they are attempting Staying motivated with a walking plan As anyone who hasn t gotten her money s worth out of a gym membership knows, it s easy to lose steam once the newness wears off. One of the most important goals for exercise is staying motivated so you want to do it regularly — and even begin to look forward to it! These walking tips will keep you coming back for more: Give yourself small rewards. Especially after your first successful week, it s a great motivator to reward yourself. Some ideas include new walking clothes, a special journal for recording “walking thoughts, a walk by the beach to watch the sun set or rise, or anything that might contribute to your walking goals and make you happy. Get organized the night before. Lay out your sneakers and walking clothes ahead of time so it s easy to slip into them when you re ready to go. Make it interesting. Find new routes in nearby neighborhoods where there is a lot to see. You don t necessarily need to take a different route every day. Just keep your walk interesting without losing focus. You might also consider scheduling a “walk and talk date with a friend. If you don t feel like going, take a mini-walk around block. Even if you don t feel like it, try to push yourself to just walk around the block. Once you re outside and on the move, you may find you ll want to go two or three more blocks than you anticipated. Sign up for a 5K walk. Sometimes having a concrete goal to reach is a great motivator. If there is a 3 or 5K walk in your town that you are interested in, put it on your calendar and take the time to train for it. This is also a great opportunity to enlist a friend to accompany you on your walking adventures — most of us love doing something for a cause. Whether it s a breast cancer research walk, a race to support autism charities, or some other worthy cause, you‘ll feel good about your walk on several levels. 5 extra benefits of walking for exercise We all know that walking is good for weight loss, but how else does this simple exercise help your life? These 5 benefits may help motivate you! Regular walking: 1. Allows time to process the day 2. Stimulates detoxification 3. Feeds feel-good endorphins 4. Stimulates bone growth and repair 5. Improves cholesterol levels, decreases cancer risk, and lowers heart attack risk Next in our walking series: Avoiding obstacles with your walking plan Previous post: Starting a successful walking routine * Information presented here is not intended to cure, diagnose, prevent or treat any health concerns or condition, nor is it to serve as a substitute professional medical care. truly fizzling out
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