Exercise is something that we all want to do. Even if you are not doing it regularly, it is something that we all agree that we “should” be doing it. Well, you are right. You should be exercising, working out, or just finding a way to move.
No matter what you call it, you need it to live. You need it to be healthy. You needed it to feel good. You need it to have the energy you want. You needed it to ward off diseases. You needed to lose weight or you need it to maintain your weight. We get more benefits from exercise, but I think you get the picture.
The only way to get the benefits from exercise is to exercise. That’s right, if you don’t do it, you don’t get any of the results from it. You can think about it all you want, but until you do it, the body gets nothing out of exercise. This sounds sarcastic or even condescending, but it is reality. Many people that I talk to on a regular basis are saying that they are thinking about, trying, planning to, you name it and they are doing it. The only thing that they are not doing is exercise itself.
One of the questions that I keep hearing: “When is the best time to exercise?” The answer is not as complicated as you might think. In fact, the answer is as simple as it gets. The best time to exercise is the time that works for you. The best time to exercise is during the time that you have to do it, the time you like to do it the most or simply when you can do it.
This isn’t the answer a lot of people are expecting. You’ve heard from one source or another that claims that there are times that are better than others to exercise, but there really isn’t a difference between morning, afternoon or evening. The difference lies in your routine, your head and your preferences. If you like working out at a certain time, you will stick with it. Many don’t see “liking” exercise as a realistic option. Well, even if it just the time that you can fit it in and fight through it, you will stick with it.
I don’t recommend one time of day over another. When getting started, it is important to try multiple options to see which will work. Actually, before you even try to get started, I recommend sitting down to think about your schedule. It is easy to pick a time and say you are going to go. It is more difficult to actually make that work for a long period of time.
So, how do you know which time to try? Well, that can be simple too. Let’s take a look at some of the key points of morning, afternoon and evening exercise:
Morning Exercise
Getting up in the morning is easier for some than it is for others. It depends on your age, schedule and personal preference, but more importantly, it depends on how your body works. I love morning exercise. When I wake up in the morning, I generally feel pretty good. Am I tired? I am tired on many days, but others I am not. On the days that I feel tired, there is a bit of a struggle to get going. But once I get going, I have another level of energy that I cannot get anywhere else.
My morning exercise is what gets me where I need to be in order to start the day.
The other benefit of morning exercise is that the mornings are consistent. Depending on your schedule, you probably start work at a certain time each day. You probably leave your house around the same time and get to your destination at a certain time as well. We all have a routine that takes us through the process. If exercise fits into that, you can make the most of your morning by waking up and getting your workout out of the way. This not only gives you the benefits of exercise, but it also allows you a mental victory to start the day. When you’ve already taken care of exercise for the day, you don’t have to worry about when (or if) you are going to do it later. It’s done and you can get on with your day.
Afternoon Exercise
Exercising in the afternoon works well for many people. It allows you to have your morning routine. For some that morning routine is hectic enough. This way, you are not worried about that and you can sleep in a bit compared to the morning exercise schedule. One thing that you can’t do is control the afternoon schedule. Many people have meetings, calls and other obligations that move fluidly throughout the workday. As meetings start to move in and out of your schedule, it becomes difficult to set time aside for exercise.
One solution is to go after work is over. Many like to bring gym bags or other equipment to work in order to go right from work to their exercise destination. This works great if you have the energy after a long day of work. You also have to have the resolve to go despite the other options in front of you. There is TV, food, couch, family, more work and countless other things that creep into the afternoon. They all make it harder, but they can be overcome.
Evening Exercise
Many of the same challenges exist in the afternoon and evening. Evenings are treated like mornings in many situations. I talk to people that say that their evening is the only consistent time of the day. Their mornings are crazy, afternoons are the same, but evenings are the part of the day that they can control. Control is a good word to think about when it comes to exercise. We all have a certain degree of control. When you choose to make time for yourself, you are taking control of your schedule and putting what you want into it. If you are letting your schedule run you, you are likely not getting the exercise you need.
