You've probably heard "Life lies in movement." So without an exercise routine, how does one even start something they can't finish? Because of time and willpower that expensive personal trainers have never been used, letting gym memberships collect dust.

We first have to get over a major obstacle before discussing exercise: How do you keep exercising?

I learned the hard way that a good exercise regime is meaningless without perseverance. My 'exercise' consisted only of studying for middle school PE exams and doing the 12-minute run at Peking University, from as early as primary school to seeing out pregnancies. Now I meet basic exercise recommendations: 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity.

What had changed over the decade? I, myself as a test subject, distilled scientific strategies of adherence into simplest effective hacks. The solutions cover psychological and behavioral aspects.

Starting psychologically, you must shift your thinking. You've repeatedly heard that exercise is good for you, yet most people do nothing about it. In practicing lifestyle medicine, I found such perspective-altering subtleties through two statements:

Voltaire probably didn't expect modern science to prove him right when he said, "Life lies in movement." The American College of Cardiology, in 2016, added exercise capacity to the list of vital signs: heartbeat, respiration, temperature and blood pressure. Just as life cannot continue without those four basic elements, it ceases to exist without movement. More importantly, it's a longevity sign — any increase in exercise capacity yields 12% survival benefits able. Put simply, better fitness means longer life — to a limit.

Some people may wonder, “Genetics are at play here — why does Xiao Li develop hypertension when health-while-uncle Wang smokes like a chimney and eats as much he gorge?” The Lancet explains: among prognostic factors, exercise capacity beats hypertension, smoking and diabetes. Research indicates that those in the least active group have a mortality risk four times higher than fittest people. Patients with coronary artery disease also prolong their lives by getting fitter, thereby proving "life lies in movement" is no throwaway line.

"Exercise is medicine." This isn't just propaganda, but a scientific fact. Strong evidence exists for exercise's ability to treat high blood pressure, cardiovascular and musculoskeletal diseases (cervical/lumbar strain included), respiratory conditions like pneumonia or asthma, autoimmune disorders such as allergies, cancers — breast and colon included — neurodegenerative diseases along with mental health issues like dementia, depression or anxiety. Exercising more could avert 4–5 million deaths annually in the world.

Summary: A review — "Life lies in movement." 2nd: "Exercise is medicine" Using these facts, exercise knowledge tiptoes the medical ground.