Diet & Fitness Blog

What if there was a pill you could take every day to relieve your stress, alleviate depression, improve your mood, ward off diseases, clear your mind, strengthen your body and increase your lifespan? Chances are you would buy a lifetime supply. While there is no magic health pill on the market, there is a natural one: It's called exercise.

The bad news is that no matter how you look at it, you have to exercise if you want to get fit. Your body was built to move. It needs to release energy every single day. To build and strengthen your body, you need to give it attention.

The good news is that once you start paying attention to it, your body will feel good. When you begin incorporating exercise into your daily routine, you will find that instead of dreading it, you will look forward to exercise. In fact, your body will start craving it.

Here are the top 10 ways you can stay on the ball and make exercise a part of your life:

1. Plan ahead. Write it down as a must-do in your daily planner.

2. Use the buddy system. Find friends or family members who already incorporate activity into their lives. Ask for support and help motivate each other.

3. Take group classes.Again, having support is key to sticking to your fitness plan.

4. Set up weekly and daily fitness goals. By setting realistic goals, you’ll stay motivated until the very end.

5. Hire a fitness trainer. With the current economy, this can be a tough one, but it’s well worth it. Since you want to get your money's worth, you're going to want to stay on track.

6. Make it a family affair. Get your partner or your kids involved.

7. Incorporate it into your housework or at the office. Walk to lunch or meetings, use the stairs instead of the elevator, work on your yard, park at the farthest parking spot, rake leaves – the possibilities are endless.

8. Instead of just meeting for dinner or lunch, plan activities with your friends. After work, head to the gym together or get a group together at work and do a marathon.

9. Write a reminder to yourself of why exercise so important and read it every day. It’s a great way to stay focused and keep exercise on your mind.

10. Join a league or sign up for walk-a-thons months ahead and work on achieving a certain time. You’ll get in shape as you prepare for it, and you’ll feel a sense of accomplishment when it’s over.

Like this post? Check these out, too:

-- Office Weight Gain: Work It Off!

--Find Time for Fitness: Exercise for Everyone

-- 7 Ways Exercise Leads to Happiness

Carolina Diaz-Bordon is a writer specializing in health, beauty and relationships.

Labels: diet, exercise, exercise motivation, f, fitness, motivation