14 Motivating Exercise Tips

How is your exercise program going? Are you having trouble staying committed? Here are 14 exercise tips to help with your exercise success.

1. Stretch before you start to exercise and during your cool down. Stretching will help loosen your muscles and help prevent injuries.
2. Keep hydrated. Make sure that you drink water before, during and after your exercise period.
3. Exercise moderately if you are starting a new program. Remember, you had to learn how to walk before you learned how to run. The same applies to a safe and healthy exercise program.
4. Don't weigh yourself daily. Your weight is going to fluctuate on a daily basis. Checking your weight about once a week is perfect.
5. Keep a daily log of your activities and your progress. You will be amazed at how much you have done and how far you have come!
6. Wear loose, comfortable clothing and the right kind of shoes for your activity. While you might want to be a fashion plate, being comfortable is really more important to your exercise success.
7. Reward yourself periodically. Set goals-just make sure that they are reasonable. You are not going to lose 60 pounds in six weeks and stay healthy. But you have worked hard and deserve a treat!
8. Set up a routine. Exercising will become easier to do if you make exercising part of your habitual daily activities.
9. You don't have to join a gym to exercise. You have the entire outdoors to explore by walking or biking. You can even march around your house.
10. Ask a friend or family member to exercise with you. You will have company, someone to chat with and it will be harder to skip an exercise session if you have committed to working out with someone else.
11. Don't beat yourself up if you have to skip a day. You can always exercise a little longer over the next couple of days.
12. Did I mention that eating dark chocolate has health benefits?
13. Don't get bored. Boredom is an exercise killer. Vary your activities. Walk a bit. Dance to your favorite music for a while. Take a yoga class. Go swim a few laps. All are excellent exercise options and will get you to your exercise goals.
14. Have fun!