Top 10 Rules of Exercise
Top 10 Rules of Exercise

I speak from experience here: My own story was that it was something I always knew I should do but I never made it a priority, these are the Top 10 Rules of Exercise. If you make getting in shape and staying in shape a priority, your health, wealth and life will be better.

Top 10 Rules of Exercise

Rule #10 You don’t workout

If you don’t workout, you won’t be in shape; if you do not have a desire to be in shape, then you won’t workout – they go hand in hand.

When I say workout I am talking about both aerobically (with oxygen) and anaerobically (without oxygen). There are plenty of muscle heads in the gym right now that all they do is lift weights. Sure, that is fine, and yes they can bench press 800 lbs and squat 1000 lbs, but unless you’re a paid power lifter, do you know what that means? Absolutely nothing. Its great that they can lift that much but if their muscles are so big that they can’t run one mile without puking their brains out, in this case they’re only in half-shape.

The flip side of that is you have the ultra-marathon runner or cyclist who can put up 100 miles in one day. Wonderful if they’re training to do that for a living or that is their hobby . . . until you ask them to do one pull-up, again they’re only in half-shape. Your goal here is to not be a one trick pony (I speak from experience).

Start working out, and get into shape.

Rule #9 – Pain:

You don’t enjoy working out – You have to enjoy working out, and you have to have the energy to enjoy working out (See rule #5) if you want lasting success in getting into and then staying in shape.

Don’t let anybody fool you into thinking that working out and staying in shape does not hurt. Everybody that does workout on a consistent basis and seems to stay in shape month after month, year after year, drinks the Pain Kool-aid everyday by the liter, and loves drinking it, and has a million ways to tell you why they love drinking it and you should also learn to love drinking it.

If you want to not only get in shape but stay in shape, you have to learn to love the pain; there is no way around it. If you read my About Me page, I said it took me about 6 months of forced action to learn to love the pain. Those 6 months to learn to love sucked – I mean really, really sucked.

Right around this time of the year my gym is usually packed with people. For people that workout on a regular basis, this time of year usually sucks because you always have the New Years Resolutioners who vowed that THIS YEAR is it- THIS YEAR they are going to do it and they are going to stick with it, no matter what.

Every year, they will be there all of January, then the first part of February; by mid-February they will start to die off and only the stubborn will you see towards the end of February and the beginning of March. However, by April, when spring starts to kick in and the sun comes out (For us Northern Hemisphersers), they have long forgotten about all the garbage they ate over the holidays. Does this sound like you?

Usually the stubborn ones that have made it this far, have worked out for about 8-10 weeks straight now so you tell yourself that missing 1 week won’t hurt. Besides, you heard that you can’t workout everyday and your body needs rest, plus you have stuff to do, and you swear that you will go next week…uh huh, right. So, next week comes and goes, and then you catch yourself driving by the gym with a hamburger in your mouth, watching all those people on the treadmill. . . Guilt sets in and no action is taken. Now, you’re back at square one, not because you don’t want to workout but because its hurts (Rule #9) and you have back/knee/whatever problems and your doctor told you not to over-do it. . .a few more weeks pass by and everything goes back to normal (pre January).

You have to equate workout pain with pleasure. If you are currently not in shape, ask somebody who is and they will tell you the same (If you don’t know anybody click the Contact link above and ask me). I have never met or heard of anybody who was in shape that did not make this rule a reality.

Pain lets you know you’re alive!

Rule #8 Time:

You claim you don’t have enough time – This is a blatant lie. Yes you do! And it also ties in with

If you have time to spend an hour getting ready in the morning, surfing the internet, watching TV or whatever, then you have enough time. Working out takes 30 minutes a day, 6 days a week (a grand total of whopping 3 hours per week). But let’s just say that you’re absolutely swamped with work, family etc. etc. Sleep 1 hour less – if you still can’t find an hour, it’s because you don’t want to and it’s not a priority (rule #1). You can also break those 30 minutes up throughout the day. So if you have two 15-minute time periods available during the day, do it then. It’s the daily total and what you do during that time that counts. But when you do workout, don’t half-ass it; full-ass it or don’t bother.

