Experts Give Tips On Staying Motivated For Fitness Programs

Jet, March 20, 2000

Knowing how to stick to a fitness plan can be a real challenge.

Everyone starts off with good intentions. They make a New Year's resolution to get in shape. They join a health club or buy an exercise bike or treadmill to use at home.

But then the hard part creeps in--staying motivated.

"It's the most difficult thing in the world," said noted personal trainer Guy Bognanno in The Patriot Ledger newspaper.

"That's the biggest problem in the fitness industry: to keep a person going for a long enough time that they can actually see the results," he said.

Bognanno and other fitness experts suggest that the first thing one should do is to set small, realistic goals--that you can reach.

"Try and stay away from real broad-based goals like losing weight and getting more fit," Phil Chambers, manager of Fitcorp in Quincy, MA, told the newspaper.

Other experts note that instead of promising yourself you will lose 50 pounds, you should set smaller goals, like losing five pounds at a time.

You should also be honest with yourself. Are you really a health club person? Or would you prefer working out in your home?

The key to good exercise and staying motivated, the experts stress, is finding exercise you like to do.

If you like to dance, try dance aerobics at home. Or buy an exercise bike. You can exercise and watch the morning news at the same time.

Walking is an excellent exercise regimen, that is generally not that strenuous, experts point out.

Another way to stay motivated is to get a buddy to work out with you. "When you have two people being buddies and one doesn't feel like going, the other drags them, they are usually thankful for it," said Brian Wessner, a clinical exercise director in Hanover, MA, in the Patriot Ledger.

If you decide to join a health club, make sure that it is not too far away from your job or home. Experts say if the health club is more than a 10 minute walk or drive you probably won't use it that often.

Also, don't get down on yourself during hectic times, just get back to healthful habits, experts urge. Many times when a person doesn't adhere to his schedule for one day, he'll write off an entire week. Don't do this. Just start where you left off, experts advise.

The bottom line, all of the experts note, is to find a program that you enjoy. Don't worry about the program that someone else is working on. You might not like it. And if you don't like what you are doing, chances are you will quit, the expert say. To stay motivated, you have to make your fitness program fun--something you look forward to doing regularly.