保持運動超過十年的 5 個秘訣

以前我曾經以為，我從學生時代以來會一直保持運動，是因為「我理智上知道運動有很多好處」。

不過這幾年，當教練，看過的例子多到一個地步時，發現自己的想法有點天真

顯然，知道一件事情很重要，到真的持續地把它實現在生活中，有一段距離。畢竟我也有很多覺得非常重要的事，卻一再延宕

事實上，假以時日，你累積起來的環境跟條件，才是重點。

Kelly 教練觀察：能夠一直維持運動習慣長達數年以上的學員們，都有一些共同的環境與條件。

這些環境與條件可能是原本幸運擁有的、但很多也是有意識為自己打造與維護起來的：

越早累積越好，如果還沒，那現在就要開始

就是現在，現在就是最好的時間。

我很幸運小時候家人知道運動的重要性，會一直鼓勵我，加上自己十分好動的天性，默默的幫我累積了許多運動經驗。

經年累月的運動所累積起來的「身體經驗」，是無法用文字說明的，你必須要自己下去做才能知道，就像沒有人可以代替你活在你的身體裡一樣。

你使用身體的模式、你的肢體動作、你的身體內感與知覺（Interoception）都會隨時間跟你對自己的認同整合起來

身體活動不會再是一個「外加」的東西，他會成為你這個人的一部分，這樣的東西，是再也不會隨時間丟失的

讓運動很容易自然發生，也就是降低門檻

有些人會說，運動一定要去一個家裡以外的地方，就像讀書不能在家讀一樣

不過，這其實很短視的觀點。如果時間拉長，從短短天跟週，變成幾年到十幾年，在家裏有一個很容易運動的環境的人，運動習慣必然保持得比其他人好

這也是為什麼 Kelly 教練把「徒手運動」、「彈力帶訓練」、「在家啞鈴訓練」整合進我開的遠端減脂與增肌課裡。

你有了這些東西，不一定代表你以後只能用這樣的方式運動，但他要是你工具庫裡的選項之一。

有些類似徒手、「不倚賴他人或工具」就可以做到的運動，也可以達到這樣的「更容易養成運動習慣」的效果，像是瑜伽、體操、舞蹈等等。

不依靠工具、或依靠度降到最低的運動種類（而且重點是要有效，不止是揮揮手擺擺動作），一開始的門檻可能稍高，因為你的身體要學會完全靠自己掌握動作

但是，他的潛在好處卻是隨時間增加！

第一時間就避開不好的方法，保護自己未來進步的空間

進步過程一定會伴隨某種程度的「不適應」跟「不舒服」，但是到底怎樣是有益處的不舒服，卻需要有成熟的心態才能分辨

如果要給一個簡單的指導原則，Kelly 教練會建議你避開「便宜到不合理」、「好到不像真的」、「會讓你覺得你在懲罰自己」的方法。

這是一個大概的原則，可以幫你至少遠離會讓你未來有一天後悔的作法。

要有一部分「挑戰到肌肉能力」的運動種類

運動一定會有「關節」的活動，比如跑步時膝蓋、髖關節、腳踝會動，打球揮棒時肩膀、手肘、手腕、脊椎會動

最容易受傷的運動有兩種：一種是強度超高的運動，但因為身體素質要求很高，大部分人根本不會輕易做出來，所以…..反而對多數人很「安全」；

另一種是強度很低（所以開始的門檻很低，人人可做）、做出動作時肌肉沒怎麼被挑戰到的運動，像是慢跑、走路、丟球；

這類運動其實也受不了什麼「大傷」，但是造成的疼痛卡卡不順卻相當惱人，會跟你糾纏一輩子

這時候，你的運動裡面，只要有小小一部分「用到肌肉比用到關節動作還多」的運動，就可以完全抗衡掉這種低強度運動做一堆後產生的不便

舉例來說：同樣是走路，如果是上坡走或上樓梯，做出一樣的關節動作時，肌肉被挑戰到的程度遠遠大於走平地，於是你也走不了多少，你就會先因為肌耐力跟心肺耐力被挑戰而停下來，你的關節就不會被過度使用了

請注意：我的意思絕對不是「不能走路、慢跑、丟球」。你如果有做一些肌力挑戰的運動，你能走的路或慢跑的量會遠遠遠遠超過沒做肌力挑戰運動的你

其他這類「給肌肉的挑戰超過關節活動量」的運動，還有像是游泳、飛輪、某些速度慢一點的瑜伽、皮拉提斯、以及 Kelly 教練最推薦的：直接練肌肉，做肌力訓練

你觀察你身邊的人就會發現了。很多年輕時打球跑步什麼樣樣來的人，運動能不能延續到出社會、中年後，就是差在有沒有保持肌肉力量！

優先規劃運動

大部分人這一輩子唯一能夠保持規律的事，就是工作。

為什麼？

因為你把它放在你生活中的第一優先（不管是什麼原因）

當我們說「沒有時間」時，真正的意思其實是「我不覺得這件事重要到要優先安排」

我教過很多學員，真的「無法自拔熱愛運動」的人，極少。（可能也不常會找教練，而且越靠熱血的人，其實放棄機率也是等比例上升）

能規律運動的人，大多數並非無法自拔地跑去運動，而是很務實的選擇了把運動的優先次序，排在很多事情之前

先排好，就不用多想。就像你不會每天眼睛睜開都一直在想怎樣把工作排開一樣。

我猜，通常不是因為你熱愛工作，就只是你已經設定好他就是「第一要務」

想想看，這些要訣，有哪個是你可以馬上開始應用的呢？

Secrets on keeping exercising for a decade

I used to believe that I would continue to exercise throughout my life because “I intellectually understood the benefits of exercise” since I was young. However, in recent years, as a coach, after seeing numerous examples, I’ve realized that my thinking was somewhat naive.

