Summarize:

Just as addiction behavior occurs at regular intervals, so too should you get regular "doses" of exercise. The number of doses you require to help you overcome your addiction depends on you. You should aim to get at least 2.5 hours of exercise weekly, but you might require more. For instance, perhaps exercising 5 hours each week will help you better overcome your addiction than exercising 2.5 hours each week. Experiment with different exercise schedules. Perhaps you can start out by exercising one hour each week, then increase the time devoted to exercise to two hours each week, then three hours each week. Monitor your feelings relative to your addiction at each commitment level. If you find that more exercise is making it easier to overcome your addiction, increase your level of exercise until you've conquered your addiction. You might also consider working out at those times you were most likely to use drugs or alcohol. Depending on your personality and addiction, you might find that different forms of exercise affect how well you can overcome your addiction. For instance, if you ride a bike, you might have little to no need to engage in addiction behavior. But if you go for a swim, you might find that your urge to engage in addiction behavior is only slightly decreased. Try a mixture of activities and record your reactions as they relate to your addiction behavior and urges. Emphasize physical activities that help you significantly, and minimize or avoid physical activities that don't help you as much. Don't use exercise merely to help you cope with addiction after you've already kicked your habit. Instead, incorporate exercise into your routine as one part of your addiction treatment program. As you gradually begin to wean yourself away from your addiction behavior, exercise just before you feel that you are about to give in to your addiction cravings. You might be less interested in your addictive behavior if you go a long period without engaging in your addiction and then exercising. For instance, go about 15 hours without smoking a cigarette, then run or ride your bike for 15 minutes. Your best bet to overcoming addiction is not to rely on any particular method to overcome your addiction. Don't go exclusively to group meetings, don't exclusively attend therapy and don't exclusively exercise. Instead, make exercise one outlet among an array of others that help you overcome your addiction. If you need help figuring out how to devise a personalized drug treatment program, talk to your physician. You might think that in order for exercise to be useful in your fight to overcome your addiction, you'd have to do a whole lot of it. But in fact, exercising even a little bit can help you overcome your addiction. Try to walk for 15 minutes each day. Gradually increase your speed until you're running 15 minutes each day. Then gradually increase the length of time you run for. Try to get at least 2.5 hours of exercise each week. Any effective exercise regimen begins with setting realistic goals. If you set unrealistic goals for instance, running five miles each time you engage in your addiction behavior you won't be able to meet them. But if you set realistic goals based on an honest assessment of what you're able to accomplish, then exercise can be a useful way to reaffirm a sense of self-control and self-confidence.
Schedule exercise at regular intervals. Experiment with different types of exercise. Exercise while breaking your addiction. Add exercise to other addiction treatment methods. Don't be intimidated. Set realistic goals.