Exercise Troubleshooting

What to Do When Your Exercise Program Breaks Down

Exercise takes time, it takes effort, it takes energy and it is one of the first things to slide when we get under pressure. The following tips will help you maintain your exercise program during the tough times and get it back on track.

Problem 1 - I Don’t Have Time

Solution - Work your Workout into Your Busy Day

The most successful exercise programs are those that are integrated into your daily routine.
They don’t require – free time; they are included in the same way that eating, sleeping, ablutions and working are.

There are a number of ways to fit exercise into your daily routine. Antiaging exercise only takes 30 minutes per day. This 30 minutes could be a sum of a few normal activity sessions.

Take the stairs. Stair climbing is not only aerobic, but also works major muscle groups such as your hamstring and glute muscles. Pump your arms to work your biceps as well, especially good with a briefcase in hand.
Travelling Exercises - Anytime sitting is ideal for Kegel exercises or just clenching the butt muscles and holding for 20 seconds.
Desk Exercises. And whilst reading long documents I do tricep push ups off the arms of my chair or stand up to do body weight slant push ups off my desk. I also keep a wishbone shape inner thigh master under my desk and a spring grip, which I take to meetings. A good abdominal is sitting forward on your chair, back up right, feet flat on the floor; gently rock back engaging all your abs, hold, then return. 30 of these whilst reading a 5 page doc 4 or 5 times a day does wonders.
Lunch delivery. Instead of having your lunch order delivered; take a 10 minute break and walk to the cafe. You'll get some fresh air and 10 minutes of exercise, and even save the delivery charge.
Walk the last stop. If you take the subway or bus to work, get off one or two stops early and walk the remainder of your trip. This will only add 5-10 minutes to your commute, but will make a world of difference.
Make love. Sex activity can be varied to bring different muscles into play. Don’t forget that PC muscle also. Varying the pace can be an optimal HIIT workout for a healthy heart.
Carry your groceries. Opt out of using a shopping cart when picking up a few things at the supermarket. Balance weight of bags between your two hands to tone your arms.
Household and Car Cleaning. Arm exercises, lunges, squats – they can all be included in normal cleaning routines. Cleaning can actually be fun when it doubles as a workout. And you have the added bonus of a clean house or car!
Watching TV. Programs still show regardless of whether you are slouched on the couch on your yoga mat doing stretches, leg exercises or weight training.

I regularly employ all of these time savers into my “working week”

Problem 2 - Having Trouble Getting Started

Solution - Get Your Brain Involved

Goal Setting – if you skipped this part because you thought you knew what you wanted and didn’t want to take the time; go back to the start. Written goal setting is essential to success.
Get an Exercise Partner – get a friend, workmate, family member or lover subscribed to the program as well. Some people are just not good on their own so need to share this journey with someone else.

Subliminal Messaging - If you have your goals but your mind is being particularly resistant you may have to trick it into wanting to participate. Subliminal messaging refers to the act of sending messages direct to the powerful subconscious mind, the part of your brain that controls everything from memory to body temperature to providing your conscious mind with its core traits. Subliminal messages can be employed to make serious and lasting change in our own lives.

The U.S. Government outlawed this suggestion technique in advertising, because it was too powerful and took decisions away from the individual. But using them on yourself is just as effective.

Identifying a couple of the goals in your Goal Setting Worksheet.
Write that goal down as a simple, short, positive affirmation. “I am now confident and fit” or “I am ready to quit smoking”. Use a black marker pen on white cardboard.
Be careful not use negative terms, such as “Not” or “Don’t” in your message. So don’t use “I don’t gain weight”
Store your affirmation cards next to your bed with a flashlight.
Set your alarm clock for 3am, then go to sleep as normal. As soon as you hear the ring, turn off the alarm and—almost instinctively—pick up the affirmation cards and your flashlight. The room should be pitch black. You are catching your mind in a highly receptive state, when the door to your subconscious is wide open.
Flick the flashlight on and off very quickly a dozen times over each affirmation card. While doing this, stare at the cards. Do not consciously try to make out the words. These subliminal messages are for the subconscious.
When you’re done, simply turn off the flashlight, put down the cards and return to sleep. It will take just two minutes of your time and I guarantee you’ll fall straight back into deep and restful slumber.

