Not motivated to exercise?

Here's how physiotherapist and self-proclaimed 'social exerciser', Elanor Ibbetson finds the motivation to get active!

How do you fit it in?
I attend classes on certain evenings and have set days when I always meet friends and do a planned activity such as swimming, cycle ride or dog walk.

What keeps me motivated (especially when I can’t be bothered)?
The social element of exercise is what keeps me going, the classes that I attend have friends in them or are entirely made up of people that I meet up with every week, and there’s a sense of us all being in it together, if I don’t turn up I’m letting them down. We also have quite a laugh together and there’s a fair amount of chat.

The days that I plan an activity with friends, are always exercise with a social element thrown in. And the café in the village does well out of the cyclists and dog walkers.

I also know how good it feels to have done exercise both physically and mentally.

What changes have you seen since starting regular exercise?
A couple of years ago I could feel that I was putting on weight, my clothes were getting tighter. Rather than buy a whole new wardrobe, I decided to do something about it and joined in some classes that friends were already attending. Since starting to exercise regularly, my waist has slimmed down, my arms have more definition and I have more energy.