getting into the habit of exercise (part 1) - the mind shift

DAILY ROUTINE
6am - Wake up, get ready for work
8am - 5pm At work
6pm - 9pm Cooking dinner, family time, Tv time
IDEA OF RELAXING
Watching tv eating a bag of crisps
Going to movies
Eating out
Playing tv games
If the above describes your daily routine and relaxation techniques, then you pretty much live a sedentary lifestyle. And I'm sure you've read all the studies on the health implications of "sedentary lifestyles".
We all know we need to exercise, but getting into a routine can be difficult especially when your body is not used to moving more than the stretch it takes to reach for the remote.
Jumping head first into a daily 45 min session is going to shock your body, and it'll resist it. By way of aches and pains, perhaps even a mild illness, leading to a mental resistance to exercise.
That kind of shock training is only for professional athletes. They already have the commitment, mental agility that normal FUN-ACTIVe people don't have. Even if their bodies don't have what it takes, their minds are leading them through it.
Sedentary people who wish to become FUN-ACTIVE people, ie people who exercise and play sports for fun and health and not as a profession, have to lead both their MINDS and BODIES through to the world of physical movement.
Introduce yourselves s-l-o-w-l-y into exercise.
It doesn't matter how you do it or what you do it with. Forget about purchasing new gym kits, shoes or that massive gym ball. Those do not make you fit, they are tools, mere means to an end. Without trying to sound like an old Chinese-proverb spewing machine: Fitness is within you. Within you.
All you need is you. Start with 3 mins a day. Yes, 3 mins! This is a slow introduction.
The biggest obstacle is your mind. It's telling you that you need the right sportswear, the right equipment, a gym membership. So you never get to it, because you don't have these things and perhaps can't afford it or don't have time for it, right?
What's needed is to show yourself, give your mind the evidence, that you don't need these things to get fit, to exercise.
That's where the 3 mins come in.
Wherever you can fit those 3 mins, get up in whatever clothes you are in and do a form of exercise with out any equipment.
Star jumps, squats, lunges, knee lifts, jogging on the spot, stretches. I recommend you do it in the morning before you shower. SO that if you get all sweaty, you are going to shower anyway. But if you're cool with doing it at work, with your sleeves rolled up, and you have confidence in your underarm roll on, that's ok too. The point is to focus on moving for 3 mins.
Do this for a week, everyday. You'll find that you may look forward to those 3mins. And gradually your mind will shift into the world of physical movement, and will start looking for exercises or sports that you like more than star jumps. Then depending on what exercise program you choose, those 3 mins extend to 15 or 20 mins over a few weeks. ANd it is easier, more likely to stick than if you jumped head first from sedentary into 45 min spinning sessions. After that, who knows? Maybe you'll find a sport you love, and master it. But that's for the future. Years from now.
Right now, do those 3 mins!