Column: Making the most of your motivation

It is never easy to move from non-exercise to exercise.

Even the most basic commitment to embrace fitness is downranked. Walking from a remote parking spot is a fool’s request. So, park at the post office to go to the pharmacy — are you nuts?

We are too busy. There are always other tasks, After all, to do the right thing is rarely popular, particularly today. So our SLOW brain pushes the exercise task down the list again and again.

You counter: We have committed to visits to the FIT Center — right there on the calendar! Well, nice try. Reading a paperback on a slow treadmill while catching up on the latest Reporter police blotter is not all that much exercise. Studies show that the sports watches, FITBIT, iPhone and exercise emails do not fare much better to get you moving. Maybe a personal trainer?

But then it’s the money and the disgrace of not showing up that elevate the priority to overcome its otherwise low ranking.

For the record, I “invest” in tennis and skiing lessons, but I’ve never used a trainer.

No hope? No way! The alternative is to tap into our FAST brain to start looking at exercise as a judgment, not another task. In other words, you have to use this FAST mode of thinking to command the SLOW brain to elevate exercise priority.

It does work — hello, have you ever heard of advertising? An example: Is that Mercedes ride so wonderful when you’re in a five-mile traffic jam on the Long Island Expressway?

Advertising approaches sell everything, including politicians. Don’t ask why. Ask how to play it for your body’s benefit. Fitness, to be a top priority needs the ability to imagine — we want to look great, have more energy and the freedom to have guilt-free French fries. So just drive the Mercedes in your mind to the FIT Center and work out.

Tips for locals: Practice your runs on the 10K course. Repetition makes the course more familiar and familiarity breeds confidence. The first time you run any race course, each mile is crazy long. With repeats, you will make them feel far shorter.

Trust me on this. Practice makes the hills less mountainous. You have to respect the four sections of Cobbetts Hill, but practices makes you know exactly how to deal with each. Just think of those poor first time 10K runners who lack your experience and knowledge.

Tips for all walkers and runners: Stretch. Yes, we may have great walking/running potential, but still take five minutes to warm up. Injuries are associated with skipping this step.

Second, have fun. How does a runner have fun? Well, give yourself rewards. Take a break and look and listen to the nature surrounding you.

Or alternate running and walking intervals. The more you can enjoy the exercise the better your chances are to keep at it.