Working It Out: How To Find That Motivation To Exercise

We're now halfway through January and if you've made some New Year's Resolutions to get more exercise it can be tough to keep at it.

Exercise Expert Mo Smith from Bailey Bariatrics joined News On 6 at 9 to talk more about some easy ways to stay on track with your fitness goals!

Dave: Okay, so Moe, I want to ask you about the weather and how that affects our motivation. First of all, because the weather is just top of mind for everyone right now.

Mo: A lot of people, they would just soon stay at home under their blanket, you know, in front of a fire sipping on their hot cocoa, they don't want to get out into this cold weather. And that sometimes I've noticed with a lot of my patients is okay, I've got to change clothes, okay, I've got to go into the gym, I've got to take my clothes off, and I've got to re-bundle back up, but I'm all hot and sweaty.

So there's a lot of negativity with cold weather sometimes, but some people are actually intrigued by getting out in the cold, okay, not me personally, right? And so you've got to find what works best for you. And I do suggest, you know, if it's going to the gym, maybe get a partner to go with you to the gym to help motivate each other.

But if you choose to be home, you know, find a little cozy spot in your house, that you can enjoy movement. I always say turn on music and dance like nobody's watching. Yeah, have fun with it.

Dave: Even if like the cats are watching or the dogs watching. It's fine. They're cool with it. I mean, and you talked about this so much over the years, you know, anything is better than nothing. So something helps rather than being literally sedentary and getting like 1000 steps a day.

Mo: Right. And you know, having a watch or a phone or turn on a timer maybe in the kitchen that you have to get up and go turn it off. Okay, isn't it when you're standing in front of the refrigerator, the sink, do 10 calf raises, do 10 squats even is just a little movement. We just have to keep moving and have fun with it. Finding that motivation to continue your resolutions, set small realistic goals.

You know, okay, last year, I turned 50. And I'm like, I'm gonna go run a marathon. Oh, my gosh, I knew better.

Dave: Right? That was not realistic for you at that time at that time.

Mo: And so finding small goals and focusing on your health and your well-being instead of the number on the scale. That makes sense. And so looking at clothes, and how they fit you how much more stamina you have. And with exercise, it helps your immune system, it boosts your energy for yourself even.

Dave: I like the idea of scheduling as well. We have a lot of information here. But scheduling, yes, scheduling the workouts, how does that help?

Mo: Well, so think of it too as scheduling that time as your appointment. You have to go to the doctor's, you make it to that appointment. So scheduling, self-care, health and wellness, and it could be 10 minutes at 10 o'clock and 10 minutes at 2 pm. Even I say the 10-and-2 kind of like you're driving right.

In scheduling that time for self-care is just so important. And not feeling guilty about it is another thing.

Dave: Yeah, well, I mean, our calendar, we have a calendar at home and my wife puts yoga on it. It's on the calendar. It's there. And that way we can plan ahead and we know what's going on. You mentioned the workout buddy, I wanted to talk about one that you hadn't quite touched on physical benefits beyond just what you would think of exercise, you know, helps my heart be healthy and helps me get up and around.

There's there's there's anxiety, there's mood, there's stress tied to exercise, right, exactly.

Mo: So the dopamine effect, you get the endorphins kicking in, and it's almost kind of like completing tasks. So when you finish a puzzle, or you're working on a project and you complete it, it's a dopamine uptake. And so for exercise, of course, yoga walking, it does help boost energy and excitement.

Dave: I know what you're saying though. Because you want to do you want to go in the opposite direction of anxiety and stress whenever you can, especially if you're going to be cooped up in the house all day that can that can be very, very difficult.

Mo: Stress produces cortisol. So cortisol is a fat hormone. And so when we can expel fat, which is by breathing, you know we can we can get rid of our stress just by deep breathing. Four to five seconds. Inhale, for four to five seconds. Exhale. Why not?

Dave: Well, Mo thank you so much. We'll see you again soon. And great advice for this cold weather yet another thing that you can do, and check off your list for this day or we appreciate it.