One thing we can all agree on is that there never seems to be enough time in a day. Whether it's work, studying, chores, childcare or exercising, we are constantly in a battle for our time. Not only does it all take time, it's also exhausting!
It is estimated that around 40% of adults in the UK don't exercise enough to maintain good health. There can be serious consequences for regularly neglecting exercise. A lack of exercise greatly increases risks associated with cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, cancers and general mortality. It's estimated that this costs the UK around £7.4 billion per year - which works out at around £1,100 per person!
Aside from extending your lifespan (if that isn't enough motivation...), regular exercise also has a significant positive impact on our mental health. Studies have shown that even a little bit of exercise can dramatically improve happiness and mood while reducing stress. But even when we're aware of all this, and with the greatest will in the world, working out is what falls off the list first when we're busy.
Luckily, there are steps we can all take to get the benefits of frequent exercise. The first one is to make exercise a part of your routine. By allotting time to work out, you can make it more of priority and can fit it around your life. Continually exercising at the same time of day helps to build up a habit, making it easier to stick to it. I find the routine feature in nuumi is really helpful for this as it allows me to set regular reminders to work out. This often gives me the push I need to make a start.
Another way to get back into exercising regularly is to recruit a friend to keep you accountable. A study found that 95% of those who started a weight-loss program with friends completed the program. This is one of the key things that inspired us to build nuumi, our social fitness app; having my friends like and comment on my posts makes it so much easier to keep coming back.
Progress tracking is one of the most effective ways to stay motivated for exercise. When we feel a sense of progress, it makes it much easier to keep going. Even a small step forward can massively improve our attitude towards whatever we are trying to do, including exercise. Workout tracking is at the core of nuumi and I'm finding it easier to stick to my plan when I'm actively tracking my workouts using nuumi.
Ultimately, the most important thing to do is just to make a start. The thought of starting is always worse than taking action. However busy we are, we all need to prioritise exercise to keep ourselves happy and healthy - it doesn't take much to see the benefits! Give nuumi a try to help you get started, and keep going! 💪
A very inspiring article. Thank you.