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" Exercise is a key to good health and happiness \u2014 yes, yes, we all know this, but knowing that we should exercise doesn&amp;#039;t mean we do it. My natural activity level hovers slightly above &amp;quot;couch potato.&amp;quot; Still, through the years, I&amp;#039;ve developed some strategies to make sure I get some exercise \u2014 not a lot of exercise, but some.  In fact, my most helpful strategy has been to keep the bar low. I know myself. If I pushed myself to stay on the treadmill for more than 20 minutes or to attend my husband&amp;#039;s crazy spin class, I&amp;#039;d give up. But by rewarding myself with a gold star for even modest efforts, I&amp;#039;ve managed to exercise steadily for years. And, after all, research shows that even moderate aerobic exercise boosts mood for as long as 12 hours. In my very unscientific survey of the people I know who exercise regularly, most of them \u2014 and add me to that group \u2014 report that they stick to their routine more for its mental effects than for its physical effects. While it&amp;#039;s tempting to flop down on the couch when we&amp;#039;re feeling exhausted, exercise is actually a great way to give yourself a quick lift. Some people assume that working out is tiring, but in fact it boosts energy, especially in sedentary people \u2014 and there are a lot of us. A recent study showed that 25% of Americans don&amp;#039;t get any exercise at all. By exercising just 20 minutes a day, three days a week, for six weeks, persistently tired people boosted their energy. But though exercise is a very healthy habit, it can be a hard habit to develop, even when you fully believe that you&amp;#039;ll feel better if you exercise. Because my idea of fun has always been to lie in bed reading, preferably while also eating a snack, here are a few exercise tricks I&amp;#039;ve used: 1. Always exercise on Monday This sets the psychological pattern for the week and helps you get into the habit of exercise. Similarly... 2. If at all possible, exercise first thing in the morning As the day wears on, additional complications pop up to interfere with my plans to exercise; also, I invent more creative excuses to justify skipping my workout. Exercising first thing in the morning makes it more likely that I&amp;#039;ll do it \u2014 plus, it&amp;#039;s a very nice way to start the day. Then, even if nothing else goes right, at least I&amp;#039;ve accomplished that much. 3. Give yourself credit for the smallest effort  When I was trying to get into the habit of running, my father told me, &amp;quot;As long as you put on your running shoes and close the front door behind you, it counts as a run!&amp;quot; Many times, by promising myself I could quit after 10 minutes, I got myself to start \u2014 and then found that I didn&amp;#039;t want to quit after all. Even the smallest amount of exercise is good for us. Just a quick 10-minute walk provides an immediate energy boost and improves mood \u2014 in fact, exercise can snap you out of a funk. Along the same lines... 4. Remember one of my favorite Secrets of Adulthood, courtesy of Voltaire Don&amp;#039;t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Don&amp;#039;t decide it&amp;#039;s worth exercising only if you can run five miles or bike for an hour. A friend of mine falls into this trap. &amp;quot;Just doing the StairMaster for 40 minutes doesn&amp;#039;t seem like real exercise to me,&amp;quot; she told me. &amp;quot;I like to push myself hard &amp;amp;amp;mash; train for a marathon, or something like that.&amp;quot; I felt bad about my easy workouts \u2014 until I realized that I exercise regularly, and she never does.  5. Consider the context I used to think that I disliked weight training, but actually, I disliked the guys who hung out in the weight-training area at my gym. Do the grubby showers in your gym distress you? Do you try to run in the mornings, but recoil from going out in the cold? Do you get bored during your swim? Examine the external factors that might be discouraging you from exercising.  Next: More Benefits of Exercise 6. If you don&amp;#039;t have the time ...to both exercise and take a shower \u2014 a particular challenge for women, who, unlike men, need time for fixing their hair and makeup \u2014 find a way to exercise that doesn&amp;#039;t require you to shower afterward. Once a week, I endure a very challenging weight-training session, but the format I follow doesn&amp;#039;t make me sweat. (Some people say, &amp;quot;It can&amp;#039;t be challenging if you don&amp;#039;t sweat!&amp;quot; Oh, yes, believe me, it can be.)  7. Look for affordable ways to make exercising more pleasant or satisfying Could you upgrade to a nicer or more convenient gym? Buy yourself a new iPod? Work with a trainer? Get a pedometer to keep track of your walking distances? Invest in a stationary bike? Exercise is a high life priority, so this is a worthwhile place to spend money if you can swing it. 8. Suit up Even if you&amp;#039;re not sure you&amp;#039;re going to exercise, put on your exercise clothes. Pack your gym bag. Put the dog&amp;#039;s leash by the door. Get prepared. If you&amp;#039;re ready to go, you&amp;#039;ll find it easier just to go ahead and exercise. Sometimes a very trivial thing \u2014 like not knowing where your shoes are \u2014 gets in the way. 9. If you really struggle to develop the habit of exercising, try this strategy Exercise every day. Weirdly, I&amp;#039;ve noticed that it&amp;#039;s often easier to do something every day than just some days. When I do something some days, I spend a lot of time arguing with myself: Today or tomorrow? Does this count? If I do something every day, I just have to do it. It sounds counterintuitive, but give it a try! 10. If you just can&amp;#039;t force yourself to exercise, follow this rule You can&amp;#039;t take a shower unless you&amp;#039;ve exercised that day. That&amp;#039;s right, no shower unless you&amp;#039;ve exercised. Or substitute showering with some other necessary activity that you frequently do \u2014 visiting the grocery store, watching TV. This rule ensures that you get at least some exercise. One last note of caution: People often tell themselves that they deserve a &amp;quot;treat&amp;quot; to reward themselves for exercising. However, if your idea of a postexercise treat is a chocolate chip muffin, your exercise routine might not have the positive results you expect. Trying to live a happier life can sometimes seem like an abstract and complicated undertaking, but a great place to start is with your own body. Your physical experience influences your emotional experience, and getting some exercise is a concrete, manageable way to help yourself feel as calm, energetic, and cheerful as possible. Think of exercise as part of your essential preparation for times you want to be in especially fine form: to be sharp for an important presentation or to deal with a stressful situation. I&amp;#039;ve found that once I&amp;#039;ve begun exercising, I often do more than I&amp;#039;d expected. A great song starts playing, and I keep running. The park is so beautiful that I lengthen my walk. Sometimes the pure joy of movement keeps me going. As William Blake observed, &amp;quot;Exuberance is beauty.&amp;quot; E-mail Gretchen at gretchen@goodhousekeeping.com. Happiness Thought for September Exercise offers a chance to be alone and uninterrupted "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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