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A lot of people complain about not having enough time to stay in shape. Are you one of them? Does exercise always get bumped to the bottom of your list of things to do? The problem may have nothing to do with time – it might just be that you hate exercise...
If that’s the case, some of these tips may be just what you need to change your attitude, and in return, exercise might just change your whole life. For the full list of all 13 tips, see the Lifehack link below, but here are a few good ones:
Tune Your Challenge Level – Don’t start out by running until you’re winded and dry-heaving into a ditch, and don’t just mess around in the gym without doing anything strenuous at all. Instead, make it your goal to set a workout routine that is challenging, but not overwhelming. Challenge is key to enjoyment.
Set Goals - Don't just set weight-loss or muscle gain goals, set fitness goals. Set goals to beat your past records in distance, push-ups, or chin-ups you can do, weight you can lift, or degree you can stretch. Make it a game where you strive to beat your previous high-score.
Music - This shouldn’t come as a surprise, but music can enhance a workout, making it far more enjoyable and less like “work.”
Short Workouts - Don’t have time or enthusiasm to last an hour? Just go for twenty or thirty minutes. Shorter, but higher-intensity workouts can be better than longer ones and you can become more focused as a result.
Make Exercise Your Stress Relief - Many swear by using the gym to relieve stress. Exercising can be cathartic and release negative feelings if you get used to using it that way. Then instead of avoiding the gym because of a stressful day, it will be your reason to go.
Figuring out what type of exercise you actually enjoy doing is the best way to get yourself into a regular exercise routine – the last thing anyone wants to add to an already stressful day is yet another dreaded, no-fun activity.
And, the great news is it doesn’t have to take up a lot of your time!
One of my favorite source for practical exercise assistance is Ryan Lee. I began supplementing my own cardio workouts with his four-minute exercise program a while back, with impressive results. The only caution I would give you is that you must start out slow. Although some of his exercises seem deceptively easy, don’t make the mistake I did and do the entire four minutes with a significant weight. Start with a very small weight and only do it for one minute.
This could save you much pain and muscle soreness. Progress slowly and in no time you will be up to the full four minutes and shaving hours a week from your workout regimen and getting healthier than when you were doing aerobics for five hours a week.
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