Couch Potato Workout Inklings

You were so disciplined and adjusted that you never missed a day of exercise until one day, a bad cold hit you, followed by a few rainy days and your energy thoroughly went down the drain. You want so much to get back into it again but nothing seems to work.

When you just feel too heavy to get off the couch, try these ideas to get yourself all fired up to work out again.

1. You're started once you just do something!
Once you've done the breaking of inertia which is not easy, the hardest part is over. All it takes is one practical step no matter how small. It may be one healthy meal, a few stretches, a short walk and you are all to tell yourself that you're over the hump and you're on your way.

2. For three days do it
You made it through on day one. A practical step for a minimum of three consecutive days should do it. You will feel back in control once a three days repetition will be done, it will also give you back your confidence.

3. A 1- minute solution
If the couch potato ailment hits you the next day, don't give in. Don't give yourself a chance to reconsider, beforehand, make a deal with yourself that you only have to do it with 10 minutes and afterwards you can stop. It may not be the full blown workout; the kind of high intensity you used to do, but it is enough to keep you from slipping back to inactivity. This approach should be considered as a tool to help you get through those low energy, low motivation days. These days you'll just feel so relieved that the 10 minutes are over but sometimes you just feel so fired up, there's no stopping. Either way, you win!

4. Find new tricks
Do not wait to feel inclined, be proactive and learn to motivate yourself. Try to find out what it is that inspires you to take action, invent new tricks, create fresh ideas. One person I know puts on an exercise video or watches one over the internet when she feels too dull to workout, but once the music gets going it's easier for her to join in. Whenever those days hit you, just reach for this list and rev back up.

5. Anyway do it
Do it anyway whenever there are days that you don't feel like going to work out. Cleaning the house or washing the clothes is the same thing goes. The important thing is that you won't just wait around unless you're in the mood. This applies to the same rule of exercising or eating right regardless of how you feel. Just go ahead and do it.

Forget about the extra chocolate cake and have your fresh fruit instead. Turn off the television and put on your running shoes. When you are seriously faithful to your goals, do not allow yourself to find any excuse not to do what you're supposed to. Tell yourself, "Come hell or high water, I'll do it anyway."