Now I know many of you want to get more active in 2023. It’s the time of your for resolutions and exercise is often one of them.  What I want to do is just share 6 tips that will help you succeed.

1. Choose something you enjoy

There is no point doing something that you know you are not going to enjoy.  Choose something you like the look of.  If you enjoy an activity you are more likely to stick to it and not come up with a million reasons to miss a session.

2. Write down some goals

More on this to come in a coming vlog / blog.  But setting goals are really important.  They can be short term or long term, often it helps to set both.  As well as setting goals its also a good idea to think about the why.  In my experience this is what motivates people. One final thing write them down.  A contract to yourself if you like.

3. Get other people involved

If you’re worried that taking time for you may irritate your partner or your family then speak to them.  I am sure they will be understanding.  If they love you they should reward you for trying to better yourself.  Even better try and get them involved. Failing that try and get a friend to do exercise with you.  Evidence shows when people exercise with other people they are much more likely to stick to it.

4. Have contingency plans

Things come up in life all the time. Some of them can be predicted whilst others can’t.  They key is preparedness…lets say its disgusting weather and you were supposed to go for a run and you really don’t fancy it.   Have a plan to go the gym and run on the treadmill that day, or postpone it for another (but schedule that in) or cross train and do something different.  Think of things that may be barriers and works out ways how you would manage them before they arise.

5. Build slowly

This is a biggie for me as a physiotherapist.  Every February and March we get a whole bunch of people who have just hit exercise too hard and their bodies were not ready for it.  Whether joint, ligament or muscle they are overloaded and pain ensues. Simply too much too soon. Our bodies need time to adapt so start low and build slow.

6. See a physiotherapist if in pain

If you are in pain or you start getting pain then think about seeing a physiotherapist.  Especially it is debilitating, you are worried about it or it hampering your efforts to get more active.  Physiotherapists like ourselves assess you and will get you back on track in as short time frame as possible.  If you would like to discuss your problem with us we offer a free call back service. Click the link here www.weymouthphysiotherapy.com/speaktoaphysio