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If you have a set exercise regime and you are frustrated with it or are starting to feel as though you want to skip it more often than you feel actively like doing it, it might be time to come up with a new exercise calendar.  Anyone who keeps one schedule for working out is bound to, sooner or later, fall into the feeling that the exercise routine is a stale one.  If you find yourself feeling that way at some points, you should consider an exercise makeover.  If you are not feeling frustrated or bored with your routine, but your routine is a definite routine, you might consider mixing up your workouts anyway in order to avoid developing that feeling at some point in the future.

Beyond Psychology

The above-mentioned reason for alternating one’s workouts is only the tip of the iceberg.  In addition to keeping things interesting for you psychologically, your muscles will also benefit from a little variety in your workout calendar.  When your body always experiences the same workout, your body becomes accustomed to the movements and the stress level.  You might have already heard that interval training on the treadmill is more effective than keeping a steady pace for a half hour.  It’s for the same reason that a varied workout calendar produces better muscular results than a routine workout that never changes.

In addition to helping work the largest percentage of muscle groups, there is also the benefit to the heart that comes from varying one’s stress level and activities inducing that stress level.  Interval training is good for the heart; alternating between low levels of cardiovascular intensity and higher levels of intensity will give your heart the best benefit.  Whether you’re working out for weight loss or for cardiovascular health, varying your workout will produce positive results.

Types of Exercise

An ideal workout regimen will include some cardiovascular exercise and some exercise that is weight-bearing and working muscles to fatigue.  It’s for this reason that the ideal workout regime includes some running or similar cardiovascular activity as well as some more muscular work such as weight lifting.  Another great option for slower types of exercise that really work muscles are something like ballet or yoga.  With today’s selection of DVD workouts, it is possible to do the New York City Ballet workout on one day, yoga the next and go running on the third day.  Those who stick with the same workout day after day are bound to ‘master’ the program and it will become no longer challenging.  In addition, the person generally gets bored with it.

Exercise Boredom

The options are, quite literally, endless.  If you have kids, organize a game of tag.  You’re sure to have a blast with your kids and not only get some exercise yourself, but your kids will also get some exercise too.  If you enjoy walking, add walks to your daily routine.  Whether you walk to work or take your dog out for walks, walking is one of the best ways to get exercise.  Take the stairs instead of the elevator, and don’t drive around parking lots looking for the closest possible parking spot.  When you are in two shops five blocks from each other, walk between them and then walk back to your car.  Not only will you get more exercise, you might even enjoy seeing the sights around you instead of fighting traffic.

One thing is sure, and that’s that exercise boredom is very real, but there are also very real ways to beat it.  Follow your gut when it comes to knowing which activities will wow you and which ones will bore you.  Make the ones you engage in a long one so that you can alternate activities to keep every day a little different from yesterday.

“An apple a day keeps the doctor away” (the dentist too!) – is an oft repeated quotation which should not be considered as just an obsolete “Old Wives Tale”, as there is more than meets the eye in this axiom of yore. Apples are among the most health-giving fruits available as they contain a host of nutritious properties via: Phosphorous, Chlorine, Potassium, Sodium, Magnesium, Calcium, Sulphur, Iron, Fluorine, Silicon, plus many trace elements ……. and all of these are found in pure apple cider vinegar.

What does it do?

Among other things, cider vinegar is very effective in detoxifying various organs in the body together with the blood stream. Hence it is a purifier, as it has a means of breaking down fatty, mucous and phlegm deposits within the body. It therefore promotes the health of the vital organs of the body e.g. kidneys, bladder, liver etc., by preventing an excessively alkaline urine.

Cider vinegar also helps oxidize the blood which consequently prevents the blood from becoming too thick and gluey, which gives rise to a strained heart and blood vessels resulting in high blood pressure. Cider vinegar also promotes digestion, assimilation and elimination and it neutralizes any toxic substance taken into the body.

There have been a number of instances where people who had taken a mixture of cider vinegar and water before a meal were unaffected by diarrhoea or digestive upsets, whilst their companions who ate the same meal were. Hence the cider vinegar seemed to neutralize the harmful substances in the food eaten.

Potassium

Apple cider vinegar has a potent supply of potassium, which has become so widely acclaimed in the helping of various complaints including: running nose, excessive mucous formation, watery eyes, sinus and catarrhal troubles. Teeth decay and the splitting of fingernails are also signs of potassium deficiency which are remedied by taking cider vinegar. Potassium is essential for the normal growth of the body and for the replacement of worn-out tissues, which depend upon the presence of this mineral. It is as important to the soft tissues, as calcium is to the bones and teeth and it also retards the hardening of the blood vessels.

As potassium is so important in the healthy growth of a plant, animal and human, a deficiency of this mineral will produce such tendencies as callous formations on the soles of the feet, or the failure to replace worn-out tissues as observed in the loss of hair.

Tests have proven that a soil deficient in this mineral-salt will produce anaemic and undersized plants, however, when potassium is introduced into the soil the plant becomes sturdier and increases in height. This is also the case with animals, where potassium which was fed to livestock, in the form of cider vinegar, improved their appearance and stamina. Humans too, can benefit with this increased potassium intake. Especially where children are slow developers and appear undersized. A few teaspoons of cider vinegar taken with water each morning will show tremendous results. The best way to introduce cider vinegar to the family is to substitute it for the ordinary table vinegar and use it in the cooking. Potassium acts as a restraining influence upon those who are over-excitable and nervous. It draws fluid back into the cells, for when potassium is lacking the body cells shrink and their normal activity is restricted.

