I keep the following list of benefits in my Franklin planner as a daily reminder as to why I discipline myself to exercise. This list is an observation of what happens to me when I exercise regularly.

What do you do to keep yourself motivated to exercise?

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The following is a list of descriptive benefits to exercise and do aerobics four times a week. This includes Pilates.

BENEFITS:

Sleep more soundly.
Your appetite is improved.
Regulates your metabolism.
Improved oxygen uptake.
Makes pain and stiffness in joints virtually disappear.
Your mental clarity improves 100%.
Your ability to handle stress is increased dramatically
Every organ in your body begins to function 100% better.
You have much better judgment.
Your vision is improve.
Recovery times are minimized.
Almost every thing that you do becomes a very easy task. Every thing!
You have a much better attitude.
You have unsurpassed flexibility.
You are a much happier person.
You have 100% more confidence.
You are physically able to do what the mind requires of your body.


You would rarely break a commitment to another person as easly as you would break a commitment made to yourself.

Keeping commitments to yourself are paramount to keeping commitments to others.

Don't cheat! there are consequences. Keep your personal commitments.

In the last 7 months since I quit smoking, I have become a bit of a fitness fiend.... I'm running and walking everyday, and have been doing heavy weights to bulk up and get into shape. I have experienced all of those benefits mentioned in the OP, but the best of them all is the extra energy and the natural high that you get from exercise.

My main motivator for doing exercise is to resurrect my sport career and to have another shot at making some money from it.

My main motivator for doing exercise is to resurrect my sport career and to have another shot at making some money from it.Congratulations being a non-smoker! Thats Very Cool for You!

Tell us more about your jump back into ..... was it Cricket? How close are you from that being real? Would this be a full-time career thing (is there lots of money in it) or would it be like an ocassional match (parttime, requiring you to still maintain a paying job or other line?) Which ever it is, let us know what we can do to help you make this Dream real! OK?

When i was younger i trianed to attract girls! I know it sounds trite but its true, I was a fairlly serious body buider for that very simple reason. Then i got a bit interested in how the body worked and now exercise and research is my career. Do i still train, yes, but now its mostly cos I have 2 kids and I want to be around for as long as i can. (course I still want to look attractive, ut now its to keep the wife happy!). Seriously there is NOTHING better for you health.

Oh yes and this is not new, Francis Fuller a 17th centurey medic said "If a medicine had the beneficial effects of exercise, then nothing would be held in more esteem than that medicine" and that was 300 years ago.
So grab your trainers (or sneakers if your an american) and get with the program

Well said Nick. Welcome to the Board.

Congratulations being a non-smoker! Thats Very Cool for You!

Tell us more about your jump back into ..... was it Cricket? How close are you from that being real? Would this be a full-time career thing (is there lots of money in it) or would it be like an ocassional match (parttime, requiring you to still maintain a paying job or other line?) Which ever it is, let us know what we can do to help you make this Dream real! OK?

Yes, it was cricket. I am about 2 years away from this being realistic.... I haven't played for 2 years, so I still have a lot of work to do. I'm not aiming for a full time thing at the moment, though I won't discard that possibility. My aim at the moment is to play at regional level, then possibly state.... even a player/coach position would be OK. This goal is basically to challenge myself athletically to see how far I can go, as I don't believe I have ever played to my potential in the past.

I am still fully focused on my IT studies as that is #1 priority.... I will still need to have a secure job. :yup:

david, was interested to read your post, and i have said for an unhealthily lengthy period that the only thing that i need to do to further my ability to increase my earnings in all money/career/personal life sectors, is to do what you have just espoused.

thankyou for reminding me of it.

david, was interested to read your post, and i have said for an unhealthily lengthy period that the only thing that i need to do to further my ability to increase my earnings in all money/career/personal life sectors, is to do what you have just espoused.

thankyou for reminding me of it.Your Welcome! :yippee:

My motivation for exercising was always to think of it as I didn't have a choice. Just do it routinely as when you go to work. If you do it this way it might be a little easier to do it... And don't forget work can be fun! :)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
The following is a list of descriptive benefits to exercise and do aerobics four times a week. This includes Pilates.

