What gets your machine up and running?

My dad was an avid exercise enthusiast. He was a high school PE teacher, track and cross country coach for over 30 years. He left the house every morning by 4:30 to go to school, exercise himself before teaching others about the benefits of exercise. I take after my dad in many ways, this is one of them. I am writing this at 4:30am. I'm about to head out the door to get a workout in myself before teaching my Boot Camp class at 6. One thing I always remember my dad saying to not only my brother and I but his students was, "your body is like a machine. You have to get it up and moving first thing in the morning to make it work efficiently." 

What gets your machine moving? You can read about "what is the best form of exercise" or "how long do I have to exercise each day" till the cows come home but it's very simple. Do something. Do anything that gets your body up and moving, getting those joints all oiled up and muscles working to pump new, oxygenated blood to your vital organs. You only have 1 body and it's not going to be around forever. I believe if every person had the rule of "sweat every day" that would be a pretty great start. The next step in my opinion, after you get the "Sweat Every Day" concept down is to sweat to an intensity where Endorphins are released within your body. You may have heard about the "Runner's High?" Well, it's not just exclusive to runners. Any exerciser can experience the high of exercising. It happens when you work out to the point where your body is really challenged and your mental state becomes altered. If you've never experienced it, you aren't working out hard enough. Try to up your intensity level and see what happens. 

If you are unmotivated to get something going in the workout department find a group or a workout partner. After having two kids I realized that my only time to workout was 5 am. I found a workout partner that would meet me at that time so I was held accountable. And it's more fun for me to workout with someone else. Maybe you are a lone exerciser. That is fine too. Do whatever works for you. Don't sign up for a 5K run if you hate to run. Keep it simple and just take it day by day. Just pass the Sweat Check every day and keep your machine running! ;)