Starting Your Exercise Program
Your exercise must be something you enjoy and the first week of an exercise program is pivotal in determining whether you’ll stick to it or drop out. When you drop your resolution it also has psychological consequences where you can beat yourself up, feel guilty and slide into old patterns. Let’s find ways to make your first week succeed.
First of all, don’t be too hard on yourself. You can use your first week as a way to break in slowly to the exercise routine you’ll be doing more rigorously in future weeks.
If you’ve been inactive before this, expect to get a voice in your head telling you to quit shortly after you begin! It can say things like, "Stop kidding yourself, you’re a couch potato. You won’t ever get change." Your old self will object to changes, so just let it babble but don’t let it dictate to you your goals, schedule and future.
Remember that you’ll be a little sore after twenty four hours. Don’t let that set you back. It should make you feel good actually seeing that your muscles are responding and you began toning already. Exercise experts say that once you get past the first two weeks you’ve established a new pattern and are well on your way now.
Of course trying to watch your food intake is also critical. Don’t beat yourself up about dieting at this point but try to drink water a couple of times each day instead of the snack you were about to grab.
Your first week’s workout can be thirty to forty minutes long to let your body become acclimated. During the first week your mindset is very helpful in establishing your determination and discipline . You want to enjoy it. It’s okay to feel bored or frustrated at certain points so expect that. Look at how you felt after you finished your workout. Do you feel any difference physically in terms of your energy level, sense of accomplishment or purpose? Write this down and keep a diary so you can keep your eye on your progress. Remember that your attitude is what will keep you going.
Yogi Bhajan says, "Keep up and you’ll be kept up". The first week is the time to work on your consistency, but don’t beat yourself up if it isn’t perfect.