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Respect Yourself
Get Enough Sleep
Only you know how much is enough. Only you know the best times to get enough. Whatever enough is, give it to yourself as a gift. When you are sleep-deprived you have a harder time interpreting what your body is saying.
| Your body says: | | You hear: |
| I’m tired. | | I’m hungry. | | I feel sleepy. | | I feel depressed. | | I’m too tired to exercise. | | I’m too lazy to exercise. |
Drink Enough Water
Your “thirst” response is your emergency response. You are already dehydrated by the time you consciously feel thirsty. Your body will start talking to you as it begins to feel dehydrated. The problem is, like in the case of sleep-deprivation, you will have a hard time interpreting what your body is saying.
| Your body says: | | You hear: |
| I’m thirsty. | | I’m hungry. |
Have realistic expectations.
Hey, it’s a lot easier to slide down a hill than it is to climb back up. But, one thing is for sure: If you keep putting one foot in front of the other, you get to the top of that hill. Be happy putting one foot in front of the other. You’ll enjoy your exercise program a lot more if you resist setting unrealistic, and often unhealthy, deadlines.
| | If you need to lose weight, let your body lose it at a healthy 1 or 2 pounds a week pace. | | | | If you are strength training, add more weight only after you are able to complete a set of 12 repetitions with perfect body alignment. | | |
| | If you are aerobic training, increase your exercise duration and intensity by no more than 10% per week. Your heart and lungs adapt faster to exercise than your joints and bones. A 10% per week increase will allow your muscular/skeletal system time to keep up with your cardio/respiratory system. |
Give Yourself a Break
Let your body rest at least 2 days a week. Pay attention to how you feel, mentally and physically. And, if you miss more days of exercise than you would have liked: forgive yourself. Life sometimes gets in the way of routine. Just start putting one foot in front of the other again whenever you can. You’ll be fine.
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