Are you thinking about starting exercise? If so, try to answer these two questions.

I ought to exercise because.
I don't exercise because ………

If you are a true contemplator, your list of cons outweighs your list of pros

Contemplators are aware that being inactive is a problem. They see the advantages of an active lifestyle but can't get started. Contemplators are seriously thinking about becoming active; they simply have not made a decision to do it yet. They may have been active at one point but have stopped.

Research has identified five stages of change: precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action and maintenance.

Precontemplators are not even aware that being inactive is a problem for their health.

Those in the preparation stage go one step further than contemplators in that they intend to take action in the next month and may have unsuccessfully tried to be active in the past year.

The action stage is where people start being active regularly. It requires a great deal of effort and for that reason; new exercisers are very tempted to not keep it up.

If they keep at it, however, they go into the maintenance stage, where they work hard to keep up the regular pattern of activity by removing obstacles to being active.

Here are some suggestions for moving from contemplating exercise to doing it:

Write down the pros and cons for being active. If you only list 5 or 10, keep looking. There are many.

Think about the social benefits of physical activity. You could spend your activity night with friends, or even make new friends through physical activity.

Put the fun back into exercise. Enjoy it and it won’t feel like a hard task

Think of three ways you could reward yourself for increasing your activity level.

Moving from contemplation to preparation is a matter of the pros becoming more powerful than the cons.

If you are a contemplator, take the time in the next month to find out more about the benefits of an active, healthy lifestyle.