Exercise Your Way to Good Health

Sure, I know it's good for me, that every time I do it I end up better off, my overall disposition is improved, my frame of mind and body frame are both rewarded. So, why is it so darn hard to get up and do it every morning?

Of course, the reference is to exercise, stretching, giving your muscles the natural opportunity to avoid strains, addressing lower back issues, relieve the tension in neck and back and shoulders.

For those who grew up athletic, it is less difficult to keep up the routine. They learned, early on, the benefits of stretching the strain away. They walk a lot, run some, lift weights, work out. What a gift they give to their own bodies. Some of the rest of us, the type who buy exercise machines to use as a clothes rack, don't seem to get it. It is just easier to avoid it and go about doing something else, fooling ourselves into thinking we will do it later. And later never comes.

Who is the loser? Well, of course we are. We just want a magic pill we can take with a glass of juice and get on with our day. Not going to happen! So what will it take to begin all over again and to sustain an exercise regimen?

What to Do:

Start before getting out of bed. Put yourself in a frame of mind to exercise. Begin by doing some stretching in bed. Watch how you rise from your bed. Have a list or a booklet, provided at your physician's office, which will instruct you and keep you on track.

Stay with the exercises until you have spent a minimum of 15 minutes, 30 is better, at the exercises which seem to best address your needs.

If time and opportunity allow, take a brisk walk. If you have dogs, take them along. It's one of their favorite activities. Make the routine one you can enjoy any way possible, but keep up a brisk walk, thus getting your heart rate up.

Now, having done our exercises, don't we feel better? Don't forget a healthy breakfast somewhere in your schedule. Remember, once a week won't do it. Repeat daily, or at minimum three times a week. You won't need to invest in equipment, unless that is your thing. All you will need is motivation. So, go for it!