Making Your Work Out Work

Are you like me? Does the thought of exercising make you tired? I’m one of those people who was never good at sports, was not very coordinated and could trip over my own feet if I wasn’t careful. But now, lazing around is not longer an option. My metabolism has gotten slower than my eating. So I try to get a little exercise in now and then.

When it comes to exercise, I’ve found there are two important things for me to keep it going: I have to like it and I need to be motivated.

I like walking. On a nice day I don’t mind going out and walking my trail. I find that I enjoy it and even look forward to my walking time. Sometimes I take along my ipod loaded with an audio book to keep me company. On a not so nice day, I use the Walk at Home DVD.

I’ve tried a few different things to keep me motivated. Sometimes I meet up with a friend and that is a great source of accountability and encouragement if you can work it out. Another thing I’ve done is track my progress on a calendar. Just knowing that I walked 2 miles, three days this week is enough motivation for me to keep going or try to beat it.

But the easiest thing for me is the pedometer. You can clip one on when you get up in the morning and write down your steps at the end of each day. It can quickly become a great motivator for you to try to beat your steps. 10,000 steps a day is recommended. If you’re not sure how many steps a day you’re walking, strap on a pedometer and see. Then try to do more.

You can keep up with your progress on your own just by writing down your steps each day. But I also found this site which will keep up with your progress for you and send you reports to keep you going.

Pedometers range in prices and bells and whistles. Some just count your steps, others track your progress over months and years, calculate calories burned. Here’s a site that compares some of the top sellers. I've seen them at Walmart for as little as $5.00.

Some days are busier than others. I may be running all over the house putting away laundry or picking up the house and then do a work-out walk on top of that. Then there are other days when I find myself sitting around more. Having my pedometer on will remind me when I need to step it up.

If your work-out needs a change of pace, try adding a pedometer. Find out how much you're really moving each day.