Evenings also have their drawbacks. For starters, many are ready to fall asleep shortly after work, making the evening a tough time to exercise. If you are awake and ready for action, the evening can be a great time to get your exercise. The only other caution with this time of day is the after-effects. Much like the morning exercisers feel a burst of energy after exercise, so do the evening exercisers. If this burst is enough to keep you awake at night, you make have problems with evening exercise.
As you can see, there are pros and cons to all times of the day. I’m not going to pretend that exercise is supposed to be this perfect activity that you love every single time and you can set aside a magical time of day that makes it easy. It is all about finding the most pros and the fewest cons. The best time to exercise is the time that has the most pros for you and the fewest cons. The best time to exercise is the time that works for you.
Monday, June 18, 2012
Monday, June 11, 2012
Be a Good Friend to Yourself
Health is a serious matter. We all take it seriously. Even if you are struggling to get started, the matter at hand is serious: You want to do something to improve your life and it is important to you that it gets done. It can be frustrating when you run into challenges. Believe me, I’ve run into my share of challenges on my journey. I have also talked to countless people that are dealing with challenges on a day to day basis.
There is something that is more frustrating than the day to day challenges. There is something that is more frustrating than anything else. What’s worse is that your frustration is only equaled by you lack of progress and defeat. When you are dealing with this, it can be difficult to even continue on your plan.
I have a few questions for you relating to this issue:
- Have you ever had a friend that always told you that you were going to get together?
- Have you ever had that same friend change or cancel plans on you?
- How did that make you feel?
- Did you keep trying to make plans with this person?
These questions are answered by you and only you, so I am making no assumptions about you social life. The only assumptions that I am making are:
1. IF you were dealing with this, it was very frustrating and even hurtful.
2. You weren’t dealing with it very long before you simply quit trying.
It goes without saying that it hurts when someone chooses not to spend time with you. It frustrates us when someone doesn’t make time for you. A friend, family member, spouse, coworker or anyone in your life has the power to hurt us by disrespecting our time and company. They can cause you to feel down and question many things. A true friend wouldn’t do this to you, would they?
Well, are you your own friend? Have you been a good friend to yourself? This question may sound odd, but it is very important to ask it. It is very important for you to ask yourself if you have been a good friend to yourself. Obviously, it is also important to be a good friend to your friends and family, but that is easier than being a good friend to yourself. In fact, most people are ONLY good friends to their friends and continue to neglect themselves.
This brings us to the last question on that list: Did you keep trying to make plans with your friend that wouldn’t stick to your commitments?
Most people that I talk to about this, have said that they didn’t try very long before giving up, and they eventually gave up. Many people also tell me that it taught them a lesson. The lesson to them was that if someone isn’t willing to commit to them, they shouldn’t keep committing. If someone doesn’t have time for you, don’t make time for them.
I will ask again: Are you a good friend to yourself? More accurately, have you been a good friend to yourself? If not, you just went through the same situation with yourself that you did with that rude and disrespectful friend. You kept changing your mind and refusing to commit to take time for you, so eventually, you stopped committing the time and assumed that it wouldn’t happen anyway.
This is called quitting or giving up. It seems to be acceptable because we don’t think it’s hurting anyone else. In fact, in many ways it even feels better to let go and quit trying. Why does this feel good? It feels good because you don’t have to let yourself down anymore. Just as it felt good to take your power back and not let your friend stand you up anymore, it feels good to stop standing yourself up too.
There are two ways to stop standing yourself up:
1. Quit (not recommended)
2. Start being a better friend to yourself
Anyone can quit. Anyone can say that they give up and stop trying. Anyone can neglect themselves and pretend that it feels better. But eventually, you are going to want to get back out there and do it. Eventually, you will decide that you want to be friends again. It works with the other person or yourself. If a really close friend or a sibling changes and wants to start trying to build your relationship again, you are likely to give them another chance. Once you decide that you want to start building routine again, you will give yourself another chance.
At least I hope you will give yourself another chance. If you don’t, life will be long and painful. The benefits of health are numerous. You will live a better life with health, just as you will live a better life with friends and family that love you. No one can deny that it hurts to have someone that isn’t willing to commit to you.
