Your Exercise Routine: Keep it Up!

It’s February, and your New Year’s Resolutions are a faded memory. You resolved to exercise on a regular basis, but you haven’t done anything for a week. Temperatures dropped below zero. You were busy. You forgot.

Doesn’t matter. Try again.

Do you remember teaching your children to ride a bike? Most children do not take off and ride around the block without crashing, but eventually they get the hang of it and have fun. Learn from your kids. When you fail, try again. You haven’t lost until you quit trying.

I’ve heard stories of how hard it is to quit smoking. I almost always ask how many tries it took and rarely hear “once.” Often it’s 20 or even 50 attempts. How did you do it? “Cold turkey, but that didn’t work. I tried chewing gum, but that didn’t work either. Finally, I tried x, and that worked.” The “quitter” did more than try again. He tried different things.

Maybe you gave up because your legs hurt after you tried running on New Year’s Day. Walk. Walking was too boring. Ride a bike. Rollerblade. Mix in some cross-country skiing. Find something you enjoy, and don’t be afraid to mix it up. You aren’t required to walk everyday and never ride a bike or run. Choosing variety means you are more likely to stick to daily activity.

Some locales work better for specific exercise. You can’t rollerblade down a gravel road. You may come across an industrial park with a mile-long trail that runs through the middle of it — not worth getting your bicycle out but perfect for a walk or a run. For truckers, getting an exercise routine isn’t easy. Keep trying.