ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Busting the excuses for not exercising and being out of shape part 1

Updated on February 17, 2010
image taken from http://www.flickr.com/photos/mimarsinan/3235566485/ and used under the Creative Commons Attribution licence
image taken from http://www.flickr.com/photos/mimarsinan/3235566485/ and used under the Creative Commons Attribution licence

I'm going to risk offending a few people out there, to bust a lot of the excuses I keep hearing from people who tell me they'd like to get into shape, but just can't.

Usually I like to use a kind and supportive approach and really encourage people to get active and feel good about themselves. But if someone's stuck in a rut, knows they really should bust out of it by getting active and healthy, but just can't seem to get past the excuses and get started – well it's time for a little tough love and a bit of a reality check, and this is it!

We all have the same excuses really, it's just a question of choosing to give up before you even start, or to say “I'm going to do it anyway”.

So here we go with the top excuses that I have heard over the years!


I can't afford to eat right and pay for a gym membership.

This may be true in some cases, but for most people I really doubt it. A lot of the people who use this excuse seem to have money to spend on cigarettes, booze, toys and other unhealthy activities. Also, eating unhealthy take-away isn't all that cheap anyway, is it? There's lots of healthy stuff you can get on a budget, although you might actually have to prepare it yourself.

Gym memberships and personal training can be expensive, but if you can't squeeze it into your budget there's still no reason why you can't get out for a walk, climb some stairs and do some body weight resistance exercises. There really is a lot you can do without having to spend a cent on equipment.

I do not have time.

You have 24 hours a day, the same as everyone else! Most people spend a few hours a night (or more) on the tv or computer... sacrifice some of that to do something for your health.

It's really just a question of managing your time and working out a schedule that allows you use whatever opportunities you do have to exercise. Get up a half hour early if that is what it takes. There may still be days when you don't have time, but that's OK. You don't need to train with the consistency of a world class athlete, you just need to get into the habit of being active whenever you can.

Even if you still can't train as often as you would like, it is still better than doing nothing at all. Also look for opportunities in your daily routine. Take a set of stairs instead of the lift. Get off the bus a stop or two early and walk the rest of the way. Walk or cycle short trips instead of taking the car. Carry your groceries home and do shoulder shrugs with the bags! All of these little things add up to significant results!

I do shift work and it's too hard to eat healthy and exercise.

This ties in with the above excuse a bit. I have done a lot of shift work in my time and I assure you all, I do fully understand how hard it can be. Especially if you are working a 12 hour nightshift and finishing at 7 or 8 in the morning like I used to. I used to find that if I went straight to the gym at the end of my 12 hour day shifts I would feel fantastic by the time I got home. It gave me something to look forward to through out the day as well, rather than just going home to crash out on the sofa. I would find that I had a lot more energy if I trained after work.

On night shift it does get harder, so don't beat yourself up about missing a day's training here and there if you really need to take a nap instead. Just be sure to do what you can, when you can. Again, anything is better than nothing.

The nutrition part is not really as hard as a lot of people make out, either. Prepare your own healthy meals and snacks and bring those into the office. Resist the temptation to call for pizza in the middle of the night!

See the links below for part 2 of this article!

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)