Two Weeks: How to Stick It

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

19 Apr 2007 06:15 AM

Sticking it is a term used in gymnastics that refers to holding your position when you land from a dismount. So when we use the words stick it in exercise and fitness, we're talking about sticking to the workout. Sticking to your bike ride. Sticking to your routine. Sticking to walking everyday. Sticking to going to an aerobics class. And you need to stick it for at least a couple of weeks.

Two Weeks

Two weeks is the magic number of weeks you need to stick to a workout routine so that you can develop the habit and so you can actually feel and see the results. It may not sound like it especially in those first few days of a workout when your body protests in soreness and anxiety, but the truth is - you need to stick it for just two weeks.

After two weeks, your body acclimates to the feelings it has for working out. You feel the positive changes in your mood; your physical well-being and you feel it even in your sleep patterns. While sticking it is the key, it's also the goal. If you can stick to it, you can achieve many more goals.

Sticking To It Tips

So if sticking to it is the goal, how do we get there? Here are some tips to help you achieve your sticking to it and if you're participating in the Spring Forward to Action 2007 challenge, you'll note we're in our second week - so these tips can help you this week.

How can you stick to your exercise and fitness routines?

• Timing is one of the best tips to employ - you want the timing to be everything. When you time your workouts will have as much impact on your success as actually performing the workout. Most of us succeed better when we not only know when we're going to workout. Mornings are an excellent time for a workout because we still have the whole day in front of us and a workout first thing can leave you energized and charged for the day
• Convenience is another tip, because when our exercise and fitness workouts are convenient we're less likely to find a reason to skip it - this is part of the reason I work out at home. By working out here I don't need to pack into the car, find someone to watch my daughter or any of the other problems related to it
• Exercise is a given - this is an important attitude to maintain because when something is a given, you do it. It's a given that we feed our kids. It's a given that we do the laundry. It's a given that we get up in the morning. When it's a given, no matter how tiring or unpleasant it may seem at first, we do it anyway. So make exercise a given

You have to find what works for you and you just have to stick to that routine for two weeks. Then it becomes a habit. Then the next two weeks are easier to stick to it and the two weeks after that and the two weeks after that. Before you know it, exercising regularly is just a fact of your life and the goals that you've fought hard to achieve will be just within your reach. I've told you before that 20 minutes a day can make a real difference - 20 minutes a day in for 2 weeks can change your life totally.

So are willing to give it two weeks and just stick it? What say you?

Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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