Tag: health (Page 1 of 3)

Exercise is a chore for me, despite what my purchases of Wii Fit and EA Sports Active might have you believing.

Given the choice, I’d almost always pick to watch TV or play games or eat candy over exercising.  It’s just the easier path, the one of least resistance.

But if I can manage to get two major elements in place, I think being fitter and healthier wouldn’t be as much of a hassle.

1. Form a routine
This is something that I’ve tried to do several times.  I’ll exercise regularly for a few days, maybe even a week, at around the same time of day (either at work or at home) and then I’ll forget or wake up late or have too much work one day and the whole thing will fall apart.

So how do I make a routine more successful?  Pick a time when I’m almost always be free and may not be dependent on waking up early?  Force myself to do it enough times that it begins to feel more like muscle memory than actual effort?  I’m not completely certain.

2. Make it fun
Wii Fit or EA Sports Active is a start.  There are elements that feel a bit game-y, there are goals and achievements presented in a format I know and love, and I fire up my Wii to use them.  But…it’s not quite enough.  It still feels like exercise to me, because it is exercise.

Does it mean joining a community team sport instead?  Forming some kind of larger meta-game around exercising?  Having a workout buddy that I can compete against?  Again, I’m not sure, but I know that figuring this out would also go a long way to keeping me motivated.

I know I have to get better at this, but it’s never been a priority.  I keep pushing it off because it’s not fun to think about and it’s not fun to do.  I think concretely finding solutions to the two issues I outlined above would be major steps in the right direction.