subject: Workout Tips For Those Couch Potato Days [print this page] Up until that bad cold and a string of rainy days you were so gung ho about your workout. Now you have lost both your enthusiasm and energy. Although you want to get back into it again, nothing you do seems to work.
Feeling too sluggish to get off the couch and head for the gym? Let these ideas ease you back into workout mode again.
1. Just move! That will get you started.
Decide to break inertia and do it without having second thoughts. Just take one positive step such as doing a few stretches, taking a short walk, or eating a healthy meal and believe that you are past the hard part.
2. Do it for three days
Day one is always the toughest but once you're done with that, things start to get easier. Just do that positive step for not less than three consecutive days and you will find your confidence being restored and you are back in control. This principle may be simple but it is powerful and you can go back to it over and over again. Your chosen action doesn't have to be a complicated one. Remember that your main purpose is to just get started all over again. You will be doing the tougher stuff in due time.
3. 10-minute solution
So you've made it back, but what if you start feeling the couch potato syndrome creeping back in the following day? Brush it off pronto! Decide beforehand that you will only do 10 minutes of exercise after which you would stop. Don't allow yourself to reconsider. Your 10-minute workout may lack the intensity you are used to but it is enough to keep you from being inactive again. Look at this as an aid to help you through those days when you feel lazy and sluggish. Anticipate days when you will just feel so thankful that you completed the 10 minutes and days when your energy level really zooms up. Either way, you emerge the winner.
4. Find new tricks
Do not wait to be externally motivated. Muster all the inner motivation that you can. Think about what makes you excited and take action. There are people who put on an exercise video or watch one online and pretty soon find themselves joining along. Find upbeat music that you like and play it. The next time you don't feel up to working out, reread this list and get moving.
5. Do it anyway
All of us go through those days when we just don't want to do anything else but sleep in. It's a workday and you are tempted to call in sick, but you decide to report for work anyway. It can be the same with changing dirty diapers or visiting your mother. These things need doing and your feelings or moods should not get in the way of you getting them done. The same thing goes for exercising and eating right. Waiting around until the mood hits you is pointless. You will only be putting off something that you will end up doing at some point anyway.
Take the effort to get into the right mindset. Remind yourself of your goals and your decision to stay committed. Do not be someone who always has an excuse for anything left undone, unfinished, or haphazardly done. Take it one day at a time.