From the article:

“Fitness means the ability of the body to tolerate stress in all its forms – Like – A hard day in office. Fighting an infection with a germ invading the body. A skid on the road. Each and every stress to the body, be it small or big needs expenditure of energy and involvement of all the body’s defenses. More oxygen has to be delivered at the muscles, more waste products have to be carried away. All these place extra demand on the circulatory system and strain the capacity of heart. How our body faces any stressful condition depends on our baseline of Fitness. For some of us, even leisure can be stressful. Exercise helps us in keeping fit. It helps in toning up the body for many eventualities. “

I think it’s so important that we see the effects of regular exercise on our lives in the light of the above ideals.  It’s a powerful image when we realize that without pushing ourselves physically, we are in effect, becoming less prepared to deal with the struggles and stresses of the future.  By not maintaining a high level of ‘intentional bodily stress’, we are most certainly setting ourselves up for unnecessary defeats in our pursuits of goals and dreams.  We have enough fighting against us already, so why add to the weight that already presides on our shoulders?

Our daily flu shot.

This idea of forced fatigue goes quite nicely with the analogy of a flu shot.  The point of this viral vaccination is to give the recipient a small dose of the disease.  This amount is not enough to overpower our immune systems, but is just right for providing strength and intelligence to our bodies ability to fend off future fronts.  So when we regularly stress our systems with exercise, we are just raising the bar for our natural defenses.  And just like a flu shot will ware off over time, so too do we need to maintain this healthy habit.

How Do You Deliver Your Dose?

As important as it is to push our bodies, we also need to find ways of doing so that entice us to continue with cooperation.  Without an enjoyment of the endeavor, we will most surely succumb to a future of fitness failure.

I’ll start…

I love the outdoors!  Fresh air and sunlight make my heart sing.  A cool breeze on an autumn afternoon is like strands of silk soaking my every syllable of movement.  Let’s just say I’m not big on Gyms.

My preference for fitness is biking of any kind.  Whether through the mountains of the Blue Ridge or on the roads to who knows where, I passionately enjoy pedaling my way to a healthier me.

When I can’t bike, though, it’s running all the way.  Sometimes it’s just too cold or wet to comfortably ride the roads.  So you could say that running for me is just my exercise plan B.

Other physical activities that I thoroughly enjoy are:

• Hiking along mountain trails (or any dirt/gravel path that offers a nice view).
• Going on long walks with my wife.
• Running around the park with my dogs.
• Playing a pickup game of basketball (my jump shot has about as much accuracy as a drunk marksman, but I enjoy the game just he same).
• Intense yard/house work (during our yearly ‘get rid of crap’ simplifying expedition, I find myself quite worn out by the end of the day).

So what about you?  What do you do to get your blood flowing?

To do this I want to share a ‘list’ format that I used in my guest post on The Change Blog called ‘The Strongest Desire Always Wins‘.  In the context of the post I was talking about how I’ve leaned to cut down on sweets.  The idea behind it was that in order to go against a strong desire, you have to replace it with a stronger one.  I then shared a kind of list that went through my thought process as I decided against eating the sweets.  Here’s the original list:

1. Eat sweets.
2. Feel good and have a lot of energy.
3. Feel tired and sometimes anxious.
4. Loose all motivation to do anything worthwhile.
5. Feel like CRAP!
6. Try to eat something healthy to bring my blood sugar back to a healthy level.
7. Feel a little better and say “I won’t do that again”.
8. Eat sweets…

As you can see, I became aware of the unhealthy cycle that was keeping me from the level of health I wanted to maintain.  And by seeing the whole process from beginning to end, I was able to foresee the negative affects and therefore had a stronger desire to NOT eat the sweets to begin with.  In other words, I was able to see step #5 before I even did step #1.  I stopped letting the initial craving blind me from the end results.

Following this post, Bonnie, a reader of “Motivate Thyself”, added her own list using the same format, but concerning procrastination:

1. Procrastinate.
2. Feel good doing what I feel like doing.
3. Feel depressed and anxious about what needs to be done.
4. Lose all motivation to do anything worthwhile.
5. Feel like CRAP!
6. Try to reorganize to bring goals to forefront.
7. Feel a little better and say “I won’t do that again”.
8. Procrastinate…

After reading her version I was inspired by the flexibility of this list idea and decided to make a ‘list’ about the act of NOT exercising:

1. Decide NOT to exercise.
2. Feel good doing what I feel like doing.
3. Feel tired and kind of lazy for not exercising.
4. Lose all motivation to do anything worthwhile.
5. Feel like CRAP!
6. Try to get off my Butt and maybe go for a walk.
7. Feel a little better and say “I won’t do that again”.
8. Decide NOT to exercise…

The point is that we need to convince ourselves that we will be happier and all around better off if we exercise.  We need to create a stronger desire TO exercise than the one we have pulling us away from this healthy activity.  By going through the cycle of NOT exercising before you actually come to the fork in the road (“Do I exercise or do I NOT exercise?”), you will be better prepared to make the right decision.

Feel free to create your OWN list and share it with us.

If this list isn’t quite your thought process or you have an idea for one that would cover a different area/habit, please share it with us so we can all benefit from it.  Bonnie’s version has been quite helpful for me when I struggle with procrastination and I’d love to see what you guys can come up with.

For week2 of Motivate2ACTION! (Exercise) we have a special guest.  He is currently training for a marathon so this subject is particularly fresh on his mind.  So let me hand this over to him as he shares some of his own insight into the great challenges of exercise motivation.

This is a guest post from Leo Babauta of Zen Habits.

My life right now is focused on training for the Honolulu Marathon on Dec. 14, and while my training has been more intense than ever before, I am having a ton of fun.

