You know you’re doing it: You’re making one excuse after another to get out of your planned workouts. It’s often said that we make room in our lives for what’s important to us, so most excuses are just that – excuses.
Yes, occasionally an emergency will happen, and you’ll have to skip your morning run. But most of the time, you can’t let yourself make excuses about your fitness. If you find yourself trying to wimp out, remember these answers to the most common exercise excuses.
“I’m too busy”. Schedule your workouts just like you would any other important activity. Do you have a calendar where you record your doctor appointments, school meetings, and so on? Make exercise an equal priority and pencil it in. If you leave yourself open to “find time to exercise”, you often won’t find the time. Try using a calendar app that will email or text you reminders, and you can’t pretend to forget!
“I’m too tired”. Doing something is better than nothing at all. Don’t feel like running? Go for a walk. Don’t feel like lifting weights today? Take a Pilates or yoga class instead. Your muscles could probably use a good stretching anyway.
“I’m bored with my routine”. Anyone would get bored with the same old workout routine, day in and day out. Check with your local gym, and see what new classes they’re offering. Change locations if you like to run. Try listening to a book on tape when you’re using the stationary bike or elliptical. Go for a hike and chat with a friend. Rotate your workout schedule so that you never feel bored with it, and you won’t be able to use this excuse anymore.
“It’s not working anyway”. It’s normal to feel frustrated if you aren’t seeing the results you wanted. In particular, you might be focusing on changes that are too gradual to notice from one day to the next, like losing weight or fitting into an old pair of jeans. Focus on how you feel instead. Are you happier, more energetic, or stronger since you’ve started working out? Exercise should give you an immediate mood boost; look forward to that, and get moving!
