Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Exercise For Those Who Hate The Gym & Breaking a Habit in 21 Days!

Spring has sprung; time to get our health on.


Excerpt from our the Exercise Motivation  page on our website.

When we were kids running around the yard, bicycling through the neighborhood, or jumping rope, we called it play and we could do it all day long. Now that we're adults we call running, bicycling, and jumping "working-out" - and we find any excuse to avoid it.

But Exercise doesn't have to mean countless, grueling hours in the gym.... to read the rest click the article link: Exercise Motivation

Always consult a doctor before you play (or begin any exercise program).

Here's one of the fun and motivational posters you'll find on our exercise page:


Or you can share it from our other Facebook page to yours!

Here's something I tried in February! I read in a recent article that it takes 21 days to change or make a habit.  Also it helps to keep a diary to track your progress. So...to get started exercising here's what I did:

The 1st Day:  I jogged in place for 5 minutes to Alanis Morrisette's CD "Jagged Little Pill".  That's it; done for the day!

Day 2: Set my egg-timer and jogged in place for 6 minutes, same music! And done for the day!

Day 3: 7 minutes jogged in place, and so on.... and so forth...

How it ended: Did the routine for slightly over my 21 days, until I got up to 30 minutes a day.  Now I do 30 minutes of jogging in place 3-4 times a week.  It helps to do it aroud the same time every day. You can say to yourself, I got to do my exercise before 10:00 a.m... or whatever time works for you.

As for keeping an exercise journal:
I tracked my progress on a Facebook post.  It kept me motivated.  After all, I did not want to disappoint my fans. I did get tons of support from my FB friends.  Some even joined in doing their own 'break a habit in 21 days'.  It was my most responded to post ever! #habit #breakinghabit #exercise 

How to make this work for you:

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” -Lao Tzu.  Pick the best start time for you. It could be a minute the first day, 5 minutes (like mine was), or more!

“Dance, Dance, Dance: I gotta dance dance dance, gotta get on up gotta get on down” -Bay City Rollers.  If jogging in place is not your thing, do what you love, or at least like.  Walk, dance, or toss a ball to your partner across the living room.  Disclaimer: I'm not responsible for any breakage. 

-A little distraction goes a long way.  I can't imagine you not wanting to listen to Alanis Morissette.  However, since music makes my jog in place enjoyable, I suggest you pick out your favorite CD to exercise to.  Watching a good tv show also helps the egg-timer time go faster. #AlanisMorissette


Motivational quotes also help. I love these three quotes by Wayne Gretzky, H. Jackson Brown Jr and Karen Lamb.  Plus of course the simple quote of Make it happen!

Three Fun & Funny Exercise Quotes:

My grandmother started walking five miles a day when she was sixty. She's ninety-seven now, and we don't know where the heck she is. -Ellen DeGeneres

Whenever I feel the need to exercise, I lie down until the feeling goes away. -Paul Terry 

I’m in good shape. That shape is round. -Jarod Kintz

Post Motivational Quotes in Key Places and in your Brain!

A year from now you may wish you had started today! -Karen Lamb  
Just do it! -Famous Motivational Quote

These two quotes were my mantra!  I pinned the above poster on the fridge.  I repeated the phrases when I tried to talk myself into getting off the computer and do my daily jog!  It really helps. Find your own motivational quotes. It goes a long way, as you will too!  Check out our website for more great quotes.
















Keep on keepin' on
-Poems & Quotes Finder



44 comments:

  1. Love the point about how it's just playing when we're kids and when we grow up it suddenly becomes work. I think the best exercise is when I get out and actually play with my kids, running around, playing ball, etc.

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  2. I like the fact you jog to Alanis :) I love that album and I like keeping fit I have to get back to jogging so I am going to try this. Thank you for sharing.

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  3. I like this idea of jogging in place. This is something I could definitely try. I used to run competitively in my teen years however gave it up after reaching adulthood. That is a great tip about starting out small and working your way up an extra minute a day.
    Thank you for sharing!

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  4. Love the Ellen quote :) I've been on bed rest but once this baby is born I'm really looking forward to getting back to exercising!!!

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  5. I love this idea! What a great way to JUST GET STARTED! And just doing it in your home is so much easier to start than making your self trying to walk around the neighborhood right away or going to the gym. I am going to have to try this!!

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  6. I need all the motivation I can get! Great reminder that writing things down makes such a difference... Now to implement this... Tomorrow. ;)

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  7. Great advice. I work out three-five times a week but I wish I could find the motivation to work out every day.

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    1. I'm not crazy for exercise, but what I do to stay on track is just put it on my calendar. It's on the schedule, Morning jog W-F at 7am, Crossfit T-T-S at 5:30pm, and long run on Sunday at 9am. Same thing every week. Knowing when you have to exercise helps with planning the rest of the week, I know I can't go out for dinner on Tuesdays and Thursdays because I have to be at the gym!

