We’re creatures of habit. Chances are that you have a daily schedule that is within minutes of being the same every single day. The same wake-up time, meals, relaxation, computer, even sitting in the same place to do it all. Well now you need to add another scheduled time. Schedule a specific time to walk every day. Morning, noon, after dinner, whatever will work for you. Morning is most likely the best because you can adjust your existing schedule for it easier. You also will be less likely to skip it because you are tired, too busy, or just lazy.
Start by walking the neighborhood route I suggested yesterday. Walk that same route every day at the same time, every day for a week. Then alternate with another route for a week. Then the magic happens. Studies show that doing something for 14 days will imprint the action on your brain. You will then do it as your routine and actually miss it if you change it. You will also begin to get a lot of satisfaction out of your dedicated success.
Beginning today, start every day on the right foot.
TODAY: SCHEDULE YOUR WALKING TIME AND WALK THE NEIGHBORHOOD
Changing up your exercise routine is the best way to prevent a weight loss plateau. You ought to change it every 4 to 6 weeks. It will also reduce your boredom and keep you going. Since the weather is changing too, it will give you more opportunities. So decide on new exercises, a new route to walk, new places to go and a new attitude. Just get out there!
TODAY: PICK A NEW EXERCISE ROUTINE FOR THE NEXT FEW WEEKS.
As we head into the last days of “Standard” time I want you to start “spring ahead” with your walking. It only takes a couple of minutes at a time to start having it add up to a goal of about 30 minutes a day. It doesn’t have to all happen at once. It all adds up and increases your endurance so you will eventually have no trouble walking more. Chances are you will WANT to walk more. You’ll feel better, have more endurance, more energy and sleep better. Just like they used to say that every minute of smoking was subtracting your life span, walking will add to it.
TODAY: PUT SOME SPRING IN YOUR STEP. GET OUT AND WALK!
Since I’m urging you to get out and walk this week, I figured I’d give you a walking joke to make you smile a bit while you’re doing it.
A blonde goes out for a walk. She got down to the river and cannot see a bridge anywhere to get across. She sees another blonde on the other side of the river and yells over to her “How can I get to the other side?” The other blonde looks up and down the river then shouts back, “You’re already on the other side!”
TODAY: TAKE A WALK DOWN BY THE RIVER AND HELP THE FIRST BLONDE YOU SEE.
We’re through that “in like a lion” part of March. So, now we can make use of the improving weather and start doing some marching of our own. I know I nag about this. But hey… it’s my job.
The shocking truth is that less than half of us do enough exercise to get any health or fitness benefits from it. So walking is maybe the easiest and best place to start. I know, I know, you’ve heard this before. Well… you’ll hear it again. Each day in the coming week I’ll talk about our march to better health.
TODAY: CHECK YOUR CLOSET FOR WALKING SHOES. I’M SURE YOU HAVE A PAIR YOU CAN DUST OFF.
It’s cold so it sems that we may be able to burn more calories just by keeping warm. Because youre body has to work to stay warm it’s putting in more effort and burning more calories. As long as you refrain from those hearty carb laden comfort foods you can use it to your advantage. You can take it one step further it seems with cold drinks as well. I found a statistical analysis of the calories it takes to melt an ounce of ice. It seems that it’s the same amount as forty push-ups. For a cup of ice that’s 347 push-ups! Of course you could do the push-ups and then cool off with the ice.
TODAY: DO SOME PUSH-UPS. WELL… AT LEAST TRY TO!
If you can do a good thirty minute walk you can get more exercise value out of it by adding some different speed to your routine. Walk in intervals of slow and fast and push yourself a bit. Speed walking has as much aerobic value as jogging, and is a lot easier on your joints. Here’s how.
- Walk at your usual pace for three minutes.
- Increase the speed for one minute.
- Go back to your normal speed for three minutes.
- Repeat this till you hit your 30 minutes.
As you get more fit increase the fast time and decrease the slow. Of course ask your doctor about pushing yourself to a faster pace. I think you’ll find that your doctor is pleased with your efforts. They don’t hear that a lot.
TODAY: TRY AT LEAST ONE FASTER INTERVAL OF WALKING.
We’re creatures of habit. Chances are that you have a daily schedule that is within minutes of being the same every single day. The same wake-up time, meals, relaxation, computer, even sitting in the same place to do it all. Well now you need to add another scheduled time. Schedule a specific time to walk every day. Morning, noon, after dinner, whatever will work for you. Morning is most likely the best because you can adjust your existing schedule for it easier. You also will be less likely to skip it because you are tired, too busy, or just lazy.
Daily Nag, Exercise | Diet Nag | 
June 30, 2010 6:35 am | 
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