How to Get Back into a Routine!

Has the summer time meant a little more of fun in the sun and a little less exercise for you? Has happy hours, bbq's and camping taken a front seat to push-ups, squats and lunges? well then it's time to get back into your fitness routine and here are some helpful hints to get you there. I borrowed this list from www.lifehack.org and then made some "Kimmel Tweeks. " 

1. Reward Showing Up – Woody Allen once said that, “Half of life is showing up.” I’d argue that 90% of making a habit is just making the effort to get there. You can worry about your weight, amount of laps you run or the amount you can bench press later.
2. Commit for Thirty Days – Make a commitment to go every day (even just for 20 minutes) for one month. This will solidify the exercise habit. By making a commitment you also take pressure off yourself in the first weeks back of deciding whether to go.
3. Make it Fun – If you don’t enjoy yourself at the gym, it is going to be hard to keep it a habit. There are thousands of ways you can move your body and exercise, so don’t give up if you’ve decided lifting weights or doing crunches isn’t for you.Find a class, a machine, or a routine you actually...enjoy! A great music set list on your i-pod helps as well! 
4. Schedule During Quiet Hours – Don’t put exercise time in a place where it will easily be pushed aside by something more important. Right after work or first thing in the morning are often good places to put it. Lunch-hour workouts might be too easy to skip if work demands start mounting.
5. Get a Buddy – Grab a friend to join you. Having a social aspect to exercising can boost your commitment to the exercise habit. Most people are so less likely to cancel on a friend, then om something they are doing for themselves.
6. X Your Calendar – One person I know has the habit of drawing a red “X” through any day on the calendar he goes to the gym. The benefit of this is it quickly shows how long it has been since you’ve gone to the gym. Keeping a steady amount of X’s on your calendar is an easy way to motivate yourself.
7. Enjoyment Before Effort - After you finish any work out, ask yourself what parts you enjoyed and what parts you did not. As a rule, the enjoyable aspects of your workout will get done and the rest will be avoided. By focusing on how you can make workouts more enjoyable, you can make sure you want to keep going to the gym.
8. Create a Ritual - Your workout routine should become so ingrained that it becomes a ritual. This means that the time of day, place or cue automatically starts you towards grabbing your bag and heading out. If your workout times are completely random, it will be harder to benefit from the momentum of a ritual.
9. Stress Relief - What do you do when your stressed? Chances are it isn’t running. But exercise can be a great way to relieve stress, releasing endorphin which will improve your mood. The next time you feel stressed or tired, try doing an exercise you enjoy. When stress relief is linked to exercise, it is easy to regain the habit even after a leave of absence.
10. Measure Fitness - Weight isn’t always the best number to track. Increase in muscle can offset decreases in fat so the scale doesn’t change even if your body is. But fitness improvements are a great way to stay motivated. Recording simple numbers such as the number of push-ups, sit-ups or speed you can run can help you see that the exercise is making you stronger and faster.
11. Habits First, Equipment Later – Fancy equipment doesn’t create a habit for exercise. Despite this, some people still believe that buying a thousand dollar machine will make up for their inactivity. It won’t. Start building the exercise habit first, only afterwards should you worry about having a personal gym.
12. Know your limitations - Know what you know and ask for help when you don't. You-Tube can be a great resource when its from a reputable source and a bad injury waiting to happen when you are following some joe-shmo. It's worth the investment to get a trainer if you are looking to do something totally new like kettlebells, cross fit etc.
13. Start Small - Trying to run fifteen miles your first workout isn’t a good way to build a habit. Work below your capacity for the first few weeks to build the habit. Otherwise you might scare yourself off after a brutal workout.
14. Go for Yourself, Not to Impress – Going to the gym with the only goal of looking great is like starting a business with only the goal to make money. The effort can’t justify the results. But if you go to the gym to push yourself, gain energy and have a good time, then you can keep going even when results are slow.
15. Make it comfortable- If your sneakers hurt, and your pants are too small....let's face it, you'll throw in the towel before you start. Make sure you clothes fit your activity as well (dry fit for sweaty activity, layers for hiking, sports swimsuits for swimming etc.). Sneakers have a shelf life and injuries can occur when an old pair stays around a little too long! catch my drift? :)