Getting fit, like getting anywhere, means knowing where you are setting out from. Use the Pulse Test to work out your present fitness level and establish your ideal workout range. Be sure to exercise at this level for optimal rewards. In a month’s time you can retake the test to see your improvement. more »
Make an exercise schedule for the coming week. Ideally try to include at least 3, 30-minute sessions of your activity. Begin with 20 minutes and work up to 45 minutes or more. You may like to try a variety of activities such as an exercise class one day, walking another and swimming another. Make time for your exercise by planning in advance. Set your alarm to wake you up an hour early, for instance, or organize a child minder for an extra hour at the end of the day if needs be, so you are free to exercise.
Take a look at the following list of reasons to exercise and circle those you consider to be the ‘right’ ones.
- Because it’s good for me.
- Because I enjoy it.
- Because I’m overweight. more »
Have you ever started an exercise program with great enthusiasm - bought a new pair of running shoes, or treated yourself to a gym subscription - only to find that several weeks later you give up? If so you’re not alone. Most people who take up a new form of exercise give it up again within a few weeks. Why? Everybody knows that exercise is supposed to be good for you. For many this knowledge alone provides the incentive to give it a try. So you buy the gear and dive into activity. You feel inspired an virtuous … at least for a while. more »
Nothing connects you with your own power like regular physical activity. It brings you in touch with your own body so you experience it as a living breathing organism capable of radical transformation rather than as an object separated from your self to be measured against media ideals and found wanting.
Exercise carried out with a real awareness of being in your body helps to heal splits between mind and body more easily than anything else - the right kind of regular exercise can transform your life.