Top 22 Tips on Exercise

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In 2015, I hosted a podcast called Health Matters where I interviewed leading health experts. Believing that Bible study and prayer are to the spirit what eating healthy and exercise are to the body, I asked each expert their “quick tip” for the four disciplines of Bible study, exercise, eating healthy, and prayer.

I share excerpts from interviews with top health experts on exercise.

1. Add resistance training

“As women of a certain age, we might think that rapid physical decline is part of a given. It doesn’t have to be if we include regular cardio and resistance training in our regular schedules.” ~Steph Beth Nickel

2. Start small

“I would suggest starting small. Do whatever you can even if you can get 5–10 minutes in that’s great. And hopefully, you’ll learn to like it more down the road if you don’t like it already.” ~Barb Raveling

3. Be consistent

“Be consistent. And you don’t have to work out for an hour in the gym. If you find yourself there one day, that’s great. But maybe for you, it’s walking around the block a couple of times. That’s fine if that’s where you have to start. But consistent. I can go out and play badminton and get a workout. I can go out with my kids and play 4-square and call that my workout for the day. It doesn’t have to be some extreme workout that leaves you in a puddle of sweat. But something every day. Something consistent.” ~Rusty Nokes

4. Listen to your body

“My quick tip for exercise is to listen to your body. We have so many crazy exercise programs out there. They’re great for a lot of people, but they can cause a lot of injuries. When we’re starting our journey towards health keep it simple and really listen to our bodies. If something hurts our bodies, it’s not good for us. Even if everyone else on the block is training for a marathon if running hurts your knees, don’t do it. Really listen to your body and find a kind of exercise that is going to help your body get stronger and not injure it.” ~Rachel Almstedt

5. Every minute counts

“You know I don’t love exercise, so my tip is that every minute counts. For example, I’ll see how many jumping jacks I can do while my coffee is brewing. Or if something is in the microwave I can do leg bends or arm bends. I can walk up and down the stairs during the commercials when I’m watching TV. I think every minute counts when it comes to exercise.” ~Jennifer Waddle

6. Move every day

“Move every day. You don’t necessarily have to belong to a club. You don’t have to do jumping jacks. I’m approaching a delicate age and there are certain things I don’t want to do anymore but I can move. Because if you don’t move you will lose it. You have to actually move your body in some way. Just a walk to the corner store. It’s not that bad. Half a block.” ~Brenda Wood

7. Set a goal

“I know we have many listeners out there that are into different forms of exercise, whether it’s cycling or swimming. But one thing that always keeps me going is I set a goal. I’m always setting a goal for something I want to compete in. For me, it’s running. So a good way to do that is to sign up for a race. And as you know when you sign up for something your accountability goes up big time because you’ve got this looming now. It’s on the calendar and if you don’t train for it, race day is going to show up and you’re going to be disappointed and think why didn’t I train more for this? You’ll stay a little more consistent with things. So I think just setting a goal, signing up for something.” ~CJ Hitz

8. Try 10–10–10

“Exercise three to five times a day. I know in this world we don’t have time, but if you can divide it into 10 in the morning, 10 at lunch, and 10 at dinner because it’ll help build a better, stronger foundation so we can help better serve God and others. So get in that exercise.” ~Renee Wiggins

9. Have proper motivation

“The key to exercise is having proper motivation. You’ve got to understand why you’re exercising. The purpose to be fit is God calls us to be fit. He’s got opportunities lined up for us to take action and serve and are we ready to do that? If we can answer that question and have proper purpose and motivation for exercise all the things we think we want exercise for from the standpoint of weight loss, medication reduction — things like that — that’ll all be taken of through faith if our purpose is on God. So having proper motivation is the key to exercise.” ~John Hayden

10. Start where you are

“For the one who is beginning, start today and start small. Don’t try to do a whole hour. Start where you are. If it’s a 10-minute walk around your neighbourhood, do that. And once you start an exercise plan, Lord knows, don’t stop. Because it’s hard to get back in the groove after you stop. So start small and keep going, be consistent.” ~Sabrina Memminger

