Making Exercise a Habit Again

     After having reconstructive knee surgery last March, I have pushed through various obstacles at various times on the road to recovery.  For the first 4-1/2 months it was grueling physical therapy, extending up to 6-8 hours a day. (My "full time job" at the time, yes?)  Then came the task of teaching my leg how to walk correctly again, use the stairs again, etc.  It's amazing how after a year of limping, your body adapts to that and thinks that is a correct walking stance!  And now the biggest hurdle of all......trying to make exercise a habit again.
     See, the problem with the timeline of returning from an injury is that, during that time of recovery, you have other things you need to put your efforts into, which takes your focus away from going to the gym.  Inevitably, you end up "out of the habit."  Before my surgery I couldn't understand why people found it so hard to get to the gym!  I was going nearly every day without even a second thought!  It was like breathing for me.  Now I understand how, when life gets in the way, it is VERY easy to just put your health on the shelf and save it for another day.
     I want to share some ideas with you that have helped me GREATLY improve on making exercise a habit again.  They are small things at first, but lead to BIG impacts when you're ready to make a more solid commitment down the road....
1.  SET SMALL GOALS AT FIRST
     Some people like to dive headfirst into the deep end when they've never touched water.  I have been one of those people in the past that tries something too soon, too fast, and ended up on the couch not being able to move the next day.  However, with something as big as a surgery, I knew that approach would backfire.  When I was first coming back into the "normalcy of life" stage, I started out with a goal of just walking in the doors of the gym and just doing SOMETHING.  Also I set a goal to only allow one day's rest in between workout sessions.  These things are important because they start you on the train to habit-town!
2.  RE-TRAIN YOUR MIND TO PUT FITNESS BACK AT THE FOREFRONT
     Remember when your name was synonymous with "gym rat" back in the day?  If you don't, it means that your health has become lower on the life totem pole again.  Re-training your mind and the way you think about health is important!  Probably the MOST important thing, because this is the NUMBER ONE REASON why people fail...they fail in their mind before they even make an attempt to start!  Fill your mind EVERY DAY with positive health affirmations like these:
"I choose to be healthy because my family and friends deserve the best ME that they can get!"
"I exercise and eat right to BE HEALTHY!"
"My body is strong and healthy, and capable of amazing feats!"
You get the idea.....EVERY successful endeavor someone has attempted has started IN THE MIND.  They BELIEVED that they could do it!
Two very simple things to focus on that bring big results later!  It's like anything else in life...focus on the little things and the big things will take care of themselves.  Start with small exercise habits and the bigger feats in the gym will eventually feel so small again.  Good luck!