A fresh start: put clues in places you can see

or Chapter IV of Marti Soosaare's e-book "New Beginnings"

The most important thing in the world is what you're thinking about at the time.

If you're not used to exercising, the urge to exercise is not like sleep, hunger or the urge to have sex, which will tweak itself. No one needs to remind us that it's time to put something in our stomachs, or that it's past time to pile on the bags and put out the lights. The thing about exercise is, though, that by the time you finally start to feel the pinch, you're probably about 25 years too late.

That's why it's definitely a good idea to start by creating an environment around us that constantly reminds us to adopt a sporty lifestyle and go to the gym. I'm going to suggest a few tricks, but you'll definitely need to experiment with them and find the right ones for you.


Take a gym bag to work.

If you're planning to go to the gym after work, take a gym bag with you straight away. If you have a bag at work, it will remind you that your Pilates class starts at 17:30 and you can no longer send emails.

It's not always really good motivation to go to the gym. I admit that I'm really overtired in the meantime. And I still go to the gym and then it turns out that the gym...
not so tired. Another tip I have is that I mustn't hang around when I come home. I just put my clothes on and go. Don't think, just go!

Kaire Leibak
former top athlete

Put your running shoes on the mat outside the door before you go to work.

Preferably inwards, because you don't want the occasional visitor from your flatmate to "run into" them in the meantime. When you get home from work and stumble on a pair of running shoes, you'll immediately remember that you had to go for a run. Remember the tip Kaire Leibaku shared - don't lie down or start eating, just get outside. Kaire has been a good runner lately, so she knows what she's talking about.

Put a picture of Arnold Schwarzenegger on your fridge

I remembered old Arnold precisely because once upon a time, in my high school days, when I used to go to the gym in the former EPA sports building, pictures of his bearded boots covered all the walls. Looking at a picture helped to stretch out a series of exercises by a few units.

Of course, you can choose for yourself whose image or message motivates you and where it will be most effective and timely.

Make a workout corner in your home

Put your mat and dumbbells somewhere in your home where you can see them often. If you're 4 m2 have set aside an expensive home space for a training corner, it would be the ultimate sin if the only time, if the only time in a week, you touch these things is the day you dust your home.

Create the right mood in the office too

By the way, such a gym corner can also be located at work. A few weeks ago, while I was running, I listened to a podcast called "Let's Export" with marketing guru Peep Laja. He's built a proper exercise corner in his office, complete with a kettlebell and chains. Can you imagine if an open office had this kind of equipment? Maybe not many people would use it, but it's clear that every time you see that barbell, it reminds you of your New Year's resolution to work out this year.

530 training rounds in 2020 - it's hard to believe I'll do more next year. My idea and motto is simple - exercise must become a habit. The hardest section of the distance is from the couch to the front door, then it gets easier. This year's goals are to complete Ironman 70.3 in Warsaw and Tallinn, and in the spring I'd like to bring the marathon time under 4 hours.

Robert Kitt
Salv Technologies OÜ, former CEO of Swedbank Estonia branch


This was the fourth chapter of Marti Soosaare's e-book "A New Beginning". You can read the previous chapters on our blog, or download the whole e-book. HERE.

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