That is why living an unhealthy lifestyle is hurting you. Not only are you missing the benefits a healthy lifestyle, but you are also treating yourself badly. You are mistreating yourself physically by not exercising or watching your eating habits. That is one thing. The more significant damage is done on the emotional side. You are mistreating yourself emotionally by refusing to commit.
Hurtful when it comes from a so-called friend: They are refusing to commit time with you. They are putting other things in front of you and your relationship. They are telling you that you are not important enough to spend a little time with.
More hurtful when it comes from you: You are refusing to commit time for yourself. You are putting other things in front of yourself. You are telling yourself that you are not important enough to spend a little time with.
I don’t see much difference between the two situations. The actions are the same.
The results are the same. If you don’t take time for someone, it hurts them. If you don’t take time for yourself, it hurts you. When you think about your health, think about your feelings. Think about how are treating yourself. Ask yourself: Would I tolerate this treatment from someone else? Are you being a good friend to yourself?
There is something that is more frustrating than the day to day challenges. There is something that is more frustrating than anything else. What’s worse is that your frustration is only equaled by you lack of progress and defeat. When you are dealing with this, it can be difficult to even continue on your plan.
I have a few questions for you relating to this issue:
- Have you ever had a friend that always told you that you were going to get together?
- Have you ever had that same friend change or cancel plans on you?
- How did that make you feel?
- Did you keep trying to make plans with this person?
These questions are answered by you and only you, so I am making no assumptions about you social life. The only assumptions that I am making are:
1. IF you were dealing with this, it was very frustrating and even hurtful.
2. You weren’t dealing with it very long before you simply quit trying.
It goes without saying that it hurts when someone chooses not to spend time with you. It frustrates us when someone doesn’t make time for you. A friend, family member, spouse, coworker or anyone in your life has the power to hurt us by disrespecting our time and company. They can cause you to feel down and question many things. A true friend wouldn’t do this to you, would they?
Well, are you your own friend? Have you been a good friend to yourself? This question may sound odd, but it is very important to ask it. It is very important for you to ask yourself if you have been a good friend to yourself. Obviously, it is also important to be a good friend to your friends and family, but that is easier than being a good friend to yourself. In fact, most people are ONLY good friends to their friends and continue to neglect themselves.
This brings us to the last question on that list: Did you keep trying to make plans with your friend that wouldn’t stick to your commitments?
Most people that I talk to about this, have said that they didn’t try very long before giving up, and they eventually gave up. Many people also tell me that it taught them a lesson. The lesson to them was that if someone isn’t willing to commit to them, they shouldn’t keep committing. If someone doesn’t have time for you, don’t make time for them.
I will ask again: Are you a good friend to yourself? More accurately, have you been a good friend to yourself? If not, you just went through the same situation with yourself that you did with that rude and disrespectful friend. You kept changing your mind and refusing to commit to take time for you, so eventually, you stopped committing the time and assumed that it wouldn’t happen anyway.
This is called quitting or giving up. It seems to be acceptable because we don’t think it’s hurting anyone else. In fact, in many ways it even feels better to let go and quit trying. Why does this feel good? It feels good because you don’t have to let yourself down anymore. Just as it felt good to take your power back and not let your friend stand you up anymore, it feels good to stop standing yourself up too.
There are two ways to stop standing yourself up:
1. Quit (not recommended)
2. Start being a better friend to yourself
Anyone can quit. Anyone can say that they give up and stop trying. Anyone can neglect themselves and pretend that it feels better. But eventually, you are going to want to get back out there and do it. Eventually, you will decide that you want to be friends again. It works with the other person or yourself. If a really close friend or a sibling changes and wants to start trying to build your relationship again, you are likely to give them another chance. Once you decide that you want to start building routine again, you will give yourself another chance.
At least I hope you will give yourself another chance. If you don’t, life will be long and painful. The benefits of health are numerous. You will live a better life with health, just as you will live a better life with friends and family that love you. No one can deny that it hurts to have someone that isn’t willing to commit to you.
