MANILA, Philippines ? Experts say it is important to determine what motivates one to exercise, so that he or she can find a suitable regimen and stick to it.

James Gavin, author of ?The Exercise Habit,? presented six motives that help one commit to exercise -- to look good, to be more sexually alive, to feel young, to lose weight, to improve health, and to control negative addictions.

Vanity

Studies show that if you make exercise a long-term commitment, you will feel more positive about yourself.

Focus on activities that target body alignment and definition, such as weight training and calisthenics, rather than activities that neglect body alignment like golf, jogging and leisure walking. Incorporate cardio and flexibility exercises like dance and yoga.

Health

A study by Doctor Ralph Paffenbarger in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that a person adds two hours to his or her lifetime for every hour of exercise.

Focus on moderate and non-stressful aerobic exercises such as walking, jogging, cycling, swimming and low-impact aerobics, rather than highly competitive and high-risk activities like bodybuilding and racquet sports. Consult with a health professional before you begin your program.

Weight worry

Balance healthy eating with an appropriate amount of exercise that suits your preferences, style, and fitness level.

Focus on long activities that burn more calories, but with moderate intensity, such as jogging, cycling, pool running, aerobics and circuit training, rather than anaerobic and short-duration activities such as bodybuilding and volleyball.

Incorporate at least twice a week of resistance training to avoid the decrease of muscle mass, which will make you ineffective in burning more calories even while at rest.

Youth

You can still involve yourself in sport tournaments and other recreational activities in your 60s by maintaining an active lifestyle as early as now to be classified under the Physically Elite.

The Physically Elite is the highest level of functional ability, according to the book ?Physical Dimensions of Aging.? The lowest level, the Physically Dependent, represent those who cannot walk, bathe, or use the toilet by themselves.

If you are concerned about maintaining youth, choose activities that target your whole body with complete exercise programming in cardio, strength and flexibility. These include body sculpting using weights, low-impact aerobics, swimming and yoga.

Sexuality

A study by Limda DeVillers on 8,000 women who did aerobic exercises at least three times a week for three months or more showed that 40 percent increased their sexual arousal, 33 percent increased their sexual activities and 26 percent found it easier to reach climax.

Choose activities that focus on body awareness and expression like dance ? modern, ballroom and belly dancing, and yoga rather than bodybuilding and hard-contact sports, which require emotional suppression.

Get rid of addictions

According to Doctor William Glasser, exercise as positive addiction should meet six criteria: 1) The activity is non-competitive and freely chosen. 2) Easy to do and without mental pressure. 3) You can do it alone. 4) It has physical, mental or spiritual value for you. 5) Improvement is measured in your own scale. 6) Activity is done without self-criticism.

Go for physical activities which include an injury prevention program like low-impact aerobics, running with swimming, or other cross-training activities.

E-mail the author at mitchfelipe@gmail.com