People’s different types of Excuses & Cognitive-Barriers towards exercise are counter-productive to achieving a fitness lifestyle. Being willing to incorporate a regular effective exercise schedule will take commitment on your behalf. Road-Blocks to your fitness will only hold you back. Consider different approaches to keeping your exercise program on track. As a Licensed Professional Counselor, I have heard all the reasons or excuses for a number of behaviors. Here are a few in regard to excuses to not exercise. Also see my page on “Personal Responsibility.” I have made it a habit of getting up an extra hour earlier. This may take some time to get used to and for you body to set a pattern for waking up early, however once you adjust to an earlier wake up time, you will find that you can accomplish a lot in one hour before you start your regular routine to begin the day. Using creative ways to get exercise is also of benefit. For example, not being afraid to walk the extra distance in a parking lot or getting out in the yard and doing those projects that you have been putting off. Finding ways to be physically active is always better than doing nothing.
A person who thinks that they don't have time:
Making time to exercise may be challening sometimes but it's
not a reason to quit and give up.
Take a few 10-15 minute walks throughout the day. If you don't have time
for a complete workout at once, doing shorter intervals of
exercise throughout the day is better than nothing and will offer some
benefits to your health.
Exercise is boring and not interesting:
Being a Licensed Professional Counselor I understand that people vary individually and that not everyone will find exercise to be fun or exciting. Please see my page "Creative Exercise"
People who may be self-conscious about their
body-image:
People can be very self-conscious about their body-image in how they perceive themselves in relationship with other people and the world. The commercial aspects of body-image are often times not representative or realistic of what "healthy" really is. Don't get down on yourself. You can find ways to exercise at home and as your confidence builds you can join a gym if you like or other social mediums for exercising. Also remember that most people are at a gym or health center to exercise and are not going to be preoccupied with everyone else details.
There are also people who don't think they are
athletic enough to exercise:
You don't have to have been a competitive athlete in your past or
considered "athletic" in order to get the benefits from exercise. Adults
exercise for the purpose of achieving and maintaining optimal health
and not necessarily so they can compete in sports or competitions. If
you happen to have been a former athlete in your past that is fine too.
Either way exercising in and of itself has it's own rewards by itself that
will last you a life time.
People often fail at their first attempt to exercise
due to lack of knowledge or proper supervision:
I know many people who have tried to start an exercise program only
to become frustrated and then quit all together. I have discovered from
interviewing people that often times without realizing it, they were over-
training without sufficient rest periods and doing way too much too
fast. This can happend due to lack of proper supervision. As a
Certified Personal Trainer, I will progressively bring you along in your
exercise at a rate that is proportionate to your current fitness level and
fitness gains. More specifically, I will adjust the frequency, intensisty,
and duration of exercise activities at a rate that you can handle. When
this this is done progressively, you will be successful and avoid
injuring yourself or burning yourself out.
People also use not having the money as an
excuse not to exercise:
I hear this excuse all the time. It's really interesting how people will
spend literally 5.00 dollars a day on sodas that are bad for them for
a total of 150.00 a month and then turn around and say they can't
afford a Gym or Health-Club membership. It comes down to priorities
and your perspective. Even if you truly can't afford a membership to
a fitness center, you can find many ways to exercise in the comfort
of your home with minimal or no equipment at all. Furthermore, walking
around the neighborhood with your friends is free and doesn't cost
anything. Where there is a will, there is a way.
Lack of knowledge in how to safely, exercise:
This reason is actually a legitimate concern for a person to have and
they should get proper supervision when beginning a resistance
training or aerobic training program. I would be glad to help you with
this and can discuss what options are available to you based on your
current fitness level.
Lack of support Structure:
Sometimes people may encounter reasons such as friends and
family not being supportive of you exercising. In fact I know first
hand that when I started becoming more physically active and living
a lifestyle based on optimal health and fitness, there were those
people who would try to sabatoge me. At the end of the day you must
exercise because it's the right thing to do for yourself. You also
become a positive role-model for those around you.
At the end of the day it boils down to a person's "Value System" and what they prioritize as what is important in life. It is amazing that people spend thousands of dollars on life style such as clothes, cars, furniture, entertainment, and so on. They however will complain about spending 50 or 60 dollars a month for a health club membership which when you break it down comes out to anywhere from 1.60 $ per day or 2.00 $ dollars per day which when you think about it is a very small price to pay for a place to go and exercise and work out. You spend more than that every day on things such as soft drinks, lottery tickets, going out to eat and so on. So as mentioned previously it comes down to how much Worth and Value we assign to our own physical health. As young people we take it for granted that our body and health will never fail. The Truth is that a lifestyle that includes physical fitness/exercise is a preventative measure against sicknes, disease, and modifiable risk factors. You take care of your body now and it will take care of you when you are older. We need to budget our life to fit in time and resources to exercise and take care of the one body that was given to us. It's ours to take care of and nobody is going to do it for us. It's never too late. you can always begin at any age and make great improvements in your health.
