3 Simple Tips to Get More Active

I can go on and on about the health benefits from physical activity and exercise. It will help you prevent chronic diseases, improve your mental health, help prevent injuries, etc. For a more detailed explanation of how exercise impacts your health, check out our article: 6 Major Health Benefits from Strength Training.

Now, most people know that exercising will improve their health. They might not know all the details on how it makes you healthier, but they likely know they’re better off exercising consistently. However, even knowing this, most people are not consistently exercising. Why is this? It’s because most people don’t enjoy it. There are two ways to really combat this: find a way to enjoy it or find ways to add a little more physical activity here and there in your life. In the rest of this article, I’d like to talk about these two concepts.

Finding ways to enjoy exercise

When most people hear exercise, they generally think weights or running. However, the health benefits of being physically active without doing either of these. In fact, I would even go as far as to say this: no matter how much you think you hate exercise, there is some type of physical activity that you enjoy out there, no matter who you are, it’s just a matter of figuring out which is right for you.

So, what we have to do is start figuring out ways to be active other than weights or running. An easy way is to figure out some sport you can play recreationally. You can get a basketball and go shoot some hoops a few times a week, get some tennis rackets and play tennis with a friend, get a soccer ball and shoot some shots, or go golfing and walk the course instead of use a golf cart. There are also plenty of unconventional sports to pick up such as Frisbee golf or pickle-ball. Essentially, the idea I am trying to put forward is that any type of game that is physically active is a great place to start. If you can turn exercise into something you enjoy, you will be more consistent with it; and if you are more consistent with it, you will see more results. Apart from this, you can take up hiking, walking regularly somewhere scenic like the beach, biking, swimming, boxing, etc. The list is really endless.

Incorporating small acts of activity into your life

What might be an even better starting point for most people is to find areas in your day to day life that can be made more active. There are many ways to do this, including:

• Taking the stairs instead of the elevator

• Taking your dog for more walks or longer walks

• If you don’t have a dog, committing to at least two 15-minute walks per day

• Bike to work instead of drive if possible; this has the added benefit of saving you gas money (which, at the writing of this article, is more helpful than ever)

These might all seem like small efforts, however if you are consistent with them over time they will make a difference in your health and how you feel.

Why I think everyone likes to exercise deep down, even if they don’t know it

It is my personal belief that whether it’s a sport, weights, running, swimming, biking, or any other form of exercise that everyone will start to enjoy it after a little bit of time doing it consistently. I say this because one thing I believe brings us all a sense of happiness and fulfillment is progress. When someone is first beginning an exercise routine, they generally dread it because all they associate with it is the pain and exertion that comes with exercising. However, whenever they see that first bit of progress, they generally become addicted. Whether it’s them getting stronger, their waistline getting smaller, that first sight of a bicep vein, or just when they start feeling better in general; seeing the progress makes it enjoyable.

So, if you are someone who wants to improve their physical health, I implore you to find whatever activity you think you would enjoy the most, and try to be consistent with it for a few weeks. The beginning might seem like it’s just work; however, once you start to see yourself get a little better, I promise you will learn to enjoy it and see past the pain and see it as self-improvement.

Conclusion

The message I want you to take from this article is this: there is likely some type of physical activity that you enjoy out there, and if you give any one activity enough time, you will eventually enjoy it. The reason I emphasize you enjoying exercise is because once you start looking forward to it, you start being more consistent with it. With consistency, comes results. If you want to start off smaller than this, then look for ways to add exercise into day-to-day life. Analyze your life and look for parts that you can make more active. I promise, if you get started then you’ll thank yourself a few months from now.