Thursday, February 18, 2010

For Just 10 Minutes...

OK, I hear you. You'll never in your wildest dreams be an athlete at the Olympics, and you really hate to work out. After a long day, your favorite activity? Pushing the buttons on the TV remote control zapper while in the reclined position. Trust me, you are not alone! Since you are reading this, I am going to assume you are interested in becoming a healthier, stronger version of yourself, though, so let's keep talking.

For those of you in the "I hate to exercise" or the "I can't get started" modes, I want to introduce you to the 10 minute challenge. Pick any exercise or activity you can think of: walking, ab crunches, jogging, dancing, walking up and down the stairs---anything. You pick. Promise yourself that you are going to do it for 10 minutes. Just 10 minutes. At the end of that time, if you'd like to stop, fine. If you'd like to keep going, go for it. There is something really cool about this little approach to exercise. You aren't telling yourself that there will be a long bout of pain, sweat and suffering. Nope, you are just going to get in motion for 10 minutes. Small stuff. Do-able. Manageable. Head is good and set in a positive mode, and it stays that way. It really works, as reader Jess just emailed to remind me. I gave her this little trick a long time ago, and it just popped into her head as she was debating going to the gym this past week. Its worked for her for years, as she enjoys her 80+ pound lighter, triathlon body!

Studies have shown that exercising in small increments several times a day still gives your body a good workout. If you can put together 3 sessions of 10 minute challenges during the day, guess what? You are
there! Your heart and lungs will thank you.

Reader krispy kreme has been an avid exerciser for quite awhile but still struggles to get started. It's just not what she
prefers to do. She'd rather be doing just about anything else--you may be able to relate? It seems like once you really get into it, exercise should become an easy piece of your life. Not necessarily, as krispy kreme points out. I really love the way she approaches it: she just tells herself she'll go for 20 minutes. Incredibly for her, 20 turns into 30 and sometimes 40 minutes or more. Her approach is the same: use a small time goal to start yourself out, and then see what happens.

I'm putting the 10 minute challenge out there to all of you this week! Pick any activity or exercise you want. Do it for just 10 minutes today. Stop after that, or keep going...it's up to you. Simply 10 minutes each day this week. Deal?

Fire Up You Guys, You Can Do It!!

2 comments:

  1. Awww, a blog post on demand *and* a shoutout? You're too good to me! :)

    You know what else is great about the 10-minute rule? On the rare occasions when I actually do quit after 10 minutes, it's a pretty good indication that I really need the extra rest.

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  2. Very good point! You always need to listen to your body. Sometimes rest is just what it needs (just not every day :) !

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