Finding the time to exercise can be difficult – or at least that’s what we tell ourselves. In our fast paced busy lives there is always something or someone else demanding our attention, distracting us from our commitment to ourselves. In fulfilling everyone else’s needs first we run out of time to look after the one person who should matter most to us – ourselves.
There are also five common excuses given for not exercising:
- You find exercise boring and no fun
- Your life’s too busy, you’ll exercise when things calm down a bit
- You don’t have huge chunks of time available.
- You don’t see enough results for your efforts
- You’re often sore the next day after exercising and it puts you off
Any of these sound like you? Then read on.
The Fun Factor
Exercise is what you make it – there’s no magic formula that injects fun into exercise. If you’re doing it right then mostly it’s just hard work – it’s the after effects that give you the endorphins and make you feel good about having done it. The trick is to:
- find 3 or 4 things you enjoy doing (or at least don’t hate)
- find a friend or two to do it with
- ensure you mix up your routine (don’t do the same thing every day)
- find a twist if you can, like learning a new skill
For example, Zumba is fun in a group class, join a martial arts group, a bush-walking club, the list is almost endless. And adding a social aspect (coffee afterwards) or learning a new skill will reduce the boredom and increase the fun. What’s important is you get moving more!
Busy Is As Busy Does
Ask a busy person to do something and they’ll usually find the time. We’re all busy and there’s so much to do that none of us will ever complete our to-do lists. It’s all a matter of priorities. So if you NEVER find the time to exercise then it’s because you don’t consider your health a priority – and that’s the issue right there. If you love yourself and your family then you should want to make sure you have a long and healthy life, and that includes a commitment to exercise.
To make it a little easier:
- Do your exercise first thing in the morning – you then won’t worry about it all day
- Schedule it and do it at the same time each day – after a while it will become habit
- Commit to it – if you fall off the wagon then get right back on the next day
How Do You Eat An Elephant?
One mouthful at a time, and it’s a bit the same with exercise. Did you know that research has shown that breaking up your daily exercise into smaller portions has virtually the same effect as if you did it all in one go? So if you can’t find a full hour then find four 15 minute chunks throughout the day – in the morning, lunch time, after work and after dinner. Also, by doing this if you do miss one session due to something extraordinary then you’ll still be getting 3/4 of your exercise in – and that’s a great thing!
The Quick Fix
OK, despite the TV gimmicks you see on late night TV there’s no such thing. Results come from consistent targeted workouts and my “Three Keys To Weight Loss” approach. What do I mean by targeted workouts? I’m not talking hours in the gym – far from it. But a holistic program that combines high intensity cardio with resistance training is what will get you results. If you’re doing cardio or resistance training alone, or you’re eating the wrong foods then you won’t be getting the right results, no matter how hard you train. And that will get you down.
Best fix is to:
- perform a minimum of 30 mins of cardio per day that contains at least 10 mins high intensity cardio
- perform a 45 min resistance training session 3 times a week (there’s one included with a copy of my book)
And measure you bust, hip, waist, arm and thigh weekly and track your measurements. You may not always see results on the scales but you’ll see your body changing shape and toning up.
Stiff And Sore?
Many people don’t exercise regularly and so when they do, they head out – go hammer and tong at it – and then get really sore the next day. And it puts them off doing it again and creates the mindset that exercise is bad for you or painful. It doesn’t need to be that way.
The reason you get stiff and sore is often due to the accumulation of lactic acid. This can be easily avoided by performing the right stretches in the right way BEFORE and AFTER exercising which is why I include a Stretching Guide with every copy of my book.
Stretching is one of the most under rated things you can do. It helps to:
- Reduce muscular tension
- Improve the range of movement in the joints
- Prevent injuries
- Enhance muscular coordination
- Increase athletic performance
- Increase blood circulation to various parts of the body
- Increase energy levels
Stretching doesn’t need to take a lot of time, a mere five to 10 minutes at a time can make a massive difference to the health and longevity of your body. Try it and you’ll be sure to see the results, and you won’t get sore either!