How To Fall In Love With Exercise

Today I’m talking about Exercise. Yes, that old jingle, move it or lose it rings true.

Exercise- We know we should do it but how many of us actually do it?

Are you curious about how many steps you actually get in any given day? The latest reports on health suggest that “Sitting is the new smoking” of our time.

A fun exercise is to track your steps. Simply get curious about how many steps you get when you work from home vs go into the office. You can also track weekdays vs weekends to gauge your activity level.

We now realize that a sedentary lifestyle increases risk factors for practically all diseases including cancer and heart disease the number one and number two killers of people nationwide. Not only that but it leads to weight gain, sluggishness, and a loss of muscle mass.

You probably already know that you need to eat less and move more but you might be asking the question, “how much exercise do I really need?”

Here’s Your Answer…

You will need regular exercise 4-5x per week for 30-minutes. You will need a variety of workouts, and you should focus on hitting a certain level of intensity.

Regularity – Being consistent breeds results. You will start to see those results with five 30-minute spurts of exercise each week taking 2 days to rest. Ideally you should exercise at the same time each day. If you can’t then that’s ok.

Variety – Variety prevents your body from adapting to any certain exercise and avoids reaching a plateau.

Intensity – It is important to elevate your heart rate during exercise. Here’s how to figure out your target heart rate: Take your age and subtract it from 220. Then take that number and multiply it by .85.

Example: 45-year-old female
220 – 45 = 175
175 x .85 = 148 beats per minute (this is 85% of her maximum target heart rate.)

You can find out your heart rate by holding onto the handles of a cardio device or by counting your pulse.
To count your pulse, you can use your neck or wrist. Count the number of beats over 15 seconds and multiply by 4. That will give you your heart rate (the number of times your heart is beating per minute).

Here’s My Story…

I am an early riser. I know that I get more consistent exercise on the mornings when I wake up and go straight to the gym. On the days I choose to sleep in or go to coffee shop I negotiate with myself. I tell myself that I just won’t exercise now and that I can exercise later.

The problem is that later never comes. I can honestly say that for every 10 times I had this conversation with myself and planned to exercise later in any given day it has only happened one day out of every 10 days. Those are poor statistics and definitely not going to help me reach my exercise or daily step goals.

I’m here to help so I want to share my exercise tips with you.

5 Tips to Get You To Commit to a Booty Shakin’ Exercise Schedule:

1) Create a workout calendar and schedule exercise. Decide on a time each day when you will exercise and what it will be.

2) Find a gym that is no more than 5 miles from your home or office. Anything farther will decrease your ability to consistently workout. Gyms with flexible hours and great location to You always win out.

Don’t have a gym membership? No problem! Some of my favorite workout subscriptions come from:

Fitness blender – a free workout station on YouTube and

Gaia.com – an online video subscription service for yoga classes anywhere anytime.

3) Eat real food. People who make better food choices are more motivated to consistently exercise and will see results faster. Most of the food people eat isn’t really food at all. Ask yourself did this grow on a farm? Have I seen this growing in a garden or field somewhere? If you haven’t seen it grow and if you do not recognize all of the ingredients listed then chances are good that it isn’t real food.

4) Find your exercise bliss. What works for one person will not work for another. Think about the types of workouts that you enjoy. If it involves body movement and you like it then it is good for you. And good health is what we’re going for.

5) Find your why. Why am I willing to wake up every morning at 5am and go to the gym? Because I feel good when I’m leaving the gym. I feel stronger, more alert, less stiff, energized and happier than the mornings when I choose to sleep in. Plus, I get to check exercise off my list for the day and that is a very good feeling.

Here’s the Bottom Line…

You don’t have to love your workout every day but you do have to fall in love with the results you are working for.

Anything worth having requires work. You are worthy and deserving of great health. You can reclaim your health and transform your life. If you start exercising consistently tomorrow imagine how you will feel a month from now, a year from now.

Connect with those feelings of self – accomplishment. If you fall in love with the results then you will be able to tolerate the workouts.

I spoke with one of my patients this week who really is an inspiration to us all. He is 92 years old and I was reviewing his annual bloodwork and the supplements he is on. He said to me,

“My goal is to be a super centenarian. I want to live to 110. I know that I’m in some pain every day but I don’t let that get me down because I’m gonna kick it and I’m not just gonna be a centenarian but a super-centenarian.”

Well, how about those bold words! He doesn’t care what it takes to get there but by golly he’s going for it. As we all should. You get yourself out there, find 5 half-hours per week and start shakin it.

With so much love,
Dr. Purcell

(This post was originally a Facebook Live video. You can watch that HERE)

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