That is why living an unhealthy lifestyle is hurting you. Not only are you missing the benefits a healthy lifestyle, but you are also treating yourself badly. You are mistreating yourself physically by not exercising or watching your eating habits. That is one thing. The more significant damage is done on the emotional side. You are mistreating yourself emotionally by refusing to commit.
Hurtful when it comes from a so-called friend: They are refusing to commit time with you. They are putting other things in front of you and your relationship. They are telling you that you are not important enough to spend a little time with.
More hurtful when it comes from you: You are refusing to commit time for yourself. You are putting other things in front of yourself. You are telling yourself that you are not important enough to spend a little time with.
I don’t see much difference between the two situations. The actions are the same.
The results are the same. If you don’t take time for someone, it hurts them. If you don’t take time for yourself, it hurts you. When you think about your health, think about your feelings. Think about how are treating yourself. Ask yourself: Would I tolerate this treatment from someone else? Are you being a good friend to yourself?
Monday, June 4, 2012
Right Time, Right Move
Exercise has become a very interesting part of our lives. Even if you are not getting as much exercise as you want, it is not actually a part of your routine, it will always be part of your life. Exercise is something that we need. We did it daily as kids, it got more challenging as we got older and for most people it became something that we never do as adults.
This is a sad story. Not just because of the issues that follow when we don’t make exercise part of the day. We all know that weight is increasing, disease is becoming more common and healthcare is costing more and more every year. This is no coincidence. We all know that exercise can mean the difference between continuing this trend and making it a thing of the past.
The choice is yours. That doesn’t make it easy. What makes exercise so difficult? I hear a lot of excuses for not getting enough into each day. The most common reason given when the question is asked is:
“I don’t have time to exercise.”
I’m not surprised when I hear this. Not only do I hear it from many people, but I also understand just how busy everyone is. I am that busy myself. There are not enough hours in the day for everything that we need to do in our lives, let alone enough time to do everything that we want to do. The needs are hard enough, so the wants are a significant challenge.
It is hard to “find time” for anything in our lives. When it comes to exercise, we are constantly battling within. There is the part of you that knows you should do it and the part that sees the rest of the schedule and thinks that it is not possible. The battle rages daily for many of us and unfortunately it is a lop-sided battle with one side winning far more frequently than the other.
What’s worse is that many of us give up the battle completely after a certain point. It becomes more and more difficult to make exercise part of the day, so we simply give up. We figure that it won’t happen, so why try? Well, trying is not the problem. Even when you are losing the battle internally, if you are having the battle, you are trying.
Trying is an important key to the success of any plan. You can’t just come up with a plan and expect it to happen. You have to try. You have to execute in order for anything to happen. What that being said, execution seems to be the main problem with exercise.
When you put these two terms together, it actually makes exercise even simpler:
1. Trying is the most important key to success (of any plan)
2. Execution is the main problem (with any plan)
If trying is the key to success, all you have to do is be willing to give it some effort. Any effort should be enough to get something going. Especially with exercise, it doesn’t take much. Just look at the recommendations: 30 minutes of exercise is recommended to maintain a healthy weight, lowering risk of heart disease (cuts risk in half!) and other factors. 30 minutes is the length of one sitcom. 30 minutes is a lunch break or half of a lunch break if you get an hour. 30 minutes is not very much time. We find 30 minutes to surf the web. We find 30 minutes to watch TV. We find 30 minutes to drive to and from fast food restaurants. We find 30minutes to do all kinds of things, but we can’t find 30 minutes to get a little exercise?
Trying does not mean waiting to find time, trying means making time. When it comes to exercise, if we don’t make time, it won’t get done. There is nothing more clear to me in my journey as the fact that if we don’t make time, it won’t get done. Trying simply means making time, setting time aside and getting SOME exercise in.
The rest of that equation involves execution. The big problem with execution is the fact that we think we have to do it all before we even get started. When it comes to execution of exercise, many people are arguing that what they have time for is not enough or what they have access to is not the right kind of exercise for the results they want. Not true.
If you try to fit exercise in and you execute a plan, you can live healthy. This sounds overly simple, but it is true. Trying: looking for time, making time to fit exercise in. Execution: doing something, anything that is physically more active than sitting in a chair all day.
