Exercise is quite possibly one of the most disliked aspects of anti-aging and beauty. I know scores of people who view exercise as the enemy. But it doesn’t have to be! I personally love to work out. In fact, I consider exercise to be my “fountain of youth.”
In addition to keeping the body lean and lowering stress levels, exercise benefits the heart and lungs, increases strength and muscle tone, and helps you get rid of toxins.
It also causes dramatic changes at the genetic level. Exercise can make the skin look younger by increasing circulation and delivering nutrients to skin cells. According to Audrey Kunin, M.D., a Kansas City, Missouri, dermatologist and the author of DERMAdoctor Skinstruction Manual, exercise promotes collagen production. This helps keep wrinkles and lines at bay.
Here are my shortcuts for getting motivated to exercise:
- Go shopping. When you look good, you feel good. Just because I’m going to get sweaty doesn’t mean I can’t wear something smashing. Today’s designers have given us workout clothes that look as good as they perform.
- Play along. As much as I love to exercise, sometimes I fall into the “couch potato” rut. When that happens, I “trick” myself into working out by saying, “I’m just going to fake it.” I’ll put on that adorable workout outfit and start out by simply going through the motions. Five minutes into it, I get a second wind and find myself exercising full-tilt.
- Discover Dr. Sears’ P.A.C.E. program. Dr. Al Sears, M.D., has been researching exercise for many years, and his P.A.C.E. program makes it easy for anyone at any level to get all the benefits of exercise. I’m a true believer and have achieved excellent results using his program. Anyone can do it, and it takes just 12 minutes a day!
- Remember strength training. A research study shows that lifting weights is very effective when it comes to melting fat and avoiding diabetes. A team from Boston University School of Medicine genetically engineered some mice to grow a specific type of muscle, called Type II, which develops as a result of resistance training. Kenneth Walsh, PhD, senior author of the study said, “We’ve shown that Type II muscle does more than allow you to pick up heavy objects. It’s also important in controlling whole-body metabolism. If you have these muscles, even when you’re not doing much, you’re still burning up energy.”
- Use visual motivation. I cut a photo from a magazine of a woman whose body I admired and taped it to my refrigerator for years. I would see that photo every day and aspire to look like her. Guess what? Now I have a picture of my own body up there, because, using all these tips, I have finally achieved the fit body I’ve always wanted.
Getting motivated to exercise can be made much easier when you break it down into small steps. Once you start noticing the benefits of working out and feeling great, it will get easier and easier to stay motivated. See you at the gym!
To Your Youthful Skin,
Jackie Silver
|
[Ed. Note: The latest addition to our panel of top experts, Jackie Silver is the author of Aging Backwards: Secrets to Staying Young. She’s a dynamic and beautiful 50-something bombshell who looks half her age. She created “Aging Backwards” in 2006 to help empower women to look and feel younger than their actual age. Keep reading Ageless Beauty Secrets for more of Jackie’s best tips, tricks and secret weapons for stopping the effects of aging and improving the whole self – mind, body and spirit.] |
