Exercise can be one of the most challenging lifestyle habits to adhere to. Here are some tips and information to help:
Exercise is best when it's fun, naturally making it easier to adhere to. Do what you enjoy. Train with others where you can. The social aspect adds to adherence due to accountability, healthy pressure and spending time with others.
Be disciplined and consistent. Consistency is vital to progress. Most rely on willpower to stay disciplined. Willpower isn't trustworthy and takes much effort. Give yourself a mental and physical break to strengthen discipline and motivation.
Train like an athlete. They have dedicated rest days and light weeks. Train for three weeks, and on the 4th week, have a light/rest week. Say you normally train 4x a week. In the 4th-week train x1/x2. This provides the mental and physical break needed.
Exercise positively stresses the body. The magic happens when you rest. This is when physiological adaptation occurs, and you become fitter. Rest! It is a harsh lesson for committed people to learn, and it's necessary to avoid burnout.
Be patient. Fitness gains don't happen overnight. Think of each session as a 1% improvement. As an athlete, I used to say, "it's money 💵 in the bank" you then check the account at the end of the year.
Exercise is the number one thing you can do to slow the ageing process. It's anti-ageing. Why's that important? With age comes an increased susceptibility to illness and disease.
It doesn't have to be arduous. You don't have to be hot, sweaty, lying on your back and struggling to breathe. Think of exercise as movement. Move the body.
A range of forms is best. Don't stick to one form only. It can cause other fitness issues. Mix it up - the three keys to everyday life: resistance training, cardio and mobility.
Sarcopenia is the gradual loss of muscle as we age. We lose 10% every decade past the age of 40 or 1% a year. That soon adds up. It's an advantage to be fit now if you want to be a fit 80-year-old. Resistance training is essential to muscle strength and growth.
It has been shown that the earlier you start, the better. But starting at any age is best. If you exercise consistently, you adapt your physiology. Science shows that even if you took a long break and then started training again, due to 'muscle memory', you regain fitness quicker than someone without a training history.
It was once thought that you were born with a set of genes that weren't modifiable. Epigenetics is a field of science which has shown you can switch genes on and off dependent on your lifestyle. These modifications have health benefits and can be genetically passed down to children.
Need more time to exercise? A recent study has shown that exercising for as little as 6 minutes has significant benefits https://www.physoc.org/news_article/six-minutes-of-high-intensity-exercise-could-delay-the-onset-of-alzheimers-disease/
If you don't like the cold weather, train indoors, even at home. If it's necessary to train outside and that affects your motivation, then wrap up. As A. Wainwright, the famous fell walker and author, said, "there is no bad weather, just unsuitable clothing"...
Exercise is a lifestyle. Therefore you have plenty of time to make fitness gains, which add longevity to your life. Your goals may change, meaning you change how you exercise, yet exercise/movement is a lifestyle habit.