Health Tips
By Cathleen Geoghegan
As we enter Autumn the days start to get shorter and the weather colder. During these months it can be very hard to motivate yourself to stay active. It's hard enough staying active so here are some tips to keep you motivated through the colder months.
- Reevaluate your activities: The same exercise routine will not work for all months of the year. It can be easy to go for an early morning/late night stroll during the summer period. However, once the cold air hits your face in the autumn months it can be tempting to turn around and go back inside. Evaluating your exercise routine can also help you avoid getting bored. Perhaps its time to try a new yoga course or some other activity that you can do inside. This way the weather outside can't be an excuse not to stay active.
- Join forces with a friend: Motivation is that much easier when you have a friend you regularly exercise with. If you make a regular time with someone each week then you know that you will be letting him or her down if you don't make it. Make sure that you choose a friend who will not constantly be letting you down though! It is important to find someone who is committed so that together you will motivate each other.
- Inside activities for the colder months: If you find it difficult to get out to exercise, there are things you can do inside to stay active. Getting up to do aerobics Oz Style (Channel Ten, 6.30am weekdays) is a good start. You can set the VCR if this is not a good time! A lot of the sessions offer both high and low impact options so there are no excuses for beginners. Another option is to purchase one of the yoga or aerobic videos found in most large department stores. There are so many different videos you are sure to find one that interests you.
- Small steps: One of the hardest things is actually getting started! Once you decide to have a more active life you need to do it! Call a friend and make a commitment, decide how much time you have to commit to being active and break it up over four or five days (small amounts of exercise such as 20 minute sessions are better than nothing), plan a few different forms of exercise such as walking, yoga, or aerobics. Remember, nobody ever felt worse by adding an extra 20 minutes of exercise into his or her week!
- Reward yourself regularly: Even if you are not ready to try out for the Olympics you need to realize that you have achieved your own goals. Before you start write down what you want to achieve, even if it's "increase my weekly exercise by taking three 30 minute walks" if you end up achieving this then reward yourself. Bake a cake, purchase a new CD or get a haircut. Remind yourself that the reward is for reaching the goal and this will motivate you to keep going. Perhaps reward yourself each month if you have kept it up! This will help to make sure that your new exercise habits are maintained and not a passing fad.
Good luck!
Autumn 2003
