OK, you’ve decided to get in shape. Congratulations. However, if you are like most people, your enthusiasm for doing something that is uncomfortable, and leaves you feeling stiff and sore, will wane quickly. But, if you are reading this -- especially if you are a subscriber to AthleteInMe.com®, it is highly likely you already possess the motivation and determination needed to reach your goals. Nevertheless, here are some tips for staying motivated.

FOR GENERAL HEALTH BENEFITS, INTEGRATE EXERCISE INTO YOUR LIFESTYLE

Research shows that the risk of a cardiovascular event increases as blood pressure rises above 115/85. But a simple brisk walk 30-minutes per day, 5-7 days per week, can lower high blood pressure. So, it doesn't take much exercise to achieve health benefits.

Like saving loose change, small amounts of exercise throughout the day add up. No, you won’t "get in shape" by doing this, but being more active will lower your risk of cardiovascular disease and may help you lose a little weight.  Here are some suggestions for integrating moderate exercise into your lifestyle:

• Park at the far end of the parking lot

• Take the stairs

• Walk or bike to the store whenever possible

• Carry your bags of groceries to your car instead of using the cart

• Convert the task of walking the dog into your daily run and take the dog with you

• Mow your lawn with a push-mower

• Vacuuming, raking, and sweeping count as exercise

• Buy some simple exercise aids (jump rope, exercise bands, exercise watch, running shoes, etc.) and carry them with you when you travel

• Surround yourself with other people who exercise regularly; develop social circles based on exercise (walking in the mornings, bike trips on weekends, tennis leagues, etc.)

• Stick with your lifestyle change long enough until it becomes a habit!

FITNESS: THE NEXT LEVEL

Walking and general house chores will reduce your risk of cardiovascular events and help to build bone strength, but won't do much to improve your fitness. To do that, you need to increase the intensity. For many out-of-shape people, this is where it gets hard. So, if this is you, here are some suggestions:

FIND A PARTNER

If you arrange to meet someone at a specific time and place, you will be more likely to stick to your exercise routine. It helps if you and your exercise partner have similar interests and comparable fitness levels. It won’t be much fun if your partner is way ahead of you while running or biking, or if he blasts winners by you on the tennis court.

FIND THE TIME

Don’t hide behind the excuse that you don’t have time to exercise....adjust your attitude and make exercise a priority in your daily routine. Think about this: you may not have time to lie around in the coronary care unit either but if you have a heart attack, you won’t have any choice on that one. Instead of ignoring your health, take a critical look at how you spend your time. Be honest, do you really need to watch that TV program? If so, you can still save time by recording it and then fast-forwarding through the commercials when you watch it. You might even find that the program wasn’t that important to you and not watch it at all. Take a serious look at how you spend your time every day; chances are, there is something you can eliminate that will free-up the 45-60 minutes you need.

But, don’t cheat on your sleep time when adding exercise into your daily routine. Remember, each day really begins with a good night’s rest. Not many people can sustain a schedule of getting up at 5AM to go for a run before work. If you do decide to do this, make sure you go to bed earlier.

REGISTER FOR AN EVENT

I find that registering for a race or an event motivates me to exercise more regularly. Otherwise, I slip into an attitude of procrastination. Here are some suggestions:

• Biking/Running/Triathlon Events:  Check your local newspaper, the web site of the nearest big city, or go to www.Active.com for events in your area. Competing in these events generally doesn’t cost that much, and you get a free T-shirt.

• Tennis Tournaments:  Tennis leagues exist in every city and nearly every tennis club and public park. For most, you can just sign-up; for others, you may need to have a pro give you a USTA ranking. Generally, this only requires you to hit with him/her for a few minutes.

• Track & Field Meets:  Did you know that there is a diverse schedule of well-organized track meets around the country that you can compete in? Check out the web site www.MastersTrack.com to find a meet in your area.

• Walking:  Walking is one of the best forms of exercise for most people. Look in the paper for fund-raiser walk-a-thons or for organized group walks.

FIND AN ACTIVITY OR SPORT THAT YOU REALLY LIKE

A major factor in keeping yourself motivated to exercise is finding something that you really like to do.  "Behavioral activation" (BA), a new form of cognitive behavioral therapy, is based on the principle that an active lifestyle promotes more robust mental as well as physical health.

"We are realizing that people are far more likely to stay with an activity if it matches their personality," says David Veale, a psychiatrist in London in his new book, Manage Your Mood (Robinson), a consumer handbook on BA. Veale's exercise guru is Jim Gavin, Professor of Applied Human Sciences at Concordia University in Montreal and a pioneer of lifestyle fitness coaching.

"Finding our perfect personal fitness pursuit will not only help people with health and fitness, it will also help us to grow personally,"  Gavin says. Many of his clients "transform their lives by finding a fitness pursuit they love and therefore stick with".

The key to loving exercise, it seems, is to know your own personality traits.  Is your strongest trait sociability, spontaneity, aggression or competitiveness? Are you internally or externally motivated, focused or unfocused, risk-seeking or risk-avoiding?  These factors, according to Gavin, most affect our ability to persist in exercise.

