[0:00] In this episode, you'll learn 10 easy tips 
for women to be more consistent with exercise. 
[0:10] If you're new to
this channel, thanks so much for watching.  
[0:13] I'm Dr. Morgan Nolte and I'd be so grateful if you 
took a moment to hit that subscribe button and the  
[0:19] little bell to get notified each week, when I 
post a new video, how would you like to know  
[0:25] that you were going to follow your exercise 
plan? Like you knew the sun was going to come up.  
[0:32] What if you could develop that sense of 
internal confidence and trust in yourself  
[0:36] to follow through? We all know that exercise is 
good for us, right. But how often do you turn  
[0:44] that insight into action? How often do you see 
your notification to exercise up on your phone,  
[0:50] calendar or computer? And just ignore it. Getting 
yourself to exercise on a regular basis is so  
[0:56] incredibly important for your mental and physical 
health. It gives you more energy endorphins to  
[1:02] feel happy, helps increase adiponectin, which 
is a hormone that converts white fat to brown  
[1:08] fat for a higher metabolism and less visceral 
belly fat and increases insulin sensitivity. 
[1:16] I've been an avid exerciser since the sixth grade. 
Yes. I actually remember my love for exercise,  
[1:23] even back then. In fact, I used to run in place 
in my room to whatever music I was into back then  
[1:30] and the light below my room and the 
kitchen fell and shattered on the floor.  
[1:34] My relationship with exercise took an unhealthy 
turn. When I developed a condition called exercise  
[1:40] bulemia and the ninth grade, that's where I would 
try to exercise off all the food. I just ate  
[1:46] in an, in an attempt to stay lean so that 
I could be fast and track. And I was okay.  
[1:52] But that compulsion that I felt to exercise 
was not fun. And my exercise bulemia lasted  
[1:59] about 10 months and thankfully went away with 
no residual exercise obsession. I've learned to  
[2:07] develop a healthy, moderate relationship with food 
and activity, and now help my members do the same. 
[2:15] So if you want to improve your insulin sensitivity 
and thus reverse insulin resistance so that you  
[2:21] can lose weight, keep it off and prevent 
disease. Strength training is actually one  
[2:26] of the most beneficial habits you can adopt. Now 
it runs against popular weight loss practice to do  
[2:33] cardio because it burns more calories. Now, while 
cardio may burn more calories during the workout,  
[2:40] weight loss is not about calories. 
It's about insulin and minute for  
[2:45] minute resistance training improves insulin 
sensitivity better than cardio. Not only that,  
[2:52] but it increases your strength so that you can 
move better and have stronger bones as you age.  
[2:58] I know that strength training may be intimidating 
and I'll be honest. I'm usually the only woman in  
[3:04] the gym doing strength, training, surrounded by 
some ripped high school boys, but you know what? I  
[3:10] got over it. And I'm there for about half an hour 
and I'm not doing this for anyone about myself, so  
[3:16] I can do anything for half an hour.
Don't let anyone intimidate you at the gym.  
[3:21] You have as much right to be there as anyone 
else. And you don't have to wait until you're  
[3:26] fit to go exercise at the gym. Often I'll hear 
from women that they don't want to bulk up.  
[3:32] And I remind them that men get bulky because 
they have far more testosterone than we do  
[3:38] and growth hormone. And in order to get bulky, 
you need to have a higher hormone level and eat  
[3:45] protein. A lot of protein, just adding strength 
training twice a week, three times a week to your  
[3:51] exercise routine. Even for just 20 to 30 minutes, 
that's not going to make you bulky. It's going to  
[3:57] boost your metabolism and help you have a leaner 
appearance. Another objection that I hear about  
[4:03] resistance training is that it's boring. And to 
that I asked, do you enjoy brushing your teeth? 
[4:09] Do you enjoy doing your taxes? Do you enjoy doing 
the dishes? No. Most people would rather not do  
[4:16] these tasks, but we do. I want your attitude 
towards strength training to be the same.  
[4:21] That it's just something that you do, whether you 
like it or not. I promise once you stick with it,  
[4:26] you're going to start to feel and see the 
results that only strength training can provide.  
[4:30] And that's going to give you motivation to keep 
going. Now, physiologically you'll have changes  
[4:35] right away, but you may not see any changes 
in your muscle tone or appearance for months.  
[4:41] And if you're not doing things to reduce your 
fat mass from your diet, your sleep, your stress,  
[4:46] you won't see your muscles at all because 
they lie under your subcutaneous fat layer.  
[4:52] So this is where consistency compounds. I know 
that you can be consistent. And I know that the  
[4:58] techniques I'm about to teach you will help.
One of my clients recently sent me this  
[5:03] screenshot showing me that she'd closed. All of 
her activity rings for an entire month straight.  
[5:09] And she was going through some rehab and had other 
life stuff going on too. But she did it because  
[5:14] she was committed. Commitment creates consistency. 
Now these tips will help you be consistent.  
[5:22] Whether you want to walk, ride your bike, swim or 
strength, train, I believe in you, but I can't do  
[5:28] your pushups for you. I will leave that. You need 
to believe in yourself and show up for yourself.  
