Here are the 4 most common exercise excuses I hear!
By Dr. Matthew Kenney
I don’t have time.
This is easily the most common excuse and always will be. Although I don’t know every person reading this personally, I can promise you this, you DO have the time. If you feel you don’t have enough time to exercise, it is simply not a priority for you.
I have four kids, am married, own multiple businesses, coach football, and compete in ultramarathons. I am still able to work out daily and not have it negatively impact any area of my life. Do I work out hours each day? No, but I use the 30-60 minutes that I do have to be focused and intense and that is plenty. You can make excellent progress by using even a small block of time and devoting it to exercise. Even better, you will find that a little bit of exercise will give you more energy to power you through your day easier and more efficiently.
I don’t have the money.
Aside from the fact that most gyms offer you the use of their equipment and various classes for a reasonable fee each month, you still don’t need to buy a membership.
You can do amazing workouts in the comfort of your home using nothing but your bodyweights for free. A gym or membership to any facility is in no way necessary to achieve remarkable results. If you decide that you’d like to acquire some equipment, there are inexpensive ways such as garage sales and online outlets like Marketplace where you can get used equipment for cheap. If you have no equipment, start anyway. I now have a home gym that I love. Ninety percent of the equipment within my gym is either used or was given to me. Don’t worry about what you don’t have, begin with what you do.
I’m in too much pain.
As a chiropractor, I deal with people in pain daily. I am extremely empathetic to anyone who deals with pain. However, 99.9% of the time, doing nothing is a recipe that will make you worse not better. I am not suggesting that you do workouts that hurt you, only that there will be a type of exercise that will help. Those in pain need to find the right type of person to assist them because they require specific guidance rather than general, one size fits all recommendations.
Nothing I do works.
I have heard this thousands of times. Most often, this is said by those that have tried many things but few (if any) consistently. Every fitness and nutrition goal will come with challenges.
Many people quit when they hit the first bump in the road or don’t show the progress they expected immediately. Except in certain (and rare) medical conditions, you can make excellent progress with a variety of different nutrition and exercise methods. You simply need to stick with it and adjust as you go. It does help to work with someone with experience to guide you through your challenges but trust me, something will work.
