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    6 Ways to Increase Your Activity

    6 Ways to Increase Your Activity

    choosing_your_exercise

    1-  Make a plan, set a goal, and track your progress. The starting point is to just start moving and then you can build further.

    “If I have a patient who hasn’t exercised in years, but would like to start, I encourage them to start small and from where they are capable, then increase a little each day. It won’t seem like much at the start, but they may feel motivated to keep going once they reach each goal,” said Harmony Rosenberg, patient and family educator at Cedar City Hospital.

    If your goal is to either run a marathon or to focus on getting 30 minutes of exercise a day – make it a goal that motivates you and then write it down.

    “It has been found that individuals who write down their goals are 42 percent more likely to achieve their goals just by writing them down,” said Meagan Kline, exercise physiologist at the Intermountain Heart Institute.

    RELATED: How to Get Started with Your Own Exercise Plan

    Schedule workouts just as you would an important appointment. Keep a journal that shows how well you do are meeting your goals.

    2-     Find what you enjoy. Because the habit is not going to stick if you don’t like it. If you can’t bear to run then don’t become a runner.

    You are going to be more motivated to keep exercising if you look forward to the activity.

    3-     Find ways to exercise in your own home. Resolutions are being created in the middle of winter - where it’s hard to start an outdoors training program. Instead look around the house at ways to increase your activities.

    It really can be anything to get you moving: cleaning, yard work, dancing, or finding a place to spread out a yoga mat. You can even use certain video game systems like the Wii that uses motion of your body to play.

    4-  Change up your workouts. It’s important to find variety. There’s benefits in exercising different muscles. But it also keeps your fitness fun.

    “It is crucial to mix up your exercise weekly.  These adjustments don’t need to be large, but altering your mode, time, speed or intensity can give you great benefits,” said Kline.

    5-  Find a workout partner. A buddy that can keep you on track. It’s easy to tell yourself you’re not working out today.  But it could be harder to cancel on a friend.

    “Commit to meeting a friend for a morning walk, or an evening gym session, and you’ll be more likely to follow through,” Kline said.

    RELATED: Building a Great Support System

    6-  Find the little ways to increase your activity. There are golden moments scattered throughout your day. You could walk the dog, park farther away from the store, or opt to take stairs instead of the elevator. You can visit Intermountain LiVe Well to get more tips to be more active.

    Moderate workouts at five days a week will help you live a healthier and fit year. Let's get movin'!