11. Walk

“You have to do it. If you have a pair of tennis shoes that’s all you need. You can walk in front of the TV during your favourite program. I have women who’ve lost over 100 pounds just walking in front of the TV during a program that they liked. You can walk when you’re on vacation, you can walk the stairs in your home if you need more intense cardio.” ~Laurie Graves

12. Commit to something small

“Just do something small. Commit to something small. Doing 10 push-ups or 10 sit-ups every single night before bed. If you commit to something small and you stick with it every single day then you can always add to it when you feel the momentum and the motivation to do so. But if you at least commit to that one small thing.” ~Summer Breskow

13. Remember the positive things

“Good regular exercise is defined as two to three times per week for at least 30 minutes at a time. Good feeling endorphins, adrenalin, you feel better, your mood is better, your heart is working, lowering your sugar, lowering your blood pressure. Even if you don’t lose any weight remember that there are other good positive things to come out of regular exercise.” ~Nicole Swiner

14. Weight train

“Weight train, weight train, weight train. And I do 30×5. 30 minutes of cardio, 5 days a week. 30 minutes of weight training, 5 days a week.” ~Liz Faison

15. Become inefficient

“My quick tip for exercise would be to look for ways to move throughout your day. I like the gym but I actually tell most of my clients, forget the gym, go for a walk. What can you do throughout your day to find ways to move? Become inefficient. Take the laundry up the stairs one sock at a time. Get an inefficient habit so you can look for more ways to move throughout your day.” ~Cathy Morenzie

16. Do 30 minutes a day

“30 minutes a day, walking. I love walking. One of the things that my doctor shared with me is that at least 30 minutes per day, each day of the week will help increase your heart rate, lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure and all those things.” ~Angel Barrino

17. Find what works

“When you can fit it in, fit it in. I actually struggle with that because, with my different conditions, exercise usually flares something up for me so it’s finding the thing that works for you and not feeling like you have to keep up with everybody else.” ~Kimberly Rae

18. Play

“I like to use the word play so find something that you love that will feel like play for you. So you will actually want to go do it. If you hate the gym then that’s not what you should be doing. Maybe you love a good walk in nature or an awesome hike wherever you are. Whatever it is that you love that gets your body moving. Go play daily.” ~Casey Sollock

19. Do it to glorify God

“I consider exercise to be another way to worship God. To express to Him your joy and delight in the body that He’s given you to steward here on earth. First Corinthians 10:31 says that whatever we do can be done to His glory. So rejoice in Him. Choose an exercise that you love and do it to glorify God, praise Him.” ~Heidi Bylsma

20. Just do it

“Just do it. Whatever it is, trust me, I was shocked I was doing 60-pound weights and step aerobics for a number of years and then was shocked at how much weight I lost just taking a leisurely walk.” ~Linda Williams

21. Do something

“Just start somewhere. Whether or not that’s simply going for a walk or going for a run. Because when you start small you are able to build momentum. So my tip for exercise — and there are a bunch of different types of exercise — is just do something. Whether that’s going for a walk, running, or going to the gym. You don’t need to overanalyze it. Sometimes you don’t need a personal trainer, and sometimes you do. You just got to get moving. So if you focus on doing the small things you’ll start building momentum and you’re going to be able to succeed in other areas of your fitness as well.” ~Adam Luckey

22. Find your tribe

“My quick tip for exercise is it’s time for you to find your tribe. Because I like to workout with people I really like to find my tribe and find others — for me, it’s ladies that can workout at the same time I do. I’ve been walking with the same women for 20 years on Thursday mornings. At 6:30 a.m. we walk. We meet at someone’s house, we sit and have a cup of coffee together and then we head out on our day. So find your tribe.” ~Julie Endl

Although the podcast is no longer available, if you’d like a copy of any of the full interview transcripts,  send me an email.

This has been an excerpt from the Health Matters Podcast, believing that prayer & Bible study are to the spirit what exercise and healthy eating are to the body.

Blessings on your journey to health.

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