"I just can't get motivated to exercise" is a common comment in many fitness discussions. It can be tough to start an exercise program, even a simple one like walking. It is hard, but once you know why it's hard, you can take some simple step to overcome "exercise inertia". Read this article to learn how to start being active.

It is very easy to get distracted from taking that time to work out and care for ourselves. Almost everyone has a never-ending (and ever-increasing) to-do list and taking care of ourselves often falls off the list. Soon, we are living entirely sedentary lifestyles. It may not feel sedentary, though. It seems as though we are always busy, always on the go. But, really, we're frantically moving from one chair to the other. Exhausting, yes. Healthy, no.

For a few days or even a few weeks, we may not notice any ill-effects. The law of inertia takes over and soon we find ourselves both out of shape and not really motivated to fix it. However, in the long run, we will suffer from not taking care of our bodies. Science has proven repeatedly that physical activity is necessary for our bodies, our minds and our emotions. Doctors regularly recommend exercise for almost every person.

And, we all know from experience that we feel better when we get regular exercise. Our bodies function more efficiently, moving bad stuff out and circulating good stuff around. You probably know this even more if you have an ailment such as diabetes or high blood pressure or even chronic back pain, which are just a few of the "dis-eases" that can be helped or in many cases, healed by being more active.

But, inertia is a very powerful force. If you remember your grade school science, the law of inertia states that a body at rest stays at rest until acted upon by some outside force. It is so easy to let days, weeks, months, years pile up without ever really moving your body. Modern life has blessed us with many labor-saving devices and in many ways that is actually killing us. We get "mentally tired" at our jobs and veg-out in front of the television or the computer so that we can "rest" and de-stress from our hectic, crazy days.

The problem with that is that it just doesn't work. We may feel a bit better when we can zone out watching television or getting engrossed in our computers, but our bodies crave movement. It's the only non-drug way to increase blood circulation, remove stress hormones, create feel-good endorphins, and challenge our bones and muscles so they remain strong.

Being sedentary causes our bodies to slow everything down. Metabolism slows down, bone and muscle-building slows down. However, atrophy (wasting away) does increase when we are sedentary. If you have ever seen someone who has broken a bone and been in a cast for awhile soon after the cast is removed, you can see how fast atrophy occurs. In just a few short weeks of immobility, their muscles shrink, sometimes quite dramatically. The same thing happens to us when we sit on the couch. It's just slower, and we are often replacing lost muscle with fat, so we don't notice our muscles getting smaller.

The things you can see when you are not getting any exercise are really the tip of the iceberg. The scary stuff is what you cannot see. It's the fat building up in your arteries, the thickening of your blood, the over-abundance of insulin your body produces, the free radicals coursing through your system, and the chemical changes in your brain that cause serious issues like heart attacks, stroke, cancer, depression and even more deadly diseases. Exercise won't cure everything, but it will cure a lot and prevent a lot more.

The one thing we have in our favor when it comes to beating this inertia and putting our sedentary lives behind us is our mind. Our mind can compel our bodies to move. Your body has to listen to your mind. It may not want to get up and go for a walk, but if you decide to do so, it will.

The power to choose, to decide is one that can change your life in many ways. You can decide today to move your body for 10 minutes. You can choose to put on your walking shoes and begin to take steps. You can decide to love yourself and your body (it is, you know, the only one you have!) enough to take care of it. And, all it takes is just one choice, one decision to start now.

Because the law of inertia also states that a body in motion stays in motion until acted on by an outside force. Which means that once you establish your habit of getting physical activity every day, it becomes a no-brainer. It's so much easier to exercise when it's just part of your routine. Like brushing and flossing your teeth so that you can keep them, you move your body so you can keep it.

If you are living a sedentary lifestyle, walk today for just five or ten minutes. Do this every day, adding a minute a day until you reach 30 minutes a day. This is the path to fitness. This is how you overcome "staying at rest". Your body, your mind and your emotions, and even the people who love you will thank you for it.

All you really need to start walking is a comfy pair of shoes. Asics have been a decades-long favorite of mine. Check these out: