$Unique_ID{BRK01173} $Pretitle{} $Title{Fitness Help for Confirmed Couch Potatoes} $Subject{exercise motivation program athletics physical fitness abandon activity equipment walking roller skating swimming behavior behaviors lifestyle lifestyles activities exercises exercising programs athletic} $Volume{Q-23} $Log{} Copyright (c) 1991-92,1993 Tribune Media Services, Inc. Fitness Help for Confirmed Couch Potatoes ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ QUESTION: I have never been one with a zest for athletics or exercise, but with all the articles about the benefits to be gained from a measure of physical fitness, I have tried to get into it. Although I have purchased a home exercise machine, and brought all the accepted clothes, I find that, for a third time, my best intentions have led me nowhere. I want to get this thing going, and will try one last time. I hope you may have some advice to help me make this time a success story. How about it? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ANSWER: If ever I could relate to the problems presented by a reader in a question, this is certainly true of your example. Actually, I think there are more of us than those muscular specimens, or the dedicated marathoners who can overcome the obstacles, and achieve a level of fitness we can only dream about. But there is help for those who are confirmed couch potatoes, and there is a richness of rewards to be gathered if we can get a few things in order and develop a plan that has merit. In your case the first step is to reflect back over the past failures, and attempt to discover what went wrong. Then make a determined effort to change those elements that caused you to abandon your activity so they won't interfere this time around. Apparently your equipment wasn't much fun, so this time chose an activity that you can enjoy. Walking, roller skating and swimming can often accomplish just as much as a workout on an expensive apparatus, and may be easier for you to complete. It is essential that you choose a time for exercise that has no or few conflicts with other schedules. That will eliminate the excuse that "there just isn't time to exercise today". If you can work out with a partner or group, the chances are you will stick with it this time. Having an "accomplice" makes the time pass more rapidly and more pleasantly for someone who does not derive joy from the mere physical aspects of an exercise program. The last word of advice is to set reasonable goals for your activities, and allow enough time, say twenty weeks, for some of the results to show. Once you note the new spring in your step, the ease with which you accomplish physical tasks, and the general sensation of well being that exercise can provide, it will be more difficult for you to abandon your successful endeavor. ---------------- The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace the counsel and advice of your personal physician. Promptly consulting your doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical problem.