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The benefits of exercise are only obtained if you make an effort to participate in physical activity on a regular basis, and therefore it is essential to formulate an exercise programme that you can stick with in order to maximise the positive impact on your health and fitness. It is also important to consider your current fitness levels and what your fitness aims are so that you have a fixed goal of what you want to achieve and can set about achieving it in a realistic manner. If you're extremely unfit there is little point trying to run a marathon right away as you'll simply end up doing yourself damage and may become dispirited as a result, and thus give up trying to become fitter.

In order to stick with an exercise programme you need to find an activity which you enjoy doing, as if it is an activity which leaves you feeling upbeat, energetic and wanting to do more it clearly will be easier to want to continue doing it. If, on the other hand, you find the exercise you do boring and painful you will be less inclined to want to do it again and might just give up altogether. If you're the kind of person who gets bored easily you might prefer to find a range of activities that you can do, so that you can mix up your exercise routine a little bit.

The main thing is to have routine in the first place, though, so that you actually make time for exercise. Some people like to exercise before they have breakfast and before the working day begins; others prefer to exercise during the day or after work. It is obviously a personal preference, but it is a good idea to find a time of day when you are most likely to take part in physical activity on a consistent basis. Once you get into the habit of exercising at a particular time of day it simply becomes part of your routine, and thus you don't even think of it as something out of the ordinary, but rather as an essential part of your day.

You might find that exercising with others can help you stay motivated to exercise. Perhaps you could find an activity that gets the whole family involved, such as a family bike ride, or maybe you find that the prospect of competition drives you on. You might prefer to exercise on your own, but as long as you find a form of exercise which suits your lifestyle and that you are likely to continue with it doesn't really matter what it is, since only by sticking with an exercise programme will you notice your fitness levels improve and subsequently your overall health as well.

Learn more about this author, Michelle Wilkinson.
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