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  8. I like it! I'm a big advocate for exercise, and I'm no personal trainer or anything, just a normal girl who still enjoys ice cream on the weekends and does not have a Victoria Secrets Model (before photoshop) body. And even though I don't particular love exercising, I still think is very important to build the habit of exercising, because as you get older, your body will feel and behave better (and hopefully your medical bills will reflect that too). I started simple about 5 years ago with a membership to a cheap gym going 3 times a week. Nowadays I upgraded to cross fit 3 times a week (it's really not just for the fit, my gym has people i n all shapes and sizes doing it) because it's the most fun exercises ever (and since the nature of the thing, there's always a trainer on hand to help you do the correct movements and not get hurt, you don't get that at a regular gym unless you pay extra!). Then for another 3 days I run.

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  9. I so needed this!! Thanks for posting!

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  10. Great advice! It's hard to find the motivation to work out every day, if it's rainy I usually use that as an excuse to skip my run, but there are so many other exercises I could be doing instead!

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  11. I love this. I love Ellen Degeneres. That quote made me giggle.

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  12. These are great! Thank you for the motivation!

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  13. It can be hard for me to fit exercise in because I have two little ones. This past weekend we went on a 3 mile hike with my kids and I carried my very large 2 year old the last half. Those are the best kinds of workouts.

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  14. Thanks for your post about exercise. I have been working at losing and keep weight off the past few years, and while I no longer carry a gym membership, I find other ways to get a daily exercise routine in, including jogging at the local park, or in place if the weather doesn't allow me to be outdoors. I also find keeping an exercise journal to be helpful and a great motivator.

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  15. You can add this old saying, "Rome wasn't built in a day." My kettlebell coach always tells me that.

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  16. That is such great advice to start slow and work your way up. I worked my way up to over 60 minutes at the gym and I love it now.

    Michelle F.

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  17. When I feel inspired, I keep writing on a fitness journal but then I lose motivation in some days. Even so, I just keep exercising as I'm afraid to be fat.

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  18. Find something you love and do that. If curls make you want to hurl find something else that rocks you. There are a million ways to get fit. No more excuses.

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  19. What great ideas! I love the quote from Wayne Gretzky. I am feeling inspired to get back into my walking now, I have been slacking lately!

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  20. Exercise is good for the mind, body and soul. I love this. Granted- between working, blogging, my daughter and grad school - it's been difficult to get exercise in but I've been walking on my breaks at work. My pants have been too tight :)

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  21. I think if you do something for 21 days it becomes a habit. It's nice that you have found your fitness routine.

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  22. They say when you do something for 21 days it becomes a habit. Glad you found your fitness routine.

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  23. I really do not like stepping foot into the gym.. but i know it is something that i really have to do... When i have a goal in mind or need to clear my head thats the place to go for me,

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  24. Jagged Little Pill sure is a very ideal workout music! I must try it one of these days. Working out is something that I fail to do regularly. Maybe I could start with this 21-day routine and see where it takes me from there. Thanks for sharing your journey!

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  25. Jogging in place is a good one. One of my mum's friends lost loads of weight, and apart from eating healthier that was all she did exercise wise.
    I definitely need to get back in the habit again

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  26. Great tips!! thanks so much for sharing!

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  27. Awesome tips and I loved the beginning which was so true. We could play all day. We should all keep that in mind. Thanks for the tips.

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  28. Thus us actually a great idea to keep ourselves moving and motivated!

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  29. Sometimes I jog in place during commercial breaks. It's only a few minutes but it keeps the heart rate up because it's interval.

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  30. Jagged little pill would definitely get me motivated to run too. Love all your tips!

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  31. Incremental changes over the long term is a really effective tactic. Thanks for the tips!

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  32. Ha! I do workouts to Friends the TV show! Those girls are all skinny! I guess we all have our favorites! Yours is to Alanis.

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  33. There was a time, I used to feel lazy and hate to go to GYm. But now its my daily routine and I cant miss it. I am sure all the newbies to Gym must read this fantastic article for motivation

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  34. I go to gym daily and it is my routine but when I joined Gym, I used to hate going daily and used to look for excuses every now and then. I am sure all the Gym newbies must read this article for motivation

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  35. This is great! I'm TERRIBLE at getting to the gym on a regular basis! Thanks!

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  36. I am going to pass this post around. I personally hate the idea of actually knowing that I'm exercising so this might just do the trick. Thank you ;)

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  37. I am one of those that hate the gym.. thanks for the information...

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  38. I am not a gym enthusiast. I work out from home and at my own pace. I like the jumping for joy and need to do it more.

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  39. I have an entry in the yellow notebook on my iPhone that I add to every time I exercise. I put how long, how far, what the time was when I hit 2 miles and the date. When I turn into a slacker that space of time between the date really bother me!

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  40. Nice work going from a few minutes to 30! Journals help me accomplish so much more! I have one I right in every day - like my "to do list" - so I am never waiting any time and my head doesn't explode trying to keep track of everything.

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  41. Oh, you called me out! =) I was saying this to my husband last night. But now I'm getting out the denial that I don't want to DO anything about it. I guess it's my age and I just have less kudspa in that area. I did get up 30 mins earlier today. =)

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  42. Such a great idea. I so need to incorporate daily exercise into my day to day routine!

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