No time to exercise?

 

NO TIME TO EXERCISE

I have to remind myself I don't have to be the fitness model on stage that I once was. But if I don't want to be the 197-pound 5-foot-nothing tall female in the first picture, I'm going to have to put some effort in!

Most of us are stressed for time. It's so hard to fit it in. Me too! I actually did not get a workout in yesterday, there were too many important things I had to do, that had to get done! Before I knew it 9pm rolled around and I was wrapping things up. Not everything got done, including my workout which I was actually dressed for. I can't workout late at night because it wrecks my sleep. It wasn't a problem when I was younger, but it just won't work for me at the season of life I'm in now.

See, things change with the seasons of our life, how we eat, what we can eat, and how and when we workout. It just is what it is. We have to find ways to solve the problem for ourselves. It's always ON US. There are always a million excuses to get in the way.

It's okay for me to have a day like yesterday when the workout got pushed out. It doesn't happen for me often. It's probably one of the reasons I don't need to "plan" rest days. I will get them naturally, and if I feel fatigue I will rest. I don't care what day of the week it is. I know when it's time to rest and my normal mode is do a workout, anything, just do one thing. And then I also typically pick something different from yesterday. I try to get one swim in, one run, one bike ride, and as many weight training sessions as I can fit, and possibly a hike some weeks, or a walk with my precious husband Randy.

SOMETHING is BETTER than NOTHING.

Do you think you are the only one who doesn’t feel like exercising or feels to tire to do it? Think again. Why do you think there are so many memes and quotes about “just do it”?

· “Discipline is doing what needs to be done even if you don’t want to do it”

· “Don’t wait! The time will never be just right.”

· “Life is too short to spend it hating your body”

· “You can have results or excuses. Not both.”

· “Yesterday you said tomorrow.”

· “Don’t limit your challenges, challenge your limits.”

· “Slow progress is better than no progress.”

· “I already know what giving up feels like. I want to see what happens if I don’t”?

· “Don’t decrease the goal, increase the effort.”

· “It doesn’t get easier, but you get better.”

· “There is no such thing as a bad workout.”

· “Any workout is better than no workout.”

 

Some things to try:

· Even if you only have 10 or 20 minutes. Just go do it! It's important to exercise.  Many of you are very tired and it’s hard to exercise after work after being so busy. 

· An example of something you might try to have everything ready and laid out at home so that you get a workout in. 

· Have your workout clothes folded in a neat pile right there. 

· If you like music, have a good playlist available and put that on as soon as you get home, especially something upbeat and motivational. 

· Put something there to remind you of how good you will feel if you push through and do a workout even though you don't feel like getting started. Usually, we at least start feeling better once we get moving. 

· Have the workout printed or right on your phone and be determined to do each set and all the reps. Focus on the first set, then the next, etc. 

· Get the workout done before you do anything else in the house that needs to get done. As soon as your workout is done then you can start on the all the things that might be nagging at you to get done. 

· Remember, even a short workout is better than no workout. If you are really pressed for time, you can do a shorted version of the workout, maybe two sets instead of three or something like that.

That was just an example of something I have to do for myself sometimes. I know everyone thinks I always love physical activity, and I do, but believe it or not I have to very often “push myself” to get going, and I get started while dragging my feet. Often is just knowing that I will be so disappointed in myself if I don’t do it. I have the mental check list in my head of the daily playlist. I’ve done it for about 50 years. I don’t have any special ability for discipline other than I feel so disappointed in myself at the end of the day if I don’t execute my important list of things. Since I don’t want to be disappointed in myself, I do the things that prevent that. Even if I’m dragging my feet to get started. It is really that simple. When you do that over and over for a time, it starts becoming who you are and all you have to do is think ahead a little and be willing to solve the problems, once you answer the questions as to why you fail.

Have a wonderful day and DO something!

I always welcome messages and comments. Let me know what you think!

Roberta