We’ve all skipped out on a workout or two in our time, but when excuses becomes the rule rather than the exception, it’s time to take a look at those excuses, why you’re using them and how to overcome them and re-discover your workout motivation.
Here you’ll find five of the most common excuses that I hear from clients, along with suggestions for how to best fight your way past them.
I don’t have time for exercise.
“We all have the same hours in the day as Beyonce” might well be the most annoying ‘inspirational post’ ever created, but at the crux of it (when you take away all the nannies, trainers and personal chefs) it’s actually pretty true. How is it that some people manage to raise children, work full time, cook meals and stay on top of their fitness? A lot of it has to do with time management, and expectation setting. If you can’t find 45 minutes for exercise, find 30 minutes. And if you can’t find 30 minutes, find three 10-minutes blocks. You’ll still get results, and you’ll feel proud of yourself for finding a way, rather than an excuse.
I’m not fit enough to exercise
Let me let you in on a little secret – fit people didn’t come out of the womb able to run 10km. In fact, most of them struggled to even crawl for the first six or seven months. The secret is in getting started, and I promise you that I know this bit can be tough. If you’re feeling really unfit/un-prepared, hire a personal trainer – if only for a session or two – to take you through the basics and ensure you’re comfortable taking the next steps. It won’t take long for you to be hitting milestones and smashing goals, and once you start doing that you’ll have all the workout motivation you need to keep going.
I’ll do it later today.
In your defense, when I hear this one, I’m pretty confident that you truly believe that you’ll find a more convenient time to exercise later in the day. The reality is, you probably won’t. Finding a reason not to exercise is already pretty easy, finding the second one is easier, and the third excuse will roll off your tongue so naturally it’ll scare you a little bit. You need to find your workout motivation now, or else it’s probably just not happening! I recommend committing a time to your workout – as you would a meeting or an appointment – putting it in your diary and just getting it done. Don’t ‘just answer one more email’ or ‘just quickly peg out that load of washing’. Put on your gym kit and get started – you owe it to yourself and your family to prioritise your health.
It’s too cold to exercise.
This one is particularly pertinent at this time of year, when the mornings require layer upon layer upon layer. But listen up; basic science tells us that when you exercise, you’re producing energy. The result – glorious heat! Try to think of exercise as similar to laying next to an open fire with a glass of red wine, but much better for your waistline.
I hate exercise
This is a tough one, because it can be difficult to argue with blind hatred. But let me tell you something I like to remind my clients (and myself) of occasionally – exercise won’t necessarily be enjoyable every single session – sometimes it’s just a slog! That’s not to say that some people don’t love it (me included) but does it hurt? Hell yeah! Try to find something you enjoy doing – it could be bushwalking, golf, trampolining, or stand-up paddleboarding (to name just a few). Or enlist the help of a friend to train/walk or run with you – sometimes you just need to take your mind off the fact that you’re exercising.
So there you have it – a few little tips and tricks for you to implement next time you find yourself coming up with reasons not to exercise. I promise that once you create your own set of healthy habits, you’ll re-discover your workout motivation and find the excuses coming less and less often.
Have a fabulous rest-of-week!
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