[5:34] Like you do every other person in your life. You 
have to find a way to create some intentional  
[5:40] margin in your life so that you have just a 
little time, several days a week to exercise.  
[5:46] All right, let's get to these tips. Now, there are 
absolutely days where I don't want to exercise. 
[5:53] I don't want to go work out. I don't want 
to move my body and it's not because I'm  
[5:57] being lazy most of the time, most of the time, 
it's because I'm busy doing something else.  
[6:03] I feel like that's something else is a 
higher priority at that moment in time.  
[6:09] At that moment in time, it's easier for me 
to continue working because I love working  
[6:16] well. It gets me to close my computer and head 
to the gym is asking, am I making this decision  
[6:23] for current me or future me? Are you making your 
everyday choices for current you or future you?  
[6:31] That's a really good litmus test to know 
if you're making healthy choices or not.  
[6:36] Because most of the time unhealthy 
choices are for instant gratification.  
[6:42] I'm really, really big on focusing on systems, 
not just goals. You can have a goal of working  
[6:50] out three or four times a week, but that 
general goal is probably not going to get done. 
[6:55] If exercise isn't already a habit for you, 
it needs to have a date, time and location on  
[7:02] your calendar better yet. It needs to be on your 
work calendar. Women, especially have a tendency  
[7:08] of prioritizing the wants and needs of other 
people before our own. And that's got to stop.  
[7:15] When you take care of yourself, your mind, 
mental health, your emotional health,  
[7:21] your physical health, you're going to be able 
to better care for everyone else in your life.  
[7:26] You're going to have more energy. It's 
the best return on your time is the energy  
[7:32] that you invest into your health. So here are 
some tips that I've used to make exercise a habit,  
[7:38] even when I don't feel like it. Number one. 
And I already mentioned this. It goes on my  
[7:43] work calendar because honestly I take it more 
seriously. And I look at it several times a day. 
[7:48] At this time, my goal is to work out four days 
a week for at least 30 minutes at three 30. So I  
[7:55] have a recurring meeting on my work calendar with 
a reminder at three 15. So I have a little time to  
[8:00] shut things down for the day and get changed. The 
second tip is to find an accountability partner.  
[8:07] I love going to the gym with my dad. I think it's 
this kind of bond like our daddy daughter time.  
[8:14] And he 100% absolutely without questions 
would not go to the gym without me. I think  
[8:20] he's maybe done that one time. And how do I 
know? Because COVID went by and lo and behold,  
[8:25] he didn't even know that the gym was open. So 
after I got my COVID shot, I felt more comfortable  
[8:32] going back. And I'm so much more likely to 
go knowing that he's not going unless I go. 
[8:39] And I really want him to exercise more. So 
having someone waiting for you to show up  
[8:45] is a huge motivator. If you can't find a single 
accountability, buddy, in person, be accountable  
[8:51] to a person or group online, I really encourage 
to post a weekly accountability item. We call  
[8:57] them implement implementation intentions once a 
week. And my members only community. Now writing  
[9:04] down your goals and telling people about your 
goals has been shown in the research to improve  
[9:11] follow through. Based on the psychology principle 
of consistency as humans, we are inclined to do  
[9:19] what we say we're going to do. Otherwise. 
We feel out of integrity with ourselves,  
[9:24] but you have to say what you're going to do. If 
it lives in your head, it's more likely to stay  
[9:30] in your head and not turn into action. Number 
three is to plan ahead, plan ahead for success. 
[9:37] Pack your clothes in the morning. Even better. 
What I like to do is pack a whole week's worth  
[9:42] of workout clothes in one morning. That way 
you never have the excuse that you forgot  
[9:46] to pack your clothes or shoes or that you don't 
feel like going home to get changed. Tip number  
[9:52] four is to find a time that works for you and be 
consistent with that time. Many people prefer to  
[9:57] work out. First thing in the morning, I have two 
young kids who often get up in the night and need  
[10:02] me in the morning still. So working out towards 
the end of my Workday just works better for me  
[10:08] before I pick them up from daycare. So I try to 
find whatever's working at that stage of life  
[10:13] and be consistent. So again, that changes during 
COVID. When I had a new a newborn, I committed  
[10:19] to 10 minutes, a night of strength training
as I watched TV. Your routine will change based on  
[10:25] life circumstances. That's normal, but what's 
important is that you change with life. There  
[10:31] will always be a reason to not work out, 
but you have to find a more important reason  
[10:37] to work out. Tip number five is to show up 
for yourself like you would your best friend,  
[10:43] no one likes a flaky friend. Do not flake on 
yourself. If you say you're going to do something,  
[10:49] be a person of integrity and do it. Would you 
say to your friend, Hey, I'll meet you for lunch.  
[10:55] And then all of a sudden lunch comes around 
and you're like, oops, sorry. I just wanted  
[10:59] to keep working instead. No, what you would 
show up for lunch, like you said, you would  
[11:05] so use the best friend test and ask yourself, 
am I treating myself? Am I speaking to myself? 