Clearly, knowing something is important, but actually implementing it consistently in life is a different matter. After all, I have many things that I consider very important, yet they have been repeatedly postponed.

In fact, the environments and conditions you have built for yourself over time, are the key.

Coach Kelly observes that students who can maintain exercise habits for several years or more have some common environments and conditions.

These environments and conditions may be something they were fortunate to have, but many of them consciously created and maintained:

The earlier you accumulate them, the better

And if you haven’t yet, then now is the time to start.

It’s now, right now, is the best time.

I was fortunate that my family knew the importance of exercise when I was young and has constantly encouraged me. Combined with my natural inclination to be very active, I quietly accumulated a lot of exercise experiences.

The “body experience” accumulated over the years of exercise cannot be explained in words. You have to do it yourself to understand, just like no one can replace you living in your own body.

The patterns you use your body in, your physical movements, and your internal sensations and awareness (interoception) all integrate over time with your self-identity.

Physical activity will no longer be something “added” to you; it will become a part of who you are. This is something that will not be lost over time.

Making exercise easy and natural reduces the barriers.

Some people say that exercise must be done outside of the home, just like reading cannot be done at home.

However, this is actually a short-sighted view. If you extend the timeline from days and weeks to several years or even decades, those who have an easily accessible exercise environment at home will inevitably maintain their exercise habits better than others.

This is why Coach Kelly integrates “bodyweight exercises,” “resistance band training,” and “dumbbell training at home” into the remote fat loss and muscle gain courses I offer.

Having these options in your toolkit doesn’t mean you have to exercise in this way in the future, but they should be among your options.

Some exercises that are similar to bodyweight exercises that do not rely on others or tools. They can also help you achieve the goal of “making it easier to develop an exercise habit,” such as yoga, gymnastics, dance, and so on.

Exercises that do not rely on intricate tools or have minimal reliance (and the key is that they are effective, not just waving your hands around) may have a slightly higher initial barrier because your body needs to learn to master the movements entirely on its own.

However, their potential benefits increase over time!

Avoid bad methods from the beginning to protect your future progress.

The process of improvement will always involve some degree of “discomfort” and “uneasiness,” but it takes a mature mindset to distinguish what kind of discomfort is beneficial.

If I were to provide a simple guiding principle, I would advise you to avoid methods that are “too cheap to be reasonable,” “seem too good to be true,” or “make you feel like you are punishing yourself.”

This is a general principle that can help you steer clear of methods that you may regret in the future.

There should be a portion of exercises that “challenge muscle capacity”

Exercise involves joint movements, such as knees, hips, and ankles movements when running, and shoulders, elbows, wrists, and spine movements when swinging a bat in sports.

The easiest types of exercise to get injured in fall into two categories: one is high-intensity exercise that most people can’t easily do due to high physical requirements, so it’s relatively “safe” for most people;

The other is low-intensity repetitive exercise such as jogging (so the initial barrier is low, and anyone can do it), where muscles are not challenged much during the movements, such as jogging, walking, and throwing a ball;

These types of exercises don’t typically cause “major injuries,” but the resulting nagging discomfort can be quite annoying and can linger for a lifetime.

At this point, in your exercise routine, as long as you have a small portion of exercises that “challenge muscle capacity more than joint movement,” you can completely counter the inconvenience generated by doing a lot of low-intensity exercise.

For example, with walking as an example, if you walk uphill or climb stairs, even if you make the same joint movements, the degree to which your muscles are challenged is much greater than walking on flat ground. As a result, you won’t be able to walk as much, and you’ll stop earlier because your muscle endurance and cardiovascular endurance are challenged, preventing overuse of your joints.

Please note: I absolutely do not mean “you cannot walk, jog, or play ball.” If you do some muscle-strengthening exercises, you can actually walk so much farther or run so much more than you could without them.

Other types of exercises that fall into this category of “challenging muscles more than joint movement” include swimming, stationary cycling, some slower-paced yoga, Pilates, and Kelly’s coach’s top recommendation: direct muscle training through strength training.

Observe the people around you, and you’ll find the key reason that separates people who used to play sports in their youth but stop doing it and people who also played lots of sports in their early years but continue to exercise into adulthood and middle age: maintaining muscle strength!

Prioritize planning for exercise

For most people, almost the only “habit” that can be consistently executed in their lifetime is work. (Besides from eating and sleeping)

Why?

Because they prioritize it in their lives (whatever the reasons).

When we say “no time,” the real meaning is “I don’t consider this important enough to prioritize.”

I’ve taught many students, and truly “cannot help but love exercise” people are rare (and probably don’t often seek out a coach’s help).

Those who can exercise regularly are mostly not people who are irresistibly drawn to exercise (believe me, this type of people are also easily burnt out and quit); rather, they are very practical in choosing to prioritize exercise ahead of many other things.

Once it’s prioritized, you don’t need to think much about it. Just like you don’t wake up every day thinking about how to arrange work.

I guess that usually, it’s not because you love work, but because you’ve set it as your “top priority.”

Think about it, which of these tips can you start applying right away?