November 3, 2025, 4:35 pm | Read time: 4 minutes
Exercise is good for you. It boosts your mood, helps you sleep better, supports weight loss, and aids in preventing illnesses. Yet, many people find it difficult to change their lifestyle and finally become active. For those who truly want to succeed, the following tips from Nuno Alves, FITBOOK editor-in-chief and author of the newsletter “Highway to Health,” might help you get started.
For many, the word exercise is associated with something you have to force yourself to do repeatedly. They put off physical activity like an unpleasant task at work. And yes, if you always think of training as two hours of full power, you might lose motivation before you even start.
More Everyday Movement and Finding What Suits You
Two hours of running or strength training are certainly desirable, but the bar doesn’t have to be set that high, especially for beginners. Instead of thinking in terms of complicated workouts, you should make your entire day more active. “Maybe don’t drive to the store, but walk and carry two bags as a small workout,” suggested FITBOOK editor-in-chief on the podcast “Naturally Good” by Adaeze Wolf, Holistic Health Coach, on the topic “Sticking with It Instead of Enduring It–How to Make Exercise a Habit.”
If you want to do more than that, it’s advisable not to chase fitness trends or run just because everyone around you is doing it. Alves advises exploring what truly suits you and brings you joy. Because enjoyment and good performance motivate. You might find clues in your childhood or youth. Otherwise, just try things out.
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How to Transition from Being Inactive to Active
Sounds simple enough at first. But how do you manage not to lose motivation and fall back into old patterns of inactivity when faced with time pressure, bad weather, and the temptation to quickly take the car or elevator?
The most obvious answer: develop routines. According to Nuno Alves, you achieve this by fully embodying the athleticism you want to reach. “You have to become the person associated with the routine you desire. So, I want to be the Nuno known for being athletic. I want to be the one with the image: ‘He’s the one who always gets up in the morning and goes to exercise.’ I become this person and communicate it. By communicating, you become the person associated with this routine, both for yourself and others,” Alves says.
This could have a psychological effect: You might not want to admit to others that you’ve become inactive again. This motivates you to stick to your workout routine even in moments of reluctance.
WOOP Method–Giving No Room for Excuses
This psychological trick combined with daily routines can help you become consistently active. To avoid falling into the trap of skipping workouts due to excuses, Alves suggests using the WOOP method.
The W in WOOP stands for “wish,” the first O for “outcome,” the desired result, the second O stands for “obstacle” (such as rain), and P for “plan,” or planning.
Nuno Alves explains how the method works: “Example: I wish to exercise more now and ideally know that running is the way to go. I associate this wish with a specific outcome, such as wanting to start the day fresher, wanting to lose weight, etc. I’ve decided to go running every morning. But then come all the obstacles. It’s too cold, too dark, it started raining. The planning is there to make a plan for each of these obstacles to overcome them. For example: If it rains, I’ll go to the gym and run on the treadmill. Or: If it rains, I have a rain jacket I can wear. By developing a plan for every excuse, you get closer to achieving your wish, which is to exercise, in the end.”
How to sustainably anchor wishes and behaviors as routines is also explained by Nuno Alves in his book “Highway to Health–In 7 Steps to a Healthy Long Life,” set to be released on January 4, 2027.