“Set small, manageable weekly goals to give your routine direction and focus,” said Maki Uechi-Brooker, a personal trainer and wellcoach at Galter LifeCenter. “As you see changes in your mind, body and spirit, you’ll stay interested and motivated. Keep it simple and take one step at a time, which will help build confidence and momentum toward your overall vision of wellness.”

Here are three tips to keep you moving:

Barrier: I’m too busy.

Strategy: Look for opportunities to physically active, even while doing other tasks.

By multitasking, you can take time for yourself without unplugging from everything else. Try bringing something to read or a simple task that can be done while on a treadmill, bike or elliptical to kill two birds with one stone. If it’s family time you don’t want to miss, make fitness a family affair: play sports, go for a run together or attend a family-friend class, like Family Swim Days at Galter LifeCenter.

Barrier: I’m too stressed/tired.

Strategy: Exercise is a great tool for stress management.

Exercise helps relieve stress, improve mood and reduce depression. Although you may not always feel like it, you’re actually providing yourself with more energy. Working out can make you more alert, increase your concentration and even reduce fatigue.

Barrier: Motivation

Strategy: Buddy up to take a class or work with a personal trainer.

While many people consider losing weight the primary reason to exercise, it’s critical for people of all weights to stay active and make heart-healthy lifestyle changes. Heart disease doesn’t discriminate, and has the potential to affect people of all shapes and sizes.

“The risk of cardiovascular disease and the complications associated may be decreased by working toward and maintaining a healthy lifestyle,” said Dr. Tony Vancauwelaert, a board-certified family medicine physician with Swedish Covenant Medical Group. “Routine aerobic exercise has the added benefit of lowering your BMI and decreasing the risk of musculoskeletal problems, which is even more of an incentive to exercise regularly!”

To schedule for a heart disease screening, available every Thursday morning through the month of May, please visit our events page.