The Excuses You're Telling Yourself Not To Exercise

I know what you're thinking.  There are reasons why you don't exercise.  I used to have reasons up to the age of 34.  Here are my reasons and why I now realise they were all excuses.

1.  I'm not fit enough to exercise

If you think about it, this is the most stupid reason not to exercise.  How are you ever going to get fit if you don't exercise?  Your muscles are kind of there to be used.  If you don't use it, they get weaker, they only get stronger through use.

2.  I don't enjoy it

Well there are two sides to this.  First of all if you really hate every work out, then you need to try something new.  Just because you hate going to the gym, doesn't mean you won't love something outside.  Also you need to give it long enough.  I always reckon you need to give it 10 weeks to get the real benefits mentally as well as physically.

I'm not going to pretend though that I love every work out.  That's where doing something is better than nothing but also remembering the feeling of accomplishment when you are done.

3.  I don't have time

That's because you're trying to find time not make time.  We are happy to spend 30 mins, an hour or more at work, an hour on Facebook but we're not prepared to set aside 30 mins to exercise?  I also make exercise incidental to my day so it would take me 20 minutes to walk home from school after dropping off my son or I could run three times as far in 30 minutes so I do that.  Only 10 minutes of my day and I've got in a workout.

4.  It's not worth it

Why on earth are you not worth it?  Time exercising is you time.  It's time you can reflect on the day and make plans.  You are definitely worth that.

5.  I'm not good at exercising

So what?  Who cares?  Who says you have to be good at it?  It's not about being the fastest, the fittest or the most muscular but being the best you that you can be.

6.  Bits wobble

Yep, fatty bits do that.  They do that on me, especially around my middle (I am a mother) and as you exercise some of your wobbly bits may get less wobbly (not all, but some).

One of the best things you can do though if you're a woman is get an awesome sports bra because those bits will wobble otherwise!  A well meaning person once said to me as a 14 year old to "exercise while I can before I develop".  It put me off running for 20 years but needn't have.  Technology has moved on and chest support is much better.

7.  It doesn't matter

You can bet it does.  In 2012 a paper in The Lancet estimated 5.3 million deaths in 2008 were due to inactivity.  We all have to die of something certainly but wouldn't it be better if that death was later and with better health in the meantime?

8.  I'd feel embarrassed

Everyone has to start somewhere.  In reality I've never had anything but support.  You see all shapes and sizes exercising nowadays, no-one is at all bothered what you look like.  When I started on couch to 5K, I used to wear an oversized fleece to make myself feel more comfortable.  I needn't have bothered.

9.  I can't afford it

I recently wrote a post about cheap ways to exercise.  Exercise does not have to mean going to the gym (but do look at my tips on freebies there.)  I used to be a gym member.  I think gym membership makes people "feel" fitter even when they've made no change to their life.  Exercise can be pretty much free.

10.  It doesn't make me thin

Exercise is only one part of the equation, I have a habit of eating a bit too much at times because I do love my food and exercise will not 100% let you "get away" with that.  It will help and it will make you look better because you are likely to improve your posture and muscle tone.

11.  I'm not into sweating it out

Not all exercise is high intensity.  Personally I'm lazy so I like to get my work outs in as short a time as possible.  I like running, strength and I do HIIT from time to time (it's not something I 100% love if I'm honest).  I do mix this up though with yoga, pilates or throw in an extra walk at a weekend.  Swimming is a great way to exercise without getting into a sweaty mess.

12.  I'm too old

Ha ha ha ha ha... if you knew how many women in the 60+ age group had overtaken me on parkruns you would realise this is a myth.  If you have health issues, then perhaps see a GP before starting an intense exercise regime but I used to say this to myself at the age of 30.  I know, I can't believe it either now.  There are now even (light weight) strength classes being run in nursing homes due to the beneficial impacts in preventing osteoporosis.

So if you've got this far and you aren't currently someone who has exercise in their life, do think about it and let me know if this is convinced you or if you have any other reasons you think why exercise isn't for you.