What Is Your Excuse?

What is your excuse?

What is it about spring that makes us want to start over? Many of us have this urge to throw out the old and are motivated to try new things again.

When I write my newsletters I am very aware that most people on my mailing list are people that I met in the gym. They are people who have made fitness a way of living. Today I want to appeal to those of you who read this, please share this newsletter with people that need to read this. If their health and fitness is important to you please help them by passing this on to them.

How do you ‘spring clean’ your way to a fitness journey?

The first and foremost step that you have to take is to chuck out all the excuses that you make for not getting the exercise and nutrition that you know you need.

What are the excuses that people usually make?

Ah, the good old “I do not have the time to exercise” excuse is number one on the list. Many people use this excuse, but they actually feel guilty for taking the time for themselves and exercising. They feel that all of their free time should be spend with their loved ones.  Dads and mums especially use this excuse. What they forget however, is the benefits that they reap from fitter and healthier bodies. Being unfit and unhealthy contributes to a weakened immune system, which in turn gives rise to more illness and sometimes debilitating lethargy. They think they are spending more time with their kids, but they are only spending more time on the couch doing nothing and feeling dog-tired.

You may not experience the repercussions now, but exercise is an investment into your future body. The dividends will pay out in the not too distant future.  I can not think of a better investment of your time, because of the ripple effect that it will have on your family.

You do not like exercise? Find something that you do.  Don’t stop looking for an exercise that you enjoy until you find it. Try new things.  I have a client who does not like running, in fact, she flatly refused the other day to jog up and down the gym, but she immediately said, “I will rather get on the spinning bike and do full out sprints.” If you have never exercised, how will you know what you like if you have not at least tried it? Just try it, keep on trying until you get it.

Few of us have physically demanding jobs. Many people scarcely break a sweat when walking from the bus stop to the train station. We are not nearly as active as we used to be 20 or more years ago. Yet, we are always tired. I have found that a big part of our lack of energy sits within our brains. When we are mentally exhausted our bodies pick up on that. I have a client who starts giving herself a little pep-talk about fifteen minutes before she has to leave for the gym. 

It goes something like this, “I am tired, I do not really want to go to the gym, but I know that I start feeling more energised within five minutes of being there. I just need to get there, once I am there I will not feel tired anymore. Come on, just get up and go to the gym,  you know it is good for you.” We laughed at this, but it really does show that you can inspire and motivate yourself when you hear the words out loud. Our words carry a lot of power.

Many people use the excuse titled “I will start when…”

When I get exercise clothes, when winter is over, when the kids go back to school, when the house is tidy and sorted, when I am not so busy at work, when I have more time, when my kids are bigger, and so the whens continue. An excuse is the flipside of a choice you, and only you can make, and that choice takes a certain amount of bravery.

For today, spring clean your vocabulary of excuses, and replace it with brave new choices.