Subscribe to our podcast to follow along with Small Steps for Better Health.

Exercise has a positive effect on most areas of our life, including our physical health and mental health.

Knowing where to start can be overwhelming. There is an endless amount of information on the internet about what type of exercise is best, how often you should exercise, the right ways to exercise and so much more. However, none of that really matters if it overwhelms you to the point of giving up and going back to the couch!

Instead of trying to find the perfect workout plan, let’s start this week by building a little more activity into our daily lives.

To make exercise easy and attainable, try these out over the next couple of weeks:

• Park a little further from the door than you normally do to add a few extra steps to your day.
• Go for a short walk. Even if it’s just five minutes down the driveway and back! That’s a perfectly good start.
• Turn on some music and dance for a few minutes in your living room.
• Find a free five-minute yoga video on YouTube to try.
• Go outside and do a few minutes of yard work like raking leaves.
• If you sit at a desk all day, set a timer for every hour to stand up and take a quick walk around your office or stretch a bit.
• If you’re already active, try a new class or workout style this week. Mix things up to keep it fun and interesting.

When you’re first starting out, make it really easy on yourself. The most important thing is consistency. We want to just build the habit of getting in a little bit of extra movement. It may not feel like much, but that is the point!

If you try to commit to an hour at the gym every day, and then life gets in the way and you miss a day, it can be easy to get discouraged and down on yourself. Making it accessible and easy to accomplish is the key right now. As time goes on, you’ll start to feel motivated by the “easy wins” and it will be easier to build on the habit.

Lastly, if you miss a day, that’s OK! Don’t wait until Monday to try again. Make it a point to get right back on it the next day.

Health Conditions?

Most people can start exercising right away. If you have a health condition like poorly controlled diabetes, uncontrolled high blood pressure, or heart disease, talk to your doctor first to make sure you are good to go.

Small Steps, Better Health

Every two weeks we will introduce another Small Step for Better Health. Follow us on social media for more tips, and sign up for our email newsletter, True North.