Yesterday morning I woke up at 2 a.m. to start running at 3 a.m., so that I could complete a 20-mile long run before the brutal Guam sun got too high in the sky. That in itself was quite an accomplishment — and while I’ve come a long way as a runner and fitness enthusiast, it was just a few short years ago that I couldn’t run half a mile.

The Leo Babauta of three years ago would never have believed he could do a 20-mile training run, much less be training to complete his third marathon. Life was too busy, with two jobs and six kids, and such discipline seemed beyond me at the time.

But today, I exercise almost every day of the week (I force myself to rest once a week), and what’s more, I can’t imagine ever doing otherwise. I love it too much. I know that’s not the case with everyone, so I’d like to share some tips that have helped me to motivate myself to exercise:

1. Start small. As I said, I started by trying to run half a mile. That was hard enough for me. If you start out too ambitious (and believe me, I’ve tried it many times), you’ll likely fail. But if you start small and only increase gradually, you can do it. Baby steps.  Start out REALLY easy.

2. Focus on one goal. If you are trying to quit smoking, eat healthy, start running, begin lifting weights, get organized, and so on, all at the same time, you will spread your energies out too much. Trust me –

I’ve done this over and over again. Instead, pick one goal, and focus on that for at least a month. If you want to start running, or walking, or whatever, do just that. The other stuff can come later. And if you do one goal at a time, you’ll be amazed at how many goals you can tackle this way. I tackled all of the goals listed above, and many more, in the last few years with this method.

3. Enjoy yourself. If exercise is a huge pain, you won’t be able to do it for very long. No matter how disciplined you try to be. Instead, have fun. Set little challenges for yourself. Listen to great music.

Have great conversation with a friend. Play games. Have competitions. Join a race. Exercise doesn’t have to be a chore — it can be a blast!

4. Get a partner. While it can be tough to have a partner for every workout, it can be a great motivator to have someone to talk to while you run or do some other workout. And on those days when you would

have skipped the workout by yourself, you’ll make sure to make an appointment if you have a partner to meet.

5. Just start. I like to tell myself that all I have to do is lace up my shoes and get out the door. That’s all. And that isn’t very hard. Once I’ve done that, the rest is easy. But if you let yourself get stalled before you get started, it seems too difficult. Just get out the door.

6. Celebrate your progress. If you keep a log, you can see your progress over time. You have to be patient, because progress doesn’t always come quickly, but if you look back over several weeks or

months, you can see how far you’ve come. And that can be an amazing feeling. Celebrate! Congratulate yourself. Appreciate how wonderful this is.

7. Mix it up. Don’t always do the same thing all the time. Try new workouts you find in magazines or blogs. Try a training plan with a variety of workouts. Set new challenges. Try a new route. Vary your

pace and distance. Do intervals. Do hills. Whatever it takes to shake things up and make things interesting. Boredom is the enemy of motivation.

Above all, have fun out there. A good workout can be a world of joy.

For more from Leo Babauta, check out his blog, Zen Habits

Sponsor Leo and support a great cause!

As you may already know, Leo is working with Train for Humanity to help in “Raising funds for orphans & refugees who have been affected by genocide and civil war.”

Right now he is training for the Honolulu Marathon for his ‘Train for Humanity’ event.  You can support him and this great cause by going to his Sponsor Page and making a donation.  You can also help out by spreading the word and encouraging others to do the same.

Now I want to encourage you to apply some of these great tips as you strive for better health by finding an exercise routine (or not so routine) that works for you.  This week, test out some new ideas and be ready to share the results with us in ‘M2A! Week3′. I look forward to hearing all about it!

If you found this post to be helpful in your exercise pursuits and/or you think others may be able to benefit from Leo’s personal insight, please don’t hesitate to share it using your favorite social media.

This month I am very excited because the theme is ‘Exercise’! I’ve been regularly exercising for the last decade or so.  If you read my ‘About Me‘ page you’ll see how I used to live an unhealthy lifestyle.  This turned out to be a real blessing because it pushed me to do a complete 180.  Now, good health is one of my highest priorities and exercise plays a big part in accomplishing this goal.

I’m not going to teach you what you already know

I don’t think there’s anyone alive that doesn’t know that exercise is a key to good health and well being.  I’m not going to beat a dead horse and go through all the science behind its positive effects.  So the simple comment to make is, “Exercise!  It’s good for you.”

But does this help us get motivated to actually do it?  Of course not.  Most of the things in life that we do on a consistent basis have been proven to be necessary/desirable through experience.  You can scientifically prove the benefits of exercise to a person, but it’s not until they actually ‘feel’ the benefits that they will change their habits.

This month I want us to focus on finding ways to PROVE to our bodies and our minds that regular exercise is what we WANT to do. Not what we need to do, what we WANT to do. It is not enough to know it is good, we need to be convinced that our lives will be better because of it.

The Question?

So at this point it really doesn’t matter if or how much you exercise.  What matters is how you see exercise.  How does the thought of a ‘workout’ make you feel?  Are you convinced that you are actually better off when you exercise?  Have you ever experienced the positive benefits of a consistent exercise routine?

It’s our perception of this healthy activity that makes or breaks our ability to perform it on a regular basis.  So this week it is your asignment to come to terms with how you REALLY feel about this thing that we ‘should’ do.  It is my hope that throughout this month we will be able to paint a positive picture of this wonderful privilege that we often take for granted, as we become more convinced that we really WANT to do it.

For all those who don’t struggle to exercise regularly

I know there are many of you out there who don’t struggle to exercise on a regular basis.  You probably look forward to that time of the day/week when you can get out and get your heart pumping.  We need you involved in this as much as anybody else.

• How do you do it?
• What are the things that work for you?
• At what point in your life did you really start getting fit and what changes occurred that drove you to this decision?