You want to get fit but
don’t know how to fit exercise into your schedule? We all agree that lives for people in their
forties and fifties (and beyond) are very busy.
Day job or not you are constantly being pulled in a dozen different directions
as you try to coordinate family activities.
Work is a snap in comparison to home activities because you can delegate
tasks, but you are pretty much stuck with your own family.
You are “number one”
though. The CEO so to speak, and if you
don’t take care of yourself, who will?
Something has to give and it had better not be you. Not this time.
You can opt to go through
the rest of your life without exercising because you are “too busy.” Being “too
busy” might very well mean that you will shorten your lifespan and lower the
long term quality of your life. Is this
what you want?
Down deep you know that you
are not as fit as you should be, most of us aren’t. You can chalk up the changes that you have
noticed to aging, but you can and must take yourself in hand if you want to
reverse these changes. Do you want to
shuffle into old age with your shoulders hunched clutching a cane for dear
life? I don’t think so. Yes, it is too bad that you are older, but
that isn’t a reason for giving up. You
can feel good and be stronger and more active than ever before. You still have a lot too do.
Make your commitment today,
set realistic goals, and find the right time to exercise. The best time to exercise is the time that
works for you. Granted, getting up early
and exercising first thing in the morning is a great motivator, and crossing it
off from your to-do list is empowering, but if you are not a morning person,
that is okay.
“Fit over 40 for Dummies,”
author Betsy Nagelsen stresses that your body is perfectly capable of
exercising at any hour (day or night).
If you are a morning person, get up early and exercise while the rest of
the family is still abed. If you are a
night owl, who gets a second wind at midnight, there is nothing wrong with
exercising them. I leave for work at 4
a.m. so I exercise before I leave. I
don’t think my husband is too keen on listening to me oxycise at 3 in the
morning, but it could be worse. The
disadvantage of being a night exerciser is that the longer you go throughout your
day, the easier it is to use fatigue as an excuse. Statistics show that 76% of
people who exercise in the morning (and get it out of the way) are more apt to
still be exercising a year later. That
percentage drops to 50% for noon exercisers and 25% for those who exercised in
the evening.
Shooting for mornings? Find a workout buddy if you can, lay out your
workout clothes (once you have your sports bra and shoes on, it is a done
deal), pack your lunch and get work clothes ready while you are at it too, and
set two alarms if you need too.
End of the day
exerciser? Some people just can’t get
moving in the mornings, but noon and end of day exercisers have their own set
of problems. Being too tired is a hurdle
and once you cross the threshold at the home front it is pretty much over. I have found that stopping on the way home
from works for me. Have your shoes and
gym bag in your car, or change clothes before leaving work. If you are
fortunate enough to have a job with a flexible and lengthy lunch break you can
hit the corporation facility or a nearby gym, but otherwise a walk may be all
that you can handle. The idea is not to
give up. If you don’t get your exercise
session in before dinner, don’t despair.
There are still several hours between dinner and bedtime so just “do it!”
Consistency is the key. The way to develop consistency is by
scheduling a set time to exercise and sticking to it. Write in exercise on your calendar. Unless something is scheduled, you probably won’t
do it. Make an appointment with
yourself.
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