For example, according to Gavin: "If you like to socialize, go for tennis rather than weight training. If you're shy, you're more likely to be successful with yoga than racquet sports."

Listed below are the major personality traits.  See which of them describe you the best:

Sociable or Unsociable?

• Sociable:  You'd rather watch a movie with friends than sit at home and watch one alone. Activities such as golf and racquet sports like tennis are likely to appeal to you. Pick an exercise class such as aerobics, spinning or step if you also need an external motivation. If your chosen sport is not a team one, add a social component, suggests David Veale: "Choose places and times to exercise where there will be other people who are actively involved in exercise." The loneliness of the long-distance runner, for instance, doesn't exist if you run with a friend.

• Unsociable:  Those who are more solitary find that tai chi in the park, swimming or long walks are good. With plenty of internal motivation, you can compete with yourself to go that extra half-mile.

Spontaneous or Reserved?

• Spontaneous:  Spontaneous people generally like sports that are fast-moving so that they don't have time to think or get bored. Most team or racquet sports are perfect for "do now, think later" people.  "Choose a game such as hockey, racquetball or squash if you also have plenty of red-blooded aggression and a need to compete," Veale suggests. Do it yourself by organizing different activities – biking, ice skating and trekking with friends.

• Controlled:  Controlled people will enjoy all kinds of dancing as well as Pilates, tai chi, weight training and especially yoga. Yoga is all about holding postures, and is excellent for people who enjoy a feeling of control.

Motivation?

• Internally motivated:  People who are internally motivated should in theory have the least problem in taking exercise, whether they opt for running, weight training, cycling, swimming or tai chi. That only works, however, if people are self-motivated to exercise.

• Externally motivated:  Classes at a gym are ideal for people who need to be externally motivated. Often, these people need to have something booked and paid for or there's a chance they won't show up, whether it's a tennis court, a martial-arts class or a skiing holiday. Don't forget the power of music – you'll pump iron more easily if you join a class where rock music is blasting your eardrums. And you'll certainly cycle faster in a spinning class than riding your bike down the street.

Aggressive or Easy-Going?

• Aggressive:  You like to take charge instead of following a leader, whether at work, home or play. When you get bad service in a store or restaurant, you ask for the manager. You'll also speak up immediately when an issue arises in a relationship, instead of waiting for the other person to bring it up. You'll do well in most racquet and team sports – especially football, hockey, and rugby. Lifting weights will suit you if you also like being in control and are focused. Martial arts will be satisfying. For those whose aggression could be toned down a little, exercise might help – but only in the long term. "You won't get someone to be less aggressive by encouraging them to do tai chi or yoga," Gavin says. "It will be too contrary to his or her style. They need to gradually shape new behaviors and have to be strongly motivated to change."

• Easy-going:  Martial-arts classes may help to give the timid a more forceful streak – but they could also put them off. Dancing, golf and cycling all require a mix of assertiveness and civility – while walking, yoga and tai chi are ideal for those easy about being alone.

Competitiveness?

• Competitive:  If you play a game primarily to win rather than for enjoyment, if you shout at the TV and get upset if your team doesn't win, you'll do well at most team and racquet sports or any kind of group training. Anything you can potentially win will be satisfying. And in every other activity, you can always compete with yourself. But try to maintain moderation, Veale says: "Setting goals can help you increase the frequency or duration of your activity. But be realistic and recognize that many activities are just there to be enjoyed in their own right, he says.

• Non-competitive:  For the extremely non-competitive, plenty of activities specifically discourage competition: tai chi and yoga, walking, skating and dancing can all be both enjoyable and challenging without you having to set yourself against the world.

Focus?

• Focused:  You methodically make your way through a website or magazine, painstakingly poring over every word rather than jumping between articles. You sit still at movies without fidgeting in your chair, and your friends say you're a great listener. You'll have no problem focusing on the ball in tennis or squash or learning complicated dance or tai chi moves – and provided you have a competitive edge, you should thoroughly enjoy team sports and martial arts.

• Unfocused:  For the less focused, find an activity where you're free to let your attention wander: walking is ideal as you don't have to think about the activity and instead can spend your time looking at scenery and being sociable. Swimming, running and golf can also work for those with moderate focus.

Attitude to danger

There's a huge divide between those who actively seek thrills – whether it's in rock climbing, mountain biking or downhill skiing – and those who simply can't see the point.

• Risk-taker:  Being willing to take risks is an important characteristic in most team and racquet sports – and for some of us, simply showing up to try out a new activity involves a certain amount of risk-taking. Risk-taking is all about getting in touch with being a child again.  It's really great to behave like a child and really enjoy flying down a hill on a bike again – even better, down a mountain.

• Risk-avoider:  Those wishing to avoid risk should thoroughly enjoy walking, tai chi, yoga and cardio conditioning at the gym. As you get older, you get more scared because you learn about the consequences of doing dangerous things.

