I should really do some exercise.’ ‘I feel good afterwards, but when I'm exercising it's such a chore.’ You've probably heard reluctant exercisers use these phrases before. Read them again and you'll see one thing. They both describe negative relationships with exercise. And this is the problem. We all know that we need to be physically active to be healthy and look younger, but many of us simply don't enjoy exercise.
In our view, the only way to start and stick to an exercise routine in the long-term isthink you should do or what your friends recommend. You may not love it, you may have days when you feel like skipping a workout because you're tired, but, ideally, it shouldn't be a chore. It's common to hear people say they ‘should’ take up running because they've heard it burns lots of calories. Others will say they ‘should’ go to the gym because their friend went and lost a lot of weight. But any sentence that contains the word ‘should’ when it comes to exercise is likely to be negative. If you want to stick to a regular exercise routine, it has to be something you can enjoy to a reasonable level. Willpower will work in the short-term, but it will only last so long.
