by Tiffany G

Created on: January 12, 2007   Last Updated: April 18, 2007

Exercise - aerobic or not - eludes a lot of Americans due to a lack of motivation; we're too busy. What's worse about aerobic exercise, especially when it comes to our American mentality, is that it requires a lot of work, sweat, and time. It's difficult for us to motivate ourselves - after full work days, chasing the children around, weekends with the in-laws, or stressful significant other episodes - to get up and do an hour's-worth of jazzercise or step-dancing. There are a few ways to get around this lack of motivation.

1) Choose a type of exercise that you ENJOY (not necessarily aerobic exercise). This is easier than it sounds; not everything has to be a "go-to-the-gym, work-your-ass-off" kind of experience.

If you are a strung-out person with a high-power job, perhaps yoga would be good for you; you would be scheduling time in your hectic, stressful day simply to stretch your muscles and relax. You can build your flexibility and meditate; the biggest plus about this type of exercise is that after a while you can do it on your own - without a teacher - at home!

If you are a person who has too monotonous a routine, perhaps a dance class (maybe you can learn salsa or swing dancing like you've always wanted to!) three times a week, or an intramural sporting team (you were really good at soccer when you were a kid; why not take that up again?) to spice up your schedule a little bit. Dancing and playing a sport can be considered aerobic exercise, but they're a lot more fun!

2) Find a buddy who you know will help you stick to your schedule. Whether this person will pound you with guilt if you try to back out, or simply make you feel like the bigger person because they'll always try to back out before you, it always helps to have another person to push you along.

3) Be patient. Don't expect immediate and amazing results, physically. Even if you're not trying to lose weight, but just to tone up a little, don't focus on the results. This comes along with making the right exercise choice; do it for the enjoyment. You'll find that if you choose an activity that will keep you moving and in shape but is still something that you look forward to doing, it won't seem like exercise and you'll focus less on the health benefits, even though they're still there.

No one ever said exercise had to be aerobic. And no one ever said it had to be torture.

Learn more about this author, Tiffany G.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.