Getting Back Into Exercise Routine

For many people the toughest part about leading a healthy life is incorporating exercise into their daily routine. No matter how many times they decide to join a gym, buy a workout video, start off on a new routine the end result seems to be exactly the same... to drop the activity after a couple of weeks and become completely unmotivated.

In my experience, the best way to incorporate exercise into the day is to dedicate a minimum of 15 minutes to a physical activity that you enjoy. Rather than thinking of this time as "mandatory exercise", think of it as the 15 minutes you dedicate to yourself. Do not worry about burning calories, increasing your endurance or muscle tone. Focus only on dedicating these 15 minutes, minimum, to yourself.

After sitting on my butt for six months, I got back into exercising by taking relaxing walks, doing floor exercises or free weights to my favorite music, doing a part of a workout video or using my favorite machines in the gym. The only requirement for the first month was to do the activity, whatever I chose that day, for 15 minutes. Gradually and without effort, I spent more and more time on my workouts. The ease with which I was able to increase my time is due to the fact that working out is not about burning, sweating, training or toning. Is is about wanting to do something I enjoy and seeing the benefits it has on my health.