How do you currently feel about working out? At this stage you may dislike or even dread the idea of exercise. This is quite common and often stems from a negative past experience. Learning to enjoy exercise can make your weight management journey an easier one. Here are a couple of tips to help you restructure the way you think about exercise and get the most out of your workout sessions.

Training your ‘effort muscle’

Your effort muscle, in this case, is your self-control effort. This will be needed over the next six weeks and will help you reach your goal even if your motivation is absent. It refers to the internal push you must apply to get yourself to do something. If we think of self-control effort as a muscle then we can understand that. Just like other muscles, it will fatigue with use. However, it relies on emotion rather than oxygen and glucose required by your other muscles.

The aim is to cleverly use the effort muscle in a way that reduces fatigue. We can do this by breaking down tasks to a series of smaller steps as opposed to one large step. So, by taking small steps and focusing only on the next step will make it more likely that you will exercise.

For example, you are sat on the sofa at home after a long day at work, focus solely on the next step of putting your gym clothes on. Once you are in your gym clothes, focus solely on the next step of getting to the gym. Once you are at the gym focus next on warming up, and so on. Training your effort muscle will help you get used to persisting even when tired. A strong effort muscle offers advantages in all areas of your life and it will strengthen the more you use it.

Mindful exercise

When exercising try to ‘check-in’ with how you are feeling and do so in an open, accepting and non-judgmental way. During a workout rather than deciding that you hate feeling sweaty, approach this with a new and curious way of looking at it. Try not to immediately categorise your new exercise experiences as good or bad. This will make many sensations and experiences much more tolerable. Notice if you have any tension in your face, jaw, neck or shoulders and, if so, try to relax and reset your posture. Take your time with each movement, particularly strength training exercises. Focus on your form, on the upward motion and the downward motion. Think about your posture, your core, and the rest of your body, including the muscles you are targeting. Focus on feeling them contract and relax. See just how much you can get out of your exercise time.

Remember

Some exercise sessions will require more self-control effort than others and this is normal. It may help to remember that after just half an hour of exercising you can feel improved mood benefits. Exercise offers many benefits and it’s not just for your shape and physical health.

If you would like to find out more then a visit the our Wellnest may be just the tonic you need.  Get in touch to find out more or head over to the Well Nest page.

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