BENEFITS:

Sleep more soundly.
Your appetite is improved.
Regulates your metabolism.
Improved oxygen uptake.
Makes pain and stiffness in joints virtually disappear.
Your mental clarity improves 100%.
Your ability to handle stress is increased dramatically
Every organ in your body begins to function 100% better.
You have much better judgment.
Your vision is improve.
Recovery times are minimized.
Almost every thing that you do becomes a very easy task. Every thing!
You have a much better attitude.
You have unsurpassed flexibility.
You are a much happier person.
You have 100% more confidence.
You are physically able to do what the mind requires of your body.



This is the first time I've read this list and I'd like to say: THANK YOU.

I joined the gym a few years back and was a solid visitor until it got too hot to train in the summer and they didn't have aircon. Since then my fitness has dropped of almost totally, though I do try and do at least one hour of sport a week.

This list has just iterated the benefits that I DID EXPERIENCE during my 5 month stint at the Gym - and has motivated me to start exercising again.

Anyone reading this who exercises less than 4 times a week - I can't express enough how true these benefits are. It should be inspiration to you all!

Nice one!

I also maintain that it is a social and economic responsibility to our individual countries to take good care of our health. There is literally billions of dollars that could be saved each year if each person took better care of themselves.

Peter J. Daniels once said: " I organize my my life in such a way as to not be a burden to others."

When we are happy and healthy we can act independently and not be a burden to others.

I believe that this is one of the most basic and fundamental principles that should govern our lives.

I also maintain that it is a social and economic responsibility to our individual countries to take good care of our health. There is literally billions of dollars that could be saved each year if each person took better care of themselves.

Peter J. Daniels once said: " I organize my my life in such a way as to not be a burden to others."

When we are happy and healthy we can act independently and not be a burden to others.

I believe that this is one of the most basic and fundamental principles that should govern our lives.
Here here!!!!

I'll drink (peppermint tea) to that!

http://www.poweressence.com/ourmission.html

Smile.

Seriously...smile.

A smile is non-intrusive and hardly ever inappropriate. And completely under your control.

And did you know a simple smile reduces pain, elevates your mood, rests your brain, and infuses you with energy and creativity? These findings are totally research based.

But the best news is that you get these same benefits even when you make yourself smile for no reason. Thats right - a "fake" smile becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. How's that for "fake it until you make it"?

I almost always make a point of smiling when I work out or do something that might be "unpleasant". Pretty soon I remember why it's fun to work out and the extra energy is always a bonus.

Truth is, I don't smile nearly as often as I could. Most of us don't and that's a real shame when we cheat ourselves out of such an easy, no-brainer health enhancer.

Go ahead and try it...smile right now...no one's looking!

Here's my experience with sticking to a schedule of exercise.

I decided to try to make it a habit that I would not be able to find a reason to break, except maybe the flu. I have tried joining the gym before and I would go in the evening but there were so many reasons not to go. Friends coming over, planning to go out for the evening, working late, etc, etc, etc. And I didn't have enough time in the morning to make it to the gym before work. However, I noticed that every morning I would get up about 15 minutes after the alarm went off. I would hit the snooze button twice every morning! That extra 15 minutes was a total waste of my time. I wasn't getting any rest and I was getting frustrated about the fact that I had to get up soon. I decided to turn this bad 15 minutes of frustration into a good 15 minutes of exercise. I started with only 10 sit-ups, 10 push-ups and 10 squats. How's that for an easy routine. After 20 days of doing something, it's now a habit. After it becomes a habit, you can add to the routine and it doesn't feel difficult at all. I started that about 3 months ago and I feel great. I'm now doing 75 sit-ups, 45 push-ups and 45 squats every day.

Many people start exercising and want to see results immediately so they choose a hard routine. You end up feelling the pain before it becomes a habit and many will quit very early in the game. Concentrate on making your exercise routine a habit before concentrating on the actual benefit of exercising.

Remember...any habit is hard to break!

hey David where is that quote from?

hey David where is that quote from?That was a quote from one of Peter J. Daniels books.

