Exercise is one of the most important components of a healthy lifestyle. Our educated minds know this. However, our all-too human minds can lose interest on occasion!

A little “funk” can happen to the best of us. We can find ourselves in a phase where it’s challenging to peel ourselves off the couch and get our hind quarters in gear.

Maybe it’s a stress, or fatigue, or chronic pain, or depression, or any number of causes. Whatever the reason, we end up in a funk,lacking the motivation to move. Well, move beyond the fridge, that is!

Us human folk are driven by two things: seeking pleasure and avoiding pain. Of course, it’s usually some combination of the two that will determine what we will do or not do. So, if you’re lacking motivation to exercise, consider that maybe the thought of not exercising isn’t painful enough for you. Or, not exercising actually seems pleasurable. Or, exercising seems painful some mental or emotional level, or it’s just not pleasurable enough.

Just this kind of deep thinking should earn you points in the brain exercise department!

First, take it easy on yourself. There’s no need to beat yourself up. A phase is just a phase. Take it for what it is.

This is about the big picture of creating a healthy, happy lifestyle here. It’s not always going to look exactly the way we think it should. As long as it’s healthy overall, then cool it with the stress and guilt. That kind of thinking will create its own negative health consequences.

Second, let’s re-assess the role that exercise plays in creating a healthy lifestyle. Sometimes, this alone is enough to fire up some motivation.

When I say exercise, what I’m really referring to is intentional “motion” or “movement”. Why the differentiation? Because when I say “exercise” some people can get all weird on me. We start labeling it and confining it: what it’s supposed to be like and look like, and if we’re not meeting our own expectations, then we might as well throw in the towel and opt for couch surfing instead.

Clearly, this isn’t a winning strategy!

Instead of limiting ourselves with what we think exercise should look like, and what constitutes an “official work out”, let’s expand our views to incorporate movement.

Simply, become a “Mover for Life”. Move your body, daily.

Movement is essential to optimal health. I like to say, “Motion is Life”. It’s not something you do only when you have time, or when you need to lose some weight, or because your cardiologist told you to. It’s part of every single day. Or, it should be.

Movement (especially movement of the spinal joints) creates an important type of neurological communication – proprioception. It fires up communication to the brain, allowing the brain itself to function at higher levels of performance.

You know what this means, right? In addition to the obvious outward physical improvements that movement provides, it also directly contributes to improvements in mood, learning, memory, focus, hormonal communication, immune function, and every other physical, mental and emotional function you can think of.

A “better” brain results in better physiological function and a significantly better chance of living a long, healthy life.

So, we need to do this thing. We need to move. It’s not just about your skinny jeans. It’s about your healthy genes!

OK. How can we stay motivated to exercise?

First, adopt the 3 keys to exercise success:

1. Variety – Move in a variety of ways. Think beyond ‘traditional’ work outs and incorporate things like balance, agility, flexibility, power, speed, strength, calisthenics, ‘spinal hygiene’, sports, dance, play, and so on. Think outside the box. There’s more to exercise (and life) than “cardio” and “resistance”.

2. Intensity – Not all exercise needs to be intense, but some of it definitely should. Make sure that at least some of what you’re doing for movement challenges you physically – it’s how you will improve your physiology. This could mean adding sprinting, or burst training, or even just revving things up enough to break a sweat.

3. Consistency – Keep at it. It’s a lifestyle you’re creating. It’s a daily choice to get up and move. It really is true that if we don’t move it we will lose it! If, some days, it only means you’re taking the dog for a little walk, so be it. That’s moving. (While the dog is doing it’s business, you could always bust a move with some power dancing, just to rev things up a bit! It’s good for the neighborhood morale!)

Here are some additional tips that might help keep you motivated, in case brain function and your entire future aren’t enough!

Think beyond the work out. What you’re doing now is either contributing to your healthier future (1, 5, 10, 20 years down the road), or it’s subtracting from it. Hint: couch and subtraction are closely related.

Shorten your work outs. Switch to higher intensity, burst training for shorter-yet-highly-effective work outs. This alone could be enough to reinvigorate your approach to exercise.

Along the same lines, try full-body work outs with “functional” exercises. This allows you to seriously shorten your work out time while keeping things very interesting and highly effective.

