7 Workout Excuses to Quit Right Now
There are always a million excuses why we don’t work out…Tired. Busy. Unmotivated. Kids. Money. Disinterested. 6 workout excuses you need to quit right now so you can live your best life.
We’ve all felt the pressure of those excuses before and probably we’ve all succumbed to a couple of them from time to time. But the bottom line is some people workout consistently and maintain that as a priority in their lives and some people don’t.
The most successful people I’ve seen in the fitness arena don’t have carefree lives, they struggle with their circumstances too, BUT they have a mindset that accepts no excuse. They choose to prioritize their health and don’t have time for these excuses.
6 Workout Excuses You Need to Quit Right Now
1. I don’t have time.
This is probably the most common workout excuse, but no matter how busy you are we all have the same hours in the day. You, me, Beyonce, Obama—we all have 24 hours.
It’s about how we prioritize, both our hours individually and our lives as a whole. If you don’t have 30-45 minutes for your health, you need to take a long sit-down and evaluate.
Maybe there are some lesser things that need to be released from your life so you can have your workout time for your physical and emotional health.
Check out How to Find the Time to Workout for more tips on how I squeeze workouts into my hectic mom-wife-blogger life.
2. I don’t like to exercise
I don’t like to fold my laundry. I don’t like to pay bills.
Some things you do because they’re good for you in the long run—it’s not about liking it. Also, you can probably find SOMEthing you like. There are so many different types of workouts: spinning, running, dance, weight lifting, snorkeling.
If you can’t think of any kind of “exercise” you like look back at the activities or movements that you loved doing when you were a kid and try them again as an adult. Dancing, bike riding, bouncing on a trampoline, climbing–all are super-fun “kid” activities, but also translate into adult fitness activities too!
3. I have kids
So do a lot of other people.
Yes, it is challenging to workout when you have kids, but clearly not impossible since there are tons of moms and dads out there rocking the fitness scene!
If you go to a gym, use the childcare. Buy a jogging stroller. Ride bikes with your kids. Run around like crazy with them on the playground. Go on family walks. Trade workout times with a partner or enlist a grandparent to babysit. Pop in a workout dvd and get your sweat on while your little one naps. Get up earlier. Trade workout times with your spouse.
4. I’m too out of shape
First, if haven’t been active for a while, talk to your doctor. I repeat, talk to your doctor.
You may need physical therapy if you’ve been injured or have other medical needs and you will definitely need to take it slow as you start out. With your doctor’s approval implement a plan to start exercising at a pace that is safe and healthy for you.
Some good low impact beginner options are swimming, water aerobics, and walking. Even if you just start walking 10 minutes and add-on a few more each week, just get moving! (With the help of your health practitioner, of course!)
RELATED: THE BEST WALKING WORKOUTS
5. I don’t feel motivated
Ready for some (more) tough love? You don’t have to “feel” motivated. You just have to do it. Make fitness a part of your schedule and lifestyle—routines are much better than waiting around on a feeling that may not come.
When fitness is just your default setting, it’s easier to stick to your healthy habits because you don’t have to employ your waning willpower and fickle motivation. I like to talk about motivation so here a few posts to check out to re-motivate you!
6. I don’t have the money.
Let me just say that I feel you. Our budget has always been tight and I’ve lost weight and kept it off with very minimal financial commitment.
This also boils down to a matter of priorities–there are probably some areas of your budget you can cut back on so you have a little more money for fitness related purchases.
- The most important building block is getting a good pair of shoes, from there you can start running and walking.
- There are also tons of free healthy living resources: check out Pinterest for bodyweight strength workouts and use a free app like myfitnesspal to track your nutrition goals.
7. It’s too cold/hot outside
Yes, weather happens. As the Scandinavians like to say “there is no bad weather, only bad clothes.” So dress appropriately and make an alternative indoor plan for when the weather outside is just NOT cooperating.
While there is almost always an excuse for not working out, rising above these barriers proves your determination and commitment to your health. You CAN break through these workout excuses by prioritizing, planning, and deciding to make fitness an inexcusable part of your life.
What’s your most common workout excuse?
It’s so easy to make excuses to not work out and we all do it from time to time. What I always like to remind myself is how much I enjoy it and never regret that workout later!
That’s definitely true! The way it helps me destress is worth it alone. A few days without exercise and I am grumpy!!
All great points. I think the hardest to overcome is not feeling motivated, at least for me. I find that the motivation does eventually come back though. Stopping by from Running Bloggers!
Well, I did skip my workout this morning and my EXCUSE was not enough sleep because of noise on our street from Hallowe’en revellers from 3 am till almost 5 am. I slept late and spent the afternoon on the golf course. Will do my strength workout on Saturday, so not really skipping it, but delaying it!
Good list!
I’m pretty sure I’d count that as a legitimate reason, not an excuse. I’ve heard (somewhere?) that if you have to choose between getting 7-8 hours of sleep and skipping a workout you should skip the workout because the cortisol produced by your body because of lack of sleep negates the workout anyway. So you definitely made the right choice AND you get brownie points for fitting in your workout later! 😀
I am so bad at this…I need to quit making excuses with workouts and healthy eating!
I’m pretty sure I’d count that as a legitimate reason, not an excuse.