You have more than enough time.

Rule #7 Been There, Done That – It Doesn’t Work:

I tried it before and it won’t work for me – You tried it before, found out it actually hurts and requires consistent work then you quit – is what really happened. You can get past this reason by seeing Rule #1 and making it #1.

It does work. Yes you can do it.

Rule #6 Nutrition: You have a poor diet:

Somewhere along the line, whether you were young, old or whatever, you actually believed that eating junk food is good for you, or you have never eaten real unadulterated food. If you can go into your cabinet and pull out a box or can of food . . . then its junk food. Real food does not come in a box or can. If where you eat is considered “Fast Food” then you’re eating junk food. If you’re eating lots of junk food, then you won’t have the energy to proceed to the next step of this list – and ALL the rules of this list apply. You can get past this reason by seeing Rule #1 and making it #1.

Spoil yourself and eat well (nutritiously)!

Rule #5 Energy: You’re too tired

You’re too tired because you don’t get enough sleep and the rule above (Nutrition).

Without energy the whole world stops, the best way to get more physical energy is to use more physical energy. Yes, I know, it’s counter intuitive. It’s kind of like Government Spending – the more you spend the more you get and vice versa. Here we also observe Newton’s 3rd Law of Motion – For each action there is an equal and opposite reaction. To maximize this energy also see rule #6. You can get past this reason and explode with energy by seeing Rule #1 and making it #1.

You have plenty of energy to start and finish.

Rule #4 Difficult: It’s too hard

Yep, working out is hard work; please go back to Rule #9 of why it’s so hard. Getting up everyday to go to a job or business that you don’t like is even harder. Sitting in countless, meaningless meetings is harder; being married to someone you don’t love is harder; not being in shape is much harder than being in shape. How do I know? Look at children outside – children outside do what comes naturally, they run. To children, running equates fun, running equates happiness, children who do not run are not happy children. Children who are on drugs to calm them down because they are “hyper” are un-happy children. Look at any overweight child, and I can guarantee they are un-happy. Why? Because they are not running. Observe a toddler who just learned how to walk, the greatest thing in the world to that child is running. It is what we humans do naturally. At that point in our lives we have not been conditioned to believe otherwise – we as toddlers do what is natural to us. Today your body still begs to be exercised, go do it.

You’re right, it is difficult, but so what? Life is difficult. This will make life less difficult overall.

Rule #3 Laziness: You’re lazy, I’m lazy, everybody is lazy

Once you get lazy so does your health. Again we see Newton’s 3rd Law of Motion applies here. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction (See Rule #5 also, energy creates energy). Laziness breeds laziness.

Don’t be lazy.

Rule #2 Ignorance: Just like the law, ignorance is not a defense.

If you don’t know what to do, or even how to get started, there are plenty of trained people that can help you (If you can’t find one look up and click the contact me button). This is why my partner and I are here. We want to give you the tools to help you overcome all of the reasons not to workout.

Don’t be Ignorant.

Rule #1 Priority:

This Rule #1 – It must be a priority. If you can truly conquer this, then you won’t need to read the rest of the list.

Make getting into shape a priority.

Top 10 Rules of Exercise

In conclusion:

All these rules also apply to me – especially #2 and #6. My greatest difficulty is actually deciding to go to the gym; once I start putting on my clothes it’s easy for me because I don’t actually think about it.

Even though I workout 5 or 6 days a week, I struggle with each rule in one form or another. So in reality, I’m not really here to preach to you, just letting you know what I have learned and how you can use my experience for your own gain & to encourage you. So there you have it the Top 10 Rules of Exercise.


Charles Lloyd
Charles Lloyd

Self processed fitness missionary and author of most of the ridiculous fitness articles written on Charles Lloyd Fitness.com. I am not really a writer, but a workout fiend who happens to have a blog. The single mission of this website is very simple: Get You In Shape. I have been blessed with the gift of good health and want to share it with you. Join Me.

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