8/2/2019 Week 19 Health

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Question: I'vebeen trying to exer-cise regularly to losea few pounds. After three or four work-outs, I'll take a night off to run errands or see a movie. But onenight off turns intoweeks off. Any sug-estions to help me

stick with an exer-cise plan? 

Answer: Exerciseshouldn't be some-thing you do only

when you want todrop a dress size orprepare for the char-ity 10-kilometer run.To be successful, itshould be somethingyou do as routinelyas eating, sleepingand taking yourmorning shower.That, as you alreadyknow, can be diffi-cult. The followinghealth facts and exer-

cise strategies mayhelp you stay oncourse when yourmotivation starts to

wane.The value of main-

taining an exerciseprogram became evi-dent in 1978 whenthe results of theHarvard AlumniStudy were pub-lished. Men who ex-ercised enough to

 burn at least 2,000calories a week were39 percent less likelyto suffer heart at-tacks than theirsedentary counter-

parts.A follow-up studyconducted 15 yearslater proved thatmen could reap the

 benefits of exerciseeven if they weren'tactive in theiryounger years. Pre-viously sedentarymen who didn't ex-ercise until after age45 enjoyed a 23 per-cent lower rate of 

death than class-mates who remainedinactive.

Exercise has also been shown to re-duce the risk of high

 blood pressure,stroke, diabetes, obe-sity, depression, os-teoporosis and coloncancer in both menand women. Withregular exercise,women gain extraprotection against

 breast cancer, whilemen lower theirchance of develop-ing erectile dysfunc-tion. Best of all, youdon't have to hit thegym or run for milesto get these benefits.

 Just 30 minutes of  brisk walking a daywill get you there,even if you break itinto 10-minutechunks.

Knowing the ben-efits of lifelong exer-cise and creating a

personal exerciseplan will be of littleuse if you don't stick to it. So choose activ-ities you enjoy thatsuit your lifestyle,time constraints,

 budget and physicalcondition.

Next, prepareyourself for the chal-lenges that awaityou so you won't bethrown off track. Are

time constraints a

 big problem? Make adetailed schedule of your week and work in blocks of exercise.Can you get up half an hour earlier formorning walks?Would this meangoing to bed earlier?

Be realistic. Don'tschedule exerciseafter dinner if that'swhen you have tohelp your childrenwith their home-work. Try to add bits

of activity and recre-ational exercise toother activities -- anextra lap around themall when you'reshopping, for exam-ple. After the firstweek, adjust yourschedule as needed.

Don't expect dra-matic changesovernight -- that's arecipe for frustrationand failure. Instead,

set a long-term goal,such as walking for30 minutes at leastfive days a week,and break it intomonthly targets.During the firstmonth, focus onwalking three days aweek for at least 10minutes or longereach time. Duringthe second month,

walk four days aweek. Add anotherday in the thirdmonth. Then, everytwo weeks, extendeach walking session

 by five minutes untilyou reach your goal.

Once you've setyour goal, measureyour performance.Record the numberof minutes you walk each day in a daily

planner, or make asimple chart that youcan post on the re-frigerator. Eitherway, keep a writtenrecord of what youhave accomplishedand celebrate whenyou meet an exercise

goal, even a short-term one. It reflectsyour commitment toimproving yourhealth. Pat yourself on the back in ameaningful way,such as buying anew CD to listen towhile you walk.

Everyone some-times goes astray. Al-most anything canknock you off track:a cold, a trip or astretch of bad

weather. If you slipout of your routine,start back graduallyto give your bodytime to reach its pre-vious fitness level.

Getting yourself  back in an exerciseframe of mind may

 be a bigger chal-lenge. Instead of feel-ing guilty anddefeated, focus onthe benefits of exer-

cise. Once you re-sume your program,you'll be amazed athow quickly it will

 begin to feel natural.Here are a few tricksyou might try torekindle your moti-vation:

• Think about theaspects of exerciseyou enjoy most.

• Exercise with a

friend.• If your exerciseroutine feels over-whelming, mentallydivide it into smallerchunks. Give your-self the option of stopping at the endof each one, but tryto encourage your-self to move on tothe next one insteadof quitting.

• Rather than

focus on why youdon't want to exer-cise, concentrate onhow good you willfeel when you're fin-ished.

Remember, yourgood health is worththe effort.

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Keep pace with your exercise regimenBy the faculty of Harvard Medical School

Copyright 2008 the President and Fellows of HarvardCollege. Developed by Harvard Health Publications(www.health.harvard.edu).

Distributed by UFS. Submit questions to har-vard_adviser@hms. harvard.edu.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012 • Chronicle-Express.com • The Chronicle-ExpressB4