We all have good intentions when it comes to fitness and exercising. Almost all New Years resolutions include plans to exercise more and become more health conscious. It makes me giggle when I see how full the gym is during the months of January and February and how empty it is by October.

We are all guilty of this though. If starting to exercise and sticking to it were easy, we all would be doing it. We like the idea of being healthy and exercising but actually doing it is totally different.

Take me for example. I recently had a baby and I’m struggling with this first hand. Before she was born, I had my fitness strategy planned out and ready to implement after 6 weeks. But then came the sleepless nights and the housework, my other kids. I laugh at myself thinking I’d be running 5 kilometres pushing my baby in her pram.

Even though I am far away from my original fitness goal, that doesn’t mean I should just give up and hope my body miraculously returns to its former shape.

So what do you do when you don’t feel like exercising?

  1. Start small – I try to meet my friend once or twice a week to take a walk along the beach. I don’t beat myself up if I can’t manage to get there but I always enjoy it when I get it right. It’s not an all or nothing thing. A little bit of exercise is much better than none at all.
  2. Find something you enjoy – I do not like gyms. They look like colourful torture chambers to me! I have never been the gyming type and that’s ok. I prefer walking, jogging, bicycling outside. Find what you enjoy and use that to exercise.
  3. There are no quick fixes – Reaching our health and fitness goals takes time. We should take a life-long approach to exercising and not look for quick fixes. Instead of focusing on how much weight you want to lose, rather focus on being healthier. Let your goal be a consistent, active exercise routine instead of a number on a scale. If you do that, you will be surprised that you can achieve your weight goals without fixating on them.

As a friend of mine said, “Desire will get you started but discipline will get you to your goal.”

Happy exercising!

Being physically healthy is important but being spiritually healthy is even more so. To find out more about a relationship with God, click on the pop up or banner below.