I am not a doctor.
Well, I am, but not a medical doctor. Before you do anything too strenuous or buy new skis and a computer for your running shoes, you might want to talk to a real doctor. I assume we're all grown-ups here.
Here's what we're gonna do.
Let's make this first one simple. I want you to exercise – 30 minutes a day, for 30 days. I don't care what you do. Some ideas include:
- Go for a run.
- Take a nice, long walk.
- Sign up for a yoga class.
- Get a Billy Blank DVD (or whoever's cool now).
- Use that gym membership.
Make a practical plan.
Life is complicated sometimes – don't make a ridiculous plan that includes you building a gym wing of your house, flying to China, finding a kung fu master, hiring him to be your personal trainer, and working out 16 hours/day like Bruce Wayne. That's probably not going to happen.
Be aware of the constraints of your daily life, including your time and money. You can exercise without a fancy gym membership. Buy a couple of exercise DVDs, dust off your bike, or just find that jump rope in the garage.
Stick to your plan.
I'm really bad about shifting my workout midstream. As soon as I have a rough day or get bored, I'll "tweak" it, and honestly, I almost always end up quitting after too many tweaks. Pick a plan and stick with it for 30 days.
Of course, if it's too tough or you injure yourself, don't push it, but do give your plan a chance to work. Most of all, don't give up after that first week or two – it's easy to get that initial back-to-the-gym high. You start feeling good, your body kicks back into gear, and you see huge results in a couple of weeks. It's that last week or so of the 30 days that's going to start getting tough. That's the week that really counts.
Let's do this thing!
There's no time like the present – get your 30 days started this week, if you can. Friday, I'm going to post my first challenge log, tell you my own plan, and try to be honest about my own motivation and difficulties. I'll do that every Friday during the challenge.
