Have you given up saying “I want to go on a diet but I can’t get into habit of exercising,” or “I can’t continue even if I know it’s good for my health”? According to a survey by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, “80% of women in their 20s and 40s” are said to be lacking in exercise. Here are some tips on how to get into the habit of exercising and keep it fun.
It is essential to develop exercise habits to lead a healthy life. In general, “having an exercise habit” means “exercising for 30 minutes or more at least twice a week and continuing for at least one year.”
According to the National Health and Nutrition Survey conducted annually by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the percentage of men with exercise habits was 31.8% for men and 25.5% for women (FY2018 survey). By age group, males in their 20s are the lowest at 17.6%, and females in their 20s are 7.8%, 30s are 8.9%, and 40s are 14.7%, indicating a serious lack of exercise.
The percentage of “thin” with a BMI of less than 18.5 kg / ㎡ is 3.7% for men and 11.2% for women, but the percentage of women in their 20s is as high as 19.8%, and many women try to lose weight even though they are not fat. It can be said that there is a tendency to choose a method that is not good for health, such as extreme dietary restrictions, instead of exercising.
Exercise is not just about losing weight, it also has many benefits to the body, such as preventing lifestyle-related diseases. Here are some simple and effective ways to get into your exercise habits.
Read | How you can lose weight by dancing
4 tips to get into the habit of exercising
Starting an exercise is relatively easy to tackle. When you are keenly aware of lack of exercise, when you want to lead a healthy life, when you want to start a diet, etc., each person has a chance to move their body. I think there are many people who have just started but find it difficult to continue. Here are four tips for successfully establishing such exercise habits.
■ Create visible results
■ Encourage a small sense of accomplishment
■ Connect with daily habits and promises with others
■ Connect with fun
Next, be aware of these tips and how to develop exercise habits I will tell you.
How to get into the habit of exercising 1. Create “visible results” with numbers
Each person has their own motivation to start exercising, but it is only when they continue to see the effects. The first trick to continue is to make good use of “numbers”.
If you’re trying to lose weight, it’s a good idea to record your weight every morning and graph it, or if you’re walking, carry a pedometer and write down the number of steps you’ve taken each day. For more information on pedometers , please refer to “Tips for continuing walking is to find a pedometer that suits you”.
Also, just as I was happy to have a stamp for radio calisthenics during the summer vacation when I was a kid, I would like to be able to check whether I exercised with something visible, such as putting a circle on the calendar or sticking a sticker. Is one of the tips to keep exercising.
How to get into the habit of exercising 2. Accumulate steadily and simple exercise
If a person who has never had a habit of exercising suddenly starts a reckless attempt to try a full marathon, he / she is likely to be frustrated on the way. I think it’s a good idea to start from where you are interested, such as walking around your home, stretching that you can do in the room, exercising while watching an exercise DVD, and simple balance ball training. Recently, there is also an exercise method called HIIT that repeats high-intensity exercise and intervals (breaks) in a short time, so it is recommended to challenge according to your physical fitness level.
The amount of exercise is so small that I think it is not enough at first. Only 5 or 10 minutes will help you establish your exercise habits.
Also, if you don’t become a perfectionist and you just can’t get enough time to exercise, you can take a break. If you blame yourself for “I quit without having three days” and “I couldn’t exercise yesterday”, I would fall into a negative spiral.
Let’s keep a little exercise for a long time and think about the total amount of exercise. As a guide, it’s easy to understand the weekly unit, but when you go on a long-term business trip or long-term trip, it’s a good idea to think about the amount of exercise in the monthly unit.
How to get into the habit of exercising 3. Use your daily life and lose coercion
It is also one to try adding exercise to the actions that you always do. For example, when you stand in the kitchen, be sure to raise your toes 10 times, and after brushing your teeth, be sure to stretch.
Do abdominal exercises during the CM hours of the TV dramas you watch every time. If you add exercise habits to your daily routine, such as incorporating a bicycle into your commute, you shouldn’t have any pain in exercising.
On the other hand, there is also a method of using external coercion, as opposed to an exercise that you can easily work on at home. One of them is to use a sports club. If you register for a sports club, you will not be able to waste your membership fee unless you exercise, and if you are going to receive training guidance from a personal trainer, you will be forced to go because you have reserved the date and time.
It is even more effective if you have friends to continue the same exercise. If you promise a date and time to exercise together, you will have to participate, and if you have enough exercise intensity to talk, you can continue to have fun.
By reporting the results of the exercise with your peers, you can improve your motivation. It is a good idea not only to meet and talk about the results of your daily exercise, but also to post it on SNS and have your friends see it.
How to get into the habit of exercising 4. Prepare a reward for yourself
If you buy new sportswear or shoes when you decide to exercise, it will make you feel like “I bought it so much, so let’s try it.”
Also, if you plan your own exercise habits, decide a period such as if you can continue for a week, and prepare a reward for yourself, you will be motivated considerably! Exercising for rewards is also an effective way to get started. If the reward is exercise goods, you will definitely want to continue exercising.
Here are four tips to help you get into the habit of exercising in your lifestyle and the way you like it. Let’s live a healthy life both physically and mentally by exercising while having fun.
