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Fitness Success: Working with Willpower
taken from Fitness Management by Barbara A. Brehm, Ed.D

Changing a habit takes energy. Yet, we tend to forget this when making resolutions to become more active. We often get carried away with our plans. After all, it looks so easy on paper. But when we begin to translate our plans into daily life, we sometimes find we cannot muster the willpower required to overcome our old habits.
Willpower refers to the control you exert over your thoughts, feelings and behavior. Psychologists call this self-control. It takes self-control to change your routine. You use self-control when you roll out of bed in the morning and go for a walk, even though you would rather sleep another hour. But whatever you call it-willpower, determination or self-control-most people feel like they never have quite enough of it, especially when trying to start a physical activity program.
Acknowledging that self-control is a limited resource can help you make more effective plans when it comes to increasing your level of physical activity. Working with your own level of self-control increases your likelihood for success. Understanding ways to reduce the amount of self-control required by your activity program means that your plans are more likely to succeed.

• Exercise takes time and energy
  If you have previously exercised regularly, you know that exercise can make you feel great, but also that it requires time and energy. People most successful at sticking to their exercise programs admit from the beginning that they need to make an effort to do so, especially during the first six months. Assuming that adding physical activity to your life will be easy almost guarantees failure. You must summon the energy to try hard, and persist in the face of the challenges that inevitably arise in daily life.

• Make your health a priority
  How can you make your health a priority? Learn about how important exercise is to your health and wellbeing. People need at least 30 minutes of fairly vigorous physical activity most days of the week. Without activity, we are at greater risk of artery disease, obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes and depression. How important is your health to you? Remember that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure when it comes to chronic illness. Exercise also has immediate paybacks. Exercise reduces feelings of stress and gives you energy. It also improves sleep quality and mood. Look for these immediate rewards, and remind yourself frequently of the importance of your long-term health.

• Make physical activity a habit
  Habits become natural, so once exercise is part of your routine you can operate on automatic pilot, and you may even feel disappointed if you must skip your exercise session for some reason. Habits develop most quickly when activity follows a "same time, same place" type of format. You may wish to perform the same activities every day, or you might like some kind of weekly routine. For example, you could walk Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday, and attend an exercise class Tuesday and Thursday. Set up a routine you will be most likely to follow. The more trouble you have had sticking to an exercise program, the more repetitious your routine should be. You want to avoid making decisions, which give you the opportunity to decide not to exercise!

• Exercise with a friend
  Social support reduces the need for self-control. When your friend is waiting for you, you can't decide not to exercise.

• Exercise early in the day, if possible
  People who exercise first thing in the day have the best chance of sticking to their exercise programs. Self-control tends to be strongest at this time of day, and you are less likely to be detained by other demands.

• Exercise to reduce stress
  Stress is the leading cause of exercise program attrition. Coping with stress depletes your self-control energy. When you feel bad, doing something to help yourself feel better becomes more important than future health benefits. Learn to look to exercise to improve your mood and cope with stress.