Never the same work out twice. I like to switch things up every time I exercise. You may do some of the same basic exercise, just tweaked each time, or opt for a completely different work out every time. Need ideas? Google has got you covered here!

Make it an adventure – create an adventure. For example, go for a hike and see what comes of it. Climb a tree, use a log as a balance beam, scramble up a steep hill, run down the other side. Connect with nature and feel alive!

Start. I’m a big fan of starting. If you’re debating with yourself whether to exercise or not, just start. Make a deal with yourself that you can call it quits after 10 or 15 minutes (of true-blue effort) if you really, really can’t stand it. By then, your happy brain hormones should have kicked in and you’re half way to conquering the world. You’re good-go-go.

By the way, I’ve never met someone who has said, after 15 minutes of focused exercise, “Oh my goodness, I so totally regret doing that!”

Set some challenging-yet-realistic/achievable goals and milestones. Once you reach them, set more. Rinse & repeat.

Of course, there are goals that have to do with physical measurements (weight, body fat percentage, size), and other goals that might have to do with your performance, like running a certain time or distance. Another type of goal might be to get yourself geared up for a future event or challenge, like a 10k run, or a full or 1/2 marathon, or a triathlon, or a “Tough Mudder” type event, or a long distance cycling event, or a 3-day walk, and so on. You could even schedule a vacation where you’ll be active, like climbing, or surfing, or skiing, or white water rafting, or hiking. You get the point.

Think “seasonal”. I talk to some folks in the dead of winter or the peak heat of the summer who are grumbling about how they’ve lost the desire to run, or go to the gym, or whatever. Change it up. Why on earth would we think our bodies and brains would find the exact same types of work outs interesting year round, year after year? Change up your exercise “themes” every few months, if you’d like. You may go from being a distance runner in the warmer months to doing short runs plus kick boxing and yoga in the cooler months, or whatever floats your boat.

Exercise at home. Not all your work outs need to happen in a formal gym setting, especially if that’s what holding you back from becoming a mover. You don’t need a lot of equipment (or any, really) to get started. You can use your computer or TV monitor and enjoy the plethora of work out ideas on YouTube, or get yourself some DVDs – there’s so much available now, you shouldn’t have any problem finding something you enjoy.

Get social. Taking a class or joining a group or club works for a lot of folks. Try something new. Zumba, yoga, Pilates, cardio kick-boxing, a running club, and so on. Challenge yourself. Play nice with others.

Play sports, if that’s what you enjoy. Join a team or a league, or sign up for lessons if you’re a newbie.

Play like a kid (and play with your kids, or borrow a friend’s)! Jump rope, jump on a trampoline, play frisbee, skip, play on the playground equipment, play tag, have races, wrestle, play catch, dance. Have fun!

Add music. There are times when the sounds of nature are perfect to accompany your exercise. Then, there are the times when your soul feels the need to bust a move! The right music at the right time can be all the motivation you need to keep going. Go on, shake your groove thing! It’s good for you.

Try Not to Get Discouraged. This “becoming a mover for life” thing is not all-or-none. When you hit a rough patch (and you will), or you skip a work out or 6 (and you will), or you pull a muscle or otherwise injure yourself (you might, but let’s hope for the best), it seems pretty easy to give up. DON’T. Adversity builds character, right?

Just do something else. “Can’t” run for a few weeks because of a knee injury? Swim, do yoga, work on your balance and flexibility, walk your dog more often. “Can’t” make it to the gym or your exercise classes because of a change in your schedule? Do something different at home – borrow some new exercise DVDs from a friend, or sign some out from the library. Try something new.

Opting for a pity party on the couch with a month’s supply of potato chips because you missed working out this week? Or because you gained a few pounds? Really? Get up! Do something! Even if it’s 10 squats (or deep knee bends, if “squats” sounds like too much work), do something. March in place. Move your spine. Put a little Elvis in that pelvis. Smile. You’re getting better now. Carry on.

See? You were trying to get weird on me there.

Just because things aren’t shaping up the way you had hoped doesn’t mean they aren’t shaping up! Just do a side step and carry on.

When you look at the big picture of your overall life, the goal is to see an active lifestyle that you enjoy participating in and having FUN with… and one that keeps you healthy, looking good and feeling great!