“Arriving at one goal is the starting point to another.”
– John Dewey
8 steps to improving your exercise adherence!
Regular physical activity and diet have been shown to have a positive effect on your health. Through the proper management of weight and blood pressure, there is a reduced risk for developing cardiovascular disease, depression, anxiety and behavioural problems.
The biggest difficulty for physical activity is keeping the motivation to stay active and maintain adherence to an exercise program. Fitness and healthy living needs to become integrated into your life by emphasising a behavioural change
Below are 8 steps to keep your exercise regular:
- Goal setting and self-monitoring programs – establish what you want and make your goals SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time based)
- Getting a personal trainer – a trainer can be a great way to keep your motivation and ensure you attend your sessions
- Exercise at your level – increase the intensity (how hard) and duration (time and distance) gradually based on your fitness and capability of completing the training session.
- Perform an active warm up/warm down every session to minimise injuries
- Limit your excuses (time/laziness) – if training in the afternoon after work is tough, design all the training sessions in the morning before work.
- Use a DEXA scan as a monitoring tool to keep you motivated
- Use a self-monitoring program at the end of every week to record your achievements, physical and mental preparation rating, goals for the following week as well as issues and injuries from that week – you can use this to assess your program and monitor your goals
- Train with a friend to help motivation
LUKE MICHAEL
BAPPSC(EX. & SP.SC)
accredited exercise physiologist
