You might find yourself regularly making excuses to wriggle your way out of exercising. Perhaps you were just about to head off to the gym but just told yourself that you won’t have enough time to exercise there before it closes. Similarly, maybe you feel tired and that bed is looking very inviting…

These are just examples of how your motivation might falter. However, if you follow the tips below, you could more easily incorporate exercising into your routine.

Choose exercises that you truly love

According to studies cited by WebMD, people who visit the gym simply to improve their appearance don’t tend to stay for the long haul. The problem is that these people are “externally motivated”, whereas you should be “internally motivated” to reduce your chances of giving up too soon.

You would be internally motivated if you love the process of exercising rather than the promised results, so be careful to choose exercises which you genuinely enjoy doing.

Don’t try to run before you can walk

Okay, so we really mean this in a metaphorical sense – but this tip could be worth following more literally if running a marathon is indeed in your sights.

The overall guidance still stands, however. If you are inexperienced with a particular exercise or – for that matter – exercising in general, don’t be too ambitious which how often you exercise in the early stages. Start slowly and then, as you get used to that, give yourself a bigger challenge.

Pursue a broad mix of workouts

If you keep doing the same exercise over and over again, don’t be surprised if your interest soon fades. Exercising like this is, after all, as exciting as repeatedly reading the same page of a book.

Therefore, if you have become accustomed to the elliptical machine, take an occasional break from it to try the stair climber instead. Similarly, during strength training, alternate between machines and free weights. Through such methods, you can exercise a range of muscle groups.

Prestige Boot Camp runs weight loss retreats at which you could learn many exercises that might have long eluded your notice.

Find ways to fit walking into your day

Take heart that brisk walking is exercise that can count towards your daily hour of exercise for lengthening your life, as The Telegraph says. Fortunately, you can easily fit sessions of fast walking into your daily routine even if they are just between your workplace and the bus stop.

Work on a high floor of a multi-storey building? Take the stairs, not the lift. Even if you drive to work, you could start habitually parking your car at an unusually long distance from the office.

Use an app to track your steps

Another benefit of walking for exercise is that your phone likely lets you easily track how many steps you have taken that day. Seeing the steps add up can help motivate you to keep walking! Health-based apps of an impressively wide range are available for both iPhones and Android handsets.