In my previous life before joining Joyous Health and working at Mercedes-Benz I was a Personal Trainer. I always loved being active, playing sports and staying healthy, so it seemed like a natural direction to take my career. While it wasn't the right career for me, I had the opportunity to meet some amazing people, form lasting friendships and learn A LOT about people and what motivates them.
Along with those amazing clients described above, I also met my fair share of people who simply did not want to see me. Yes, they liked me (I think?) but they did not want to see me. Doesn't matter how much money they had invested with me, the amount of cancellations and no-shows was shocking.
It became quite apparent that if people put half the effort into taking care of themselves as they did finding ways to NOT take care of them selves, we would be a much healthier population. Given the grown sedentary nature of our lives and the impact it has on our health ([img
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Rebuttal: The hardest part about getting started is often, getting started. Never mind the actual exercise itself, the gym, yoga studio or cross-fit gym's alone can be intimidating and a barrier for anyone just starting out. You see everyone walking around in their colour coordinated gear, there's someone doing a complicated stretch and a guy in the distance grunting with authority as he performs a "kind-of-difficult-but-not-really" exercise. Well I have a secret for you - 90% of the people have absolutely no clue what they're doing either! If you're completely clueless - keep it simple, check your ego and simply move at your own pace. You can join a beginner class, hire a pro to give you some tips or even find some YouTube video's from some reputable fitness personalities to give you a few ideas.
Excuse: I'm too tired
Rebuttal: You're probably just lazy...hear me out! While it's important to honour your body, rest and get a good night's sleep
, it's also important to distinguish between being tired and just plain lazy. A lot of the time when I'm dozing on the couch and don't want to get going it's usually because I'm lazy, not tired. How do I tell the difference? I ask myself if I would have the energy to do something I really really wanted to do such as going out for drinks, seeing a show ... If the answer is yes, I'm just being lazy. Now that doesn't mean I get up and give 'er 100% - sometimes it's just 50% or even 30%, but the important thing is that I got my self moving and did something good for myself.
Now it's your turn! What's your favourite excuse? The most creative idea gets a round of applause from the Joyous team!
Love this! Great article and I agree 100%. My excuses tonight are, its too late and I had a glass of wine
ReplyI've worked out after having a few glasses of wine before...it was a little...counterproductive lets say.
I work as a PT and Pilates instructor and I mostly work with young mothers. Their most frequent excuse is that the children got ill or their some extra work at school when mothers must help. However, I understand they are mothers and they are responsible for other people (but for themselves, too, so they should do something for their own health too), I don't really think that these things HAPPEN every week (sometimes twice a week). Especially because I have a client who has 4 children and she finds the time to workout. Okay, I think, her time management is outstanding, many cases I saw her and her husband to "switch" kids in front of the building of the gym :D My very own excuse is not for exercising in general but for doing cardio :D I don't like cardio. A finish late in the evening and I don't go out for a run alone and I always say I don't want to disturb my neighbours with my jumping at home. For some time I skipped cardio but I felt the effect, my body missed it so I made some changes in my schedule. It was worth it ;)
ReplyI hate cardio too...so I just don't do it! It's hard enough to get yourself going with something you want to do, let alone something you don't.
Great article!! I can relate to a couple of these. I usually use the "I'm too tired" or "My body just won't move" but then I end up going out with friends LOL
ReplyI've definitely done the same thing...a glass of wine does sound more interesting that hitting the gym after work. With that said, try and squeeze in some exercise throughout the day to make up for it :)
I can tell you as someone who did not exercise for pretty much their entire life, the biggest challenge is (like you said), getting started. It's one thing to be motivated ("I want to lose weight"), but a completely other thing to actually *DO* what needs to be done, and on a consistent basis (which is key! - you have to keep at it!) So the thing that has literally changed my life in this area is shifting my mindset about exercise; when thoughts of dread (or excuses) enter in my mind, I do self-talk to change them around - I instead think of how I can respect myself by making me stronger & healthy. Saying to myself how that 30mins (or whatever) will add to my health & strength. The quote that hits home the most is "a year from now you'll have wished you started today"
ReplyThat is a great quote Sarah. As you mentioned - so often it's a mental game you play with yourself. The ironic thing is that you feel SO good after you've made yourself do something that you wonder why it was so hard to get started in the first place!
This article is calling my name... I have fallen in a terrible rut of NOT exercising... I moved over a year ago across province and really I can't use that excuse anymore. I'm always tired and feeling crappy... a few workouts a week I KNOW would make me feel so much better - just need to get my butt in gear. I'm printing this article for some motivation!!
ReplyGlad it's helping you get your butt in gear :)
Glad you found it helpful Carole! Remember that exercise can be virtually anything, whether it's walking at a brisk pace, doing stairs or even just some squats in your living room. Start with something small and manageable and work up from there.
My favourite excuse is that I worked my butt off at work!
ReplyMy go-to excuse for not working out? So sad, but it's "I should wait to go to the gym until this evening's post-work crowd starts coming in. Because if I were to go now, there wouldn't be enough hot guys to look at/ subconsciously motivate me while I'm running on the treadmill." Sick, isn't it? :) In all seriousness though, I will say this though - being accountable to someone really helps me stay committed to exercising. I'm blessed to have an AMAZING personal trainer (who has become a good friend) who challenges me during our 3-4 weekly training sessions. I've been with him for three years now and drive 30 mins each way to go to the new gym he works at because he's such an important part of my life. Having someone to be accountable to, who not only wants me to be the best version of myself, but absolutely knows that I have what it takes to become that person (even when I'm like "no I can't, so I'm just going to eat this entire pint of gelato instead of working out!") is all the motivation I need to get my butt off the sofa and into the gym. I can't let him down and more importantly, I can't let myself down. I have my lazy days here and there, sure. But it's extremely rare for me to skip working out for more than 2 days in a row.
ReplyHi Walker I am 65 and I exercise three times a week with a friend for one hour. We get a lot accomplished in that hour. We excercise outside for the most part and we look forward to Monday, Wednesday and Friday. We are running a 5Km run on Canada Day in our town of Little Current, Manitoulin Island.
ReplyWhat a gorgeous location to be able to exercise downtown - I'm a little jealous!
Great article and yup great way to rebutt those pesky excuses hihi. I am definitely a new adept of the 30min or under but intense HIIT ;). No more excuses. #JustDoIt
ReplyYou've got the right idea, Sarah!
Wow so true. Just being lazy. Sometimes I have a legit reason but sometimes it total laziness. I’d rather collapse on the sofa after work than exercise. Sometimes Netflix wins. Mostly though I push myself. I hate that I don’t like to do it. I wish I loved it. Would make it sooo much easier!
ReplyGood for you for pushing yourself!