HIRE A PERSONAL TRAINER

For some, hiring a personal trainer is what they need to stay on-track and stay motivated. Just knowing that you have regular appointments to keep may do the trick. (For tips on selecting a personal trainer, refer to the related story "How to Choose a Personal Trainer".)

COMMIT!

Do things that force you to be honest with yourself. For example:

• Tell someone what your fitness goal is; find a partner and challenge each other to reach a common fitness goal.

• Put your fitness goals in writing; often, doing this crystallizes your commitment. Put this piece of paper on your refrigerator so you see it every single day.

• In addition to identifying a specific fitness goal, make sure you also target a specific date to achieve that goal.

OTHER TIPS

• Keep track of how often you exercise on a calendar. Write-in a star on the days that you exercise and put a zero with a line through it on the days that you don't. As the month progresses, you'll have a visual reminder of how well you're doing.

• Listen to your favorite music while exercising.

• Wear clothes that inspire you or draw attention to you (knowing that if people are watching, you will push yourself).

• If your running is boring you, find new routes; focus on observing your surroundings and try not to think about your body.

• Allow yourself one work-out per week with no expectations (ie., forget about your performance goals on that day). Just work-out for fun.

CONSISTENCY

Another important issue regarding exercise is consistency. The next time you don't feel motivated to exercise, consider what these elite athletes must've endured to stay at the top for so long:

• Edwin Moses competed in the 400-meter hurdles. He was undefeated in this event for 10 straight years!

• Steffi Graf held the no. 1 world ranking in women's tennis for 378 weeks in her career. The next closest was Martina Navratilova at 331 weeks, followed by Chris Evert at 262 weeks.

• In 2005, Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France for the 7th time in a row. This grueling bicycling race covers roughly 3300 kilometers (2050 miles), often on hilly and cobblestone roads, in 21 days. On top of that, earlier in his life, he had testicular cancer and received highly toxic chemotherapeutic drugs.

• Cal Ripken played in over 2100 consecutive Major League Baseball games between 1982 and 1995.

• Walter Payton carried the football 3838 times for a total of 16,726 yards in his NFL career. That's the equivalent of running 9.5 miles, but getting knocked down every 4.4 yards in the process.

• Although not an "elite" athlete like the people mentioned above, Bob Ray, of Perry Hall, MD, deserves mention for his incredible streak: he ran at least 2 miles per day every day for 13,885 straight days between April 4, 1967 and April 7, 2005. That's 38 years!

Still not motivated? Then, take a look at some examples of what human beings are capable of once they commit:

RUNNING:

• The world's "longest" run appears to have been done by Istvan Sipos of Hungary who logged 12,526 miles in 263 days.

• The longest nonstop run ever recorded was 301 miles over a period of 79 hours and 57 minutes by Pam Reed in March 2005. Reed, who was 44 at the time, ran a 25-mile loop near Picacho Peak, north of Tucson, AZ which she completed 12 times. Imagine running nearly 12 marathons, one right after the other.

• The record for most miles run in a 24-hr period is 188 by Yiannis Kouros of Greece.

• It's now commonplace to see 70- and 80-year olds running distance races, even marathons. Walter Bortz, MD and his wife Ruth are the oldest couple to have competed in, and finished, the Boston Marathon. Both are in their 70s.

STRENGTH:

• In November 2003, Gene Rychlak, 35, from Royersford, PA, bench-pressed 900 pounds...and did so easily, according to an article in Men's Fitness magazine (May 2004). As a freshman in high school, Rychlak was 6-ft tall and weighed only 140 pounds. (now, he is 6'1" and weighs 360 pounds.)

• The American deadlift record (848 lbs) is held by Brad Gillingham, son of former Green Bay Packers offensive guard Gale Gillingham. Brad also holds the combined squat, bench, and deadlift record (2,303 lbs).

BICYCLING:

Pedaling a bicycle across the entire continental US is now commonplace. In fact, Cycle America (www.CycleAmerica.com) offers tours for people who want to do this.

ADOPT A MANTRA

Last but not least, while you are training, or during a distance event, talk to yourself. But, make sure you are thinking positive thoughts. Adopt a mantra....something you repeat over and over to keep you going. My suggestion? How 'bout this one?:

"...there's an athlete in me"..."there's an athlete in me"..."there's an athlete in me"...

Remember, there IS an athlete inside you. So, get out there!

FOR MORE INFORMATION

•Get Active America (supported by IHRSA): GetActiveAmerica.net.

PERSONALIZED FITNESS and WELLNESS COUNSELING

If you'd like some help designing your personal fitness program, or have questions regarding exercise, or simply want some regular motivation, sign-up for our Fitness Counseling Service.  It's certainly cheaper than a personal trainer at a gym, and, you can exercise at home!  It may be the best investment in your health that you'll ever make.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Stan Reents, PharmD, is a former healthcare professional. He holds Personal Trainer and Lifestyle Counselor certifications from the American Council on Exercise and has been certified as a tennis coach by USTA. He is the author of Sport and Exercise Pharmacology (published by Human Kinetics).  He can be reached at: Editor@athleteinme.com.