Exercise is important for women’s health as much as it is for men’s. Participating in a regular exercise program prevents a variety of health problems and especially breast cancer, obesity, and infertility where women are concerned.

Not only is exercise a key factor in physical health, but it also plays a major role in mental health as well. Women who exercise attain a more peaceful state of mind and increased confidence. The following are some tips that will help women to start an exercise program and keep at it until fitness goals are achieved.

Set Priorities

Women are natural multi-taskers, able to juggle a half dozen projects and duties simultaneously. However, life can still become so crazy with errands and chores that it can seem impossible to take time out for valuable workouts. In order to get life organized, make goals and prioritize your daily projects. By simply taking things as they come, you can spend a great deal of time and effort just spinning mental wheels and not really accomplishing much. Therefore, choose a time of day that is most productive for you to perform an exercise routine. Different people can exercise best during different times of the day such as in the morning, midday, afternoon, or evening. Pick a period when you are the most energetic so you can get the most from your fitness routine. Then decide if you will complete a 30 or 60 minute workout. If it better suits you, schedule two 30-minute exercise sessions at different times of the day.

Set Realistic Goals

When planning your exercise program, don’t try to shove as much in as possible thinking you’ll save time and multiply effort. Set realistic goals that start out at a pace that you can handle and then build from that point. If you go helter-skelter into a fitness program, you will soon burn yourself out or become frustrated at not being able to accomplish goals and you will quit. It’s much better to pace yourself and increase your activities as you increase your energy and fitness level.

Get Motivated

If you still find it a mental and emotional struggle to get started in a new exercise program, find a point of motivation and focus on that. Motivation plays an important role in exercise and it has a tendency to build as you follow it. For instance, do you have a wedding, class reunion, family gathering, vacation, extended business trip, or presentation coming up? Take that event and use it as a focal point that drives you to perform and continue your fitness plan. Before long, that mental focal point will become a physical habit and you’ll look and feel great for the event!

Do What Fits Your Schedule

If you have the time to head to the gym, great. Local gyms usually offer a wide variety of exercise methods from free weights to fitness machines to aerobics classes. However, if your schedule is too hectic to commute back and forth to the gym, don’t let that be an excuse to blow off exercise. There are many ways that you can get a good workout at home or in the office. Perhaps your office has a gym. If so, utilize it! Or, before you leave home for the day or when you return in the evening, schedule your workout time there.

Use Interval Training

Another way to maximize your workout time and effort is to practice interval training. Instead of just performing cardio exercises on a treadmill, add some light weight training to the program. Instead of only completing resistance band workouts, include a fast-paced dance class. Take a Zumba class followed by a short session on cable machines. The combinations are endless, but the idea is to mix things up so that your entire body is getting a workout.

Consistency is Key

Exercise doesn’t do much good if you perform one session and then wait two weeks before tackling it again. In order to reap the benefits of an exercise program, you need to stay at it consistently. Therefore, when you’re ready to begin your fitness routine, burn it in your mind that it is a routine and make a mental commitment to follow it rain or shine. The first couple of weeks are the toughest, but if you stick them out then your body and mind will begin to crave the workout time and things will become much easier. At that point, you have to beware of those pop-up situations in life that tempt you to put off your program. If you miss a fitness session due to such an occurrence, jump right back into it as soon as possible to keep the momentum going.

Find a Fitness Buddy

Staying faithful to your fitness program can be far more difficult when exercising alone than if you perform it with a friend. Besides making your fitness sessions easier to attend, exercising with a fitness buddy adds greater dimension to the experience in many ways. It keeps you both accountable, gives you some invigorating social time, prompts you to workout harder, and makes the time go by faster.

Conclusion

Keep in mind that it takes time for your body to respond to your workout program. However, if you choose a program and time of day that best suits you, set realistic goals, be consistent and stay motivated, you will soon see your body transforming into a stronger, more energetic and better looking form right before your eyes!