Too Busy to exercise

I get it. I’m not in my 20s. I get tired a lot easier now. And between work, chores, running errands, friends/family obligations, maybe some volunteer work, and then trying to have some time for hobbies, it can seem like there’s no time to fit in exercise.

And yet, when necessary, we find the time to spend work late, attend a birthday celebration, play that extra couple of matches of Overwatch(candycrush,WoW,….) etc. So really, it’s not that we don’t have time for the act of exercising. What is it that stops us from doing it? Probably our motivation, right? We don’t want to get sweaty, we don’t know where to start, or(and?) we are mentally exhausted from everything else we have going on, or any other reasons we tell ourselves when we think about exercise. If it’s not motivation, it’s procrastination!

I think a lot of hesitation relates to the uncertainty we feel about it. I know when I decided to exercise, I worried a lot about doing things wrong. That I wasn’t going to wear the “right clothes” and people would judge me; That I’d be doing exercises wrong or I didn’t know how to use any of the equipment and embarrass myself; am I going to hurt myself by exercising wrong, or at certain times of the day, or by drinking/eating at the wrong times.

There are so many doubts that we can put into our heads – I think this is especially true of people who tend to be more shy or introverted, or isolated, the ones who we might not typically think as fitness or gym people. But that’s not the case, really, to be healthy, we don’t need to spend hours and hours in the gym or running marathons. Some people like to do that, but it’s definitely not necessary.

We can get into the reasons for different types of exercise later, but today I’m just wanting to focus on combatting that excuse to not start. I know it doesn’t help when so many gyms make it difficult to try without a long commitment, or are too busy or aren’t open when you would have the time (or the cost!). But you don’t need the gym to exercise. And you don’t need to buy and store a lot of equipment. You can start out exercising with your own bodyweight. You can try putting some tins or books into a cloth bag, or refill old clean milk jugs with water and you have homemade weights!

As for time, you don’t need to commit an hour to exercising at a time. While that dinner is baking in the oven, take 5-10 minutes to do some leg exercises. Then, when watching tv, do some arm exercises. Find five minutes at a time to go for a quick walk. You don’t have to do your exercise all at once, it can be split up and still improve your health.

As for the embarrassment, it’s something we probably all feel, but what I found out is that most people are too busy paying attention to their own workout to care what you’re doing. And those that comment or are judgmental are usually doing things wrong themselves (and perhaps that attitude is how they are hiding their own insecurities).

Hope that provides some inspiration in getting started to do something. Remember, goals are only reachable by taking steps. Don’t think about how many steps you need to take, just focus on what that next step is and do it!