What is the right time to exercise?
When you can
What is the right amount of exercise?
As much as you can get
What is the right move?
The move that you do
These questions are clear and the answers are even clearer. If you can make time, you can exercise. We all make time for things we are told to do. We all make time for things that we don’t want to do, but simply think that they have to be part of the day. Exercise is something that we all want. Health, the result of our exercise is something we really want.
Any time you can devote to something you want is time well-spent. Any move you make toward something you want is the right move, especially when you are talking about something as simple as exercise. Do something active today. It will be the right time and it will be the right move.
This is a sad story. Not just because of the issues that follow when we don’t make exercise part of the day. We all know that weight is increasing, disease is becoming more common and healthcare is costing more and more every year. This is no coincidence. We all know that exercise can mean the difference between continuing this trend and making it a thing of the past.
The choice is yours. That doesn’t make it easy. What makes exercise so difficult? I hear a lot of excuses for not getting enough into each day. The most common reason given when the question is asked is:
“I don’t have time to exercise.”
I’m not surprised when I hear this. Not only do I hear it from many people, but I also understand just how busy everyone is. I am that busy myself. There are not enough hours in the day for everything that we need to do in our lives, let alone enough time to do everything that we want to do. The needs are hard enough, so the wants are a significant challenge.
It is hard to “find time” for anything in our lives. When it comes to exercise, we are constantly battling within. There is the part of you that knows you should do it and the part that sees the rest of the schedule and thinks that it is not possible. The battle rages daily for many of us and unfortunately it is a lop-sided battle with one side winning far more frequently than the other.
What’s worse is that many of us give up the battle completely after a certain point. It becomes more and more difficult to make exercise part of the day, so we simply give up. We figure that it won’t happen, so why try? Well, trying is not the problem. Even when you are losing the battle internally, if you are having the battle, you are trying.
Trying is an important key to the success of any plan. You can’t just come up with a plan and expect it to happen. You have to try. You have to execute in order for anything to happen. What that being said, execution seems to be the main problem with exercise.
When you put these two terms together, it actually makes exercise even simpler:
1. Trying is the most important key to success (of any plan)
2. Execution is the main problem (with any plan)
If trying is the key to success, all you have to do is be willing to give it some effort. Any effort should be enough to get something going. Especially with exercise, it doesn’t take much. Just look at the recommendations: 30 minutes of exercise is recommended to maintain a healthy weight, lowering risk of heart disease (cuts risk in half!) and other factors. 30 minutes is the length of one sitcom. 30 minutes is a lunch break or half of a lunch break if you get an hour. 30 minutes is not very much time. We find 30 minutes to surf the web. We find 30 minutes to watch TV. We find 30 minutes to drive to and from fast food restaurants. We find 30minutes to do all kinds of things, but we can’t find 30 minutes to get a little exercise?
Trying does not mean waiting to find time, trying means making time. When it comes to exercise, if we don’t make time, it won’t get done. There is nothing more clear to me in my journey as the fact that if we don’t make time, it won’t get done. Trying simply means making time, setting time aside and getting SOME exercise in.
The rest of that equation involves execution. The big problem with execution is the fact that we think we have to do it all before we even get started. When it comes to execution of exercise, many people are arguing that what they have time for is not enough or what they have access to is not the right kind of exercise for the results they want. Not true.
If you try to fit exercise in and you execute a plan, you can live healthy. This sounds overly simple, but it is true. Trying: looking for time, making time to fit exercise in. Execution: doing something, anything that is physically more active than sitting in a chair all day.
What is the right time to exercise?
When you can
What is the right amount of exercise?
As much as you can get
What is the right move?
The move that you do
These questions are clear and the answers are even clearer. If you can make time, you can exercise. We all make time for things we are told to do. We all make time for things that we don’t want to do, but simply think that they have to be part of the day. Exercise is something that we all want. Health, the result of our exercise is something we really want.
Any time you can devote to something you want is time well-spent. Any move you make toward something you want is the right move, especially when you are talking about something as simple as exercise. Do something active today. It will be the right time and it will be the right move.
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