'You can find that, as well as many other brilliant quotes from Mr. Daniels at:

Peters J. Daniels online (http://www.peterdanielsonline.com)

Also this thread on successvibe contains some quotes http://www.successvibe.com/showthread.php?t=211

This thread also contains some great Daniels exerpts.http://www.successvibe.com/showthread.php?t=380

P.S. welcome to the board Mr. PUMP! :wave:

Don't forget to rest after you bust your chops at the gym fellas. Nothing's better than lifting weights and hitting some cardio, but nothing's worse than doing it 7 days per week. Rest and recuperation (R&R) are crucial for recovery, and will help you get a better PUMP the next time you do work out :) R&R has been the new focus of attention in bodybuilding lately because the controversy over how long it actually takes for a muscle to fully restore after you have worked out. Some say 48 hours, which can sometimes be true for smaller muscle groups such as biceps (the fastest recuperating muscle), but only under the following conditions:
1 - you exercise them regularly
2 - you don't do them back to back with other muscle groups in the week
3 - you maintain a proper diet
4 - you get enough rest (IE - sleep).

The problem with recovery is that there's not just muscle recovery, there's systemic recovery. The saying "Every day is a kidney day" goes well here. Doesn't matter if you alternate muscle groups, certain organs such as liver, pancreas, and kidneys (not to mention the heart!) will get stressed every time you exercise. So it's best to cut the weights down to 3-4 days per week if you're at the advanced level, and keep the cardio low-impact. This sounds like it's not enough but if you train correctly (IE with enough intensity and to positive failure) it will be plenty to keep your body busy with recovery for the next few days. Some advanced HIT (High intesity training) bodybuilders only train once every 7-8 days, which means they go 3-4 weeks before they come back to train the same muscle group. Now there's intensity.

The reason? Intensity is directly inverse to duration. IE - if you lift very very hard, you can only lift for a very very short period of time or your body breaks down. If you can lift weights for 2 hours, that means you're not tapping into your body's reserves nearly enough to prep it for optimal growth and progress. There are a number of books about R&R if you're interested let me know.

Pump,

Thanks for the tip about needing R&R in between workouts. I have a question for you. If your routine is very low impact and you are not trying to build muscle mass but instead just want to firm up and loose the beer gut, is it alright to work out 6-7 days per week.

Now that I have been working out everyday for over 3 months it has become a habit and I'm finding it very easy to keep up now. My #1 goals is to have 6 pack abs. I do various forms of sit-ups every single morning. Then the rest of my routine is an alternating upper body (push-ups and curls) and lower body (Squats) routine every other day. So far I am seeing good results but I have been stuck at 168lbs for about 2 weeks now. Prior to that I was loosing about 1 lb /week. I am 5'10" and my goal is 162lbs. :yippee:

This is what I should of done when I used to go to the gym as far as having a list of benefits. When I used to go to the gym, what made me go was the dramatic energy boost I got after excersizing. Plus, I liked seeing the results of me gaining muscle and lossing weight.

After I did not see any more results from going to the gym with changing up my routine, I ended up getting board with it, it was a drag to get myself to go to the gym every other day, therefor I stopped going.

Now I wish I was in it again. But because of financial purposes, I can't be in the gym till I get a better paying job. So, now I am trying to figure out exercises at home to do to keep off the weight. The thing is I bought an exercize ball and it is sitting in the corner with dust on it and have not been used at all.

I need that motivation back that I had when I first started going to the gym.


I keep the following list of benefits in my Franklin planner as a daily reminder as to why I discipline myself to exercise. This list is an observation of what happens to me when I exercise regularly.

What do you do to keep yourself motivated to exercise?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
The following is a list of descriptive benefits to exercise and do aerobics four times a week. This includes Pilates.

BENEFITS:

Sleep more soundly.
Your appetite is improved.
Regulates your metabolism.
Improved oxygen uptake.
Makes pain and stiffness in joints virtually disappear.
Your mental clarity improves 100%.
Your ability to handle stress is increased dramatically
Every organ in your body begins to function 100% better.
You have much better judgment.
Your vision is improve.
Recovery times are minimized.
Almost every thing that you do becomes a very easy task. Every thing!
You have a much better attitude.
You have unsurpassed flexibility.
You are a much happier person.
You have 100% more confidence.
You are physically able to do what the mind requires of your body.


You would rarely break a commitment to another person as easly as you would break a commitment made to yourself.

Keeping commitments to yourself are paramount to keeping commitments to others.

Don't cheat! there are consequences. Keep your personal commitments.