{"id":2046,"date":"2013-01-10T03:23:09","date_gmt":"2013-01-10T08:23:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/beyondgorgeous\/?p=2046"},"modified":"2012-12-07T10:24:13","modified_gmt":"2012-12-07T15:24:13","slug":"a-fitness-plan-you-can-do-forever-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondgorgeous\/2013\/01\/a-fitness-plan-you-can-do-forever-2.html","title":{"rendered":"A Fitness Plan You Can Do Forever"},"content":{"rendered":"

A friend saw that her fitness center membership was about to expire, so she rushed in to renew \u2014 even though she hadn\u2019t been inside the place for months.<\/p>\n

\u201cI bet you have a name for people like me who pay for memberships but never show up to work out,\u201d she said jokingly.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d the owner replied.\u00a0 \u201cWe call them \u2018profits.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been there \u2014 and you probably have, too. \u00a0 \u201cI MUST get in shape,\u201d we think.\u00a0 We join a gym and the first day\u00a0 work out enthusiastically on all the equipment. Or we buy a killer dvd that guarantees to make us svelte in 30 days if \u00a0we undergo their brand of exercise torture.\u00a0 Or we buy an expensive machine and give it a thorough workout as soon as it arrives.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Then we cannot move for three days. Our muscles scream with pain and we feel like joining the chorus.\u00a0 We had the best intentions, but\u00a0 already are on the road to giving up.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So let\u2019s not go there anymore. Let\u2019s do something easy.\u00a0 It\u2019s inexpensive, painless, won\u2019t take up space in your bedroom, and you DO have time to work it into your schedule.\u00a0 You just need three things:<\/p>\n

A pair of shoes.<\/p>\n

A pair of feet.<\/p>\n

A pedometer.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how it works:<\/p>\n

Get a good pedometer and wear it throughout the day from the time you get up until you go to bed at night.\u00a0 Write down the number of steps you took that day. Do that for three days in a row, then take the average of the number.\u00a0 You may be surprised.I thought I was \u2018active\u2019 but found out instead that I was practically comatose!<\/p>\n

Suppose you have an average of 3,200 steps.\u00a0 This week, make it your goal to add 200 steps.\u00a0 Every day you will make sure\u00a0 you walk at least 3,400 steps.\u00a0 Next week you will add 200 more, so you take at least 3,600 steps \u2014 and so on.\u00a0 Eventually you will work up to 10,000 steps or more.<\/p>\n

Is it hard to add 200 steps?\u00a0 Not at all!\u00a0 Just take a walk through your house or out in your yard.<\/p>\n

Will it do any good?\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 It will get you out of your chair and moving.\u00a0 It will be painless and doable, so this is one plan you can do forever. \u00a0We\u2019ll talk more about benefits and strategies for adding steps in later posts.<\/p>\n

So in our easy, Beyond Gorgeous, fitness plan we will:<\/p>\n