How To Make Yourself Exercise: Creating a Lasting Habit

“Do you wish you would exercise more? Are you too busy or just hate to exercise? Do you want to be healthier, but you lack willpower? Lots of books can teach you physical fitness, but you will not find one like this that is totally focused on the psychology of “how to make yourself exercise.” Information on fitness is useless unless you actually make yourself get out the door and be physical. My purpose is to make you an exerciser. To make you more physically fit is a bonus.” James Rosen, Ph.D.

Psychologist Dr. James Rosen is known for his research and therapy with people who need to behave heathier. Hundreds of followers of his program have proven that exercise can be a big part of life if you learn certain self-control skills. You too can gradually increase exercise to the point that it’s no longer a struggle and you truly like to exercise a lot.

1. How to kick-start your habit by gradually exercising longer and more often. You don’t worry about how good the exercise is until later.

2. How to motivate yourself with an exercise record and self-reward.

3. How to make some normal activities wait until you exercised - to prioritize exercise.

4. How to drop some of your inactive free time and sit less - the other side of exercising more.

5. How to eliminate negative self-talk and have a good attitude about exercise.

6. How to help people support your exercise. How to deal with people who sabotage exercise.

7. How to be less fearful or negative about exercise. And be more adventurous and open to exercise challenges.

8. How to step up your exercise habit by adding new types of physical activity and exercise intensity.

9. How to hit goals above the minimum exercise set by the government. A strong habit and good health need a lot of exercise time.

10. How to not let a temporary slip make you give up exercise.

People are born to work and play hard physically. But exercise is not a natural behavior anymore. Hard physical work is disappearing and too much free time is physically inactive. Fewer people exercise and more people think it’s okay to spend a lot of time sitting and being inactive. It’s not our fault that the environment is against exercise. But it’s up us to take control and beat the obstacles. “How To Make Yourself Exercise” teaches the exercise motivation that you need.

James Rosen developed a weight control program that resulted in much bigger increases in exercise by his participants than is typical of even the best programs in the country. In his book “How to Make Yourself Exercise” he presents the same psychology of creating an exercise habit that worked for people in his program.

Dr. Rosen is a recognized expert in weight control, overweight problems and changing health behavior. And he has been a competitive cyclist and cross-country skier for most of his adult life. The combination of being an athlete and a clinical researcher puts Dr. Rosen in a unique position to speak about what it takes to make exercise a big part of a person’s life.

James Rosen, Ph.D. is Professor Emeritus of Psychology. That distinction as a retired professor came after 28 years of being on the faculty of the Department of Psychology at the University of Vermont. There he was a full Professor and Director of the Clinical Psychology Program. He has written more than 100 articles in scientific journals and books and given hundreds of talks and workshops around the world.

Dr. Rosen believed in spreading psychological knowledge to the public. Outside the University, his work was featured in numerous magazines and television news shows. And now he shares his techniques to deal with one of the most difficult health behaviors to change – exercise.

Among his recognitions, Dr. Rosen received a Governor’s Award for Leaders in Sports and Fitness and a national survey listed him as one of the “Best Mental Health Experts” in the United States. Dr. Rosen’s new therapies for eating disorders and body image problems are widely used by mental health experts.

Living now in California with his wife, Julie, Dr. Rosen has been a National Ski Patroller in the Lake Tahoe area and member of the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue team. A leader in local health programs, he currently is a director at the Sonoma Valley Community Health Center. And most of all, his passion is skiing, hiking, cycling and surfing with his grandchildren.