Pretty drastic, but it does work. As the change comes from within, it isn’t always obvious. After the first few nights of using this technique, most individuals report problem-solving dreams that assist in their goals or influence their decisions.

Just a week later and practically all participants note a serious movement toward their core goal. When ready, you can move onto your next set of goals by simply writing out a new set of affirmation cards.

Problem 3 - Getting Bored by Exercise

Solution – Make some changes

Check your goals - make sure your goals are appropriate. That means: not too many at one and keeping main goals achievable within about 4 months. Then set 2 week mini-goals along the road to the main goal. If your goal is to lose 10 pounds in 4 months, for instance, your biweekly mini goals should be to weigh 1.25 pounds less each two weeks. Once you've reached your first main goal, set a new one. Getting a feel for what’s realistic takes a bit of practice.

Try a new activity - plenty of athletes at the highest levels cross-train to provide their over-worked muscles with a new environment. Do something a little different every few weeks. As long as you're working out as often as you used to and at a similar intensity, your performance at your regular activity will go unaffected.

Change the routine and environment – indoors/outdoors; along/with a partner; morning programs/lunch or evening programs etc

Problem 4 - Loose Skin From Extreme Weight Loss

Solution – understand more on skin elasticity and be patient

Getting rid of excess weight is challenge enough. For those who were very overweight or obese and have extreme weight loss, loose skin can be an issue. But the amount of lose skin is not always permanent – look at the change women go through with pregnancy. The extent of excess skin depends upon

Rate of weight loss – even with a controlled 2lb a week, if the skin elasticity cannot keep up with your weight loss, there will be a period of excess skin.
Age - Skin has the ability to expand and contract to a remarkable degree but the reality of aging is that this elasticity does tend to decrease with age. Hence, how much your skin will return to its former tautness depends partly on age. The older you get, the more an extremely large weight loss can leave loose skin that will not return to normal.
Period of Obesity - How long you carry extra weight has a lot to do with how much the skin will become taut after the weight loss.
Previous weight - your skin can only be stretched so much and still be expected to return 100% to its former state.
How fast the weight was gained – if the rate of gain was faster than the skin could stretch, it is less likely to return to normal. Women know this as many experience stretch marks from pregnancy.
How fast weight is lost - rapid weight loss doesn't allow the skin time to slowly resume to normal.
How well you cared for your skin over the years – this impacts its ability to produce elastin and collagen. Keeping skin out of the sun, good diet and regular moisturising all pays dividends.

Give your skin time; it will get tighter as your body fat gets lower. It may take a year or two to complete its adjustment to the new shapely you. Know your body fat percentage before thinking about surgery. The key to getting tighter skin is to lose more body fat, and build more muscle, until your body composition rating is far better than average.

Keep focusing on getting to your body fat target and forget about excess skin until you have reached your goal and kept it there for at least 2 years. You will be amazed at how much your skin can tighten up and literally start to “cling” to your abdominal muscles once your body fat goes from “average” to "excellent.

But if you still have excess skin two years after your major weight loss you may like to consider surgical skin removal. Consult a physician or plastic surgeon but do only consider this in extreme cases.

Workout Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Typical workout mistakes include:

Having no written goals or plans, no training journal and no way of "keeping score”. Action without planning is one of the biggest cause of failure in anything we do. Work through your Goal Setting Worksheet and then Develop your Body Action Plan.
Repeating the same routine every week. Do the same exercises, but continually up the ante – more reps, heavier weights. This is called progressive overload. Also vary the routine from time to time.
Overtraining - this is common in athletic mesomorph body types.

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