22 Feb 5 ways to boost your self-confidence about exercising

Working out in a public gym, or sometimes even in the privacy of your home exercise room can be intimidating, especially for beginners.
There are lots of questions or insecurities a person can have. Some common concerns might be questions such as: Am I doing enough? Am I doing the exercises right? Will I ever reach my goals? What should my goals be?
Here are my top five tips for people to boost their self-confidence about exercising and alleviate some of the above mentioned concerns:
1. Be consistent – If you exercise 3-4 times or more per week, that’s a great step in the right direction. Consistency will win out every time over getting a super workout in once or twice a month, but not doing much else. Set up a workout program by researching and goal-setting yourself, or talking to a fitness expert. Be consistent in the way you perform exercises also and ask a trainer or qualified fitness person if you’re not sure of the proper form. If you can follow through with consistent exercising, you’ve taken a big step in the right direction.
2. Step up your workouts – If you feel like you can give a little more effort, then do so. Add an extra day of training here or there, or add on a few additional exercises during a workout if you’re feeling extra motivation. This will help you feel even better about yourself after the workout.
3. Make exercising enjoyable – Include exercises you enjoy in your workout. As an adult, you’re not in “Uncle Joe’s” middle school gym class anymore being told to do exercises you hate, such as trying to “climb the rope” or do “burp-ees” (aka up-downs). You should have a well-rounded exercise program for sure, but incorporate as many exercises that you like to do and it will be easier – and more fun – to stick to.
4. Write it down – Keeping a training log is an excellent way to monitor your progress, set goals and stay motivated. If you are doing particularly well or poorly in certain areas of training, a written record will help you make adjustments in your down time. Perhaps you can show the training log to a trainer and get some added tips.
5. Don’t be too hard on yourself – Finally, if you have a slip-up or two with missed workouts, or feel flat during a session, don’t get too down on yourself. Try to get back to exercising as soon as possible so that a bad few days or week doesn’t turn into a lost month or more. It’s easy to get back on track after a few missed days, but can be like starting over if you slack off for months.

At Home Fitness consultant Aaron Dorksen’s blog deals with a variety of fitness topics, ranging from workout tips, motivational ideas and feature stories on how exercise impacts people’s lives. E-mail him with comments, questions or ideas for future blogs at aaron@athomefitness.com