Do you struggle to exercise regularly? Does fitness feel more like a chore than a joy? We understand that many people have a challenging relationship with physical activity, but it doesn’t mean that you can’t find a way to fall in love with keeping fit.
Celebrate National Fitness Day 2024
The theme for this year’s National Fitness Day, is "Your Health is for Life”, which emphasises that fitness is not just a one-time event but a lifelong journey.
This article offers practical tips on how to make physical activity a fun, engaging, and a sustainable part of everyday life. By finding activities that align with your personal interests, taking it slow, setting achievable goals, incorporating social elements, and being kind to yourself, you can develop a positive, lasting relationship with fitness.
How to find an exercise you enjoy
Join an exercise class or group activity
Have you thought about the social benefits of exercise? Exercising with other people can help boost your motivation and is great fun. Meeting up regularly with others holds you accountable and you might even make some new friends! Why not try:
- Your local gym or leisure centre
- An exercise class finder, such as ClassPass, MeetUp or Groupon
- Your local Facebook walking group
Inspire yourself to exercise
If you’d rather exercise on your own, one-on-one or with close family and friends, there are plenty of options, including:
- Hiring a qualified personal trainer
- An app, such as AllTrails or Komoot which can suggest local walking, hiking or cycling routes
- Online classes you can enjoy at home such as Peloton, Apple Fitness and Nike Training Club
Try some fun exercises from your childhood
Skipping, skateboarding and BMX biking are all good exercise and have all seen a renaissance in recent times. If you prefer something a bit more sedate, then why not try throwing a frisbee with friends?
Making fitness a habit
Whatever you decide to do, it’s important to start slowly and increase your activity levels gradually to avoid injury and sustain your interest in exercising.
Set some realistic and achievable goals so that you maintain your interest in your new fitness routine and look forward to, rather than dread, your next workout. Avoid using weight or body fat as a measure, and instead think about how much weight you’ve lifted, the number of miles or minutes you’ve completed or your pace.
Tracking can be done by creating a planner and logging your activity using an app or a paper diary. Celebrate milestones and challenge yourself a bit more next time.
Don’t stick to one type of exercise – swapping things up not only keeps you motivated but cross training is good for your body and can help prevent injury.
Getting started
If you’ve not exercised for some time or have a medical condition or concern and want to begin a new exercise routine, you should speak to your own GP or one of our Private GPs. Book your Private GP appointment online or call our Private Patient team on 01580 363158.
Published on 18 September 2024