The biggest obstacle to a better bod: your brain

Change your vocabulary
Hate to exercise? Try to not think of it that way.

“Take the word ‘exercise’ and put it in the garbage can,” says Gavin. “It’s a word that has a lot of negative connotations.” He even goes so far as to call it “noxious.”

People often say they hate to exercise. But it’s harder to object to the terms “physical activity” or “movement.”

Exercise is a loaded word that’s often equated with going to the gym or jogging, activities that coach potatoes aren’t keen on, Gavin says. But you don’t have to hit the gym or jog miles to get benefit.

Instead, think about simply getting more movement in your daily life, he advises, such as by walking, biking, gardening or even house-cleaning. It all adds up.

Take the long view
Fitness programs often fail because people have a "one-shot wonder mentality" in which they want immediate results or else they quit, says Wrisberg.

But exercise does not produce dramatic results overnight — or even in just a couple of months. If you were banking on losing lots of weight from January till now, or getting a super-sculpted bod, you just haven't put in enough time. So stay the course.

In the meantime, notice how much better you feel after you exercise. The feel-good effect can be short-lived, but some regular exercisers thrive on it, says Susser.

“I think you get psychologically hooked," she says. "There’s such a sense of power from exercise and sport — not just the competition but the physicality of pushing yourself.”

Research shows that while beginning exercisers are generally motivated by physical goals, over time people are more motivated by how physical activity makes them feel.

"Once people get to the point where they find that activity or couple of activities that work for them, they get sort of a positive addiction,” Wrisberg says. "Getting people to that point is the challenge of exercise psychology. We’re not sure exactly when it happens but it can happen.”

Smart Fitness appears every other Tuesday.

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