How to Start Exercising

Assess where you are right now. Keep a 3-day log of all your activity, noting 30-minute blocks (or 10-minute blocks, if you are on the go all the time). Include 2 typical work days and 1 day “off” in your diary so you can see how your activity changes on non-work days. Then add up how much time is spent on moderate activity.

Is it 30 minutes a day or less? If so, then you’re going to work up to the workout by walking. Walk as much as you can comfortably, and then work toward increasing this a little bit every day. Start to incorporate other moderate activities into your day, and keep increasing the blocks daily until you come up to the recommended aerobic activity guidelines.

Don’t overdo it. It’s tempting to be overzealous at the beginning of a plan, when you’re high energy and highly motivated, but it can actually be quite destructive. The more exercise you get in, the better you will start to feel. But if you push yourself too hard too soon, you run the risk of injury or backsliding.

Need help motivating? Here are some tips:

• Get an exercise partner. Make your workouts dependent on each other; one suggestion I’ve heard is to swap shoes at the end of the workout, so that each of you has to show up the next time. Just make sure it happens!
• Tap into some of the great new exercise plans that can be downloaded to your digital player.
• Join a gym and take a class. Try a yoga, tai chi, or ballroom-dancing class and see what you like—you won’t know until you try.
• Exercise on vacations, or as part of a vacation. Plan vacation around beach football, skiing, cycling or hiking. Just because it’s fun doesn’t mean it’s not good for you!
• Start to work on projects in and around the house that include lifting and moderately vigorous activities. Your housemates and neighbors may thank you for your efforts.
• Walk the dog more—you know Fido won’t mind!
• Take your kid—or borrow one—and go play on the playground. Keeping up with an active 4-year-old can be a real eye-opener, and playground equipment is perfect for strength training; it's a great place to do chin ups.
• Put up a badminton net or some soccer goalposts in the backyard and challenge your kids and neighbors.

Soon you’ll find that exercise is really essential time for your brain to relax while you are doing something with your body. Rollerblading around an empty parking lot, lap swimming, or jogging on a track can be just as good as meditating.

Most importantly, have fun being active. It is part of living abundantly, and one of those things that can take on a life of its own once you find out what you like to do.