Fitness should be fun! I am not the first to tell you that exercise and being fit is vital to health and feeling good so we should want to be fit, right? So why do we find excuses to avoid it?
What’s your excuse?
I don’t have time!
I don’t either! Who does have a lot of extra time? Start out small and make a plan. Begin with 20 or 30 minutes. Schedule time for fitness in your calendar like you would book a meeting with your boss. You wouldn’t cancel or show up late to a meeting with your boss, would you? Make fitness a priority.
I love food!
I do too! Love for food doesn’t mean you can’t get fit. I use the 80/20 rule. Eighty percent of the time I eat clean and make the best food choices I can. The other twenty percent of the time I eat for enjoyment.
I hate working out!
Really? Don’t look at getting fit as working out. There are so many ways to introduce fitness into your life without ‘working out’. Chestermere has many recreation leagues like baseball, soccer, hockey or badminton. Team sports not your thing? Why not try yoga or one of the group fitness classes around town. Still not peaking your interest? Dust off those old runners and go for a walk. I can’t recall a time when I haven’t met someone along one of the many pathways in town.
I am too old /too out of shape!
If you really believe this excuse, maybe you are too old. So what? Do it anyway: “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great” (Zig Ziglar). It’s never too late to get started.
It’s too expensive!
Yes working out can be expensive if you think you need that gym membership, perfect fit outfit and brand name runners. You don’t need all that stuff: all outfits look the same when you are coated in sweat! Grab a pair of shorts or sweat pants, throw on an old t-shirt and go for a walk. Make it a long one and skip the treat along the way. The next day go for another walk and the next day another one. Each day try for a bit longer and a bit faster. Try running a step. If that feels good try another step and another. Step by step you will get stronger, start feeling better and look at you you didn’t spend a cent to get there!
I’m too tired!
Most days I am too! Commit to 30 minutes of exercise. If after 30 minutes you haven’t found a source of energy and are still tired call it a day. Try to increase that amount of time each day. One of the benefits of exercise is more energy. Try to make it through the first couple of weeks and in no time you will have the energy you need and more for your everyday activities.
If you haven’t introduced some form of fitness into your life, what are you waiting for? The benefits of an active lifestyle are endless. Invest in yourself!
