Exercise
Introduction
Don’t worry, we know how much people babble on about how good exercise is for you and the reasons why you should do it. Well the thing is, they have a point! You’re probably thinking that doing exercise is such a pain in the backside and you either can’t find the time to do it or you simply can’t be bothered. Well the good news is we’ve been there too and we hated it as much as you, but now, we love it!
Exercise is like everything else; starting off is horrible, it’s hard work and the effects are slow but with a little more persistence it's completely the opposite.
The thing with exercise is most people do loads of exercise in the first month or two then start getting bored and before you know it you’ve stopped. The way around this is to start small, don’t do it everyday and don’t do anything massive. Even if it is 15 minutes of skipping twice a week its better than not doing anything. Then eventually once you keep doing it and feel ok you can do a bit more and more. Who cares if you do less one week than the other – you’re doing exercise!
It’s important that you don’t give up if you haven’t exercised for a bit. Think about it, when you’re sitting on the computer or just chilling why not make the positive decision to do a little exercise because its going do you a lot more good than playing on the computer! Or why not introduce 'forfeits' with your group of friends, make a game of it, 10 push ups for the loser!
How Does Exercise Help?
Exercise has two positive effects. It produces endorphins which gives you a sense of happiness and relaxation which reduces problems like depression and anxiety. It also helps you to look better which improves your self esteem making you more confident and relaxed about meeting people.
The mental health foundation which is full of clever men with hairy beards suggest that exercise is as effective as antidepressants!!
Also for some people, being depressed or anxious makes you feel really angry and annoyed, exercise is so good for realising this tension. So next time you feel like punching something stick on your trainers get outside and go for a fast run until you feel miles better.
What Exercise Is The Best?
All exercise is good even if it is push ups or sit ups. However, most people recommend aerobic exercise like running, boxing, swimming, cycling and such. The advantage of doing these type of sports is that you can join a team which is a good opportunity to meet people who will encourage you to keep going.
Where Do I Start?
It’s best to be patient and take small steps. How you start off depends on your capability, this is something that only you can know. Download our exercise programs and make a start. Plan week to week and monitor how you do. Make sure that if one week was worse than the last that you don't stop going altogether, it is not a problem, you still exercised so well done and keep at it!
Other Bits You Might Want To Think About
If you visit our Goal Setting page, this is an ideal place to start. Make exercising regularly one of your goals. Start off small and work your way up, and be patient with yourself! If you don’t achieve your goals, it's not a problem, just make them a little more achieveable and start again.