How to overcome your exercise excuses
The Exercise Physiologists at Longevity Edgecliff, Lindfield, Marrickville and Randwick help all clients to set meaningful health and fitness goals. The team also strive to keep you accountable to these goals by ensuring that you turn up to sessions and meet the physical activity guidelines.
We are all guilty of making excuses when it comes to our health. When life gets busy, healthy eating and regular exercise tend to be some of the first things that we give up on.
This week our blog will focus on common excuses or barriers to training and how to rework them into exercise opportunities rather than missed exercise sessions.
8 Common Exercise Excuses
- Work is too Busy
There are lots of opportunities to fit in small amounts of exercise throughout the working day. Try walking to work or at least part of the way. It may also be possible to fit in a 15-minute workout during your lunch break, whether you walk around or do something specific – 15 minutes 5x a week adds up! Break up long periods of sitting by getting up and moving around, perhaps you could even try making phone calls whilst standing or on the move.
- Family are coming to visit
Another great opportunity to get moving. Household tasks such as vacuuming, lifting and carrying all count as incidental exercise. Why not take them out for the day and do something fun and active such as hiking, swimming, kayaking or golf.
- I’m too tired
Exercise can help you manage fatigue. Exercise can help to boost energy levels, help you to get a better night’s sleep and hence leave you feeling better and ready for tomorrow.
- I need to catch up with friends instead
Do two things at once! Have you considered exercising with a friend? It can be as easy as grabbing coffee and going for a walk. Better yet, why not try structured exercise together? Social sports are a great way to see friends regularly and get active at the same time. Gym sessions can also become more interesting when completed with a friend. Did you know Longevity offer paired exercise physiology sessions?
- I’ve got a Cold
It is safe to train with a cold if your symptoms are above the neck! Light-moderate exercise can increase blood flow and even alleviate some of your symptoms. Check out our previous blog “Can I exercise with a cold or flu?” for more information.
- I’m just not motivated; I don’t even have a goal to work towards
Even if your health is good now, start thinking about the future. The exercise that you do now is an investment in your future health and long-term quality of life. How do you want to feel at 50? 60? 70? 80? 90? 100?! Set small goals, even if it’s just to meet the physical activity guidelines and maintain good health.
- I’m too stressed and busy
Exercise is a great way to cope with stress. Listen to music, zone out and relax. Exercise can help improve your mood and help manage your mental health.
If you are generally busy, incorporate exercise into your errands or tasks. For example, walk to the grocery store or join in with the kids at after school sport. Get off the bus a stop early or take the stairs at work. Small changes can lead to bigger results.
- I’m going on a holiday; I’ll start again when I get back.
Exercise while your away! Take advantage of new walking paths and soak up the scenery. Try out the hotel gym – most of the equipment will be similar to your regular gym. If in doubt – ask your Exercise Physiologist for a couple of exercises that can be completed anywhere so you can create a circuit that can be performed in the hotel room, at the beach or while your exploring.
How can the Longevity Team help you overcome your exercise barriers?
- We give you the support you need to keep you motivated and accountable.
- Our exercise sessions are available early – before work, late- evenings and we even have some Saturday morning sessions. There’s always a time to fit in a session.
- We can help you structure your week and find the best balance between structured, supervised sessions and independent exercise.
- We provide education so that you understand what exercise is best for you and why it is important.
- We help you set SMART goals to keep you on track.
So how do the Longevity team fit exercise into the busy working week?
Ashleigh: “I play social touch 2 x a week so that I can catch up with my friends whilst getting a good, fun workout.”
Courtney: “Often I hear myself saying, “I’ve only got 20 minutes so spare, that’s not enough time for a proper workout, so I wont do it now” – But then I remind myself that 20 minutes is better than nothing and that I will feel better for doing it! Even if its only a quick walk and some stretches.”
Angela: “As well as my structured weekly exercise routine, I love to get out and go for a walk in the park, to the beach or along the coastline for some sun and fresh air. Although this takes time, I find myself more productive when I am back at my desk.”
Jarrat: “I like to plan my week in advance and then if my day gets too hectic I will make adjustments to the session on the day. E.g If Monday is a strength training day then it doesn’t matter if I plan for a 60min session but only end up with 30mins to exercise because I know the goal is to build strength. I aim to achieve what I can within that 30mins. I find that knowing what you want out of each day and each session in advance makes it far easier to adjust to what life throws at you throughout the week.”
Daniel: “I have a 3 day strength program (upper body, lower body and full body) targeting the major compound lifts. I also complete 15 minutes of cardio after each workout. I also attend 2 gymnastic strength training classes which target the fundamentals and gymnastics rings. I find working out with others and having a coach or trainer for gymnastics is the best way to stay motivated and on track when life gets busy.”
Mitchell: “As I am training for the National Titles, I do not let anything else get in the way. So even when I am tired or busy, I still dedicate myself to training.”
Dylan: “If I’m feeling tired, unmotivated or busy I do all of my favourite easier exercises first and the days I feel great, have heaps of energy and time, I do all of the hard exercises that I may have missed. So no matter what, I am always active”.
If you would like to discuss your training habits or want help with what will work best for you, contact the team at Longevity Personal Training and Exercise Physiology on 1300 964 002.
Written by Ashleigh Mead