Motivation Key To Exercising

While many have specific reasons when starting an exercise program, the original reason behind initiating an exercise program may not be enough to sustain exercising long-term. New research indicates that similar to yo-yo dieting, many who start exercising have a difficult time sticking to exercising in a long-term fashion. For example, individuals who purchased home exercise equipment had a 73 percent increased likelihood they would start exercising as compared with those who did not. However, these same individuals were no more likely to be actively exercising at the one-year mark as compared with those who had not purchased any form of home exercise equipment. Thus, there may need to be reasons to maintain an exercise program that differ from those reasons that got one started in the first place. First and foremost and similar to successful weight loss, exercising really needs to be viewed as a lifestyle change with constant attention to maintaining the program. If unrealistic exercising goals and methods are implemented early on, there is little chance of maintaining this into the future. Exercise must be properly planned and must be realistically integrated into one's lifestyle to ensure long-term success.