Be Active Daily

Be Active Daily

“I’m too busy”, “If only I had more time”, “I don’t have time to exercise”

These are common statements made by too many people, even from those who want to healthy and active. Here are my tips for staying motivated to not only be active, but to stay active.

Tip #1 – Challenge Yourself

A couple of years ago, I set a fun goal of trying to run a minimum of one mile or 1.6km per day for 45 days. Although running only one mile per day didn’t seem like a lot of time or distance, it allowed me to have a goal. As the challenge evolved, once I completed my run, I would be more inclined to add more exercises to the workout. Since I was already sweaty and had my heart rate up why not add push-ups and squats after each run. This evolved to lunges, sit-ups, planks, and more time using a bosu ball and foam rolling. Long story short this ended up being 45 straight days of this routine and I felt great.

Tip #2 – Balancing Life

Last year, I decided to set the same goal again but to increase my streak of days to at least 60 days. I didn’t think this goal was going to be hard to achieve as I knew I was capable of doing 45 days. What’s 15 more days? I did achieve my goal, but it was tougher than expected. There were more than a few occasions where life got in the way. Work was getting busy, kids had activities, and a list of other things was piling up. There were even a few nights where my runs started at 11:45pm. To some that might seem pointless to get outside and run but I was determined to achieve my goal.

Tip #3 – Set Obtainable Goals

This year I wanted a different challenge and I changed my focus a bit. Running is still a very important part of my life but juggling 2 kids, my wife’s fitness routine, running a household, and work, I knew daily runs would get tough. I also wanted a new focus on fitness to help with my basketball as well as cross-training for running.

Be active daily is a personal mantra I use to stay focused on being active throughout 2016. The challenge with the daily running goals in past years is that I felt burnt out and ended up not being as active consistently throughout the year. Too many “rest days” turned into “rest weeks” and ultimately I didn’t feel I was as fit as I could have been. As I write this today it will be 74 days of being active and it never felt as difficult as with past goals.

Tip #4 – Make Fitness Fun

Fitness should be fun and not a chore, pick activities you like or ones you could do with a friend.
My focus in 2016 is a lot more on anaerobic training which incorporates high interval running, core/weight training, and basketball. I have also incorporated walking and playing various games and sports with the kids. It’s been a regular 3-5 days per week of being active but still being smart with my time and activity.

Tip #5 – Use Social Media for Accountability

I would challenge anyone who says they are too busy or there isn’t enough time. If you have time for social media, then you have time to be active. Set specific health and fitness goals, use the many resources around you, form a supportive circle, and you too can be active daily.

Ermin Pagtakhan
Kintec Race Team, Kintec Pedorthist, Port Moody Store Manager

#beactivedaily2016