As a child, my father used to wake me up at 5:30 am and always took me to a part for a walk and exercise forcefully. I asked him one day, I am fit and alright. Why should I exercise? Let me sleep, please. He said, “If you want to be fit and fine for the rest of your life, start exercising today”. As a kid, I could not understand much but kept following him somehow. But now as I am into nutrition, I can totally understand his point.

We usually become so busy in our life that we tend to ignore taking out time for our own health. We all know that exercise has multiple benefits apart from weight loss. These are:

• Boost immunity by causing changes in antibodies and White blood cells
• Helps prevent many bacterial and viral infections
• Slows down the release of the stress hormone
• Generates heat in the body and is good in cold weather
• Being outside in winter converts white fat into brown fat. White fat is the bad fat that is usually there on the belly and thighs. Brown fat is the good fat that burns bad fat and is usually located in the neck and kidneys

But the question is that if we know exercise is that good, why we are not able to do it regularly? There are some factors that I observed in my career, affecting people’s exercise regime. These are:

• I am too tired to exercise. My stamina is very low.
• I don’t have time. My office is too busy or my kids don’t let me do it.
• I can’t afford a gym. These gyms are too expensive.
• I have no motivation to exercise. I don’t find any reason to do it.
• I don’t like to exercise alone and I need a good company.
• I get bored easily. Exercise has no fun in it.
• I am too old/ fat to exercise.
• I have tried it before. I can’t stick to a program for a long time.
• The weather doesn’t allow it. It’s too cold or it’s too hot.
• As soon as I start exercising, I get joint pain. It doesn’t suit me.
• I don’t know which exercise is good for me.
• I can’t go out in Covid time.

Well! All these reasons have solutions. It’s just that we need to discuss these with our coach. For now, I have some solutions which you can try out. These solutions have worked for my clients.

• If your stamina is low, you must exercise. Start with fewer repetitions and low-intensity exercises. Exercising with good music and in the company of a friend can help you.
• Eat a banana, egg, or oats meal fifteen minutes or half an hour before exercising. It will give you energy.
• You don’t need to spend hours on the workout, you just need half an hour time which you can plan at any time of your day.
• If your office or schedule is too hectic, then divide your 30-minute workout into four parts. Do at least 5-minute short workout four times a day. Also, make sure you are doing 10000 steps in a whole day.
• You don’t need a gym to exercise. You just need a pair of shoes and a mat with a good coach, online or offline.
• To find motivation for exercise, start rewarding yourself for achieving your fitness goals.
• Ask your friend to exercise with you. If your friend is not interested in fitness, then join a community for your fitness.
• Make your exercise fun. Play good music while you exercise.
• If your exercise is harder on your joints, lower the intensity of your exercises. Once you gain stamina, you can increase the intensity of your exercises. If you are 50+ of age, you can probably start with Flexibility exercises like yoga. Once your stamina is built, you can increase the intensity of exercises slowly.
• Hire a coach for yourself. Keep track of your exercises.
• Do you know that it is easier to do workouts in winter as winters improve our endurance because of very low or no sweating?
• If you get joint pain after exercising, consult your Fitness Coach. Leaving the exercise will bring you back to the previous situation.
• There are three types of exercises – cardio, strength training, and balance exercises. You must form your exercise regime by combining all three types as all these three offer different benefits.
• If you can’t go out for exercise, join online exercise clubs.

In conclusion, I would say “As you sow, so shall you reap”. If you want a disease-free life and good overall health throughout your life, then start exercising today. Start implementing these fourteen tips and reap the benefits.