If you want to be beautiful you are going to have to exercise and workout, and it’s not as difficult to get in shape as you might think. Do you belong to a gym, and if so, do you actually go regularly? At our age I cannot say how important it is for women get regular moderate low impact exercise. You need to workout on a regular basis to keep your body in the best shape you can. Younger women can be more naturally healthy. With older people, you have to really work at staying physically fit.
An Easy Gym or Workout Routine is Critical
If you find yourself procrastinating and avoiding the gym there are concrete reasons this is happening. Your exercise routine might be too time consuming and too strenuous. You know it is a good workout, but because of the time and effort involved, you find excuses not to go to the gym. You’re too busy, too tired from work, and other things come up.
The Secret to Fitness is Convenience and Ease
If you find yourself in this situation of avoiding workouts I have a huge workout secret for you. The reason is that your fitness routine is just too hard. It might be beneficial, but if it takes a lot of effort to workout and you aren’t even doing the workout, what benefit is it? The secret to workout success is to have an easy gym or workout routine that is convenient for you and also is something that you truly enjoy doing. It has to be convenient, and you have to enjoy it.
If these two essentials are not being met, you probably won’t be able to stick to your workout plan. One of the biggest ways to make your workout more enjoyable is to simply make it a little bit easier. This might sound counter-intuitive, but it actually can work wonders. Many women get into too intensive of a workout program that they can’t keep up with over the long run. They dread working out or fall out of their routine and there is too much inertia to start back up. They feel overwhelmed so they procrastinate. If you are dreading or procrastinating your workouts, try making your workout easier instead of harder. Try to find something that is quick, easy, and enjoyable because that way it stands a better chance of becoming a lifetime habit for you, which is exactly what you want.
I will give you an example: many personal fitness trainers recommend that you get both cardio and resistance training into each workout session. That might mean you might warm up on the treadmill and them move to doing some of the nautilus machines. Supposedly a cardio/resistance training 2in1 combination gives you the most effective workout in terms of positive effects on your body. Do you know what though? That type is workout is exhausting to me and I hate doing it because it is too much work. The point is that sometimes, what is most effective is also pretty strenuous and if you are really having to strain, you might not want to do it in the first place. So then what is the point. You have to weigh out what is the highest fat burning thing to do verses what you are willing to do consistently.
Instead, I usually only do one thing when I go to the gym. I might just do the treadmill. Or I might just do a few nautilus machines. I do less, because then I am not pushing myself and resenting it. I follow what feels right to me. If I can’t get to the gym at all, sometimes I just take a short walk. What I am saying is that when it comes to working out, sometimes less is more. If you do less, you are more likely to do it. And in the end, the less becomes more! Of course a personal fitness trainer might tell me to do more, or do things in combination because he knows this is most physically effective. While that might be true, I choose to take a more moderate exercise philosophy because I need to do what I enjoy. I need to enjoy exercise, and in order for me personally to enjoy it, it has to be light and easy and I cannot feel as though I am miserably exerting myself.
Getting back into a Workout Routine
Have you ever been in a great workout pattern but then something comes up like the holidays or a work or family issue that causes you to fall off your workout wagon? I hear many women complain to me of this problem. They find it extremely difficult to get back into working out and talk about it in past tense, like “I was doing so good there for a while”. After you fall out of working out it becomes really hard to get back into it again.
I have a bit of advice for anyone that falls off the workout wagon. When you go back to it, cut what you are doing in half. That’s right, literally in half. That is what I do. If I’ve been sick, or busy with my children and can’t workout, when I go back I seriously take it easy. I will do half the time, or half the weights, and put in half the effort. The reason is that it is incredibly easy to get out of shape! If you go back doing something easier it is way more pleasant. You want your experience to be pleasant above all else. An added benefit to working back slowly and gradually onto your old workout plan is that you decrease your risk of injury. Starting back to working out or exercising aggresively after having had time off is a recipe for over exerting yourself too soon and getting hurt. Don’t feel that you need to come up to speed over night. Give your body a chance to slowly adapt back into it. Just be happy that you are doing something and don’t get upset or discouraged if your fitness level plummeted from the time off. Remember, safe and pleasant, easy does it!
One last misconception I need to clear up is that woman might look at me and say oh yeah right, she is probably naturally fit and she doesn’t have the same issues I do. This is a very common misconception that people have. I am not naturally in shape. In general, people in shape after the age of 45 or so, are probably not naturally in shape. They do have to work out and exercise. I go to a gym local to my home a few times a week and work out. When I cannot make it to the gym I walk listening to music with my Ipod. I don’t have a personal trainer or coach and I don’t do anything strenuous or magical. The key is consistent moderate exercise regularly and over a long period of time (your life starting now). The magic secret is to understand that when it comes to working out, sometimes less really is more. Does the movie cocoon ring any bells?