Getting the motivation to get out of bed, put your runners on and leave the house can seem just too hard. The excuses running through your head can become louder than the alarm clock. Before you know it you’ve missed your opportunity to squeeze that exercise session in and you’re contorted with guilt.

Does this sound familiar?

The action of having to “rev yourself up” mentally to get out the door and exercise can be more exhausting than the actual exercise itself. Follow these steps to make exercise part of your normal daily routine and not something you dread:

  1. Work out when you can make time in your daily schedule to do your exercise. Some people find exercising in the morning is the best way to “get it done and dusted”, whilst other people, like shift workers, might find it better to do their exercise on the way home from work in the afternoon.  Everyone is different. Work out what works best for you. You may need to prioritise your daily tasks and give up an hour of TV.
  2. Organise your workouts. Schedule the what, where and when you will do your exercise in your diary. eg. Monday 6am gym class.
  3. Enrol a friend. Make a date with a friend to go for a walk or do a gym class together. That way you are accountable to each other and it’s harder to hit snooze.
  4. Get your clothes out the night before. Having your clothes next to your bed in the morning, or packed in your bag on the way home from work makes it that little bit easier to stop the excuses and get going!
  5. Consistency is key. You don’t need to do a really hard workout everyday, doing something is better than nothing. Consistency is key in achieving your long-term health goals.