Stay physically active and maintain the benefits of a healthy lifestyle by implementing some behavior changes that work

There you are, you have decided to stay physically active. You understand there are many benefits associated. The truth is, though many people know the benefits, they just stand there and paralize instead of having some action!

The shame then is also what statistics say: Almost 50% of the people who have decided to become active drop within 6 months! Tititit! That doesn't sound good and hope is not your issue.

Making to one side all the possible pretexts (you don't have time, you don't like to exercise, you love watching TV, etc.), you need to know, that in order to win anything in life, you need to have a purpose, a strategy, a plan. So, here are some ideas.

To initiate and maintain regular physical activity you will need:

1) To be motivated.

2) Make a commitment to being active.

3) Understand the basic principles of the exercise you choose or the activity you want to perform (e.g. Dancing).

4) You must know what to expect in each stage of the physical activity program you choose (e.g initial stage, improvement, maintenance, etc.).

5) You must also know: recommended frequency, level of intensity and duration of the activity to enhance your health.

Have A Great Tip of Solution to Offer against Problems with Getting Started for Exercising?

I made a little quest: What results most difficult for you regarding exercise? People said: 1)Don't like to exercise, 2)Struggle with making the decision for starting, 3)Not having time to exercise, 4)Not having resources for a gym, 5)Trouble finding and maintaining motivation. Do you have ideas, tips or solutions you can come up with??? Pick one issue. Share your possible solutions or tips. You don't have to be an expert, only write with common sense. All contributions can be voted. Prize for most voted before 31st of May, the book: Winning it's all in your head. Denis Waitley.

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New behaviors become new strategies

I once heard that if you want results, you need to change your strategy. Here are some ideas to help you settle some goals and produce results.

1) Raise your self efficacy.- When you are confident about being able to ac complish a task.

You gather efficacy information from:

a) Mastery experiences (things you have achieved before and that drive your confidence),

b) Social modeling (watch similar others that might help you copy those models),

c) Social persuasion (You're doing fine! Keep going!)

and d) Interpretation of physiological and emotional responses (identigy states that help you improve your capabilities).

Use this four sources of information to stay physically active.

2) Have outcome expectations.- If you believe that a certain behavior will produce a specific outcome, try to have positive beliefs and keep them real, seek to establish challenging but achievable goals.

3) Set Goals.- These are wonderful motivators, they help you to keep focused and straight to your ideals and behavior, they prompt your effort and promote the development of a strategy to stay physically active.

To set goals, adhere to SMART principles:

Specific.

Measurable.

Action-oriented.

Realistic.

Timely.

+ Focus your goals to the process of the physical activity program (Frequency of exercise, intensity, etc.).

+ Set a time frame (short, medium or long term).

E.G I will go to the gym 3-4 times/week for the next 2 months. And will loose 500 gr-1 Kg / week for the next 4 weeks.

For long term goals, have a picture in your mind of what you want to accomplish and help yourself making a list of actions to reach that goal.

4) Understand the power of facilitators and/or obstacles.- All persons looking for an objective may encounter barriers. To many people this barriers pull them away from staying physically active. This obstacles might be: personal, social, environmental and exercise history exertion barriers.

Obstacles help you become better if you establish creative strategies for effectively overcoming them. Always focus on the solution and not the problem. If you do this, you'll give an impulse to your creativity and you're moving forward, not backwards!

Surround by people that shares your ideals of can be supportive for you.

5) Change your intentions.- An intentional behavior you have set is: To stay physically active. Strong intentions make you engage strongly with the behavior.

6) You must have an attitude.- Help yourself having a positive one! (E.g. Not watching your TV program has a minimal benefit vs. Helping yourself to effectively manage your diabetes).

7) Settle subjective norms.- This are beliefs of how others will view your participation in a physical activity and might help you reach your goals. (E.g If you think exercise is significant for your partner, you will want to meet his/her expectations).

8) Improve your perceived control.- If you have a perception of what is the degree of your behavior control, you will perform a positive behavior if you think you are capable to changing anything you want.

For long-term behavior changes in order to become succesful, you need to be committed to the changes and will need to use self-managment strategies to maintain control of your exercise behavior, this self-managment strategies might be:

+ Strategies for goal setting.

+ Behavioral cues to action (what prompts to initiate a desired behavior).- E.g Pack your bag for the gym one night before, make and exercise planner.

+ Self monitoring.- E.g Make an exercise diary.

+ Self reinforcement.- E.g Buy new running shoes if you accomplish a determinant goal.

Its obvious that to stay physically active and keep on to that lifestyle, everything is a continuous process. Even in the maintenance stages, any person can feel sometime a little weak to keep the pace. Here is how to prevent it!:

1) Prevent initial lapses, meaning don't trigger this lapses. E.g. Stay to watch TV. Missing a workout.

2) Prevent any lapses from escalating into total relapse. E.g Not going to workout a whole week.

Minimize the risk situations and overcome obstacles. Now, ready, set, go...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just a final note. I made a small poll and got the following answers:

Out of 106 responses:Which is your favourite summer sport?

5% Running.

11% Basketball.

7% Baseball.

5% Soccer.

6% Bike riding.

28% Swimming. (The winner is!)

3% Tennis.

5% Golf.

18% Walking. (Here comes the second winner, and is an activity for free!)

12% Other.

1% Unable to Answer.

Do you like any of this activities?

Do you know anyone who likes the same as you and with whom you can make some of it?

To stay physically active: Find more articles about fitness for all stages of life

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