Oh how we wish we could fall in love with exercise as much as we fall in love with dark chocolate on a bi-nightly basis, able to commit to the burn every day with a smile that won’t fade and a passion that can be paused for anything or anyone. That’s the dream right there, and one we share with so many women.

It’s being able to love exercise. Not because we want to lose weight or shake off those flabby bits, but because it makes you feel happy, centred and fantastic about you and your world, in the same way chatting to your best friend does or dancing to your favourite songs in just a towel after stepping out of the shower. That’s the same sort of love you want to have for exercise. And you can because exercise is epic at making you feel awesome and making your life so much richer.

So, without further ado, here are some simple ways to fall in love with exercise, and turn your frenemy into your bestie.

1. Find An Exercise That Makes You Smile

Shock horror, no one enjoys lifting weights. Nor does anyone enjoy running a marathon. So forcing yourself to do these things is a surefire way to begrudge the very idea of hitting the gym. But to get fit and reap the benefits of exercise, you don’t need lift weight or pound the pavement. No way. You could go salsa dancing, join a yoga group, get into rock climbing, swim twice a week – anything. So find the one you enjoy and stick to it.

2. Give Yourself An Exercise Why

Now that you have got a couple of exercises that don’t make your brow furrow, you want to give yourself a reason to keep at it – a reason why. This is because losing weight is not a reason packed full of joy. Instead, each attempt will feel like a chore. It’s a much better idea to exercise because it makes you feel good, it fills you with confidence, you’re picking up a skill, it’s good for your sleep issues, our libido has skyrocketed and your depression has reduced. Those are the reasons why you should cling on to.

3. Never Train Alone

Nothing is going to give you that get up and go more than exercising with someone. It’s having that person to chat to and bounce off, inspire and be inspired by. It doesn’t matter if you get into the habit of doing an evening park run with your best friend or you book in with a personal trainer at somewhere like Elite Training – having someone to exercise with will make the whole thing a million times more enjoyable. You could even grab a coffee and have a proper gossip afterwards and use this as some valuable catch up time, which we all know to be super-important the older you get.

4. Get All The Gear

It might sound incredibly superficial, but having the right clothing and gear can work absolute wonders when it comes to motivation and enjoyment. It could be slipping into a pair of new running shoes or slipping into a pair of tight leggings that perks you up, which is because when you look good you feel good too. Try and opt for brighter colours though these little suckers can really cheer you up.  

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