4. Questions & Answers

How do I know if I'm getting enough vigorous activity in my life?

You should perform some activity that requires a concentrated effort of both mind and muscles. You should be breathing deeply, your heartbeat should be accelerated, and you should probably have a light film of perspiration, even in cool weather. You should experience this "conditioning" effect for at least ten to fifteen minutes, and preferably twenty to thirty minutes. After a vigorous activity is completed, you should still be in a state of accelerated metabolism (moderate heart and pulse beat, slightly deepened breathing) for another five to ten minutes.
As a practical rule, if you have difficulty sleeping at night, experience constipation, or feel continually fatigued and lacking in vigor, then you may also be sure that you probably are not receiving enough vigorous activity.

I'm fine on any exercise program—for the first two weeks. Then I find myself making excuses and finally I'm hack to where I started, a weekend athlete. Any suggestions?

This is why it is so vital to make exercise and a vigorous activity period a normal part of your life—not simply something that you add to your day or do when you have "extra" time.
The most effective way to get exercise into your life—and make it stay there—is to do it as soon as you get out of bed. Before you eat breakfast, before you go to work, before you wake up the kids or read the paper, go and exercise.
If you make exercise an essential part of your daily activities, at the beginning of the day, then you won't start to skip it. Most exercise programs fail because people try to work it into their schedules. Instead, revise and start a brand-new schedule. Treat that morning (or evening) exercise period as something you have to do; it's not an option, but a necessity.
You may have to be a little compulsive at first, and really( exercise your willpower and self-discipline. Reward yourself, punish yourself, but promise yourself that the time you have decided as your exercise period is sacred and will not be sacrificed according to whim or any other superceeding responsibility.