Discipline

Discipline – if you lack it, accomplishing anything will be unlikely, if not downright impossible. If you are highly disciplined anything is possible! Everybody needs some degree of discipline in day-to-day life, even for simple things like getting out of bed in the morning.

Commitment

Commitment runs along the same lines. Trying to achieve a goal without wholeheartedly committing to it will make the journey cold and joyless, and attaining that goal doubtful. Lack of commitment in any endeavor leaves you rootless and confused.

Putting them together

If you want to live a long, healthy and full life it takes both discipline and commitment. You certainly can’t live your life eating banana cream pie for breakfast, lunch and dinner and expect to be healthy and energetic in your later years. You may love banana cream pie; it may be your secret passion, but if you are motivated and committed to a healthy lifestyle, summoning up the discipline to push the pie away won’t be hard.

Clarify and set goals

Putting your ambitions into words makes it easier to find the discipline and commitment required to achieve them because writing them down helps clarify them and makes them seem more real. Sit back, close your eyes and visualize what it is that you want to achieve and describe it in words. Do you want to be around, strong and vital, when your children are grown and start to have children of their own? Do you want to stop you family’s history of genetic heart problems in its tracks? Do you simply want to look fit and lean and wear your clothes well? All are lifelong commitments and ones that require strong commitment and the discipline to see them through.

What are the steps you need to undertake in order to meet these goals? Do you need to begin by losing some weight or stopping smoking? This is where discipline is learned and utilized. You will definitely see just how committed you are to your goal and learn exactly how much commitment is needed to meet them.

Do or Do Not

Even if you are incredibly committed, your will to succeed is going to be thoroughly tested. That’s why they call it ‘willpower’! You may want with all your heart to be a s slim and elegant as Charlize Theron, but there are still banana cream pies calling your name! The fact is, discipline needs to be exercised before it can be the formidable friend you need; Psychologists say it takes three weeks for a behavior to become a habit. As a little green wise man in Star Wars once said, “Do or do not. There is no try.” That means exactly what it says; you will either overcome your temptations or you won’t. Those who have quit smoking know exactly what that means. You may chew nicotine gum or wear a patch or use some other kind of aid, regardless, you either will or will not put the cigarette in your mouth. Very slowly, the overwhelming urge will decrease until one day you will find that the urge will still be there, but now it is manageable.

Losing weight is much more difficult because unlike smoking, where you refrain from any kind of tobacco, you still need to eat several times every day. Commitment and dedication needs to be on hand all the time. The trouble is, your brain and taste buds remember in vivid detail what a piece of chocolate cake or a bag of potato chips taste like, and they are reminding you in a demanding way. Here’s where your discipline and commitment are needed big time.

It’s up to you

The only entity that can control your impulses is you, and this can be either an incredibly empowering or a profoundly depressing fact. But, again, the only entity that can choose how you react to that fact is you. Discipline and commitment, though hard won, will help you choose which path you follow.

If you are anything like the average modern man or woman, your day is full from the moment your alarm clock goes off to the moment that you set the alarm for the next morning. All of the time in between is probably accounted for already, which is what makes it so difficult for so many people to find the time that is needed to exercise. For most people, visiting the gym is an ordeal and not a relaxing event; which adds to the stress of scheduling one’s time. It’s easier to find time to do something you thoroughly enjoy than it is to find time for something you dislike.

One good way to help yourself find the time to exercise is to carefully schedule it into your weekly schedule. If you are a person who works well being scheduled, this might just be the best method for you to use in order to make sure that your daily and weekly workouts get into the schedule. If you are someone who is not schedule-oriented, this is probably not the best method for you. Thankfully, there are many other ways to insure that you get your daily dose of exercise that go beyond just scheduling it into the weekly or daily calendar.

Other Options

An option that is gaining in popularity is the option of integrating exercise into your natural daily routine. This might sound odd, but really it’s one of the easiest ways to ensure that you exercise enough. Options for incorporating physical activity into the day naturally include walking or biking to school or work, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, and walking between local businesses that are in close proximity to one another instead of driving to them. These options might seem cumbersome at the beginning, but once you adopt one or more of these practices, you might just find that you really enjoy it.

Take biking for example. You might think that it could be unsafe in your particular area of the country to go to school or work on your bike. If that is the case, do a little research before you veto the idea, because you might just find that by riding on the sidewalks, wearing a helmet and having ample reflective material on yourself and your bike that biking is completely safe in your area. Once you’ve done it a few times, you’ll have more confidence in the safety of it all, and you might even find the endorphins resulting from riding to work to be an even better wake-up call than a cup of coffee is.
If you go with this option, you might find your work day more satisfying and you might find that you sleep better at night. You’ll get more fresh air and more wind and rain, which can put pesky little problems at work into perspective. You’ll also like the respect that you get from co-workers who admire your tenacity and your drive.

The Bottom Line

Whether you think the best option for you is scheduling standard workout times in your busy schedule or trying one of the ways to incorporate exercise into your daily routine, the bottom line is that no body is healthy if it is not moving around at least a little bit. If you can only stomach the idea of walking around the block a couple of times per day to begin with, at least do that. As you incorporate more and more activity into your schedule, you will feel inclined to move more and more. Whether you schedule or incorporate exercise into your day, you will find that the process grows on itself.

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