Common Exercise Excuses You Need to Stop Making !!
See if you have ever used one of these excuses to NOT exercise:
1. I’m tired.
2. I’m hungry.
3. I’m full.
4. It’s too hot out.
5. It’s too cold out.
6. It’s raining.
7. It’s Friday.
8. It’s Monday.
9. It’s too expensive.
10.I need to lose weight before I can exercise.
11. I don’t know what to do when I get to the gym.
12. Everyone will laugh at me.
Now some of these may sound a little silly but I’ve heard every one of them. I’m sure each of us could add to this list as well. Here’s the thing though...excuses don’t move us forward. Excuses hold us back. Excuses hold us back from experiencing life and discovering what our bodies and minds CAN do.
If we look back at this list, I could give you an easy fix for every one of these excuses. Let’s pick a few.
“It’s too hot out.” Well then find a cool room in your house to workout, or go to an air- conditioned gym!
“Its’ too expensive.” The days of having to join a gym and pay a ton of money for your workouts are gone. If you have access to the internet, you have access to an infinite resource of exercise videos either through youtube, podcasts, or other free fitness-related private websites. Don’t want to stare at a computer screen? Grab a friend and go for a run or bike ride. Lay a blanket or yoga mat outside and practice yoga in the grass.
“I need to lose weight before I exercise.” Unless your doctor has advised against exercise because of weight or medical issues, then you can start moving your body in some way today. If weight loss is a goal, then a healthy diet will complement your exercise efforts and your exercise will positively impact your nutritional goals. There is no magical time to start exercising. Just start today.
“Everyone will laugh at me at the gym.” Sometimes the hardest part of working out is walking through the doors to the gym...or into a studio for a class. Many of us can get very self-conscious in those times when we feel uncomfortable and we might think everyone is looking at us or laughing at us. The truth is, most people are not looking at you or laughing at you. They are thinking about themselves and their own workout experience.
At some point, we are all going to come up with an exercise excuse. We are human. We make excuses . However, if we want to see change in our bodies and in our minds, we have to shift our mindset towards what we CAN do and not what we CAN’T do.
The next time you find yourself coming up with an excuse, whatever it is, see if you can shift your mindset to focus on something you could actually do and think POSITIVE. Example...if you are telling yourself that it’s Friday, you deserve the day off....you could spin that into a resolve to take the stairs everywhere instead of the elevator and park far away from the office in the parking lot. This way you are getting in some exercise, in spite of your Friday excuse.
Focus on what you can do. What is doable. Shift your thoughts from the negative excuses to the positive attainable actions. Only YOU can overcome your excuses and though it might be hard and a struggle at times, your body and mind will benefit infinitely from the simple acting of DOING something instead of making up an excuse.
