Progress, Not Perfection: The Power of Incremental Improvement

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Exercises | Lifestyle

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December 8, 2023

Social media is full of exercise clickbait enticing you to ‘get fit fast’ with a magic pill, the latest craze or ‘breakthrough exercise’. They rarely work and leave us blaming ourselves for being ‘lazy’ and throwing money out the window. Its not your fault, you’ve been sold an empty promise in a moment of vulnerability, perhaps when you were feeling a bit flat. These fads rarely lead to sustained long-term change and my advice has always been to find an exercise or sport that you enjoy. It is much easier to develop a healthy habit when it doesn’t feel like a chore.

The key to real change is a lot more boring, like most things in life worth doing it takes time and effort which is why it doesn’t lend itself to impulse buys. It is (of course), consistency. To stay on track with any habit requires planning and strategy – we need to consider how we can make the path to change as easy and appealing as possible.

Because many of us have a negative relationship with exercise and focus on what we feel we ‘should’ do, we forget that the journey can be a rewarding and positive experience rather than a punishment for the extra cupcake or wine we ‘shouldn’t have had’.

If a kid doesn’t want to eat their vegetables, we might choose to entice them with understanding the benefits, rewarding them or different ways of preparation. It’s the same with exercise, find what works for you. Make it into a game, do it with music, company, podcasts, or make it part of a new hobby like water sports or dance.

Perhaps reward yourself for being consistent or make the exercise part of the reward, schedule a regular walk or ride to café with a friend and enjoy a coffee together. Eventually you’ll acquire a taste for movement, and it won’t be a chore, it will be desirable, and you’ll notice the benefits because of your consistency.

Any exercise that gets your heart rate up and challenges your body is better than nothing. Even low-intensity activities such as walking or gentle yoga can provide significant health benefits including improved mood, reduced stress levels, hormone regulation, increased bone density, joint health and better quality of sleep.

If you hate running, don’t force yourself to go for a run each day, try out difference types of exercise until you find something you genuinely enjoy like group fitness or a Personal Trainer who can Coach you and keep you accountable.

You’re better off doing something for 10 minutes on a regular basis than nothing at all so start small if it helps. The physical and mental health benefits of regular physical activities are well worth the effort.

Fitness Revolution in Bassendean welcomes everybody but specialises in the over 40’s in a fun and safe environment. Learn more about our personal and group training.

Founder/Director Angela Gawthorne