Overcoming Barriers to Fitness

Week #1

BARRIERS TO EXERCISING

Here’s what women from WWT said their number one barriers were…

• Getting started, staying focused.
•  If I don’t go to a class or have a plan to workout.
•  Motivation, aches and pains.
•  Motivation & time to get started.
•  Myself- class, tests, desserts -> priorities & self-control
• Time.
• Cold weather.

#1 Barrier to Exercise: Time

What you can do…

•          Shoot for at least three days a week in the gym.
•         Plan ahead. Yup, you’ve heard that before. Blah, blah, blah. First of all, if you’ve got children remember it is important to take care of yourself too. This means “mommy” time. You wouldn’t tell your child “make sure you take care of others before yourself, honey”. At least I would hope not. You’ve got to be a role model, which means setting by example.
•          Get a calendar out and plan off where you can fit in potential workouts during the week.
•          For those of you whose schedules don’t match up with group fitness classes, go on in to the Wellness Clinic and try a workout on your own! The staff can make on-the-spot workouts for you while you warm-up. Just tell them what you’d like to work on that day and they will even guide you through it.
•        Lunch breaks are a wonderful time to rev up your energy in the Wellness Clinic when you’re feeling sluggish from sitting at your desk all morning. Go for a walk…it will be getting nice out in just a few short months!
•          If you know you’re not a morning person and you’re in a rush in the morning, keep a locker with a spare change of clothes in it at the Wellness Clinic OR pack your bag the night before and leave it by the door so that it’s all set to go in the morning.                                               
•          Remember that if you don’t get in your workout as planned on your schedule, it’s not the end of the world! You can get small bouts of exercise in and make it count toward your weekly goal. After a long day your mind feels tired and groggy. It’s hard to think and the last thing you want to do is move your body, but did you know that’s the best thing you can do for it?! Start with 15 minutes of light-moderate cardio after a long day of work and see how you feel before you head home.
•         Pack snacks in bags like fresh veggies and hummus or nuts throughout the day to keep you satisfied. You may have to sacrifice a lunch period for eating lunch while you do work. As long as you keep lunch healthy, mindless chewing isn’t so bad!

#2  Barrier to Exercise: Getting Started

Getting started, not having a plan, motivation

What you can do…

•        I said this for barrier one, but I’m going to say it again…get a calendar out and plan off where you can fit in potential workouts during the week. Getting started is quite difficult, especially if you feel you lack motivation. If you’re purely exercising to lose weight and look good then it may be more difficult to stay motivated in the long-run.
•       Shift your mental focus from “I hate exercise” to “This isn’t as bad as it seems”. Remember, let’s take baby steps. You don’t have to LOVE exercise, but you can learn to like it. Exercise can be fun (no really, when you do it right your body releases endorphins creating a euphoric state of mind). However, merely driving to the gym is not enough to produce those effects, so we must move.
•      Have a playlist that involves songs you can jam out too!
•      Set an exercise contract with yourself. It may look something like:

Exercise Contract Example 1

I, __(Name)__, hereby make known to, ___(Name)___, that from this day forward I will go to the gym at least three days a week for one hour. I will not make up excuses such as “I’m too sore” or “I’m too tired”. Sick days are regarded as excusable.
If I reach my goal by ___________(date must be at least four weeks out from today), I will let/give myself __________________________________________________________________(reward).
 
Your signature, __________________________________________
Witness signature,_____________________________________________

Exercise Contract Example 2

I,___(Name___, hereby make known to, ___(Name)___, that from this day forward I will strive to be more aware of the negative things I say about exercise. For every negative thought my goal is to say 3 positive affirmations.

Keeping Progress

I will keep track of my progress with a positive affirmation jar. When I get 100 positive affirmations in my jar, I will let/give myself_______________________________________________________________(reward).
   Your signature, __________________________________________
Witness signature,_____________________________________________

•         Sometimes telling others that you want to do something can help get the “juices” flowing. Change takes time, and making consistent healthy lifestyle choices takes just that, constant effort. It is a journey that should be enjoyable when we do it for the right reasons. Don’t let anyone stop you from doing what you need to do. If you fall down, get back up again!

# 3 Barrier to Exercise: Stress

Cold weather, class, tests

Stress is something that creeps into our daily lives and we don’t recognize it until it’s too late. There is good stress believe it or not! It’s called eustress and we feel that when we go to amusement parks, eat cotton candy, go on a date, try something for the first time we’re excited about, or get married! But, bad stress can wear us down…

When bad stress strikes we’re always thinking negatively. This one comes down to how we view the world and it’s been my experience that it is human nature to react 9/10 in a negative way. How can we look at things differently in order to lower stress?

What you can do…

•          Breathe. Deep. Breathe deeply. Take a giant deep breath in, send it down to your belly and release it. Ahhhhhhh.
•          Start your day off right with a balanced breakfast.
•         “I can do it.” You can do it. Because I believe in you, and you believe in you. It’s amazing what happens when you just believe and let go of the things you cannot control.
•         Take control….This may send you back to the first bullet, but BREATHE. Take some nice deep breaths because if you’re focused on your breathing you can’t focus on anything else. The principle of dominant thought even says so…
•      Prepare ahead of time. This may be the best you can do and sometimes there are still things that will come up and unexpectedly mess up your day. Be prepared to handle change and conflict with patience and acceptance.
•       Now, think positive. What do you want to happen? That’s right, you want to be happy, fulfilled, successful, strong, courageous, better, etc.
•          Close your eyes and envision this outcome every day because eventually it will happen for you.
•         Youtube.com has many wonderful and FREE guided meditations to help calm your senses. Choose a quiet time such as just before bed or the middle of the day to listen to one. Key terms such as ‘healing meditation’ and ‘guided meditation’ will help narrow the search.
•         Do something that you enjoy doing even if it’s just for an hour each week such as reading or volunteering.     
•        Drink plenty of water and get at least 7 hours of sleep at night. 

#4 Barrier to Exercise: Staying Focused

Self-control, priorities

We are so involved in other’s lives because we’re social-relational creatures. It’s difficult to stay focused when we’ve got so many demands coming at us and tasks we’ve got to get accomplished. It’s to be impulsive when others are doing what they want to do and there’s social influence all around us.

What you can do…

•          Turn off your cell phone and any other electronic devices while you’re working. If you can’t turn them off then turn them on silent and set them aside.
•         Set aside breaks every 30 minutes to check your devices.
•         Keep a journal of what is most valuable to you. Write down your goals and what you will do to get there. Then, track your progress and check in on yourself to see if what you’re doing is in line with what you say. We often times feel unhappy because we’re not doing what makes us happy.
•          Lose Control. Know that it’s not possible to be in control all of the time. Give yourself credit for the work that you do!
•          At the end of the day, go over what you have done instead of focusing on what you haven’t done. This may help you to see that you likely have been self-defeating yourself with negative thoughts by thinking things like “I haven’t gotten anything done today” or “I missed a workout”.
•         Ask yourself what you want for yourself, then go do it for the rest of your life.