity activities like running, the recommendations are to aim for around 75 minutes per week.
But few topics are more hotly debated than exactly much exercise is enough - or even how much is too much. Yet for all the many studies and examinations of the subject, one thing holds true: Some is better than none, and more is generally better than less (as long as 'more' doesn't become too extreme).
It can be very reassuring at the start of a fitness journey to know that even a small amount of exercise can help boost your health. But if your goal is to lose weight or maintain weight loss, then incorporating more regular exercise into your lifestyle will certainly help greatly, if combined with a health diet and other lifestyle changes.
What to Eat When You're Working Out
For many people, setting a new exercise goal is part and parcel of a broader objective to work toward a healthier lifestyle or to lose weight. To do that, it's important to try and eat a well-rounded, heathy diet and to avoid highly processed and junk food.
There is a lot of hard selling in the fitness industry around the importance of supplements such as protein powders and in how and when to eat to best fuel a workout. While convenient sources of protein have their place, it's much more important to focus on eating real, whole foods.
There is some evidence that working out on an empty stomach (perhaps before breakfast) can be beneficial, but it's important not to take this to extremes, and to properly fuel longer exercise efforts. You also need to make sure you eat enough to allow your body to recover from hard efforts, even if your goal is weight loss. Not recovering properly will be counter productive and could lead to injury, which is far more likely to derail your fitness routine.
Gear for Your Workout
Many of us like to record our accomplishments, and there's nothing wrong with that. When it comes to exercising, there's something very satisfying about keeping track of when we worked out, and how far and fast we went. Seeing progress over time, and looking back on how far we have come, can be hugely motivating. And today's fitness gadgets certainly offer many ways to track aspects of your workout routine. Here are some of our favorites:
Kate Carter is an experienced journalist who worked for the Guardian for a decade before going freelance. She writes for the Guardian, Runners World, and World Athletics amongst many other publications, and presents for The Running Channel. She is also a sub three hour marathon runner and an England Athletics coach.