[11:13] Am I showing up for myself as I would? My best 
friend tip number six is to keep it simple.  
[11:18] Simplicity, breeds consistency. If you find that 
something feels heavy, that you don't have a lot  
[11:26] of internal resistance towards something, it means 
that it's probably time to tweak or optimize your  
[11:32] plan, reflect on why something feels heavy and 
how you could make it feel lighter. And I'm not  
[11:39] talking about weights or resistance at the gym. 
I'm talking about heavy on your heart. For me,  
[11:46] it's working out for 30 minutes or less. If I said 
you have to go four for one hour, that feels heavy  
[11:56] to me that feels like too much of my time is 
spent at the gym and not enough with my family or  
[12:01] working for this stage of life for some people an 
hour, four days a week, isn't enough for others. 
[12:07] It's just right. That's one of the reasons why I 
don't like a one size fits all exercise program.  
[12:13] You have to find what really works for you and 
your needs and your schedule and your body and  
[12:18] your mentality. So tip number seven is to 
anticipate obstacles. You have to expect  
[12:24] that you're not going to feel like working out at 
least some of the time, if not all of them time,  
[12:30] but here's the deal name a time in your life. 
When you ever regretted going for a walk,  
[12:36] when you ever regretted a workout right now, 
think of a time that you regretted skipping one,  
[12:42] think about how you're going to feel after 
you're done. And that can help give you a  
[12:48] little spark of motivation that you need to take 
the first step and actually go, think about how  
[12:54] proud you're going to be of yourself.
Think about how making one positive  
[12:58] choice to exercise has a ripple effect on 
the healthy choices for the rest of the day.  
[13:04] If I were to skip a workout that I have 
planned, I would be more likely to go home  
[13:09] and kind of, I feel bad that I skipped 
because I was out of integrity and those  
[13:14] feelings of guilt of skipping, something that 
I planned on would have a ripple effect, right?  
[13:19] I wouldn't feel as good emotionally. 
I'd be a little more critical of myself.  
[13:24] I'd be more likely to go home and emotionally 
eat that night. And that's obviously not helpful.  
[13:29] It's not productive. This brings us to tip number 
eight and that's to have a plan being if for some  
[13:36] reason I don't go to the gym or go for my walk. 
I usually have a plan B to do some strength,  
[13:41] training and stretching at night when I'm 
watching TV, I can, we're keeping it simple here. 
[13:47] Tip number nine is to make your brain work for 
you. Not against you. Remember that your brain  
[13:53] will do whatever you tell it to, but you need 
to give it a clear roadmap and a specific set  
[14:00] of instructions to follow. So if you're finding 
that it's your work out time, right? 3:30 for me,  
[14:07] your pop-up reminder comes on your work 
calendar maybe. Um, and you still don't  
[14:12] feel like going to work out. You need to listen 
to the thoughts that you're telling yourself.  
[14:17] You might be saying something like, Ugh, 
I really don't want to go work out today.  
[14:22] Your first subconscious thought was that you don't 
want to go work out today. And then there are two  
[14:30] words that you really have to look out for when 
it comes to limiting thoughts. Don't and can't,  
[14:36] if you're telling yourself, I don't want to, 
all, I'm not surprised that you're not going  
[14:42] to go to the gym because you're literally 
telling your brain, you don't want to go. 
[14:47] And your brain followed what you told 
it to do. So try telling something like  
[14:52] I don't care. If you want to go, your alarm went 
off, shut your computer, or get out of bed and go  
[14:59] put your workout clothes on. Now this brings me 
to my last tip and that's the two minute rule.  
[15:06] This comes from the book atomic habits by James 
clear. All I want you to do is focus on the very  
[15:12] first thing you need to do to get your workout 
done. For a lot of people, it's shutting your  
[15:17] computer or getting out of bed or turning off 
the TV. You don't need to think about the whole  
[15:23] workout. You need to think about the first 
step that you're going to take to get there.  
[15:29] Any habit that you want to form, you can boil 
it down to the first two minutes, and I want  
[15:35] you to master that moment of decision, and you're 
going to be so much more likely to follow through. 
[15:40] I give you a lot of tips today, and I hope 
that you found this episode helpful. I'd love  
[15:44] to hear from you. You can follow me on Instagram 
@drmorgannolte And let me know your favorite tip  
[15:50] or biggest takeaway. I want you to think about 
how you can incorporate one or two of these tips  
[15:57] into your life to make exercise more consistent. 
If your workouts aren't already on the calendar.  
[16:03] My challenge for you is to get them on your work 
calendar within the next 48 hours. It's so easy  
[16:11] to forget. Good intentions completely. And if 
exercise is not a habit in your life, it's going  
[16:18] to take a little work to get there. But the effort 
that you put into that is so worth it down the  
[16:23] road. So thank you so much for listening. Again. 
Be sure to tune in next week where I'll have a  
[16:28] fresh episode for you. I'll talk with you at the 
same time, same place next week. Bye for now.